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Shipping Methods and Delivery Times
Cubic Weight
Insurance and Missing Parcels
Customs and Duty
Quarantine
Useful Tips for Quarantine
Special Product Notes
Special Information for our NZ customers
Australian and New Zealand GST

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Shipping Methods and Delivery Times

The shipping cost of your parcel is automatically calculated during checkout using the total weight/cubic weight of the products in your shopping basket and your postcode. During checkout your shipping quote will show as ‘N/A’ until you have logged in or provided your address. Payment is not required until you have seen how much the shipping will be.

During checkout there are normally several shipping options to choose from:

Cubic Weight

When it comes to shipping sometimes it’s the size of the parcel that matters more than the weight. For some products, such as the "Get a Grip" we have them recorded with their equivalent cubic weight rather than their actual weight.

Insurance and Missing Parcels

We do not offer insurance automatically for our international items, though you are able to request it during checkout. If you do so, we will contact you with a quote and send you a PayPal invoice or request your credit card details to pay the extra fee.

The advantage of insurance is that if something go wrong, we are able to remedy the situation quickly. We will still try and remedy the situation even if you haven’t requested insurance - however the process could take several months, and isn’t guaranteed a perfect outcome.

So far in the 5 year history of our international shipping we have had very few issues beyond lengthy deliveries. Most delayed deliveries can be explained as follows:

1. The courier company has accidentally sent the parcel to the wrong country and it then has to go through a ridiculously long (but thorough) bureaucratic process before it gets sent on to the correct country
2. It’s in customs/quarantine and communication has broken down, and the parcel is stuck in limbo until someone notices (you or the shipping company).
3. There has been an attempted delivery but a card was not left or not noticed, and the parcel is languishing in a storeroom somewhere.

If your shipment does not turn up when it is expected we will do our best via courier tracking to locate it, but generally you will be required to wait another week or two to see if it arrives.

After that we will look into it as much as possible, but if we can’t locate the parcel we will ask you to wait again for another few weeks. At that point if it still hasn’t turned up, we will discuss options with you.

We want to help you but without insurance the risk of a parcel going missing is yours. We will provide refunds in some cases (usually a wait of up to 3 months is required in this case), send out new parcels in other cases (maybe asking for you to pay for the shipping again), or come up with some other equitable solution. It is judged on a case by case scenario.

Customs and Duty

Your order may incur customs or duty fees when it arrives. My Parrot Shop does not accept any responsibility for these fees. Please check with your local customs office for more information. In most countries this can be done easily and quickly with a simple phone call. You will also find the information online through your county’s respective quarantine/customs website. Usually there is a generous threshold for the value of goods you can import for personal use without attracting local taxes.

Quarantine

Your package may be inspected by quarantine officers. Please check carefully with your local quarantine office about prohibited items in your country to avoid having something confiscated. We accept no responsibility for any outcome and can offer no reimbursement

Checking with your local quarantine office prior to ordering is a good idea if you want to purchase items like food or natural materials. The information contained in our product descriptions should normally suffice for an accurate assessment by the quarantine folk, so it can be useful to have the My Parrot Shop website on your computer when you call them. Your country or state government should have their own website stating their restrictions and processes as well. If you have a question about the materials of any of the products we sell please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Useful Tips for Quarantine

Whilst it can be a bit like playing roulette when importing materials of quarantine concern, we can impart the following useful information (based on LOTS of experience):

Most (but not all) items we sell should make it through quarantine undisturbed.

If you plan to import something that may get a second look going through customs & quarantine – choose a postal service rather than a courier service for your delivery method. This is because all the postal systems around the world have their own in-house quarantine & customs, and it generally ends up being a no-cost service for you. If you are required to put anything in your parcel through a ‘treatment’, the charges are usually very economical as they are doing bulk treatments all the time.

The same situation with a courier frequently ends up costing you a lot more. They don’t always have in-house quarantine staff, nor access to cheap bulk treatment options and will frequently charge you a ‘clearance’ fee for their effort. These charges can be quite unpredictable. If you wish to use a courier service for their other advantages you are welcome to have us look into the possible charges you might face, however the information is far more likely to be correct if you ask the people at your end.

Special Product Notes for Quarantine

The Just Naturals products are likely to be of big concern to quarantine officers as they are made from fresh wood with the bark still on (and thus often containing a grub or bug or two), not to mention all the viable seeds & pods from a variety of native trees. This is great for your parrot (especially if they score one of the big grubs – YUM!) but not so good for the local flora & fauna. Most countries have affordable ‘treatment’ options you can choose to have the products subjected to upon arrival however we highly recommend further research, especially our New Zealand customers, before ordering.

Quarantine restrictions should be researched prior to purchase of any food items.

None of the foraging toys we sell (except in the Just Naturals range) contain any food, and thus are fine going through quarantine.

The My Parrot wood and vegetable tanned leather toys are NOT of quarantine concern. The My Parrot Stainless Steel Training Stands normally have a natural branch attached; however they are designed to be replaceable and are easily removed prior to posting if you request it.

The Starbird Abaca Products (such as the get-a-grips) may attract attention and require heat treatment (or fumigation), but it depends a great deal on the knowledge of the individual who makes the inspection. Normally, providing there are no live insects etc (which there aren’t), it should pass through quarantine unscathed. All the abaca products, among many others, have been heat-treated by us on importation to Australia (they originate in the Phillipines), and we can provide documentation if required.

Information regarding the materials of each product is normally provided on the product tags and/or invoice, however we don’t go all out to draw attention to it, as we’ve found that it is usually counter-productive.

Palm leaf products are normally fine. Again it depends on the individual inspector’s knowledge of the material.

All the toys and perches containing coconuts normally breeze through quarantine. All the flesh (the bit we eat) has long been removed leaving only the shell and/or the fibrous husk (coir) which is of no quarantine concern.

Special Information for our NZ customers

My Parrot Shop takes no responsibility for the information provided in this section and any fees incurred by the shipment are entirely the responsibility of the customer.

Australian and New Zealand GST

Like all international orders, we don’t charge Australian GST on products ordered from and delivered to NZ. However, if the total value of the goods shipped to you is worth over $399 NZD, the NZ Government can (but often chooses not to) charge you NZ GST of 12.5%. If GST is to be charged you will receive notification from the NZ government upon the shipment’s arrival.

Important: If you are importing for any other reason except personal use a completely different set of rules apply.

For information from the horse's mouth click here:
New Zealand Customs Fact Sheets

To go to NZ customs website click here:
New Zealand Customs Website

For more information about NZ quarantine restrictions click here: New Zealand BioSecurity Website