Shipping and other Information

Shipping Rates and FAQS

Free shipping special: Order $35.00 or more in books, software or CDs and $40.00 for everything else (feeders, T-shirts, mugs, puzzles, etc.) at our Naturally Curious Direct online store and we'll ship for free from the post office (media or book rate in the continental USA).

Holiday Shipping Times and Information

Because our free shipping offer is for Media and Parcel Post, packages can take even longer than the 7-10 days the post office says it will take. If you need items faster, we have added expedited shipping options to the shopping cart (at the risk of confusing all of us!)

Media Mail rates

This is what we used to call book rate, and is for printed, bound material, audio CDs, DVD, VHS and software.

Rates: $3.95 charge on orders under $35.00.

Free postage via media mail on orders $35.00 and up.

Add $2.95 for First Class, $10.95 for Fedex, UPS or DHL, using the drop down menu.

Parcel Post

Everything else, essentially non-bound, printed matter.

Free shipping on orders over $40.00.

Orders under $40.00 will be charged $4.95 for parcel post, same expedited charges as above.

If you need it outside of the US, priority mail or faster, we'll add about what the post office charges us, with the minimum charge of $8.95.

Naturally Curious Direct shipping and handling in the US:

When we aren't running shipping specials here at our Naturally Curious Direct on-line store, we charge between $3.50 (for the first $30) and no more than $10.50 (see chart below). We use the US Postal Service because they currently have the lower rates for us, especially when we can use the media rate (books, DVDs, software). If you need something faster, let us know. We will charge you more for the service, depending on how much more the post office or our UPS/FedEx/DHL shipper charges us.

Naturally Curious Direct shipping and handling charges:

Purchase amount	Shipping & Handling
$0 - $30.00	$3.50
$30.01 - $41.00	$4.50
$41.01 - $60.00	$5.50
$60.01 – $100.00	$6.50
$100.01 - $150.00	$7.50
$150.01 - $200.00	$8.50
$200.01 - $250.00	$9.50
$250.01 and up	$10.50

Affiliate Stores set their own ship rates. In some cases, we may have the same products available as our affiliate store, but not on the website. Please call or email us for availability, especially for inexpensive purchases involving a special handling charge.

As we are building up our own database of items that we sell online at Naturally Curious Direct, we are also partnered with some of our suppliers to provide over 8,000 quality items in our Affiliate Stores. Some items are in both stores, and in some cases we can get items from the Affiliate stores for you. We service Naturally Curious Direct ourselves, our suppliers handle all aspects of the affiliate store transactions, including choosing and posting items, charging your credit card and shipping you your order. Each store has it's own shopping cart and separate billing systems.

When will it ship? One of my favorite signboards in Austin reads, "If it's in stock, we've got it!" Our goal is to ship your order to you with in 24 hours of when you place it. Orders we receive by noon are usually shipped that day, provided we have it stock and are not at a show. If we can't ship it within 24 hours, you'll receive an email from naturecuriousinc@aol.com with an update. We also send an email alerting you that we've shipped.

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Naturally Curious Direct shipping and handling outside the US:

This is handled on a case by case basis. The shopping cart will show a $10.00 fee. If we can't ship it to you for that amount, or can only ship it on the boat which can take up to six weeks, we'll contact you about upgrading and charges (which will be based on what the US Postal Charges are). If you want to see about what the post office will charge us, go to USPS.gov, use the international postage calculator and use 78612 as the 'sending from' zip code.

New Tax in Texas

So far, we do not have to collect tax for out of state sales, or collect tax for every down we deliver to in Texas, so for now, Texas residents pay our local sales tax, which is just 6.75%.

Originally scheduled for 1 July 2004 (but on hold for now), we have to charge sales tax at the purchasers home town rates. Our office/warehouse is in an unincorporated area, so our local rate is 6.75%. This is what we've been collecting on ALL Texas sales. Once the Comptrollers Office figures out how to make the paperwork doable, they will require us to collect and pay tax in each Texas locality. Stay tuned! - Sandy

How much tax?

Naturally Curious Direct: Texas residents pay 6.75 % (until the new state system kicks in, then you'll pay your normal local taxes, generally 8.25%)

Affiliate Store: Online Nature Mall : Florida residents pay 6.0 %

In a hurry?

Call us, we’ll know what we have in stock. The Affiliate Store shopping cart is connected to their inventory, so you pretty much know if what you want is in stock. The Affiliate Store ships UPS ground M-F. The price you see in the Naturally Curious Direct is based on US Postal Service media rate. You can upgrade the service, we’ll bill you for the difference. We ship Monday—Saturday, and when items are in stock (and we aren't at a show) they'll ship within 24 hours.

Buying in quantity?

Call us, we’ll make sure you get our best price.

Using a purchase order?

Our new store allows you to choose the purchase order option.

When is my Credit Card processed?

AffiliateStore: Your card is processed when you place your order.

Naturally Curious Direct: Your card in NOT automatically processed, we’ll charge you when we ship your order and make any adjustments for specials or to meet special shipping requests. This is why the total in the automatic response may be different than what we actually charge (we will never charge more without contacting you for permission first).