
Shipping Policies
AlarmSystemStore.com offers free shipping on all orders over $499 that are shipping within the continental US.
UPS Shipments:
99% of all orders with products marked "Ships same day" that are placed online by 2:00 PM EST Mon - Fri and shipping via UPS are shipped the same day. We often do ship orders out the same day orders received as late as 3:30 pm EST, but to ensure same day shipping, please have your order in by 2:00 pm EST.
USPS (1st Class and Priority):
Orders that ship via USPS have an earlier cutoff time do to the irregular pickup schedule of their service. Generally speaking however our USPS pick ups are always before noon. As such, orders shipping this method often go out the following day unless we receive your order before 10:30 am EST. So while USPS Priority is generally a faster service than UPS Ground, you do often lose a day due to the earlier pick up.
Our Free Shipping Method:
If your order qualifies for free shipping and you choose that method, we choose the carrier based on lowest cost for the shipment. We also generally ship "free shipping" qualified orders complete rather than split ship in cases where an item may have a shipping delay. (see below for shipping delayed products) So if your order has 5 items that are marked as "Ships Same Day" and one is marked "Ships in 1 to 2 days", the order will be held until the other item is transferred to our warehouse so it can all ship in one package.
Shipping Delayed Products:
There is a small % of less common products that are not stocked at our fulfillment shipping center that have to be transferred in. In these cases we will have this noted right below the add to cart button if there is a delay and if so how long of a delay. See image below for example:
This notation under the "Add To Cart" button is a very reliable stock indicator and is updated daily. That said, there are occasions that our online stock is either off or we've sold thru an item before the stock status gets updated. If your order is time critical and must ship out same day, we recommend you contact us by emailing alarms@alarmsystemstore.com or call to confirm. Email is usually faster because all phone calls are queued by order received and due to call volume you are not likely to get a live answer immediately.
Expedited Services (UPS 2nd Day Air & Overnight):
Please keep in mind if you select an expedited service such as Next Day Air, it does not necessarily mean you will receive your order the next day. If your order comes in after our 2PM cutoff time it may not ship out til the following business day. Also, weekends and holidays are not counted in expedited services. Finally, there are those items as discussed above in "Shipping Delayed Products" that may have a shipping delay. The level of shipping service you choose is the transit time of the carrier and not necessarily the time you will receive the order.
A note about 1st class USPS shipping:
Be advised, our most affordable shipping rate for a small packages is typically 1st class USPS. If you choose this method please be advised it is cheap for a reason... it is often called snail mail for a good reason. We routinely see 1st class packages take a week or more to reach their destination. And if you choose this option anytime in December, be prepared to not have your package for a couple weeks. This already slow shipping method becomes unbelieveably slow in December. If you call asking about it after a just a few days, please excuse us if you hear a giggle just a bit. Seriously, it is really slow...