Shipping policy
This Shipping & Delivery Policy applies to physical products purchased from InstaMom. Delivery dates shown at checkout are estimates unless we expressly state in writing that a date is guaranteed.
1. Order processing
Orders ship as soon as possible and no later than seven (7) to ten (10) business days after payment authorization, excluding weekends and U.S. federal holidays. Processing time is the time needed to prepare an order before carrier pickup; it is separate from transit time. Custom, personalized, preorder, launch-week, bulk, and high-volume orders may require additional time, which will be disclosed on the product page or in a written quote.
Orders placed after our daily cutoff, if one is posted, are treated as received the next business day. We may contact you if information is incomplete, payment requires verification, or the destination presents a delivery issue. Processing may pause until we receive the requested information.
2. Shipping rates and methods
Available shipping methods, carrier estimates, and charges are displayed at checkout based on destination, package characteristics, and available services. “Business day,” “expedited,” and similar carrier terms are measured under the selected carrier's rules. Purchasing expedited transit does not shorten a separately stated production or processing period.
We may select or change the carrier or service level when necessary, provided the substituted service is reasonably comparable. Shipping promotions apply only as stated and may exclude bulk, oversized, custom, remote-area, or special-handling orders.
3. Shipping promises and delays
We will have a reasonable basis for any advertised shipment timeframe. If we cannot ship within the promised time—or, if no time is stated, within the period required by applicable law—we will provide any notice, consent opportunity, cancellation option, and refund required by law. Accepting a revised shipment date does not waive rights that cannot lawfully be waived.
Plain English: a transit estimate is not a guarantee, but we still must honor the shipment commitments we actually make and communicate qualifying delays.
4. Tracking and delivery
When available, tracking information is sent to the email or mobile number supplied at checkout. Tracking may take up to forty-eight (48) hours after carrier acceptance to update. The carrier's scan, delivery photograph, signature record, locker record, or mailroom log may be used when investigating delivery.
A shipment may require a signature or may be held at a carrier location. The customer is responsible for monitoring tracking and following carrier instructions. Carrier redirection, hold, or access-point services are controlled by the carrier and may involve separate terms or fees.
5. Correct and complete addresses
The customer must provide a complete, accurate, deliverable address and recipient name. Review the confirmation immediately. InstaMom is not responsible for delay, loss, return, or misdelivery caused by incorrect or incomplete information supplied by the purchaser, to the extent permitted by law.
If a package is returned because of an incorrect address, failed delivery attempts, refusal, failure to retrieve it, or a facility's rules, we may offer reshipment after the customer pays new shipping and any carrier fees. If a lawful refund is appropriate, we may deduct actual nonrefundable shipping and return costs and the value of nonreturnable goods.
6. College, dormitory, mailroom, and campus deliveries
Campus delivery can be delightfully bureaucratic. The purchaser is responsible for confirming the school's current addressing format, mailroom restrictions, package cutoff dates, prohibited items, and recipient eligibility before ordering.
- Use the student's full legal or registered campus name.
- Include the residence hall, campus mailbox number, student or unit identifier, street address, city, state, and ZIP Code exactly as the school instructs.
- Do not use a residence-hall room number if the school prohibits it.
- Confirm that the recipient has completed any move-in, housing, or mailroom registration required to receive packages.
- Allow extra time for campus sorting, especially during move-in, Welcome Week, holidays, exams, and weather closures.
A carrier's delivery to a campus receiving dock, mailroom, locker, front desk, or authorized facility ordinarily counts as delivery to the provided address, even if the school takes additional time to notify the student. InstaMom does not control the school's internal handling after carrier delivery.
7. Gift orders and recipient information
The purchaser represents that they are authorized to provide the recipient's name, address, contact information, gift message, and any other personal information used to fulfill the gift. We may contact the purchaser—and, when appropriate and disclosed, the recipient—to resolve delivery questions. Gift messages must comply with our Terms of Use.
8. Split shipments and substitutions
We may ship items separately when needed for inventory, safety, packaging, or speed. You will not be charged additional shipping solely because we split an order unless disclosed and agreed.
As supply chains shift, some items may be replaced with similar items of equal value. Product substitutions are governed by the product description and our Refund, Return & Cancellation Policy.
9. Food, heat-sensitive, and seasonal items
Some boxes may contain food, candy, cosmetics, or products affected by heat, cold, or delay. Customers and recipients should retrieve packages promptly, inspect products, follow manufacturer storage directions, and avoid consuming or using any item that appears unsafe, opened, contaminated, spoiled, or damaged.
We do not guarantee that ordinary shipping will maintain a particular temperature unless a product page expressly states otherwise. Seasonal softening or cosmetic changes that do not make a product unsafe may not qualify as damage. Contact us promptly with photographs if there is a concern.
10. Lost, stolen, damaged, or missing packages
For visible transit damage, missing contents, or an incorrect order, follow the notice procedure in our Refund, Return & Cancellation Policy. For a package marked delivered but not found, first check the delivery area, household members, neighbors, lockers, leasing office, campus mailroom, and carrier notices. Then contact us promptly so we can determine whether a carrier inquiry is available.
Responsibility for loss and title transfers as provided by applicable law and the shipping terms shown at checkout. Nothing in this Policy shifts a risk that applicable law requires InstaMom to bear.
11. Where we ship
InstaMom currently ships only within the contiguous United States.
We do not currently ship to:
- Alaska or Hawaii;
- U.S. territories, including Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands;
- APO, FPO, or DPO military addresses;
- P.O. boxes; or
- any destination outside the United States.
Please use a street address that can receive carrier deliveries. If an order is placed for a destination we do not serve, we may cancel it and refund the amount paid. We expect to add destinations over time; the checkout is authoritative for where we can ship today.
12. Events beyond reasonable control
Weather, natural disasters, public emergencies, labor interruptions, carrier disruptions, supply shortages, campus closures, governmental actions, and other events beyond reasonable control may delay processing or delivery. We will communicate material delays when reasonably possible and provide remedies required by law. Shipping questions may be sent to instamomuniversity@gmail.com.
13. Contact
InstaMom University LLC
203 Boston Avenue
Lynchburg, VA 24503
instamomuniversity@gmail.com
instamomuniversity.com