As of May 3, 2012, direct Credit card payments via our website can only be accepted from the US and Canada.  All other delivery destinations will need to use PayPal from this point forward. 

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

US Orders:

• Free Standard Shipping for US Orders over $80*

• Free Standard Shipping for Texas Orders over $50*

*Paid Options for USPS Priority Mail, USPS Priority Mail + Signature Confirmation and Express Mail are available during checkout

US orders now have the option to ship via USPS Parcel Post**, Priority Mail or Express Mail.  USPS Mail Service Rates are based on package weight, shape, and/or distance and are calculated through our automated interface with the United States Postal Service. Please see http://www.usps.com/prices/welcome.htm for rate information.

First Class Mail $3.00 flat rate shipping option is currently still available for orders with total product weight of approximately 200g or less. 

Note on First Class Mail Shipping:  We are making every effort to keep all shipping options available and as fair as possible for all customers.  We have attempted to account for differences in the total shipping weight of each product because of many differences in each product's size, packaging, etc.  Sometimes, particularly when teawares are involved, when the product weight is right at 200 grams, the 1st Class Mail option may not always be available.  If you have questions about how the weights are calculated, please look at the bottom of each product page for each product's weight in grams, ounces and pounds.  This is not a perfect system.  The $3 option is simply intended to enable customers to take advantage of First Class Mail shipping rates offered by the USPS in the US.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us via email at norbu@norbutea.com.

**Parcel Post Rates are quoted via our interface with the US Postal Service. $0.19 is automatically added to the quoted rate for Delivery Confirmation of all Parcel Post shipments.  Parcel Post is available for parcels with a total shipping weight of 2.5 Lbs or more.

Important:  Please double-check that you have provided us with the correct shipping address!

If the address entered in our shipping system returns an error or can not be verified through our interface with the USPS, we will attempt to contact you via email to confirm/correct the shipping address before shipping. 

If our attempts to verify a customer's address are not answered within two business days, we may still ship your products to the address provided with the understanding that the parcel may be returned to us.  In the case of a parcel being returned to us because incorrect address information was provided, we will be happy to refund the customer's full purchase price minus shipping costs when we have actual physical possession of the shipment after it is returned to us by the postal service (a process which generally takes weeks, not days).  Of course, we are more than happy to re-ship to the customer at their expense, provided that they have confirmed/corrected their shipping address with us beforehand.

International Shipping Rates:
International shipping rates are calculated via our interface with the USPS International Shipping rate calculation API.  Rates are calculated based on product weight, size and country of destination.  Please see the country-specific postage prices and other mailing conditions listed on the US Postal Service website here:  http://pe.usps.com/text/Imm/immctry.htm

Available International Shipping Methods*:

First Class Mail International (Not available to Russia or Ukraine)
No guarantees on precise time to delivery can be made by Norbu Tea Company, LLC.

• Available for shipments under 3 Lbs (48 OZ; 1.36 KG) total product weight. 
• First Class Mail International time to delivery varies greatly from country to country.  Please allow 4-6 weeks for all First Class Mail International shipments to arrive.  If your shipment does not arrive within a 6 week time-frame, we will investigate and rectify the situation. 
  
• A delivery confirmation number will be provided, but will not be updated during transit.  This is a delivery confirmation number only, not a tracking number.
• Please see the country-specific postage prices and other mailing conditions listed on the US Postal Service website here:  http://pe.usps.com/text/Imm/immctry.htm

Priority Mail International

• Expected delivery in 6-10 business days (varies by destination country)
• Country-specific maximum weight limits range from 22 pounds to 70 pounds
• Please see the country-specific postage prices and other mailing conditions listed on the US Postal Service website here:  http://pe.usps.com/text/Imm/immctry.htm
• Parcel tracking number will be provided upon shipment of your order.  Shipments can be tracked here:  https://tools.usps.com/go/TrackConfirmAction_input
  

Express Mail International

• Expected delivery in 3-5 business days (varies by destination country)
• Country-specific maximum weight limits range from 22 pounds to 70 pounds
• Please see the country-specific postage prices and other mailing conditions listed on the US Postal Service website here:  http://pe.usps.com/text/Imm/immctry.htm
• Parcel tracking number will be provided upon shipment of your order.  Shipments can be tracked here:  https://tools.usps.com/go/TrackConfirmAction_input

*Disclaimer: No guarantee of time to delivery or any other service provided by any shipping or mailing service used by Norbu Tea Company, LLC (the US Postal Service, FedEX, UPS or any other affiliated or non-affiliated company) is stated or implied by any verbiage or link presented on this website.  The information provided above is provided as a guide only and is subject to change at the discretion of the Shipping company (the US Postal Service, FedEX, UPS or any other affiliated or non-affiliated company).

We are NOT willing or able to mark your shipments with an non-truthful or artificially low product value or as a "Gift."  Please do not ask us to do this.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us at norbu@norbutea.com.

We are no longer able to ship fragile or breakable items outside of the United States.  Despite our best efforts at careful packaging, we have been having immense problems with breakage in international shipments, so we have been forced to disallow all fragile (glass, ceramic, porcelain, etc) international shipments.  We apologize for the inconvenience.

Some countries impose customs duties and clearance fees on tea, tea ware and international parcels. We have no control over this and CAN NOT be held responsible for these fees. Please contact your local customs office regarding this matter if you are unsure of the fees you might be responsible for upon the arrival of your shipment.

Norbu is a word from the Tibetan language meaning "precious jewel."  It is a nickname given to me when traveling parts of the Old Tea Horse Road in the Dechen (Deqing) Tibetan Autonomous Region of Northern Yunnan.    

We are happy to accept E-Check payments via PayPal.  Please note that orders paid via E-Check will not be shipped until the E-Check clears (usually 3-5 business days).

If for any reason you are not satisfied with your purchase, you may return most unused items purchased at www.norbutea.com within 2 weeks of the original delivery. At this time we can only refund shipping costs if the return is due to an error on our part.  If the item is returned for any other reason you are responsible for the return shipping amount.  We will credit you in the same manner as your original payment within 7 days of receiving the returned item.

NOTE: All returned items must be unused and in their original condition when we receive them.  Please appropriately package your items (Gaiwan Lids should be upside down with the handle/knob inside of the cup, with a layer of padding placed between the cup and lid) and mark package "Fragile" if you are shipping glass, porcelain or other ceramic items.  If an authorized returned item is broken in transit due to improper packaging, we are not able to refund your original purchase price.  We strongly urge you to purchase insurance against breakage from USPS for all returned shipments.

The following items may not be returned:
-Opened loose or compressed teas which are not defective. Simply not liking the tea or item does not constitute a defect. 
-Teawares that have been used and are not defective are non-returnable.

Ship authorized returns to the following address:
Norbu Enterprises
PO BOX 800697
Dallas, TX 75380
USA

For questions regarding our return policy please contact us at norbu@norbutea.com.

Effective December 13th, 2010, we will begin awarding 10 rewards points* to your account for each review that you post.
*See below for details & restrictions.

A user account is required to post a review on norbutea.com, and all reviews are moderated & approved by the site admin prior to being posted to the site. 

We will approve all positive and negative product reviews that are posted to the site, provided that product reviews are objective, reasonably thorough and there is no profanity or any type of malicious code in the body of the review.  Please limit any reviews that you post to the specific product you are reviewing.  Reviews containing explicit references to other vendors or their products will not be approved. 

Examples:
Will not be approved:
"This tea rocks."
"I hate this tea."

Will be approved:
(excerpts from an actual review) "This tea rewards attention with a complex layering of the mild roastedness and floral tastes...There’s a lot to appreciate here."

*Reviews/Reward points terms & limitations:
-Limit is 3 reviews per week per registered user. 
-Redemption value of reward points:  20 points = USD $1   
-Rewards points are redeemable only for products available on www.norbutea.com.
-See How does the Rewards Points program work? for detailed information on how to redeem your points.

If you have questions about our reviews policy, please do not hesitate to send us an email at norbu@norbutea.com.

Norbutea.com has implemented a customer loyalty point system for our registered customers. Registered customers will earn one reward point for every $1 USD of purchases completed, not including shipping charges. As a way to say Thank You (!) to our valued customers for their loyalty, reward points may be used to pay for future orders either in full or in part.

If you wish to take advantage of our rewards points system, you will need to register and use the same login information each time you decide to make a purchase from www.norbutea.com. If you make a purchase without registering an account on the website and still wish to take advantage of the rewards points program, please register for an account by clicking on the "Sign In" link in the footer of each page or on the drop down on the "shop" tab in the top right corner of the home screen, then send an email to norbu@norbutea.com.  We will then be happy to apply the points earned from a non-registered purchase to your new account.

Terms:
All customers who purchase products from www.norbutea.com are eligible to participate in the reward points program. Please remember that the system is automatic, and you must be registered and logged in before placing your order to receive reward points.

Points earned may be applied to future orders only.

Redemption value of reward points:  20 points = USD $1 

Points can not be redeemed for cash and are only for use in purchases made at www.norbutea.com. 

Reward points are not currently redeemable for shipping charges.

Most products on www.norbutea.com receive reward points for purchases; however, "End of Vintage" and some already discounted or close-out products are not eligible to receive rewards points.

Of course you can order a Norbu Tea shirt.  Simply visit our Zazzle shop:
http://www.zazzle.com/norbutea



Shop for a personalized gift at Zazzle.

Your privacy is important to us. To better protect your privacy we provide this notice explaining our online information practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used.

The Information We Collect:

This notice applies to all information collected or submitted on the Norbu Enterprises website. On some pages, you can order products, make requests, and register to receive materials. The types of personal information collected at these pages are:

Name
Address
Email address
Phone number
Credit/Debit Card Information
(etc.)

On some pages, you can submit information about other people. For example, if you order a gift online and want it sent directly to the recipient, you will need to submit the recipient's address. In this circumstance, the types of personal information collected are:

Name
Address
Phone Number
(etc.)

The Way We Use Information:

We use the information you provide about yourself when placing an order only to complete that order. We do not share this information with outside parties except to the extent necessary to complete that order.

We use the information you provide about someone else when placing an order only to ship the product and to confirm delivery. We do not share this information with outside parties except to the extent necessary to complete that order.

We use return email addresses to answer the email we receive. Such addresses are not used for any other purpose and are not shared with outside parties.

You can register with our website if you would like to receive updates on our new products and services. Information you submit on our website will not be used for this purpose unless you fill out the registration form.

We use non-identifying and aggregate information to better design our website. For example, we may tell a service provider that X number of individuals visited a certain area on our website, or that Y number of men and Z number of women filled out our registration form, but we would not disclose anything that could be used to identify those individuals.

Finally, we never use or share the personally identifiable information provided to us online in ways unrelated to the ones described above without also providing you an opportunity to opt-out or otherwise prohibit such unrelated uses.

Our Commitment To Data Security

To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of information, we have put in place appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.

How To Contact Us

Should you have other questions or concerns about these privacy policies, please send us an email at norbu@norbutea.com.

Unless otherwise noted, all images and content found on www.norbutea.com and all associated websites, web pages, and domains are copyright Norbu Enterprises.  Any unauthorized commercial use of content including but not limited to any images or text found on www.norbutea.com and all associated websites, web pages, and domains is forbidden.

Non-commercial use of content from www.norbutea.com in weblogs, chat rooms, or other online forums is encouraged, provided that the content is properly cited. 

The site owner/administrator can be reached by email at norbu@norbutea.com.