All about shipping

This explains the process, costs, and rationales for shipping at the November 2021 UK Online Judge Conference.

TLDR

You need to:

1. Decide the shipping option you would like
2. Fill out the Google form which we will be providing on the event forum
3. Make payment if you choose upgraded shipping options
4. If you have any problems, post in #help on the Conference Discord server or email me

You need to do this by 1 November. You don't need to read the rest of this article, but it contains information which may be useful.

Background

Nobody likes form-filling or complicated shipping details. I have tried to keep things as brief as possible, but there are certain details that need to be worked through/communicated. If we all take 5 minutes it means 1 person is not taking 12½ hours. By taking shipping data in a specific format, it means it can be imported automatically into a shipping tool.

Options and costs

In line with Judge Academy requirements, shipping is free of charge, wherever you are in the world. All items will be shipped by the UK postal service, Royal Mail. Given the number of attendees, I am unable to make individual exceptions or arrangements.

The base shipping option:

Your foils will be shipped with toploaders and penny sleeves, inside a plain white envelope.

Upgrades

Padded envelope (AKA bubble mailer): The cost of the envelope itself is negligible, but the bubble mailers are one size category higher than "normal letter", and therefore the shipping cost is increased.

Tracked mail: gets tracked, is insured. It is quite difficult to make a successful claim for lost or damaged items, as we have no sales invoice or similar.
 You will get a tracking number and website to view the progress of your item.


I send tracked mail by Royal Mail International Tracked, which corresponds to the Express Mail Service (EMS). If your country does not have EMS, the item will be sent by Royal Mail International Signed (Registered post) instead.

The price of the different shipping options depends on where you wish to have the item sent to.

United Kingdom

The base price for UK shipping is 66p, which corresponds to Royal Mail 2nd class. This usually takes 2-3 working days. The former UKISA region will pay an upgrade to 2nd class signed for with bubble mailer. If you choose these services, you do not need to make any payment.

Alternative/upgrade prices:

The price displayed in the table is the total price you pay for the shipping option; the price of second class basic mail has already been taken off.

Europe (including Republic of Ireland)

The base price for European shipping is £1.70, which corresponds to Royal Mail International Standard. This usually takes about a week. If you choose this service, you do not need to make any payment.

If you are located in Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, or Lithuania, you can choose International Tracked without making any payment. The cost of this is being met out of the old Europe-North regional funds.

If you are located in Ireland, you can choose International Standard with bubble mailer without making any payment. The cost of this upgrade is being met out of the old UKISA regional funds. Or you can receive a £2.30 discount on Tracked shipping.

Alternative/upgrade prices:

The price displayed in the table is the total price you pay for the shipping option; the price of basic mail has already been taken off.

If you have an EU VAT or IOSS number and wish to have an item shipped to the EU we can submit this with the electronic customs declaration and mark it on your shipment. This in theory means your item won't be charged fees and you instead have to declare and pay them on your VAT return.

Rest of world

The base price for rest of world shipping is £1.45, which corresponds to Royal Mail International Economy. This mail service goes on a ship and takes 6-12 weeks. If you choose this service, you do not need to make any payment. Upgrade to International standard, which is airmail and takes 1-2 weeks, is available.

Alternative/upgrade prices:

The price displayed in the table is the total price you pay for the shipping option; the price of basic mail has already been taken off.

If your shipping address is in Brazil, you will have to send me your CPF number because your government requires this to be written on the package or else they'll put it in the trash.

A note on insurance

In theory, UK signed for and international tracked are insured up to £50, Tracked 48 to £100, and Special Delivery to £500. In practice, claiming depends on providing proof of the value of the contents of the shipment, and this is unlikely to be possible. Therefore, if you choose an enhanced shipping method, this should be seen as for your peace of mind and ability to follow the item, and not an expectation that cashmoney can be claimed back if items get lost.

Judge Academy may at its absolute discretion offer to replace items that get lost in the mail. In the event you believe an item has become lost in the mail, contact me at the address below to start the process.

Choosing your preferences

A Google Form link on the event forum and Discord will let you complete your preferred shipping option. A link will be added here soon.

How to pay

Credit or debit card (preferred)

You can make payment for any of the shipping options at https://theralphshop.square.site/shop/conference-shipping/3. If you're uncertain, the website will calculate this amount for you. You can also use this to work out the amount to pay by PayPal or SEPA. At the checkout screen, you can enter the coupon code UK, EUROPE, EUROPENORTH or RESTOFWORLD as applicable to have the site deduct the base price for shipping, so that you only pay the extra.

I do not see the billing address you enter on that site; the items will be shipped to the address you put in the Google form.

SEPA Bank transfer

I accept payments by SEPA bank transfer to the following:
IBAN: GB72SRLG60837194028582
BIC: SRLGGB3L
Bank: Starling Bank
Account in the name of: Thomas Ralph

SEPA transfers are in euro. Please feel free to convert your payment amount to euro using Google/XE/other reputable website, or multiply the pounds amount by 1.2. Don't worry too much about exchange commission.

Some banks seem to require my mailing address as well. If you do not already have this and your bank requests it, message me on Discord at ThomasR#1711.

PayPal

You can also pay by PayPal. Use the link: https://paypal.me/thomasjralph

If you are not located in the UK, it is very likely that PayPal will charge fees for you to send the payment, especially if you pay by a card rather than money you already have in PayPal. Our experience with previous conferences is that the fees can be a large percentage compared to the payment.

I strongly recommend using one of the other two methods above. I cannot refund any fees that you are charged by PayPal.

When paying, select the "pay a friend" option. If you don't, PayPal will deduct fees from me and I will need to contact you about paying the difference.

Combining shipping

I am happy to send two or more people's shipments to the one address. This can be convenient for saving the cost of customs handling fees, amongst other things. If you want to do this, agree amongst yourselves who will receive the cards. The recipient fills out the form as normal and pays the normal shipping price. Everyone else will choose the "send my foils to someone else" option and enter the recipient's name on the second screen.

If you opt to combine shipping with someone else, the recipient needs to pay me the normal shipping price for their items, and everyone else does not need to pay me anything. Arrangements for the cards to be distributed onwards are for you to agree with one another, and are not my responsibility.

Customs

Customs declarations will be attached to all items travelling out of the United Kingdom. We will declare the cards at the same price as is marked on the declaration we receive from Judge Academy, which is usually under £1 per card. In the past, some customs agencies intercept shipments and charge arbitrary amounts of tax. We have no control over this, and we can't pay it for you.

If you have an EU VAT or IOSS number and wish to have an item shipped to the EU,
We can submit this with the electronic customs declaration and mark it on your shipment. This in theory means your item won't be charged fees and you instead have to declare and pay them on your VAT return.

In line with UK law, we are unable to declare items as gifts; the "gift" category is only for items sent on the occasion of a birthday, anniversary, or similar occasion. Please do not ask us to break the law.

If your shipping address is in Brazil, you will have to send me your CPF number because your government requires this to be written on the package or else they'll put it in the trash.

Timelines

After the conference, Judge Academy will send the items to me. This may take anything from 1-3 months. I will then repackage them for the end recipients. I will keep you up to date on this via a #shipping-updates channel on the conference Discord.

Tracking numbers

If you choose UK Tracked 48 shipping, Royal Mail will automatically send you the tracking link for your item when it is ready to ship. If you choose any other UK tracked service, we will not systematically send you your tracking number, but if you haven't received your item within a week of shipment, please contact me and I will send you the necessary number.

If you choose non-UK tracked shipping, your tracking number will be sent to you via email or Discord within 1 week after shipment.

Missing items

If your item does not arrive, there is a certain period of time before Royal Mail will raise an investigation. This is 1 week for Special Delivery, 2 weeks for other UK inland services, and 5 weeks for international, plus the length of time that the service should have taken. Investigations may or may not result in compensation being paid. I will pass on anything I receive to you.

The legal bit

Neither completion of the form, payment for shipping, nor any other actions relating to the conference are intended to create a legal contract between us. The terms are binding in honour only.

Questions

Please address questions in the first instance to #help on the conference Discord, or magic@thomasralph.com.

Thanks

Thanks to John Barkestedt for assistance with the design and communication of this page.