Payment via PayPal only. Immediate payment is required.
Shipping is almost always via the United States Postal Service. (If the package is very large, we occasionally use UPS.) We do not add any "handling" fee to the shipping charges. You are paying the actual shipping price based on our best educated guesstimate of what the weight of the item will be once it is packaged. Every once in awhile we guess a little too high, and every once in awhile we guess a little too low. :-)
We always ship within one business day of payment. We do NOT ship on Saturdays and Sundays, but we DO go to the post office every week day - Monday - Friday.
At The Excellent Emporium, insurance is ALWAYS included. Sometimes we purchase the insurance from the Post Office, and sometime we self-insure. In other words, we guarantee that the item will arrive. If it doesn't we will refund your money. If the buyer chooses to have the item shipped outside the USA via USPS First Class Mail International, we cannot guarantee the arrival because the USPS will not guarantee the arrival. USPS Priority Mail International is guaranteed by the postal service to arrive safe and sound at the destination.