Shipping and Delivery
We occasionally offer shipping promotions, applicable exclusively to UK Mainland Royal Mail Standard service (including age verified service). Please note that certain items are excluded from these promotions, specifically those which require carriers managing heavier and long items typically over 62cm in length. These items typically include those that are heavier or larger than standard shipping dimensions accepted by Royal Mail. Examples of such items are charcoal kilns, pole lathes, shave horses, selected drop ship items, and two-person cross-cut saws.
Shipping and Delivery Time
UK delivery normally takes 2-4 working days subject to stock availability and card authorisation. Often we can still deliver within 7-14 days if an item is out of stock. Contact us if delivery is especially urgent. You will receive notification by email when your order has been dispatched. If any part of your order is temporarily out of stock you will be advised by email or telephone to give you an estimate of delivery.
Some items require age verification services and the cost of this is added to shipping & handling.
Domestic Delivery (UK)
Our products come in all shapes and sizes, and as many of them also have blades - are subject to manual handling and age verification surcharges (the latter of which we are legally bound to follow). In order to keep the price as reasonable as we can, we use a range of carriers to ship your tools - mainly Royal Mail and FedEx. Shipping as a small business is complex and we want to be entirely transparent as to why we ship things the way we do. Hopefully the below information provides you with all the information you need, but you have any queries at all on our shipping policies please email us at enquiries@woodsmith.co.uk where we will be more than happy to help.
Size Restrictions
Royal Mail will only send parcels with a maximum length of 62cm. Anything over this length, i.e. a 900cm Felling Axe Handle, cannot be sent via Royal Mail. They simply will not collect it.
Anything over 62cm in length must be sent via another carrier. Previously we used Parcelforce for longer items, now we have recently moved to using FedEx as their rates for longer items are more reasonable. If you are only shown an option to send via FedEx, and not Royal Mail, this is why. FedEx is more expensive than Royal Mail - but the most reasonable price for long items we've been able to secure.
If you have an item in your basket that exceeds 1.2m in length (Peavey Timber Swivel Carriers, Two Man Saws, Scythes etc), FedEx applies an additional manual handling charge. This is £12.95 ex VAT on top of the base rates listed below. Again, we've done extensive research on shipping carrier prices for long items and this is the most competitive we've found to date.
Zone Restrictions
If your package is under 62cm - you will have the option to have this sent via Royal Mail. Royal Mail charges the same amount to Highlands and Islands, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, Channel Islands and Scilly Isles as it does the rest of Mainland UK.
If you are purchasing an item over 62cm, and as such must have this item sent via FedEx, then depending where you live in the UK, you will have a zonal charge applied. The zonal base rates* for FedEx are as follows:
Zone A (Mainland UK) - £6.30
Zone B (Highlands & Islands) - £17.10
Zone C (Northern Ireland, Isle of Man & Scilly Isles) - £24.85
Zone D (Channel Islands) - £25.90 ex VAT
* rates listed are inclusive of VAT unless otherwise states and do not include manual handling surcharges for items over 1.2m (£12.95) or age verification surcharges (£2.50) for items with blades
Age Verification Surcharges
Please see our Terms and Conditions page for a more detailed explanation of Age Verification, the Offensive Weapons Act and how it impacts the way we sell tools in the UK. For the purposes of solely explaining how it impacts the price of your shipping, the long and short of it is that if your basket includes a bladed item - you or the person receiving the item must prove at the point of delivery that they are over 18. Because this incurs more work on the shipping providers (they must check your ID if you look under 25), all carriers impose a surcharge on sending bladed items. We regret this adds further expense to your shipping, but its the law, its important and as responsible retailers we will not send bladed items by any other means.
Royal Mail
The following table lists our contractual prices from Royal Mail. These prices include base rate, fuel surcharge, green surcharges, age verification surcharges (where applicable) and VAT. These prices increased as of 25th April 2024 and are subject to an annual review.
Royal Mail tracked services are not guaranteed, but in our experience 98% of packages are delivered within the advised timeframe. Please note you must order before 1pm in order for us to dispatch same day.
| Shipping Type | Description | Price (inc VAT) |
| Royal Mail Standard (Tracked 48) | A tracked 48 hour service that aims to deliver within two working days. | £3.95 |
| Royal Mail Standard (Tracked 48) - Age Verified | A tracked 48 hour service that aims to deliver within two working days. Age will need to be verified at the point of delivery, so if you look under 25 you will be asked to produce valid government issued ID. | £6.95 |
| Royal Mail Express (Tracked 24) | A tracked 24 hour service that aims to deliver within one working day. | £4.95 |
| Royal Mail Express (Tracked 24) - Age Verified | A tracked 24 hour service that aims to deliver within one working day.Age will need to be verified at the point of delivery, so if you look under 25 you will be asked to produce valid government issued ID. | £7.95 |
FedEx
As described above, packages over 62cm will automatically be sent via FedEx. You will, however, also have the option to purchase FedEx shipping, for items under 62cm. For small packages, FedEx will generally turn out to be more expensive. However, FedEx is a next-day fully tracked service - so if you wish to have something urgently - this might be your best option!
FedEx use zonal charges to calculate their shipping base rate. So if you're in the Highlands and Islands, you will be paying more than UK Mainland (see breakdown above).
Surcharges are also applied for age verification (£2.50) and items over 1.2m in length (£12.95). Whilst rare, a few items we sell, e.g. two man cross cut saws, fall into the category of being both over 1.2m and requiring age verification. In this instance, both surcharges would be applied.
The following table lists our contractual prices from FedEx. These prices include base rate, fuel surcharge (with FedEx this is variable month on month, therefore subject to change), age verification surcharges (where applicable), oversize surcharged (where applicable) and VAT. These prices are subject to an annual review and meeting certain volume targets, and therefore subject to change.
| Shipping Zone | Standard | Age Verified | Over 1.2m | Age Verified & Over 1.2m |
| Zone A - UK Mainland | £6.30 | £9.45 | £22.65 | £25.80 |
| Zone B - Highlands & Islands | £17.10 | £20.25 | £33.40 | £36.55 |
| Zone C - Northern Ireland, Isle of Man & Scilly Isles | £24.85 | £28.00 | £41.20 | £44.35 |
| Zone D - Channel Islands (prices ex VAT) | £25.90 | £28.55 | £39.50 | £42.15 |
International Delivery (Shipping Outside the UK)
We currently have shipping contracts to send to the following countries at a standard level of service for parcels under 2kg. Recipient is responsible for any import duty or customs fees and for complying with local laws and regulations. If your package will be over 2kg we may contact you to adjust the shipping rate. If you do not see your country below, we may still be able to ship to you - please email us!
Some of our products cannot be shipped outside of the UK so please read the product information carefully to avoid disappointment - attempting to ship these products to an international address will result in a shopping cart error at checkout.
An estimated shipping cost for your selected products will be provided by our ‘shipping estimator’ before you progress to the checkout. Please note that for worldwide orders we many need to recalculate shipping costs as a result of ongoing changes by our shipping carriers.
Andorra
Armenia
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belgium
Bosnia And Herzegovina
Brazil
Canada
Canary Islands
China
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Faroe Islands
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Gibraltar
Greece
Greenland
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Japan
Kazakhstan
Kosovo
Kyrgyzstan
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Malaysia
Malta
Moldova
Montenegro
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
San Marino
Saudi Arabia
Serbia
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Thailand
Turkey
Turkmenistan
UAE - United Arab Emirates
USA - United States
Uzbekistan
Vatican City
Vietnam
Please contact us if your order is taking longer than quoted to arrive.