You’ve noticed we don’t offer one-size-fits-all shipping. That’s because we manually calculate shipping for every single box individually. It’s extra work for us but it provides you with the true costs. We understand that you would appreciate an approximate cost before you place your order. If your question isn’t answered by the information below, just ask.
We have no minimum order.
In broad, general terms, this is true for all shipping everywhere: the more you ship, the less it costs per item.
We ship using the postal service as our primary carrier, but we can ship using other methods upon request. Most packages ship by Priority Mail.
There are three Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes, a Small, a Medium, and a Large, which are the same price no matter where in the US they are shipped. In addition to these flat rate options there are also 5 tiers volume that have different pricing per Zone, but are functionally flat-rate to any given destination. Meaning a half full box of the same size to the same location will cost the same as a completely full box of the same size to the same destination. Weight is not a factor.
This Priority Mail pricing is based on cubic volume, and has tiered pricing based on the cubic volumes of 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5 cubic feet. We will always ship your order in the smallest possible box which will contain everything you’ve ordered. There will almost always be space remaining in that box, which we are happy to fill with packing material. However, because we don’t charge at checkout, we can do something others cannot.
As you check out you will see a checkbox you can tick to indicate that you would like for us to contact you before closing the box if any space remains. This is because in most (but not all) cases there is a box size that’s appropriate for your order whose cost to ship will not change if you add a few more tins to the box.
We use the term “standard-sized tins” in the information below. By that we mean tins that are sized and shaped like Matiz, Minerva, and Nuri.
Guesstimate your Shipping
1-2 Tins Most (but not all) single tins, and some combinations of two tins can ship by First Class Mail in a padded envelope or very small box. Cost varies by distance and weight. An actual average value from 250 recent shipments is $4.24 for the shipping portion.
3 Tins Three standard-sized tins will fit in a Priority Mail Small Flat Rate Box. This currently costs $8.55 (after our shipping software’s discount of $1.65, which we pass along to you). This will always be the least expensive way to ship to Zones 5-8. But in Zones 1-4 it’s actually slightly less expensive to use a Priority Mail 1096L Box, which is larger. The 1096L box will hold four standard-sized tins, and can hold up to 8 of certain thinner tins if they’re all the same and can nest. The 1096L is 0.1 cubic feet.
Up to (about) 14 Tins The next size up box is the Priority Mail Box 4, which is 0.2 cubic feet, and will hold about 10-14 tins. Price to ship this box will vary by zone, but not by weight, and the cost ranges from $8.31 – $13.17 (after our shipping software’s discount, which we pass along to you).
At this point whether it will be most cost effective to use a Flat Rate Box or a 0.3, 0.4, or 0.5 cubic foot box depends on your location and the specific volume of your order. Again, we will always ship by the least expensive option, but in some cases that may actually be a larger box.
Around 30 Tins The next size up box options are the Medium Flat Rate Box, or a 9x9x6 (0.3 cubic feet) box .
Price to ship the Medium Flat Rate box is always $14.75 (after our shipping software’s discount of $2.35, which we pass along to you).
Pricing on the 9x9x6 ranges from $8.45 – $18.45 (after our shipping software’s discount, which we pass along to you) based on zone (but not weight). To Zones 7-8 it’s less expensive to use a Medium Flat Rate Box, to all other zones this box costs less than a Medium Flat Rate, and to Zone 1 this box is actually less expensive than the much smaller Small Flat Rate.
Around 48 Tins (and Over) The next size up box options are the Large Flat Rate Box, a 12x9x6 (0.4 cubic feet) box, or a 14x10x6 (0.5 cubic feet).
Price to ship the Large Flat Rate Box is always $19.90 (after our shipping software’s discount of $2.90, which we pass along to you).
Pricing on the 12x9x6 (0.4 cubic feet) box ranges from $8.55 – $22.48. To Zones 7-8 it’s less expensive to use a Large Flat Rate Box, to all other zones this box costs less than a Large Flat Rate, and to Zones 1-5 is actually less expensive than the smaller Medium Flat Rate.
Pricing on the 14x10x6 (0.5 cubic feet) box ranges from $8.74 – $26.76. To Zones 7-8 it’s less expensive to use a Large Flat Rate Box, to all other zones this box costs less than a Large Flat Rate, and to Zones 1-5 is actually less expensive than the smaller Medium Flat Rate.
To determine your zone, here’s a chart that breaks it down (more or less):
Check your Zone
The USPS Zone Calculator tool lets you “Get Zone for ZIP Code Pair” when you enter our ZIP code of 18041 along with your ZIP code.
International Shipping
We ship everywhere the USPS will ship. However, it is expensive. The most cost effective option is USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes.
You definitely don’t want to ship a small order internationally, it simply isn’t cost effective.
- Priority Mail Small Flat Rate Box holds 2-3 tins. $35-$45 depending on the destination.
- Priority Mail Medium Flat Rate Box holds approximately 26-36 tins. $60-$85 depending on the destination.
- Priority Mail Large Flat Rate Box holds approximately 40-55 tins. $80-$120 depending on the destination.
Fill It to the Max
Filling the boxes varies wildly depending on the mix of products ordered. An entire box of the same thing = maximum number of tins. Products in glass (bottles of sauce) that require additional protection will take up the space of many tins.
We are happy to work with you to maximize your order. Place your “starter” order for things you definitely want. After we box the those up, we’ll let you know if there’s room for more. If that’s the case, we’ll ask you to give us a list of extra products and we can completely fill the box. When the box is full, we will send you a final total with shipping. You can choose at that point whether to ship or cancel the order. One of the benefits of handling payments after ordering is that we can communicate with you and reconfigure orders all the way up to cancelling when necessary.
As you check out you will see a box you can tick to be notified if space remains in the box.
Special Shipping Requests
If you want to split an order, combine orders with a friend in your neighborhood, get an overnight shipment, order a ‘Dine Gram* for an online friend, or any other creative shipping idea you might have, we will do our best to make it happen.
We can print a note to include in gift boxes. Send a PDF or just the text you’d like to include. Text notes are printed on vertical half-page card stock. PDFs print on letter-size sheet, color laser printed.
Our Packing Materials
We are a “packing material negative” company, meaning we share with others more packing material repurposed from incoming shipments than we use. We reuse all the packaging that comes in to us and have never purchased any interior packing material. Opening your box is an adventure in mixed media.
Just like in our tomato gardens, we avoid plastic. Our packing peanuts are vegetable starch (and reused from incoming shipments); the tape we use is unreinforced, water-activated adhesive tape. Reinforced tape uses fiberglass (which never biodegrades, never) and we opted to avoid that. The only plastic we ever use in packing is what is donated to us or arrives in shipments from other companies. We give a second life to plastic bubble mailers by using them to protect hot sauce bottles.
*’Dine Gram is a cool real-life gifting game started by Redditors on r/CannedSardines. You buy a tin of sardines for a friend – you don’t need their address, only a Reddit username. I will send them a PM to let them know they have a can of sardines pre-paid to go in their next order.