A sales tax of 8% is added to all orders shipped to California addresses. Sales tax is not charged on shipments to gift recipients outside California.
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GourmetSleuth accepts American Express, VISA and MasterCard credit cards (as well as a Mastercard or Visa debit card). You may also place phone orders and mail a check or money order as well.
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Do you prefer to order by telephone?  Call us at:  408-354-8281.

Or, email your telephone number and the best time to reach you and our staff will contact you and take your order.  We can return your call between 7a.m. - 5 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.


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Canada Customers:
We will ship products to Canada only via U.S. postal service. We are no longer able to ship UPS due to the unpredictability of their brokerage fees. The U.S. postal system may levy customs fees as well.  As the buyer you will be responsible for all customs or brokerage fees.  If you choose to refuse a shipment due to these fees we will refund you for the amount of the merchandise, less the original shipping fee and any fees charged to return the item to us. 

Orders received before 1:00pm Pacific Standard Time are normally shipped out within 48 hours but there are occasional exceptions.  If you need something by a specific day, please make a note in the "message" section of our order form or email us  with any specific instructions or requests. ()

We offer shipping by UPS. The "cart" options are Ground, 2nd Day or Overnight. We can also ship 3rd day please email us at:  for more information.

Transit Time:   We ship from Los Gatos, California, zip code 95030.  View the transit time map to see when your ground shipment will arrive.

Learn more about Shipping Fees

After ordering, you will receive an email confirmation from GourmetSleuth upon receipt of your order within a few minutes of ordering. Then, you will be notified again when your order ships. You will be *emailed your tracking information as soon as your order is prepared for shipment.
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Address Error Fees:
Please make sure to check your order carefully for addressing errors. If you are shipping to a business make sure to include suite and/or floor number. Make sure your address number, APT or  Unit number and zip code are all correct.  UPS charges a correction fee of  $5.00 for ground shipment corrections and $10.00 for Express shipment corrections.  It is necessary for us to pass those fees on to the customer.   The fees are also charged if you decide to divert the shipment to another address after the order has shipped.  If you wish to correct an error, please email us at:   or call us:  408-354-8281 to make any corrections.

Refusal of Shipment
An order cancellation may not take place on an item that has already shipped. If a customer places an order and then refuses the package, a 25% restocking fee will apply. The customer will then be re-credited for the return item(s) less a 25% restocking fee and any shipping fees associated with the original shipment and return(s).


Our software does not currently accommodate multiple shipping addresses.  Please place a separate order for each shipping address.  If this is inconvenient on a large order, please email us at:   and we will do everything possible to expedite your order for you.
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GourmetSleuth promotion codes or discount certificates are redeemed during the ordering process at  checkout. After you enter your billing information, you will see a box that says Discount Certificate (if applicable). Simply enter your promotion or discount code. Your promotional discount will be factored into your final order upon checkout and will be reflected in your order summary. By the way, special promotions are just one of the benefits you get when you are a member at GourmetSleuth.

If, for any reason, you would like to exchange or return your purchase within 30 days, we are happy to replace it with another selection or refund the credit card used for the purchase. Just repack the product in its original packaging (if possible) with the packing slip and follow these simple steps:

• Email us at . Provide your: Packing List or Invoice #, OR, the first and last name of the person who purchased the product.
• We will provide you with an RMA (return merchandise authorization) and the return shipping address.
• For your security, please return your purchase/gift with an insured courier (e.g., FedEx, UPS, USPS Parcel Post) and retain your receipt. This will protect you in case the gift is damaged or lost in transit. Your carrier will be responsible for your refund should the goods be damaged or lost in transit. (Note: we do not recommend using USPS for returns due to the amount of time it takes for you to received a claim refund).
• Merchandise must be returned within 30 days of purchase.
• Merchandise returned without an RMA number cannot be accepted by the warehouse.
• Food utensils including any baking or cooking tool, as well as molcajetes or metate's, may only be returned if they are unused. Other tools may be returned as long as they are in new, resellable condition.
• Shipping and handling fees and opened or bulk foods are not refundable.
• We are unable to accept returns or exchanges for final sale items or any item returned in "unsellable" condition.
• See additional information about refusal returns.

International Shipping Claims, Missing or Damaged Shipments
We use United States Postal Service for international shipping.  Shipping times given are estimated and refer to "business days".  While most orders are shipped and received without incident occasionally their can be problems.  If you parcel does not arrive when anticipated please email us at:   or call us (408-354-8281). We will fill out the appropriate forms and provide that to USPS.  The USPS investigation process can take up to 2 months.  Once the USPS verifies that the shipment is lost (or damaged) they will refund us for the shipping and merchandise and we will in turn credit you.  We are unable to credit you before the USPS credits us.

Arrival Times
Important! - while we will make every effort to get your packages to you by your desired date, Gourmetsleuth.com cannot guarantee the timely arrival of your package. To reduce the possibility of the late arrival of a shipment, place your orders early!!


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