Shipping Questions

 

Which Shipping Carrier Do You Use?

I mostly use Royal Mail for U.K. parcels and some other countries, they are the most affordable and reliable. I also use courier services such as UPS and FedEx.

Once a parcel leaves my studio in England it can be tracked on the Royal Mail website or your local postal service in your country. INTERNATIONAL TRACKING OF ROYAL MAIL PARCELS Usps, La Post, Canada post, Australia Post.

How Long After Ordering Do You Ship?

In stock items are typically packaged and shipped within 1 week of purchase. Packaging parcels is a whole ceremony, each parcels is wrapped with love and attention to detail, which takes time.

Pre-orders take longer to ship as they are made specially for you, the process can take anywhere from 2-12 weeks depending what has been pre-ordered. The pre-ordered item description will give a clear indication of how long you will need to wait before your order is shipped. Please be mindful of this before pre-ordering.

How Long Does Delivery Take Once You Ship?

These are estimated time frames.

U.K

  • Royal Mail: 1st class - 2-4 business days.

Everywhere Else

  • Royal Mail: 1-2 weeks.

  • UPS & FedEx: 5-7 business days.

I Missed My Delivery, What Should I Do?

This applies to both U.K. & International delivers.

  • In most circumstances, a collection card will be left by the shipping company instructing how you can rearrange delivery or collect your parcel from their local depot. You can also contact the shipping company by telephone or on their website. Please use the tracking code emailed to you so they can trace your parcel.

  • If a parcel is left uncollected at a shipping depot for more than 7 business days, it will be returned to Lotus Blu Book Art [in England] in which case shipping will have to be paid again by the customer before it can be returned.

I LIVE IN THE EU, DOES A Custom Fee APPLY?

  • Post Brexit, anything being shipped from U.K to EU runs a chance of customs duty being applied. This is something out of my control.

Will I Have To Pay Custom Fees?

  • This really depends on your country. If a custom import tax duty is applied to a parcel sent outside the U.K, the amount you may need to pay will usually be emailed to you by the shipping company before the item is delivered.

  • It is the sole responsibility of the customer to pay custom fees. Lotus Blu is not responsible to cover these fees under any circumstances nor obliged to undervalue an item sent out of the U.K. customs union to avoid import taxes.

  • The amount of a customs import fee is determined by the value of the item sent.

Do You Refund Shipping If I Checked Out Multiple Times?

No, refunds are not offered on shipping when multiple purchases are made over several transaction. Doing this would make the shipping process much longer.

WHY DON’T YOU OFFER FREE SHIPPING?

Free shipping isn't truly free; someone pays for it, usually the customer. I disclose shipping costs separately from product prices to clearly show you the item's value and actual shipping expense. While I wish I could teleport packages for free, that's not possible with current technology, well not yet!

Shipping costs are based on volumetric weight; all international packages from 0-1 kg have the same cost. Remember, journals can be heavy items to ship. As a small Artisan business, we lack the shipping discounts larger companies receive, so we pay full shipping prices.

How Are Your International Shipping Costs Determined?

Shipping internationally is not cheap. The cost is determined by the destination, the size of the parcel and the weight. If you live in a remote location an extra fee will be applied by the shipping company. I will be in touch with you if this is the case. However if you know that you live in a remote location, please email hello@lotusblubookart.com so I can sort out an overages that may need to be paid and to avoid your parcel being held at a shipping depot.

Is Your Packaging Eco-Friendly?

ABSOLUTELY! One of our main values is to run an eco-friendly and sustainable business. All the shipping boxes are made from recycled material and can be recycled again! Most items are packaged in rice paper, one-of-a-kind journals come in a beautiful archival box or a repurposed cotton wrap. All the information labels are printed on recycled paper and paper tape is used to secure the parcels.

General Questions

 

I ADDED ITEMS TO MY CART, Tried To Checkout, But Items Were Disappearing FROM MY CART.

If you are shopping my one-of-a-kind journals, there are a limited number of them in each restock, so if someone else checkouts before you and the item is sold out, it will disappear from your cart. This checkout system is not unique to my website, it is simply because there are not enough items for the number of people that are trying to buy them. I usually restock once every two months, so there will be many opportunities in the future, I also take pre orders once or twice a year. Thank you for your understanding.

When Is Your Next Shop Restock?

I work in small batches creating mostly one-of-a-kind journals.

I typically restock every 2 months depending on the collection I am working on. I also open up certain collections for pre-orders once or twice a year.

The best way to stay in the loop is to sign up for my newsletter, this way you will be informed in good time and also get to preview the upcoming collection.

What Sort Of Paper Do You Use? Can I Use Fountain Pens?

The paper used at Lotus Blu Book Art is always tree-free!

For art/ mixed media journals I use cotton rag watercolour paper which has a gelatine size [not vegan], it works beautifully with all wet + dry media and is perfect for wet on wet painting.

For writing journals, I use only ever use tree-free paper such as Hahnemuhle bamboo paper or handmade hemp paper. Both are fountain pen friendly and work well with all dry media and light washes of watercolour or gouache.

The health of our oceans and earth is very important here at Lotus Blu Book Art for this reason I also use recycled paper made from some of the 7 billion takeaway coffee cups used in the U.K annually that ends up in landfills! You can read more about this pioneering paper made by one of the oldest paper mills in England here.