ORDERING & SHIPPING INFORMATION
Shipping Information
Wild Idea Buffalo Company has been shipping buffalo meat nationwide for over 25 years. Products are handled with tremendous care and are hand-packed before being shipped from our fulfillment center in Denver, CO. If you have any questions or need to arrange special delivery, please don’t hesitate to let us know!
Transit Time
After your order is processed, you will receive an email confirming that your order has been shipped. This order will have a super helpful tracking number so you can see what day your package will arrive. We ship all orders via UPS.
Please note, the shipping method you choose does not necessarily determine when the order itself will ship. 2-day shipping means 2 days in transit, not that you’ll receive your order 2 days from the order date. Shipping frozen perishables means that we have to watch out for any potential transit delays, like weekends and holidays.
While you can place an online order at any time, it will not be shipped until the next available shipping window. To avoid having your order get stuck in a warehouse or somewhere along the transit chain over the weekend, we exclusively ship on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Only overnight orders will be shipped on Thursday. To ensure your overnight order is processed in time, please ensure that it is placed before 10:00 a.m. MDT.. Questions about shipping? Please feel free to contact us at info@wildideabuffalo.com.
Holiday Shipping Times
The holidays are a busy time of year for everyone - to ensure that your delivery arrives on time, please make sure you carefully read order deadlines and take note of what zone, Ground or Express, your state falls in. If you order past the deadline, don’t worry! We will still process your order, it is just highly unlikely that it will arrive before the intended date due to UPS holidays. That said, our products are better late than never.
There will not be any UPS delivery, ground, or air service on Thanksgiving day. To make sure your order arrives on time via your preferred shipping method, please ensure you place your order before the THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16TH.
There will not be any UPS delivery, ground, or air service on Christmas day. To make sure your order arrives on time via your preferred shipping method, please ensure you place your order before FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15TH.
FAQS
Why does shipping cost more in some zones?
In short, the farther away a destination is from our fulfillment center in Denver, the more it costs to ship our product to you. When we moved our fulfillment center to Denver, we were able to expand our Ground Zone to include more states. For those in our Express Zone and in non-contiguous states like Alaska and Hawaii, we have to send your order via 2-day air service or overnight to ensure that your product will get to you within a 3-day window and in the best condition possible.
We did not take the decision to change our shipping rates lightly, as we want to serve as many customers across the United States as possible and knew that creating air-only zones could impact those living farther from our fulfillment center. Since moving to Denver we have tried to keep our shipping costs lower than industry standard to ensure that as many people were able to share the buffaLOVE as possible. Under our previous model, we have been subsidizing the cost of packing, shipping, and replacing any orders that arrived late or in suboptimal condition, which put us on an unsustainable path in the face of rising business costs and our company's larger mission.
In everything we do, we always return to our mission: regenerating the prairie and honoring the life of the bison we process. When orders don't arrive on time or arrive thawed and the meat has to be discarded, we waste not only the packaging, but the life of the animal the meat came from. It is our hope that under this new shipping model, we can reduce waste and ensure your product will arrive on time and in great condition, allowing you to continue to eat sustainably and help regenerate the prairie, one bite at a time.
What does the shipping cost include?
Our shipping costs are calculated to include material cost for insulated packaging, dry ice, and gel packs for your order; labor costs for picking, packing, and shipping your order; transportation and delivery costs for your order.
How do you ship your products?
Your order will be hand-packed in a liner within an insulated cooler made from a corn-based biodegradable styrofoam. We will also add dry ice or gel packs to make sure your product stays at the correct temperature and arrives at your doorstep in excellent condition. This setup is all contained in a recyclable box that is shipped directly to you.
I got my order! What do I do with this box?
Our corn-based styrofoam coolers are 100% biodegradable and our boxes are 100% recyclable. Feel free to give your box a second life - they’re great for moving, storing things, wrapping gifts, or any other thing you might need a box for!
What if I'm not home when my order is delivered?
No worries! We waive all signature requirements unless otherwise requested, so your package should be waiting for you at the door when you get home. If you know you’ll be gone, it never hurts to leave a note for your delivery person stating where a nice, shady spot to put your box can be found. We do pack every order with a little bit of extra dry ice in case it does get left in the sun for a while; if you find your package in the sun, just bring it inside, make sure everything is in good condition, and put it in your fridge or freezer.
What if my order is thawed?
While we try to avoid thawing at all costs, it is unavoidable at times. If your box does arrive with some thawing, we will do everything we can to help. First, don’t just throw it away. Even if the meat is thawed or partially thawed, it may still be good; anything under 40 degrees is just like having it in your refrigerator. Second, take a quick picture of the meat you received. This will be super helpful if we do need to file a claim on your behalf or look further into the situation. After you’ve taken the pictures you need, go ahead and put the meat in your freezer and reach out to us over email at info@wildideabuffalo.com. We can help you discern whether or not the meat will need to be thrown out and regardless, we’d still love to hear about your situation and ensure we take care of you to the best of our ability.
Can I send an order as a gift?
Wild Idea’s buffalo meat makes a fantastic gift! You have several options here. If you are planning to send something for someone just to try and don’t know what they might like, we would recommend one of our gift cards. If you know exactly what you would like to send, just indicate the recipient address and we will ship it directly to them. If you would like to add a personal note in the box, please let us know in the “notes” section of your order.
We would also like to let you know that sometimes smaller orders, like a single pound of Italian Sausage or Ground Buffalo, thaw out quicker than larger orders. We do pack extra dry ice with smaller orders, but they do not get the added benefit of being surrounded by other frozen products. To help protect against thawing, we would recommend trying to hit at least three or four pounds for your order.
