Shipping policy

***** Please note that Shipping Times provided by Carriers are estimates based on their service targets.  They are not guaranteed delivery times especially during end of year.  See descriptions below for more details.    *****

ORDER DELIVERY TIMING
Delivery Timing of your order consists of two stages. The first is Handling Time. This is the time between placing your order until we hand your labeled package over to the carrier you have selected. The second is Shipping Time.  This refers to the time from handing your package to the carrier until the package is delivered to your address.

BUSINESS DAY
We consider Business Days to be Monday through Friday not counting US holidays.  Our shipping department will not be operating 5/14 through 5/17 and 12/27 through 12/31 though orders may be placed on those days.

HANDLING TIME
bigSUMOfan's goal is to pack all orders and turn them over to the carrier within 24-48 hours (one to two business days) of order placement. We do this for 99+% of orders. We even fulfill many orders the same day and sometimes on Saturdays. Due to unusual circumstances Handling Time could be 3 or more business days.

SHIPPING TIME
When selecting a carrier the shipping time may be listed. Please note that this is the carrier's estimate given their service targets. The carriers are often on target with their estimates but sometimes the package may be delivered sooner or later than listed. Watching your tracking number (if provided) can help you know when the package may be delivered.

CARRIERS
bigSUMOfan offers shipping via US Postal Service and UPS. USPS is often less expensive and UPS doesn't deliver to PO Boxes.

INTERNATIONAL
Shipment tracking may be offered for some international shipping. Please note that USPS tracking may not provide shipping updates after the point of handoff to the local in-country carrier.  After this point please refer to your in-country postal service tracking website for updates using the original USPS tracking number.  Many customers have been able to contact their local postal service to gain more details about the package delivery timing.  If tracking is of importance please consider UPS shipping as we believe their international tracking is better than USPS.  bigSUMOfan.com does not have access to any more shipping detail than is offered by the carrier.

CUSTOMS FEES / VAT
The shipping fee covers order packaging and shipment via a selected carrier. We do not know which countries will levy customs, import, or VAT fees as they are complicated and often change.  Customers are responsible for paying Customs/Import/VAT fees. We have heard of customers being assessed customs fees in a country while most other customers in the same country have not been charged customs fees. We have received comments from customers that customs fees have been assessed in Canada, UK, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, and Hungary.  A customer in Canada reports having to pay $40 import fees for 3 Calendars shipped via UPS.  Another customer in Canada reported having to pay a $60 fee for a box of trading cards.  A customer in Hungary reports having to pay an $11 customs fee and a 27% VAT.  One customer from the UK reported that a VAT fee is charged for anything over £15.  A customer in Canada reported having to pay a 40% import fee for a large order including a Calendar and many Fan Towels shipped via UPS.  Another customer from Canada reports that UPS will charge an import processing fee based on order value for anything it delivers.   Around 11/2025 a customer from Germany reported that they ordered merchandise for 220€ with 55€ UPS Expedited shipping and had to pay 65€ import fees.  We have come to understand that UPS charges processing fees on top of any package that is subject to governmental import fees.

It is possible import fees are assessed by other countries.  If it happens to you please let us know so we can add your country to this list in order to help others who may be considering an order.

COST OF SHIPPING
At bigSUMOfan our goal is to break even on the cost of shipping. We pass along any carrier discounts we may receive.  Estimating shipping costs is quite complicated given the many product combinations that an order may contain.  Some orders may be a bit over estimated and some a bit under but in the end the cost of shipping is break even.