Delivery Costs Explained

We get so many phone calls asking about this, we thought it best to produce a page to explain how we calculate our delivery costs and perform the complex delivery procedure.  Hopefully, now you will understand the process and feel that we are a transparent company who values our customer service.

Key Points to note:

1. We use various pallet delivery networks to deliver the goods, this could be one of 1000 depots throughout the UK.  One depot collects and sends the goods to a huge hub in the UK, another depot collects from there and delivers it to you.

2. In every pack price there is a delivery cost built in (this is the same as other internet paving merchants), typically about £50 per pack.  Some call it "Free Delivery", which isn't entirely true, we prefer "Delivery Included". Look out for the following icons: 
   

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3. We are charged by our delivery companies by weight or in some cases by the pallet.  The more goods, the more the delivery.  It is NOT the case of "the vehicle is coming to you anyway"  that is not how the pallet delivery companies operate.  They charge for space on the vehicle.

4. On "split" or "not full" packs, where you just buy slabs, blocks and other items individually, we separate out the costs of goods and delivery.

5. The UK is split into postal zones by the pallet delivery networks, most postcodes are included in the £50 per pack however there are some that are not.  We therefore just add the delivery companies extra costs onto the delivery charge.

6. The cut off for Next Day and Saturday deliveries is 11am

7. Marshalls "Split Pack or Buy Individually" orders have a one-off charge applied to the shopping cart.  The reason being, Marshalls charge £25 for the privilege of doing so.  They have a dedicated depot just for this to help you buy exactly what you need.  This is added to the shopping cart automatically for you.

8. Grange deliver their products themselves on their own vehicles and have set delivery costs that we have to pass on. They have set delivery days for specific areas of the UK but aim to deliver all their goods within 14 days (extended to 20 days as they are over capacity in the summer months).

9. Stonemarket and Marshalls have introduced a direct to site service where they deliver within 5 days. Deliveries will be on based on delivery via Arctic or Drawbar vehicle which is included within the price if meet minimum pack/weight requirements. When goods are being delivered via Stonemarket's Dedicated Vehicle the delivery date can be any time within the 5 working days unfortunately sometimes we won't be notified by Stonemarket and Marshalls until the actual day. As soon as Stonemarket allocates a day we will contact you immediately. Look out for the following icons: 

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10. The Next Day service is defined as the delivery service the goods are put on once the goods are ready for dispatch. If the goods are not ready you will be informed and they will be placed on the next day service once ready. Only if the service is downgraded will the next day charge be refunded. 

Elaboration of the Key Points:

• Point 1

There are numerous networks that we send the goods through, one famous one that you made know is Pallex, who is owned by Hilary Devey from Dragon's Den on the BBC.  Others include Pallet Track, Pallet Force, Fortec and Palletways, all of which are reputable networks that handle in excess of 10,000 pallets of goods per night.  Each network has around 150 depots who are independent companies throughout the UK.  

• Point 2

You may think that it is given that internet companies offer "free delivery", the majority of the time there is just a delivery built into the price of the goods.  That is why we prefer "delivery included".  The £50 included per pack may seem a lot, but when you are dealing with tons and not little parcels the vehicles do not do very many miles per gallon and drivers are limited to how many hours they can drive HGV vehicles.   Our parent company has its own fleet of HGV vehicles but we cannot compete with the pallet delivery networks prices so we just use our own for local deliveries around our area.  It is not feasible to send a lorry on a dedicated trip to your property if you are not local, as we have to factor in the trip back with an empty truck.

• Point 3

If we were sending our own vehicles, it would be correct that there would be just one cost for the delivery vehicle no matter how many pallets.  However the local delivery networks depots will not just have your goods on the vehicle they will have everyones goods on the vehicle that live in and around a radius of about 20 miles from your house.  Therefore they charge by space and weight.

• Point 4

We separate out the goods and delivery costs on "not full packs".  Therefore the delivery costs will appear much higher.  We try to be as transparent as possible to our customers, so rather than making the first split pack item appear artificially higher in price and saying "delivery included" we don't hide this fact from you.

• Point 5

The UK is divided into zones by the pallet delivery networks, most zones are a standard £50 per pack delivery for us.  However there are some zones that we get charged more, we could include these costs into the pack costs but unfortunately the closer zones customers would pay artificially high prices.  We only pass on the extra costs and do not add our own margin, we try to be as fair as possible.

• Point 6

If you are desperate and the 11am cut off has passed or you need a split pack, please phone as we may still be able to help.  Orders placed over the weekend and on public holidays will be collected on the following working day and delivered on the appropriate selected delivery service.

• Point 7

The Marshalls split pack charge is then added to the shopping cart costs.  The £25 is a one-off charge despite the number of split packs you may order.  Other suppliers just increase the selling price of their products, Marshalls just charge a one-off fee. In essence, you are paying for the time it takes for a person to physically break down a pack, take out the products you desire, repackage that up on a new pallet, band the goods securely on a new pallet and then make them ready for collection.

• Point 8

No need for further explanation.

• Point 9

No need for further explanation.

• Point 10

The next day charges are set by our delivery company network. If a next day service is selected and the goods cannot be collected until the following day, we will inform you but cannot refund the charges as we are still paying for the next day service. Our margins are low to allow you to save money so we cannot just absorb the cost. We will happily refund the next day charge but the delivery service will be downgraded. We do hope you understand our honesty on this point.