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     We have tried several different postal services over the past years and taking into consideration the speed of delivery and costs have found that Thailand’s 'Express Mail Service' (EMS) is the most efficient. This allows us to have colonies delivered within an acceptable time frame, without having to pay the very high charges of some of the other courier companies. This service also provides an online 'track and trace' facility, which enables customers to follow the progress of their order, and allows us to confirm that delivery has been made.

     Parcels sent by this service are given a 'tracking number' when they are posted, and this can be used on the carrier’s website to track the progress of the parcel. When the parcel arrives in the destination country it can also be tracked on the local post’s website, by entering the same tracking number.

     The tracking details will tell you when the parcel leaves Thailand, when it arrives in the destination country, when it has been processed and passed onto the domestic post service, when it has arrived at the local sorting office, and when it is on the delivery truck.

 

​     'EMS' postage is officially charged according to weight and destination, and the exact amount to be paid is not known until we actually post the parcel. So, to simplify the postage charge and enable potential customers to know exactly what they will pay we charge our postage according to the value of the order placed.

     The normal minimum price for sending a small parcel by ‘EMS’, is around £35-£50, depending on location. To help keep the postal charge affordable for our customers, for all orders over £100 the postage is partially subsidized by us. The subsidized portion of the postage is paid for out of the profit from the order. However, this is not feasible for smaller orders which are less than £100 in value. Hence we have now implemented £100 as the minimum order amount we will accept.               

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     For all orders over £100 the charge for postage will be:

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     For most Asian countries such as Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore the charge will be £25.

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     For Austria, the Czech Republic, Netherlands, Russia, Switzerland and the USA the charge will be £40.

 

     For all other countries, it will be £30.

 

     For customers within Thailand Domestic postage for all orders will be £5, regardless of order size.

 

 

     Transit time

     We can give prospective customers a very good idea of transit time by utilizing the information gained from sending previous orders. Delays are unusual and under normal conditions, 92% of orders have been delivered within the given time frame.

     As an example; parcels sent to the U.K. have taken between 4-6 days. Most consignments to the U.K. (82%) have been delivered just four days after posting, which is nearly as good as the normal domestic post service! Occasionally they can take five days, and if there are unexpected problems such as very bad weather / cancelled flights / missed delivery, etc. six days.

     Boxes leave Thailand very quickly, but then the processing of the mail on arrival in the destination country seems to be a bit variable, and this obviously has a direct effect on the time taken to deliver.

  

     Postal Delays

     We check the Thai EMS postal site for updates/notifications prior to sending colonies out, and if there are going to be any delays will notify the customer prior to posting.

     However; it is the customer’s responsibility to check their own countries postal service regards the possibility of delays to delivery. Customers should notify us of any expected delays and discuss the implications prior to the arranged posting date.

     We are not responsible for delays regards delivery by the customer’s local post service company. Once posted, if we have not received any 'notified concerns' from the customer it is taken that their post-service is operating as normal.

Any loss of packages or stock arriving dead, because of postal delays will not be replaced and no refund will be made.

 

     The average delivery time for parcels sent under normal conditions has been:

 

     UK, France, Sweden, Singapore = 4 - 6 days.

     Austria, Switzerland, Czech, Hungary, Japan = 5 - 7 days.

     Denmark, Norway = 6 - 8 days.

     USA = 7 - 9 days.

 

     Some other countries tend to have a longer delivery period - even though they are sent by the same service:

 

     Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Russia = 8 - 10 days.

     Belgium, Italy, Turkey, Spain = 10 - 12 days.

 

     As all the colonies are carefully packed and have additional food in their containers, they can survive in the post for a significant time. We have previously conducted trials and opened sample containers at various dates after packing, and most colonies only showed slight deterioration after two weeks. Some of the stronger species even seemed okay after three weeks, although by then they had eaten most of their brood.

 

     Packing

     Over the past twelve years, we have learned from trial and error and gained extensive experience in the preparation and packing of colonies prior to posting.

 

     Pre-packing preparation;

     Some customers expect us to be able to post a colony out a day or two after receiving their order. This is not possible. 

We have found that giving the colony a few days of pre-posting care helps them withstand the rigors of being posted, and helps ensure that they arrive in good condition.

     For several days before posting the colonies are given a high protein diet and as much food as they can take. This results in the colony having a good food reserve stored in the crops of the workers, which the colony can then utilize during their time in the post.

     We have also found that it is very important to make sure the colonies are sent with their complete brood, as this gives them something to care for and seems to stabilize the colony. With many species it is very important to have new workers emerging all the time, especially with species that have a short life expectancy such as Carebara, these colonies will quickly collapse if sent without any brood.

   

     It is not our aim to provide a large number of low-quality colonies, which are posted out without any preparation and using the lowest cost service available. We cater to those customers who are looking for good quality colonies, which are prepared and packed with due care and attention - resulting in a high survival rate.