HOLIDAY FULFILLMENT & SHIPPING FAQ

A Chocolatey Guide To Holiday Ordering

First, thank you for shopping with our small family business this season. We know you have tons of options when it comes to chocolate gifts this season, and shopping with us doesn’t just mean you’re getting great-tasting chocolate it also means you’re directly supporting our smallholder cocoa farmer partners.

Please note our small team of 20 is working diligently to keep up with a significantly increased volume of orders. Rest assured we are working hard behind the scenes to make chocolate as quickly as possible (spoiler: chocolate-making is not a quick endeavor, ha!) and deliver your order as soon as possible. And while we wish we could deliver your order ourselves, we have to rely on shipping carriers for that--UPS is our carrier of choice. In short, we appreciate your patience this season and we’re prepared for the best holiday season yet!

If you have any questions, concerns or if there is anything we can help you with please don’t hesitate to contact us directly at lawrenandshawn@askinosie.com.

–Yours In Chocolate, Lawren Askinosie & Shawn Askinosie

In the meantime, here are some answers to some frequently asked questions:

WHEN SHOULD I ORDER FOR THE HOLIDAYS?

No time like the present!! In all seriousness though, the sooner the better. The closer we get to the holidays, the more overburdened carriers will become (still a reality this season, just like last). Not to mention, right now we have more in stock than we’ll likely have as the season carries on. If you have your heart set on a particular bar, gift set or kit we cannot guarantee it will be in stock later. However, we are making chocolate 24/7 (literally) and we put products back in stock as soon as they’re off the molding line and into a package-- in other words, it may be sold out now but come back in a few days or weeks. We encourage you to use the sign-up form on respective product pages to be notified when a particular item becomes available again. 

WHAT IS YOUR CUTOFF DATE FOR DELIVERY BY CHRISTMAS?

Great question! In order to ensure delivery by Christmas, please order by Wednesday, December 14. 

I SEE YOUR HOLIDAY SHIPPING CUTOFF FOR DELIVERY BY CHRISTMAS IS 12/14. WHAT IF I ORDER AFTER THAT? 

This year we set our cutoff date keeping in mind overburdened carriers (which we are definitely seeing impact delivery windows and tracking information). Even though we're now past that date, we'd love for you to order. Our fulfillment timeline remains the same (within 1-3 days business days due to higher-than-ever volumes) and it's entirely possible that with UPS Ground shipping your order might arrive by Christmas if carriers are running smoothly, or you get lucky! Worst case scenario, you'll have a nice pick-me-up arrive after the holiday to look forward to. See the chart below for cutoff estimates with expedited shipping options. 

UPS Ground	UPS 2nd Day Air	UPS Next Day Air
Orders placed after Wednesday 12/14 will likely arrive after Christmas	Delivered within 2 business days, Order by Sunday 12/18 for arrival by Christmas	Delivered within 1 business day, Order by Monday 12/19 for arrival by Christmas

 

WILL YOU SHIP MY ORDER AFTER CHRISTMAS? 

In order to make sure our factory staff has a chance to enjoy the holidays (& relax after our busiest season on record!), our team will be off the week between Christmas

 

WILL YOU HOLD MY ORDER & SHIP IT LATER?

Unfortunately, we're not able to do that. While we wish we could, our shipping team simply can't accommodate a request like this. Unlike most other brands, we fulfill and ship everything in-house (we make everything here too, but you already knew that!). Though our Shipping Team is mighty, it's only 3 folx. Holding your order means we'd need to pick and pack it now--because if we wait, chances are we may be sold out of part or all of your order (see "When Should I Order For The Holidays?")--but then we need to find a place to store it safely. Then we need to remember to come back to it at your requested date since we can't make shipping labels that far in advance. And then hope that overburdened carriers get it to you by the date you require. Our team simply isn't big enough and our systems not sophisticated enough to accommodate this (and in fact, many much larger brands do not). Basically, this request sets us up to let you down, and we like to avoid that :)

TRACKING SAYS MY ORDER IS DELIVERED, BUT IT’S NOT HERE. WHAT NOW?

This happens sometimes, especially in the last year. Carriers occasionally mark packages as “delivered” before they’re actually dropped off. Here’s what we suggest if this happens:

1. Check all around your house/condo/office building. Sometimes there are new drivers who may leave packages in an unusual spot, like a porch, beside the garage, a different  door, or even a mailbox. For better or worse, lately many people have been finding their package at their neighbors’ house– check there! 
2. Give it at least two hours since your delivery notification. Please contact the carrier directly at this time for more information.

Anything else we can help with? Don’t hesitate to reach out to our team!