The Perils of Shipping worldwide

For many of our customers shipping is a 'no brainer'. Something you never think about.
You order a product. It arrives. That is the end of it.

But when, like us, you are shipping from the other side of the planet, delivery can be a difficult thing.

Not only do we have to put up with the vagaries of the weather, which can delay a flight from here to there and add to the time it take to get delivered, but there is constant concern that something may go dramatically wrong with a shipment; imagine how people must have felt when their products vanished because they are on a commercial airliner that either fell out of the sky or disappeared without trace!

Luckily this is a very rare occurrence...and has never happened to us. Until now.

Recently we were excited to sign with DHL for delivery of our product worldwide. Not only do they have an outstanding reputation as a global shipper, they enable us to track every product that leaves our facilities in New Zealand - all the way (almost) through to delivery to the customer.

When added to yet another shipping service called 'aftership' this combination is one that we have been awaiting eagerly ever since we started this business almost 18 years ago - that is some time!

Still...we are mortified to report that DHL - or someone somewhere- seems to have dropped the ball.
A shipment we sent December 3 has gone missing. Obviously our affected customers are less than happy with us. Understandably we are not that impressed either.

In a world where shipping is everything...we feel our reputation is in jeopardy. While most customers are extremely forgiving and understanding, some take such disruption personally and have not been slow in venting their displeasure to us.We in turn have passed our concerns to our local DHL customer representative, who have, in turn, escalated the issue through the shipper's global delivery network.

Because every package has a tracking number on it we believe the errant items will eventually make a reappearance. Unfortunately it may not be soon enough to forestall our replacing the missing items or finalising a refund.  Such are the joys of being a global trader in a world where one small error can cause a long-lasting downstream effect.

To all those long standing Nutshell customers...thanks for being so understanding. If you are one who has been caught in this maelstrom...rest assured we are working hard to untangle knots in the shipping string.

One Rate for All

I would rather it were 'One Ring for All" but somehow I think Sir Peter (or a Hobbit) may take offense...if  they ever read this.

Over the years we have been trialed just about every delivery service to the rest of the world from New Zealand, with varying levels of satisfaction and success.

All have had inherent difficulties. Some were very expensive. Some took no care at all. Others garnered an international sticker on their way through the system that led some customers to believe we were actually making our products in Asia...and not in New Zealand.

Some took no responsibility for their actions; if they dropped the ball and, God forbid, lost a product, they became very defensive and almost accused US of mismanaging the process. Others were less accusatory...but extremely slow to settle their debt..

Meanwhile we, as the merchant, had to maintain our customers' faith in us, and delivery another product...at our own expense.

Hopefully..those days are now behind us.

DHL promise much..and we have every expectation they will deliver on their promises.

Finally - a service that allows us offer a traceable delivery at a realistic rate.