Shipping

The Serious Chef offers FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING on all orders of $100 or more. When you place an order with The Serious Chef, we forward your order to SKK in Germany. Your order is shipped to you directly from Germany.

Our preferred carrier is DHL Worldwide Express.

The average shipping cost for a single piece of cookware (from Germany to the US) varies between $135 and $350 (larger orders can cost considerably more). This does NOT include customs, duties, taxes, and fees, which can add an additional $15 (and often more) to the total cost. As our customer, you need not concern yourself with any of these costs, because we absorb them all.

FREE SHIPPING requires a minimum order of $99.99.

Truthfully, we wanted to offer free shipping on all items, but it simply isn't cost effective. For example: We would be operating at a considerable loss if a customer purchased a single glass lid for $29, and we had to pay $135 to ship it! Also, it's relatively easy to reach the $100 minimum order threshold, because ALL but 2 pans cost $100 or more. This means that (with the exception of only 2 frying pans) ALL POTS AND PANS SHIP ABSOLUTELY FREE. Accessories will incur a shipping fee ONLY IF they are ordered as standalone products. If a customer orders an accessory along with any pot or pan, then of course the whole order ships free. Basically this means that on some orders we'll make a profit, and on others we'll break even, and on others we might lose a little bit. To our way of thinking, it all evens out in the end, and if it keeps our customers happy, well then that's just the way we roll.

IMPORTANT: Effective December 1, 2022, as part of the current International crisis, DHL has added an additional *minimum* fuel surcharge of $53.27 per package. This surcharge is based upon the weight and size of your package. The Serious Chef will continue to absorb all transportation costs, but we cannot afford to absorb this fuel surcharge too. The "shipping charge" you see at checkout is strictly the current fuel surcharge and nothing more. We hope this is only a temporary surcharge and we will soon be able to return to 100% free shipping.

On average, it takes 2-3 days for The Serious Chef to receive your payment after your credit card is processed. Currency transfers from The Serious Chef to SKK in Germany usual take only 1 business day. Assuming your item is in stock (95% of all items are in stock), processing and handling at the SKK Manufacturing Facility takes (on average) 2-3 days. If your item is out-of-stock, you pot or pan will be manufactured exclusively for you, and we will send you an updated delivery schedule. DHL Express promises delivery to the US from Germany within 4 business days. In a perfect world, customers could expect to receive their orders within 11 business days (from the date  they placed their order). More realistically, taking into account possible delays at US customs, etc. (we attempt to minimize these delays by prepaying all customs fees), we tell our customers to expect their orders to arrive within 3 weeks. We love to under-promise and over-deliver!

When your order ships, we will provide you with a DHL tracking number. You can track your order right here on this site using our tracking link, so you'll always know where your package is, and when it's expected to arrive.

SIGNATURE UPON DELIVERY:  If you elect this service (for an extra fee of $5.55), DHL will be required to obtain a signature from you (or a representative) at your delivery address. In case no one is at the delivery address, DHL will reattempt delivery. The driver will not leave the package unattended. This service makes sure your shipments cannot be re-routed, dropped in a post box, or left with a neighbor. Some of our customers are worried about "porch pirates" and they want a signature required. Others are at work when their packages arrive and they WANT them left on their doorstep. It's difficult to please everyone. That's why we are offering this as an OPTIONAL service. If you don't require a signature, then you don't need to do anything. If you want the added security of a required signature, then simply >CLICK HERE< and add SIGNATURE UPON DELIVERY to your cart as if it were another product. The Serious Chef makes no money from this service. This is the exact cost billed to us by DHL.