Gifts baskets delivered to Europe

TGI Friday Folks!

I just wanted to write a quick update regarding our delivery rates to Europe, as I think it's pretty good news for those of you wishing to send gifts internationally.

As you may know BasketsGalore has always offered a European delivery service, and we have even delivered further afield to the likes of the US, Canada, Australia & Russia in the past. Currently we are concentrating on a great, cost effective delivery service to countries based in the EU, as then there are no worries about customs hold ups & charges.

When exporting/importing to non-EU countries Customs can hold a parcel for inspection & can also add duties/charges on, so when delivery is attempted they ask the recipient to pay this additional charge. These customs charges are separate & on top of the delivery price that is paid to the delivery company, so we have no control over the charges.

So for this reason we specialise in sending to the most popular EU countries our customers ship to. These include Belgium, France, Germany & the Netherlands in Zone 1 and Spain, Portugal, Italy, Poland & Sweden in Zone 2. For the full list of delivery countries please see the table below:

Europe Zone 1 -Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany

Europe Zone 2 - Portugal, Spain, Italy, Austria, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria, Czech Rep, Estonia, Hungary, Malta, Monaco, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia.

In past years we have only offered an Economy Service to European destinations, as these are available at lower rates. However, delivery can take 3-6 working days (depending on the destination country/zone) so you need to order a week or so in advance if it is a birthday gift for example.

For Christmas 2011 we introduced an Express European delivery service, as many Christmas hampers contain perishable items & so it isn't advisable for them to be in transit for too long. (Perishable items are packed with ice packs which last 48-72 hours) The express service proved popular & many hampers arrived at their destination the next working day, or if not within 48 hours.

However, we understand throughout the year customers may wish to send a new baby basket or a smaller tea & biscuits hamper to friends, family or colleagues and don't need it to arrive ASAP.

So for 2012 we have introduced 2 European delivery rates at once, so customers can now choose between Express (1-2 days) or Economy (3-6 days).

Current Pricing - Feb 12 (subject to change if our rates with courier company increase of decrease)

Economy Service Zone 1 - £22.99 - 3-6 working days (no perishables)

Economy Service Zone 2 - £26.99 - 3-6 working days (no perishables)

Express Service Zone 1 - £44.99 - 1-2 working days

Express Service Zone 2 - £49.99 - 1-2 working days

Please see our delivery page for the most up-to-date pricing & country zones etc.

The only thing we ask is that if you pick a gift basket that contains perishable food then it must be shipped on the express service, so that is arrives in top condition. By perishables we mean smoked salmon or other meats like ham, chicken, duck& salami. Also soft cheeses and fresh fruit count as perishables.

Any food gift baskets containing ambient products only, such as biscuits, cake, lemonade, preserves, chutney & chocolates etc can be sent on the economy service. Also any baby gift baskets, pamper baskets or children's toy baskets are also fine to travel on the economy service.

Obviously if you need the basket to arrive by a certain date we advise picking the express service option. If the birthday/occasion is in 3 days time, for example, it would be better to pick the express service. Although the economy service estimates 3-6 days this is a rough guide & so it is not guaranteed to arrive in 3 days. Whereas with the express option it is a timed service & therefore it is more than likely to arrive within 48 hours. (Unless of course there is a hold up due to bad weather conditions or the address is difficult to locate)

Please remember it is a couriered signed delivery service rather than the postal service, so someone needs to be at the address to sign for the delivery. Many customers find delivery to a work address can be very convenient. We do provide you with tracking details when your basket is dispatched, so you can advise the recipient what day it is scheduled for delivery. Also please include a local telephone number for the recipient, should the driver need to speak with them to gain access to a property or for directions. The local driver will not be able to dial internationally to a UK, US or Irish telephone number.

I think that's it (sorry longer than I thought!), but I hope you find this blog useful should you wish to ship gifts to Europe with us.

Have a great weekend!

The BG Team

Spring Is In The Air...Upcoming Occasions

Spring is a busy time in Basket land as we get a little run of occasions in a short time. The romantic Valentine's Day, followed by St Patrick's Day, Mother's Day and shortly afterwards Easter! All of which are best celebrated with a gorgeous gift basket of course!

For 2012 we have created a new range of holiday gift baskets for you to enjoy. I have included a selection of them below, but please do see our website for lots more ideas.

And as ever if you don't see the perfect gift basket you can create your own!

Delivery is available all over the UK & Ireland and we have some great shipping rates to Europe too.

The BG Team

Christmas Review

Hi Folks,

We would like to say a big thank you to everyone who shopped with us during November & December for Christmas hampers & gift baskets. We hope your friends & family members enjoyed receiving & eating the contents! We know many of you shop with us every year & we really appreciate your continued custom. We have been steadily growing for the past 10 years and make improvements to the systems every year. One thing remains constant though, we only offer great quality gift baskets that we would love to receive ourselves!

We were so pleased the snow stayed away this December, although we know many of you have been hindered by it in the past couple of weeks instead. It meant we were able to keep dispatching Christmas hampers right up until the 22nd December, for delivery on 23rd December. Some of the couriers even worked the Saturday, Christmas Eve, to get those last few parcels delivered.

We even dispatched baskets on Friday 23rd December & these were delivered as soon as the courier companies reopened again on 28th December. We were busy bees on 28th & 29th December too, dispatching New Year gift baskets & helping resolve any problems.

With so many gift baskets being dispatched there are inevitably a few delivery problems, such as the recipient not being home when delivery was first attempted & they need help re-arranging delivery. As a good will gesture we also dispatched some fresh cheese packs to recipients who couldn't get a 2nd delivery attempt rescheduled until after Christmas. We also did very well in terms of few breakages too this year. We bubble wrap individual jars and our boxes are padded inside with air pockets, but occasionally a jar still might arrive broken (if a courier might have been particularly heavy handed with a box for example). When this happens we send out a fresh gift basket or a complimentary hamper to replace any damaged goods. We want the recipients to be delighted with their basket & so work hard to help on those rare occasions something might go wrong. Of course you get the odd chancer who refuses to take any responsibility when incorrect address or telephone numbers have been supplied. Even then we do our best to come up with a suitable resolution, but we do ask for costs to be covered for return to sender, redelivery & restocking fees - never mind the administration time & costs involved.

So all in all a successful Christmas & New Year was had! January has been busy with VAT receipts & returns (the fun!), but also with updating our gift basket offering. We'll be back in touch soon with all the latest news.

The BG Team