Shipping policy
Effective date: 30 July 2026
Ebooks and audiobooks
Digital books are delivered instantly by email from BookFunnel, to the address you used at checkout. Delivery is usually within a few minutes.
If it hasn't arrived, check your spam folder, and your Promotions tab if you use Gmail. Still nothing? Email tamaragillauthor@gmail.com and we'll resend it.
Printed books
Our books are printed to order by Bookvault, which means each copy is made after you buy it rather than sitting in a warehouse. Bookvault has printing facilities in the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia and Canada, and wherever possible your order is printed at the facility closest to you.
Every printed order therefore has two stages: printing, then posting. Both are set out below.
Where we can post to
We post printed books to around 183 countries and territories, but not every destination is covered. Some countries — including Mexico, Turkey, Vietnam, Nigeria and Kenya, and much of Central America and the Caribbean — are not currently served, and a few are excluded because they are subject to trade embargoes.
The definitive answer is at checkout: if your country appears in the address list, we can post to you. Ebooks and audiobooks have no such restriction — they are delivered by email and can be bought from anywhere.
Stage one: printing times
- Paperbacks: usually 3–5 business days, at every printing location
- Hardbacks and bespoke special editions: usually 25–30 business days, and printed in the United Kingdom only
Business days exclude weekends and public holidays. Printing can take longer during busy periods such as Christmas and new releases.
Important: how your order is routed
Some titles can only be printed in the United Kingdom. This applies to:
- All hardbacks and bespoke special editions
- Any book in the 4.25 x 7 inch size
If your order contains any of these titles, the entire order is printed and shipped from the United Kingdom — including any standard paperbacks in the same order that could otherwise have been printed near you.
This means higher postage, a longer delivery time, and, if you are outside the UK, that your parcel arrives as an international import and may attract customs charges. See duties and taxes below.
If you would rather your paperbacks came from your local printer, place them as a separate order.
Mixed orders
Where an order contains both a paperback and a special edition, the whole order ships together once every item has been printed. This means the special edition's longer printing time applies to the entire order. If you need the paperback sooner, please order it separately.
Stage two: shipping and tracking
Printed books are sent by tracked post. You will receive a shipping confirmation email with a tracking number once your parcel leaves the printer.
Shipping costs are calculated at checkout based on your address and what you have ordered, and you choose your delivery option there. Because that choice is yours, posting times vary — a priority service is quicker than an economy one.
Approximate total time, from order to doorstep
The figures below combine printing and posting, assuming a standard delivery option:
| Delivered to | Paperback | Hardback or special edition |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | about 1–2 weeks | about 6–7 weeks |
| Australia | about 1–2 weeks | about 7–10 weeks |
| Canada | about 1–2 weeks | about 7–10 weeks |
| United States | about 1–3 weeks | about 6–7 weeks |
| Europe | about 2–3 weeks | about 6–8 weeks |
| Rest of the world | about 3–5 weeks | about 7–10 weeks |
Please note that choosing a faster delivery option shortens the posting stage, not the printing stage. A special edition still requires its 25–30 business days on the press before it can be posted, whichever delivery service you select.
These are estimates, not guarantees. Once a parcel is with the postal service, its progress is outside our control.
Duties, taxes and customs
Printed books are free of customs duty in most countries. Import taxes such as VAT or GST, and carrier handling fees, can still apply.
Parcels are shipped on Delivered Duty Unpaid (DDU) terms. Where charges apply, they are collected from the recipient on delivery and are not included in the price you paid us.
European Union
For EU orders with a total value under €150 (excluding taxes and delivery), VAT is collected at checkout. The price you see in your cart is the final price and there is nothing further to pay on delivery.
For EU orders over €150, VAT cannot be prepaid at checkout. Import VAT and a carrier handling fee will be collected from you when the parcel is delivered. Special editions are more likely to take an order over this threshold.
United Kingdom
UK orders are printed in the UK, so they are domestic parcels. There are no customs charges and nothing to pay on delivery.
United States
Standard paperbacks are printed in the US, so they arrive as domestic parcels with nothing further to pay.
Orders routed through the UK printer arrive as imports. The United States ended its $800 duty-free allowance for low-value imports in August 2025, so charges may now apply on delivery regardless of the order value.
Canada
Standard paperbacks are printed in Canada and arrive as domestic parcels.
Orders routed through the UK printer arrive as imports, and Canada's duty-free threshold for parcels from the UK is only CAD 20, so charges are likely.
Australia
Standard paperbacks are printed in Australia and arrive as domestic parcels. Orders routed through the UK printer arrive as imports and may attract GST and handling fees.
Everywhere else
Any import taxes, duties or handling fees are the recipient's responsibility. We are unable to tell you in advance what these will be, as they vary by country and are set by your own customs authority.
If a parcel is refused because you do not want to pay the charges, it may be destroyed or returned to the printer, and we cannot refund the order in those circumstances.
Delivery addresses
Please give us a complete and accurate delivery address, including the recipient's name. We are not responsible for parcels delivered to the wrong address or the wrong person where the details you gave were incorrect or incomplete.
If you spot a mistake, email us immediately at tamaragillauthor@gmail.com. We can sometimes correct an address before printing finishes, but not after a parcel has been dispatched.
We can deliver to PO boxes in most countries, though some carriers will not.
Undelivered and returned parcels
If a parcel is returned to the printer as undeliverable — because of an incorrect address, an uncollected delivery, or refused customs charges — we will contact you. Reshipping is at your cost.
Delayed, lost or damaged parcels
Claims for parcels that have not arrived must be made within 30 days of the shipping date. Where tracking shows a parcel as delivered, the order is treated as fulfilled.
If your book arrives damaged, contact us within 14 days of delivery with photos. Full details of both are in our refund policy.
Returns and refunds
Our returns position, the damaged goods process, and the statutory right of withdrawal for customers in the European Union are all set out in our refund policy.
Contact
Questions about an order or delivery: tamaragillauthor@gmail.com