News & FAQ

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR DECEMBER 2024:

Orders placed after December 17th, 2024, will not be shipped until January 2025. We are doing our best to get as many orders on their way before the holidays as we can, but we cannot guarantee we'll get to your order in time if it has been placed after the time specified above. Thank you for understanding!

Note to customers in Canada: For the time being the only available shipping method to Canada is DHL Express, as the postal service is not currently accepting new shipments to the country due to the backlogs caused by the CUPW strike. We'll re-enable other shipping methods as soon as conditions improve. Thank you for your patience.

Unfortunately the rapidly rising cost of shipping and manufacturing has forced us to disable our free shipping discounts for the time being. We apologize for the inconvenience this causes. Thank you for understanding!

Important news!

Heikala has moved to Tokyo, while the shop remains in Tampere, Finland. This means that Heikala will no longer be able to sign any products upon request, as she will not have physical access to the shop's stock.

As she'll be signing the bookplates for The Art of Heikala ahead of time, she also will not be able to accommodate any requests, such as birthday wishes or other personalized messages. Thank you for understanding.

Note to UK customers: Good news! We are now registered for VAT in the UK, so we'll be able to ship low value orders to our British customers again! Please note that we're still not liable for VAT on orders that surpass the 135 GBP threshold, so taxes for these shipments need to be paid upon import by the customer. Shipping costs count towards the 135 GBP threshold, even if you use a free shipping discount code. Contact your local customs office or DHL Express customer service for more details.

FAQ

How do I change my location/currency?
When will my order arrive?
Why can't I make an order?
Where's my order confirmation?
I made a mistake when typing my address, how do I fix it?
How do I cancel my order?
When will my order be shipped?
Where is my tracking number?
Why do you need my phone number?
What's up with import tax & customs clearance?
Why can I only choose DHL as my shipping method?
Why can't I choose DHL as my shipping method?
My order was damaged in the mail, what do I do?
I still have questions!

How do I change my location/currency?

You can find the dropdown menu to change your location and currency by scrolling down to the bottom of the page.

When will my order arrive?

That depends on your location! We ship everything from Tampere, Finland, and naturally the farther away from us you are, the longer it will take for your package to find its way to you.

DHL is fast at 3-7 business days wherever you are, but Standard Letter & TRACKED Parcel shipping are carried as regular mail by the postal service and as such may take several weeks. Finnish orders usually take around 1-3 business days to arrive, European around 7-16 business days, and everywhere else anything between 2 and 12 weeks. Please do not enquire after lost packages before at least 30 business days have passed, as delays in the postal system are common and out of our control.

If you need your order by a specific date, e.g. for a birthday present, please consider opting for DHL Express, as exact transit times are impossible to predict when using the postal service.

Why can't I make an order?

Unfortunately after years of unsuccessful attempts to ship items with several different shipping methods we've had to make the difficult decision to stop shipping to certain destinations altogether. These countries include many Central & South American countries. We apologize for any inconvenience this causes. Thank you for understanding.

Any products containing liquid elements cannot be shipped to Mexico or Central & South American countries, as they will get stuck in customs indefinitely. We've learned this the hard way. Unfortunately this means we cannot ship any ink sets or art supply boxes to these destinations.

Due to the ongoing situation in Ukraine we are unable to ship to Ukraine, Russia, or Belarus at this time. Similarly, we are unable to ship to Israel or Palestine at this time.

Where's my order confirmation?

Check your spam folder! Heikala Shop will send you automated order and shipping confirmations, but unfortunately many email clients flag messages from Shopify as spam (most notably Gmail). If you think you might have made a typo on your email address, contact us and we'll update your information manually.

I made a mistake when typing my address, how do I fix it?

How do I cancel my order?

If it hasn't been shipped yet, contact us and we'll refund you in full. Refunds can only be issued on the same card or PayPal account that was used when making the order. If your order has already been shipped, you'll need to ship it back to us at your expense and we'll refund you once we receive it and confirm the items haven't been used or damaged. Please always contact us first before returning an item.

When will my order be shipped?

As soon as possible! Usually it will only take a few days to process your order, but during busy periods like the holiday season or special sales campaigns it may take longer, as in general we only have two people in charge of shipping and they're only human. Thank you for your patience!

Where is my tracking number?

If you chose DHL or a TRACKED Parcel as your shipping method, your tracking number is on the shipping confirmation email we sent you (check your spam folder if you haven't received it).

If you chose Standard Letter shipping, your package cannot be tracked. If your Standard Letter shipment was routed through Deutsche Post's hub in Germany, you may be able to track it until its departure from said hub, but no further. Please opt for DHL Express or the TRACKED Parcel service for full tracking.

Why do you need my phone number?

We will never call you, but DHL needs to be able to contact you to schedule delivery and the postal service might need to let you know the package is ready to be picked up. If the recipient cannot be reached, the package will be returned to us.

If you order a gift directly to someone else's address, please provide their phone number instead. This is especially important if the recipient is in a different country!

I have to pay import tax and service fees for customs clearance! What is that about?

Orders shipped outside the European Union may be subject to import tax, as is the case for most international trade. The tax and other fees are determined by the destination country's customs officials as well as the mail carrier. These fees are not a basis for a refund on our end, as they aren't something we are able to control or reliably predict. By making an order you acknowledge the possibility of additional fees upon import.

Please note that DHL's service fees for customs clearance vary wildly, and in some cases may surpass the value of the order. Some of these fees can be avoided by handling customs clearance yourself, if that is possible in your country – contact your local DHL representative or customs office if you're unsure.

Feel free to contact us with any questions or if you need any specific information to complete the customs clearance process. We're not experts on every country's import requirements but we'll do our best to help. Please note that all items will be valued at their retail price on the customs documents, without exception.

Why can I only choose DHL as my shipping method?

Some of our products are so large and/or delicate that DHL is the safest and most affordable shipping method for them, which is why we decided not to offer other shipping methods for them at all. Even with the possible service charges mentioned in the previous segment, DHL still remains the most cost-effective way to ship these products, as you'd still be subject to import tax even with the already much more expensive express mail services, with the added risk of packages getting lost or damaged in an unreliable postal system.

Unfortunately this means that these items cannot be shipped to destinations outside of DHL's service area.

The postal service only accepts parcels weighing up to 2 kg, so if your order is likely to go over that threshold upon packaging it can only be shipped via DHL.

For some countries we've had to restrict the shipping methods available. For some destinations DHL and/or the TRACKED Parcel service is the only option, because despite our best efforts packages sent through other means simply don't survive the trip. We're a small business, so sending the same order over and over again just for it to disappear without a trace every single time simply isn't sustainable. Thank you for understanding!

Why can't I choose DHL as my shipping method?

The DHL app for Shopify can be very particular about how an address is typed, so check the way you spelled your city and postal code! As much as one missing space can cause the app to not display any rates. If the rates don't appear no matter what, contact us and we'll check your address for you! We have a lot of experience in battling the app and finding the problem.

Posti is the only available shipping method for domestic (Finnish) orders.

My order was damaged in the mail, what do I do?

Contact us via email at info@heikala.com or the shop's contact form and include your name, your order number, and a photograph of the damaged item(s) for a replacement or a refund!

I still have questions!

You can contact us via email or the shop's contact form and we'll get back to you as soon as possible! Please note that we won't be able to answer messages during the weekend or holidays.

Thank you for reading~
Heikala Team