Shipping Tips
Get the most out of every order you place with these tips for planning your shipments, choosing the best shipping option for your needs, and getting the most bang for your shipping buck.
Information about shipping methods can be frustrating to wade through. To make your experience planning that next supply order a little easier, we've put together this summary to help you understand shipping options and what's possible with each method.
We currently ship to all 50 states in the United States, all provinces and territories of Canada, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. We hear your requests for more international shipping options and hope to expand those offerings in the future.
Before you get started
Let’s take a look at where your order ships from and an important tool to help you select from the various shipping methods.
Where does my CandleScience order ship from?
All CandleScience orders are fulfilled at our East Coast warehouse in Durham, NC, and our West Coast warehouse in Reno, NV. Orders ship Monday through Friday, excluding these holidays.
Customers are also welcome to pick up orders at the warehouse locations Monday through Friday:
Using the Shipping Estimate tool
You can easily view the available shipping methods and costs before entering checkout with the Shipping Estimate tool.
Depending on the combination of items in your cart, your order may be eligible for several shipping methods through the United States Postal Service (USPS), the United Parcel Service (UPS), APC International, or freight carriers.
Once you have added the desired items to your cart, navigate to the cart page using the cart icon in the upper right-hand corner of the website. Below the list of items in your cart, you’ll see the weight of your order. Under that is the Shipping Estimate tool. Enter your shipping zip code and all available shipping methods—and their prices—for your chosen combination of products will appear.
Experiment with adding or removing products from your cart to see how those changes affect the shipping costs.
Keep these shipping tips in mind
- Plan your orders carefully! Big, heavy items like cases of wax and containers are most cost-effective to ship in bulk through UPS Hundredweight (for orders at least 200 lbs) and LTL freight (orders at least 300 lbs). Grouping those orders together will get you the best shipping costs possible.
- Cases of wax ship in their own box and additional items will go into a separate box—even something as small as a few 1oz. fragrance oil bottles or a bag of wicks. Consider splitting those shipments into two separate orders and choosing UPS Ground for the wax and USPS for the remainder.
- Some larger-but-lightweight items—like boxes of paper candle tubes and pouring pitchers—are often more expensive to ship because of UPS dimensional weight charges.
- Fragrance and essential oils with a flashpoint of 141°F/60.5°C or less must ship via UPS Ground due to air shipping restrictions. While all CandleScience fragrance oils have flashpoints over 141°F and can be shipped via USPS and UPS 2nd Day Air, some CandleScience essential oils have flashpoints below 141°F, which requires UPS Ground shipping.
- UPS shipping rates are based on the number, weight, and size of boxes, along with the distance that the shipment needs to travel. As you continue adding items to your cart, you'll see a small increase in the shipping until another box is needed, at which point you'll see another significant increase.
- Testing potential orders with the Shipping Estimate tool in the cart is the best way to get the most for your shipping dollars!
USPS services
USPS delivers to homes, businesses, and post office boxes. It does not guarantee transit times for any of its shipping methods. Though the average estimated transit time for each USPS method is listed, it may take up to 15 days to receive your order.
USPS Ground Advantage
USPS Ground Advantage is available for all US orders under 70 lbs and is a great way to save on shipping. Most USPS Ground Advantage packages arrive within 2-5 days.
USPS Flat Rate
Flat Rate shipping is available for any order that can fit in one or more Flat Rate boxes. While weight is the limiting factor for most shipping methods, size, and shape will determine if your order is eligible for this service. The best way to determine if an order will be able to ship via Flat Rate is to use the Shipping Estimate tool on the cart page. Most Flat Rate packages arrive at their destinations within 5 days.
USPS Priority Mail
Priority Mail service is available for all orders less than 70 lbs. Most Priority Mail packages arrive within 2-3 days.
UPS services
UPS orders placed by 4 pm ET for the Durham warehouse, and 3:30 pm PT for the Reno warehouse ship the same day.
Packages typically arrive at their destinations within these timeframes but delays can occur and UPS makes no transit time guarantees.
UPS SurePost
UPS SurePost is available for most US orders under 9 lbs and is a good option for non-urgent orders. UPS will collect your order from our warehouse and then either UPS or USPS will complete the final delivery. Most orders arrive in 2-7 days using this method.
UPS Ground
UPS Ground ships to all 50 U.S. states and is available for all orders less than 200 lbs. You can view the estimated transit time for a UPS Ground package here.
UPS 2nd Day Air
This expedited option is available for all orders less than 200 lbs. Orders shipped with UPS 2nd Day Air are typically delivered two business days after being picked up by UPS. Again, UPS does not guarantee transit times.
When planning your shipment, keep in mind that UPS 2nd Day Air does not include Saturday delivery in all areas. We recommend only choosing this shipping option if you are outside the 1-2 day delivery zone on this map. If you are in the 1-2 day delivery zone with UPS Ground, this method will not speed up the delivery of your order.
UPS Hundredweight
Have an order that’s too heavy for UPS Ground but isn’t large enough for freight services? UPS Hundredweight is what you want and is available for orders over 200 lbs.
Hundredweight typically provides savings between 20% and 30% on shipping costs compared to the same order quoted with UPS Ground. Although it has a special volume rate, UPS Hundredweight will arrive through your regular UPS Ground route so you can expect similar transit times and delivery to Ground service.
LTL freight services
LTL stands for "Less Than Truck Load," which means the shipment shares space with other LTL orders in trucks on their way to delivery. LTL freight shipments are packed on pallets and we currently offer freight shipment through two carriers:
- TForce Freight
- R+L Carriers
To qualify for freight, an order will need to be 300 lbs or heavier and ship within the United States. Compared to the same order quoted with UPS Ground, this shipping method will typically save 30% to 40% on the cost of shipping. For more information on our LTL shipping options, click here!
Orders shipping to Canada
We’re excited to now be able to ship to our northern neighbors in all provinces and territories of Canada!
APC Priority International
This shipping method is a great, cost-effective option for non-urgent orders that are being sent to Canada. UPS will collect your order from our warehouse and then APC will complete the final delivery. Most APC Priority International packages arrive within 4-9 days.
UPS Standard
This shipping method is available for all shipments being sent to Canada. Most orders will arrive within 3-8 business days with this method.
Interested in a bulk purchase? While we're not able to offer freight services to Canada just yet, UPS Standard has a high weight limit so you'll be able to order that extra case of wax with no issue.
UPS Worldwide Expedited
If you are based in Canada and would like your order to arrive sooner than it would with UPS Standard, this shipping option is for you. Most orders arrive at their destination within 2-5 business days.
We're here to help! If you have any shipping or product questions after reading these tips, please contact our Customer Support team.