Help with Dispatch & Deliveries

Has my order been processed?

From the time of receiving your order we aim to have it processed, dispatched and in your hands as quickly as possible. Orders are usually processed and dispatched within 24 hours of receipt, or up 48 hours during busy times such as after a weekend or Public holiday. Processing times may increase on the lead up to Public Holidays, - especially the two weeks prior to the Christmas holidays. Please take into account our offices will be closed for holidays such as Christmas, Easter and all Public Bank Holidays when placing orders during these times.

To check if your order has been processed, log into Your Account and look under the order status column. If your order has been placed successfully and is waiting to be picked, packed and dispatched, it will be flagged as 'Processing'. After your order has been processed and dispatched this status will be updated to 'Shipped'. Please note that this final update to your account will not take place immediately after your order has been dispatched because customer records are updated in batches, usually towards the end of the working day. Our main focus is getting orders picked, packed and shipped, and the status details are updated as soon as possible afterwards. Accounts are not updated during weekends and holidays.

See the next question below for more about delivery times.

How long do deliveries take?

After processing, orders are dispatched via one of our contracted Carrier Services or Royal Mail. The time it takes to arrive depends upon the Delivery Option you have chosen if you live in the United Kingdom or, if you live overseas it is determined by the distance you live from the U.K. and the efficiency of your country's internal mail network.

Providing the address details you supplied with your order were complete and correct, deliveries should normally take;-

United Kingdom

• FREE Delivery (Standard Service) - 4 to 5 business days after dispatch.
• Priority Service - 2 to 3 business days after dispatch.
• Express Service - 24 hours after dispatch, available Monday to Friday only.
  Orders placed prior to 2.00pm on Fridays using the Express Service will be delivered on Monday, or the next working day in the case of Bank Holidays etc.

Europe and the Rest Of World

• European Community - 4 to 6 business days after dispatch.
• Rest of the World - 7 to 15 business days after dispatch.
  Please Note - Deliveries to China often experience unpredictable delays after leaving the U.K. and entering the internal postal network of China.

During the lead up to holidays the number of orders we receive increases significantly, as does the volume of parcel traffic in the mail network, and this may cause delays. This should be taken into consideration when placing orders before a Public Holiday, and especially within 2 weeks of the Christmas Holidays. During these periods mail networks inevitably get behind with deliveries.

Deliveries are made Monday to Friday between 9.00am and 5pm by one of our contracted Carrier Services who require a signature of receipt, or by Royal Mail who may also need a signature. Royal Mail handle packages up to 2 kilos in weight, and orders over this weight are shipped by a Carrier Service who do not deliver on weekends.

If you think you will not be at home to take delivery please provide an alternative delivery address where there will be somebody available during the day. To do this, simply fill out the details in the 'Delivery Address' box at the Checkout stage. Please note that we are unable to deliver to PO Box numbers.

Can you be more precise about overseas delivery times?

Unfortunately we can not, since each geographical location around the world operates its own internal mail service. The time it takes your order to arrive after we have dispatched it overseas is determined by several factors, such as the distance of your country from the UK and the efficiency of your country's internal mail network. Deliveries to China in particular suffer from unpredictable delays, sometimes taking up to 25 days to arrive - other times they will arrive within 7 days.

Once a parcel enters your country, it is subject to circumstances outside of our control which makes it difficult to say exactly how many days it will take to reach you.

Where's my order?

First, check the status and progress of your order by logging into Your Account and look under the order status column. If you upgraded your delivery service option to the Express Service or your order value was over £60.00 (UK and Europe) or £45.00 (Rest of World), you will find a Tracking Number listed with your order in so that you can determine its location online at the delivery services website. If your order status is 'Shipped' and the number of business days outlined above has passed without you receiving your order, there can be several reasons for this.

The most common reasons are:-

1. Your delivery was attempted but there was nobody at home to sign for receipt. If the Carrier Service/Postal Service is unable to deliver your parcel they will leave a card for you to re-arrange delivery, - please check to see if this is the case. You must phone the Carrier Company/Postal Service immediately to make arrangements for re-delivery. If you don't contact them within 48 hours they may return your parcel to Quinessence. Should your parcel be returned to us, there would be a further delivery charge to re-send your order.
   
   If the Carrier Company/Postal Service reports that they don't have your parcel, and the estimated delivery times above have passed, email us for further help.
   
   
2. The address details you provided were incomplete or incorrect. Without a full address the delivery service may be unable to find you, so check to see that the details you provided us with were correct. You will find this information on the automated Order Acknowledgment eMail that you received after successfully placing your order.

If you did not receive an email Order Acknowledgment it is most likely because you mistyped your eMail address. If this is the case we will not be able to contact you at all, so you will need to email us and inform us of this. Contact Us.

A product has arrived damaged. What should I do?

Keep all the packaging materials including the carton your order was packed in. If your carton was severely damaged in transit you must inform the Carrier Company/Postal Service immediately. Next, contact us so that we can help you sort things out and get replacements out to you.

An item is missing or incorrect

Please contact us to provide us with more details, and we will get things sorted out for you as quickly as possible.

My eBook has not arrived

The download link for your eBook(s) can be found in an email you will have received along with your Order Acknowledgment email. This normally arrives a few minutes after placing your order. Your download link email will be titled 'Your Ebook(s) from Quinessence' in the Subject line, and the message contains a list of instructions together with a download hyperlink.

Anti-spam filters, firewalls and a whole host of other things can prevent your download email getting through, and if you are using Yahoo!, Hotmail, AOL and various other free accounts it is possible they or your ISP have blocked the mail mistaking it for spam. A misspelled email address entered at the Checkout will also cause the delivery to fail.

Please check your spam folder for the download email, and be sure to add our email address to your 'Whitelist' for future communications. If you still have any problems with your eBook download, please contact us for further help.