Vratim Shipping: Being a Small Fish in a Sea of BIG Companies

There's no hiding the fact that while we may look like a bigger, established company, we're still very small (like two full time employees small). That being said, it hasn't stopped us from trying to punch above our weight. When we started we knew we were going up against some big names, so we wanted to place an emphasis on building strong relationships with artists we endorse and our customer base. With that being said, we think it's important to be up front with our shipping - especially with some recent feedback on our international shipping times.

We will go over our shipping for both domestic and international orders so hopefully you all understand our position along with getting some insight on what many small companies deal with. It's also important to note that while typing this, the world is trying to work through the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and shipping times are not consistent at all.

Let's start with the domestic shipping services we offer. Currently for domestic orders we offer:

• Local Pickup (Florida customers only)
• "Free Shipping"
• USPS First-Class Package (orders up to 15.9 ounces)
• USPS Priority Mail
• USPS Priority Mail Express
• UPS Ground
• UPS 2nd Day Air
• UPS Next Day Air

We're going to focus on the USPS (United States Postal Service) options as that is the primary method of choice for our customers as well as our choice when "Free Shipping" is selected. UPS offers "insurance" on their packages and thus their shipping method is usually more expensive (it also takes longer too unless you choose their air options).

Free shipping: Just like it says - free shipping to you. This means we will choose the most cost effective method of shipping possible. Most shoes when packaged weigh around 3 pounds, but t-shirts often weigh less than a pound and thus we choose the shipping methods accordingly. It is up to our discretion for the shipping method chosen since no preference was purchased.

USPS First-Class Package: This is only available for orders up to 15.9 ounces. It's usually only about $3.00 USD, includes a tracking number, and normally takes about 5-10 business days. This is a great choice when you order a t-shirt or beanie!

USPS Priority Shipping Methods: Any order that weighs over 1 pound has to be shipped via Priority Shipping. This method usually takes 2-5 days and is the primary choice when shipping shoes. We've had great success with both Priority and Priority Express. They arrive quicker than UPS and at a cheaper price.
Here's a chart of USPS Priority Shipping costs (these are the same that are displayed at checkout and the same rates we pay too):

Unfortunately our shoes don't fit in a "Small Flat Rate Box" otherwise that would be our choice, but this is what it costs us usually every time we ship out a pair of shoes.

International orders get a bit more expensive, but the same basic structure is followed. For international order we offer the following choices (there may be some slight variances depending on your location):

• USPS Priority Mail International
• USPS Priority Mail Express International
• FedEx International Economy
• FedEx International Priority

It's important to note up until this point we also offered a "USPS Standard Shipping" option as well as USPS First-Class International Shipping" option. USPS Standard was our way of trying to reduce the international cost for customers by absorbing some of the shipping cost ourselves to offer a low-cost shipping method. First-Class International Shipping is the cheapest international shipping method available with an average cost of $36.92 USD. However, as both of these employed First-Class Shipping and with the current pandemic, shipping times have been exceeding two months so we have cancelled those choices.

USPS Priority Mail International Shipping Methods: This will be our new standard international shipping method as it offers more accurate tracking information, better shipping times, and more reliability when locating missing packages. Below is a chart with the pricing:

These will be the same prices displayed at checkout (unless the USPS updates the quotes).

While USPS Priority Mail International is more reliable and faster than the previously offered First-Class International Shipping, if you need your package within two weeks the best choice will be FedEx. The average cost to ship a pair of shoes via FedEx overseas is usually $150.00 USD or more, however you will have your shoes in your hands very quickly.

In conclusion, there is actually no such thing as free shipping and every year shipping prices go up. We have tried our hardest to absorb as much of the shipping costs as we can for customers, but it is difficult when you are a small company. The obvious solution is to have multiple distribution hubs like Amazon, but unfortunately we are not Amazon.

If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact us!
We are always happy to help as best we can!