Shipping Information

One of the more complicated elements of online grocery shopping, particularly with perishable items, involves shipping.  Shipping to rural Alaska adds another layer of complexity which we have worked to make as easy as possible for customers to navigate.

Greatland’s value add to this process comes through our ability to provide rural Alaska with greater access to a larger variety of foods while driving out costs and simplifying the shipment process across Alaska’s unique transportation network.

A review of the information below will help you better understand how we get your items to you and how they are prepared to make the journey.

SHIPPING STATEMENT

If you are not satisfied for any reason with an item purchased through Greatland, we will extend all reasonable efforts to address any identified issue to your satisfaction.  These remedies may consist of a credit towards your next order, shipment of replacement product, or a refund to your selected method of payment.  We may need to see the item to determine the cause of the problem before we implement a solution and reserve the right to implement the best solution based on the specific situation.

Greatland guarantees that all items purchased through our services will be packaged and delivered to identified shippers in excellent condition and properly prepared for transportation to rural Alaska locations.  Our guarantee does not extend to product damage that may be incurred due to delays or handling during shipment that is beyond our control.

Customer understands that Greatland will not be held liable for any product damage or product spoilage that may occur while any items purchased from Greatland are in possession of the shipper and in transport to your location.  This damage may be result of, but not limited to, rough handling or shipping delays that are beyond the control of Greatland.

Customer agrees to hold Greatland harmless and customer assumes all liability for any damage, deterioration of goods, or diminished suitability of goods, which may occur during the shipping process. Furthermore, customer retains full responsibility for determining the safety of the product for your specific situation before consuming items received at your location.

Customer is able to select their preferred shipping method during the checkout process and, consequently, assumes full liability for the risks associated with this decision and their impact on the delivered quality of purchased goods.  We provide customers with choices to help make good decisions on what works best for their unique situation.

Please note that neither Greatland nor or any of the shippers operating in rural Alaska want to see your goods arrive in an unsatisfactory condition.  All reasonable care by all involved parties is taken to prevent this occurrence.  In the event that your goods do arrive damaged, please document and inform us of the situation.  We ask that you remain reasonable with us in these rare occurrences and, consequently, will do all that we reasonably can to help address the situation.

ORDER PROCESSING TIMES

On average, Greatland ships orders within 48 hours (two business days) from when they are received, however, there is some variability depending on the day of the week you place your order, whether or not perishable items are included in your purchase, your shipping location and the shipping methods selected during checkout.  Greatland does not generally ship orders including perishable items via USPS later that Tuesday, however, non-perishable orders and those shipping with air freight options go out daily.  Orders with bulk items may take up to a week before they are shipped depending on current availability at the time of order.

Apparel items listed on Greatland’s site are printed on demand, processed, and shipped by a third party vendor.  It takes about 2-7 days to process and ship an apparel item and, depending on the delivery destination, shipping takes an additional 4 business days on average.

Orders for alcoholic products listed on Greatland’s site are ultimately filled through a separate transaction with our alcohol vendor.  The alcohol purchase order system integrated into Greatland’s site is available to rural Alaska residents in local option communities (locations that allow for importation) only.  Once a purchase order is completed and returned to our alcohol vendor, they are generally processed and delivered to shippers within 1 business day.

Furniture items listed on Greatland’s site are sourced and made available to Alaska customers only through partnership with our furniture vendor.  Furniture items listed on the site consist of products, typically Ikea furniture, which are not generally available for shipping to Alaska.  These items are procured in lower 48 markets upon purchase, shipped to Alaska, and then made available for customer pick-up in Anchorage or prepared for secondary transport to locations across the State.

Furniture items purchased through the site are initially transported via barge or, less commonly, air freight to Alaska.  While items purchased on our storefront are sourced weekly, depending on the method of shipment selected during checkout and the items’ final destination, it takes approximately four weeks for items to arrive in Anchorage.  If furniture items are shipped to locations outside of Anchorage addition transit times for secondary shipment would also apply.

SHIPPING CLASSES

All of the groceries and supplies offered through Greatland are divided into four primary shipping classes.  Each class can be shipped through a unique method as desired. With the exception of non-mailable items, all goods ship free via USPS Priority mail.

Information regarding the shipping classes we utilize to segregate items cab be found by clicking through the tabs above.

Non-Perishable: Non-perishible items are any groceries or goods which do not require temperature controlled conditions.  Examples would include cereals, breads, dry foods, and all general merchandise available through our storefront.

Perishable (Keep Cool): Keep cool perishables include items that should remain cool, but not frozen.  These items include groceries you would typically see in coolers at any grocery store.  Examples would be dairy and produce items.

To protect perishable keep cool items, we recommend that shoppers consider the total makeup of their order.  While we include ice packs and insulate packaging prior to USPS shipping, customers may want to add additional frozen items to keep shipped items cooler for a longer period of time.  Generally, dense frozen items (such as meats) do very well in providing extra cooling power to your order by protecting items longer and providing a higher level of assurance that goods arrive in the best condition possible.  Consider adding some of the frozen products listed below to your order to create some extra thermal protection.

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Perishable (Keep Frozen): Keep frozen perishables include items that should remain frozen until they are consumed.  This items include items you would typically find in freezers at any grocery store.  Examples would include frozen prepared foods and some juice concentrates.  Greatland also ships all meats and seafoods that are offered through our storefront frozen.  These items are purchased fresh, however, are frozen prior to transport to protect freshness.

To protect some perishable keep frozen items, we recommend that shoppers consider the total makeup of their order.  While we include ice packs and insulate packaging prior to USPS shipping, customers may want to add additional frozen items to keep shipped items cooler for a longer period of time.  Generally, dense frozen items (such as meats) do very well in providing extra cooling power to your order by protecting items longer and providing a higher level of assurance that goods arrive in the best condition possible.  Consider adding some of the frozen products listed below to your order to create some extra thermal protection.

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Non-Mailable: Greatland offers a small number of items which cannot be shipped USPS due to shipping restrictions. While we offer very few items that are non-mailable per USPS, these items include aerosols, alcohol and tobacco, bleach and paint, matches and lighter, propane and gasses, fireworks, fire extinguishers, lithium batteries, plumbing chemicals, and motor oils.  All non-mailable items must be shipped via air freight.

Greatland offers some items on our site which are directly fulfilled and shipped through third party vendors.  In these instances, the vendor has determined the communities and shipping options that are available for the products that they offer.  Multiple shipping options are generally not available for the third party vendor products we offer on our site, but may be purchased through any individual transaction with other products supplied directly by Greatland.

SHIPPING METHODS

All items available through Greatland ship free via USPS Priority mail, however, customers can select different shipping options for each shipping class of items during checkout as desired.  As you build your order, you will also see total order weight information as items are added to your cart.  This information is utilized to compute discounts on your purchase as applicable should you decide to ship with options other than our standard USPS Priority shipping.

Shipping options available through Greatland are determined based on the zip code of your order’s ship to address.  Offered discounts (Bypass) and additional charges (Air Freight) are specific to this user supplied information.  In some instances, several different communities share the same zip code (Nome, Golovin, and Little Diomede is one example).  For these zips, our order system will allow you to select the shipping option desired, but we will need to custom price for your location.  You will see either “Discount TBD” or “Price TBD” displayed in these occurrences. As needed, we will follow-up with you to provide this information to communicate applicable refunds or additional charges that will apply to your order with us.

A summary of available shipping options available for Alaska grocery orders is included in the chart below. Click through the tabs for more information about each shipping option.

This is Greatland’s default shipping method and can be utilized to ship all classes of purchased goods (except for non-mailable items).  All USPS Priority packages are insured for $100 per package, however, USPS will not honor claims for perishable products.  Perishable (keep cool and keep frozen) items are shipped with ice packs in insulated packaging.

While we offer no guarantees with shipping, we have been able to keep frozen goods frozen for 5 days and within acceptable food safety temperatures for 8 days when sealed packaging was exposed to constant 70 degree ambient temperature. The specific items you may purchase and the varying ambient conditions your package may encounter during transport may lead to different results.

We have made substantial improvements in our packaging design over time, but, for reference, have included our internal test results from one of our early packing tests below.

Customers can also have goods shipped to them via air freight as desired for specific shipping classes or for all goods within an order.  Air freight is most commonly used for frozen or chill items.  When customers select this option, we will package, prepare, and deliver your order to air carriers operating out of Anchorage.

With some exceptions, air freight is not available for most road system communities.  There are also a few villages where this shipping option is not available.  If available as an option in your community, it will be displayed in the checkout page and the rates displayed are for carrier’s general service.

For zip codes that encompass several different communities (99762 which covers the communities of Nome, Golovin, and Little Diomede is one example), you will see a “Pricing TBD” note next to the shipping option as we need to price air freight to your specific community in these instances.  For these locations we will follow up with pricing as orders are received.

Pricing for air freight is specific for the the community that you are having your goods shipped to.  We charge based on local carrier’s $/lb rates subject to a minimum order handling charge. Carriers utilized for air freight include Alaska Airlines, Everts, Lake Clark Air, and Northern Air Cargo.

Air freight charges are applied differently on our site depending on the items shipped.  For grocery items, air freight charges are applied to your order and paid directly to Greatland.  No additional charges are incurred by the air carrier for grocery shipment.  For alcohol items, air freight charges are including in the amount you will be charged by our alcohol vendor as part of a separate transaction.  For furniture items, we send items air freight items collect.  In these instances, the air carrier will contact you directly for payment on the air freight shipping from Anchorage to your destination once Greatland has delivered your order to the carrier.

When your order arrives in your community, it will be delivered by your local agent or you may be contacted to collect your order at the carrier’s local facility.

If your total order weight is greater than 1,000 lbs, your order can be shipped through Bypass mail.  As the name suggests, this option by-passes the Post Office all together as your order will be delivered by an air carrier contracted with USPS.  If shipping Bypass, your order will also be delivered directly to your physical address (not the post office), by the carrier’s local agent in your community.  Bypass, with the exception of southeast and railbelt communities, is available to most all communities in rural Alaska.  If this shipping method is available in your zip code, you will see it displayed during checkout.  Once you total order weight reaches 1,000 lbs, you will be able to select it as a shipping option.  You may also want to consider our Co-op Program as a means to help realize these discounts with smaller orders.

This option offers the greatest value for customers in terms of cost and delivery time.  Depending on specific item weights within your order, you may have to ship all items (non-perishable and perishable) to get to 1,000 lbs. and use this option.  To consolidate all shipping classes, check the dialog box at the top of shipping options window during checkout.  If you have a 1,000 lbs. of non-perishable items, you could split your order between Bypass and other options.  We must offer an entire shipment 1,000 lbs. or greater for this option to be utilized.

For some zip codes, there are specific communities which are and are not eligible for Bypass Mail services.  If your ship to zip code is one of these zips (99645- Palmer – is one example), you will see a “Discount TBD” message next to the shipping option.  We will follow up with you to confirm availability and communicate your discounts.

If this option is available and utilized, we also offer a discount on your order which is factored into the discounted shipping you will see in the checkout screen.  Bypass shipping costs much less than Priority Mail and we pass this savings along to you. Please contact us if we can provide further clarification regarding Bypass Mail.

The pick-up shipping option is available for furniture items purchased through our site.  Select this option to collect your furniture items in Anchorage.  Once your order has been received and available for pick-up, you’ll be emailed a link to schedule a collection time.

Currently, only furniture items are available for customer pick-up.