Shipping & Delivery

Last updated: October 31, 2026

This page explains how a Mug Mellow order travels from our printing queue to your kitchen counter: how long each stage takes, where we deliver, what it costs (nothing) and what to do when something about a delivery does not go to plan. Every mug, travel mug, tumbler and kids cup is personalised for the person who will use it, so the clock starts a little differently from an off-the-shelf parcel. Read it before you order for a birthday, a retirement party or a holiday, and you will know exactly how much time to leave.

1. Where your mug can travel

Mug Mellow delivers to four countries only: the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Checkout only offers addresses in those countries, and there is no shipping method set up for anywhere else. If you live outside them and want to send a gift to someone inside them, that works perfectly well: enter the recipient’s address as the shipping address and your own details for billing.

We deliver to home and work addresses. If the address is a dormitory, a hospital ward, a school office or a shared building, add the room, unit or department so the parcel reaches the right person. A teacher mug addressed to “Ms Rivera, Grade 3” at a school with no room number can sit in a mailroom for days.

2. How the timeline adds up

Delivery time is two separate stages added together. First comes processing: we print your design with the name, date or photo you sent, let it set, check it against your Order notes and pack it. That takes 1-3 business days. Then the carrier takes over, and transit is estimated at 7-14 business days. Put together, a typical order reaches the door in roughly 8-17 business days from the day processing begins.

2.1 What counts as a business day

Business days are Monday to Friday, not counting public holidays in the United States. An order placed on a Friday evening begins processing on the following Monday. Weekends and holidays in the destination country can also pause a carrier’s delivery rounds, which is why the transit range is wide.

2.2 When processing starts for photo designs

Photo mugs, the pet portrait mug, the heat-reveal mug, the photo travel mug and the pet photo tumbler all need a picture from you. After checkout, reply to your order confirmation email with the photo attached. Processing begins once the photo arrives. If you wait two days to send the picture, the whole timeline moves two days later. A quick reply on the same day keeps everything on schedule.

2.3 Working back from a date

Planning around Mother’s Day, Christmas, the last day of school or a retirement party? Count back about 17 business days from the date and order before then. For example, for a gift needed on a Friday, ordering on a Monday about three and a half weeks earlier gives the full range room to play out. Ordering earlier still is wise in late November and December, when carriers carry their heaviest loads of the year.

3. What free shipping covers

Shipping is free on every order to the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. There is no minimum order value, no coupon to enter and no surcharge for heavier items like the 40 oz tumbler or a Mr & Mrs set of two mugs. What you see at checkout is what you pay for the products; the shipping line shows as free.

We do not offer paid express upgrades at the moment. If you need a mug by a specific date that sits inside the normal window, the most useful thing you can do is order early and send any photo right away.

3.1 Multiple items in one order

When an order has several mugs, a mix of mugs and tumblers, or a set, we aim to send everything together in one parcel. Occasionally a large order is split into two parcels for safe packing; if that happens, each parcel gets its own tracking number and you will see both in your shipping emails.

4. Packing: how a ceramic mug survives the trip

Ceramic, glass and enamel need room to breathe in a box. Each piece is packed in its own protective packaging and placed in a carton sized to keep it from rattling. Glass items, like the 16 oz glass can and the frosted glass mug, get extra padding. Travel mugs and tumblers are less fragile, but lids and straws are packed so they do not scratch the print.

We do not add price tags or invoices that show what was paid inside the parcel, which makes it easier to ship a gift straight to the recipient. We do not offer gift wrap, so the mug arrives in its protective shipping box ready for your own paper and ribbon.

5. Tracking your parcel

When your order leaves us, we send a shipping email with a tracking number and a link to follow the parcel. You can also look up the order on our Order Tracking page using your order number and the email address you used at checkout.

Tracking does not always update every day. A parcel can show “label created” for a day or two while it waits for its first scan, and international parcels often go quiet while they move between countries. A pause of a few days without updates is common and usually resolves on its own.

6. When a parcel runs late or goes missing

If the estimated window has passed and the parcel has not arrived, or tracking has not moved for an unusually long time, please email support@mugmellow.shop with your order number. We will look at the tracking history with you, contact the carrier where that helps, and tell you what we can do next. Each late or missing parcel is handled case by case, and we will not leave you without an answer.

6.1 Delivered but not received

Sometimes tracking says “delivered” and nothing is on the doorstep. Before writing to us, check with neighbours, a building reception or mailroom, a side door or porch, and the household members who might have taken it in. Parcels are sometimes marked delivered a little before they actually arrive. If it still has not turned up after a day, email us with the order number and we will help you work through it.

6.2 Wrong or incomplete address

Please check the shipping address carefully at checkout. You can correct an address within 24 hours of placing the order, as described on our Cancel or Change an Order page. Once a parcel has left us, we may not be able to redirect it, and a parcel returned to us because of an incomplete address may need to be reshipped. Write to us and we will tell you the options for your case.

7. If a mug arrives chipped or broken

Carriers handle parcels quickly, and very occasionally a handle cracks or a glass can breaks on the way. If that happens, please take photos of the item and the box, including the shipping label, and email them to support@mugmellow.shop with your order number. We will arrange a fix, usually a reprint or a refund, and explain the steps. Please write to us as soon as you can after delivery so the details are fresh. Our Returns & Exchanges Policy explains the general 60-day window that applies to every order.

8. Customs, duties and taxes for Canada, Australia and New Zealand

Orders to Canada, Australia and New Zealand cross a border, so they pass through customs in the destination country. Whether any duties or import taxes apply depends on the destination country’s rules and the value of the order. We cannot predict every country’s charges in advance. If you are unsure, or if a carrier asks you for a payment before delivering, please contact us before paying and we will help you understand the situation.

Prices on our site are in US dollars, and Mug Mellow does not collect sales tax at checkout.

9. Shipping a gift straight to someone else

Many orders are gifts sent directly to the recipient: a grandma mug to Ontario, a nurse mug to a hospital in Sydney, a first-Christmas mug to a couple in Wellington. Enter their name and address as the shipping address. Your own email address receives the order and shipping updates, so the recipient will not see an order confirmation. If you want them to know a gift is coming, share the tracking link yourself.

• Use the recipient’s full name as it appears on their door or mailbox.
• Add apartment, unit, suite or room numbers.
• For workplaces, add the department or company name.
• Double-check the postcode or ZIP code; it is the most common source of delays.

10. Holiday and busy seasons

The weeks before Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and the end of the school year are the busiest of our year and of the carriers’ year. Processing still aims for 1-3 business days, but carriers often run slower than usual, especially across borders. If your mug is for a fixed date in one of those seasons, order as early as you can and send any photo the same day. We would rather tell you honestly that a date is tight than have a gift arrive after the moment has passed, so ask us if you are unsure.

11. Questions about delivery

If something on this page is unclear, or you want to check timing before a specific date, email support@mugmellow.shop. Include your order number if you have one. We reply within 24 hours on business days. You may also find quick answers in our FAQs or the Help Center, and the full return terms are on the Returns & Exchanges and Refund Policy pages.

Mug Mellow, 8 Willard Drive, Uxbridge, MA 01569, US.