From all the team here at Naturaldye.nl we hope you enjoy your holiday season as best as possible. We’d like to extend our thanks to you, our amazing customers for choosing our web shop to buy your favourite products. We know that this year has been like no other, and hasn’t been as straightforward as previous, however it has also shown us how important to communicate well with one another is. We’re very grateful our team was able to keep our service running without closure; despite the restrictions present and the challenges posed by them, which we worked through without delays to our ability to get your orders shipped to you quickly.
In recent weeks we’ve seen an increase in the number of questions regarding holiday periods and any days and times where shipping arrangements may be different. We’ve also fielded a few tricky questions from our customers based in the UK concerning what the effects of Brexit might be – we’ll get right onto that for you, please keep reading!
As you may be aware, this isn’t a normal year – we strongly recommend that if you have an urgent or time-sensitive order you should place it a few days in advance of your requirement. Despite knock on effects of Covid-19 on the DHL network, coupled with the high Xmas shopping levels the far majority of shipments still arrive on time, however the risk of delays to your parcel is substantially greater than previous years during the holiday season. Overloaded and late arriving vehicles are still an issue during the winter, as well as the effect of poor weather on flight schedules and local drivers in your area.
Christmas and New Year – Opening and early closing times
- For a good chance that DHL Express will hand over your parcel to you before Christmas we recommend ordering no later than Monday 21st December. Place and pay for your order before 14:00 CET / 13:00 UK time to ensure same day dispatch. Ordering on this day gives you a couple of days leeway since the DHL network is handling record levels of shipments this year.
- We are open until 12:00 CET / 11:00 UK time on Xmas eve, Thursday 24th December 2020. We have an early DHL collection on this day – please note that orders dispatched on this day will likely arrive from Tuesday 28th December 2020.
- We are open until 12:00 CET / 11:00 UK time on New Year’s eve, Thursday 31st December 2020. We have an early DHL collection on this day – please note that orders dispatched on this day will likely arrive from Monday 4th January 2021.
- Please check your calendar for national holidays or bank holidays as DHL do not operate locally on such days.
- We are closed on Xmas day 25th December 2020 and New Year’s day, Friday 1st January 2021. These days are national holidays in the Netherlands. There will be no customer service or dispatches by DHL on these days and the weekends following them respectively.
- We re-open in the new year on Monday 4th January 2021.
Brexit – What we can say at this stage (Subject to change due to ongoing trade talks at the time of writing)
We’ve not published anything prior to this post here simply because no one knows what the outcome of any negotiation might be at this stage. Rest assured we’ve done all preparation required for either outcome, and we have expedited shipping set up with DHL with customs clearance facilities ready to go. Sure, there may be some delays due to backlogs in the network as of January due to the couriers facing new logistical changes, however we’ll be doing everything we can do as normal here to enable us to continue to serve you. We don’t have any plans on stopping!
If you have a larger order in mind to stock up now is a good time to order, we wouldn’t recommend leaving your last purchase of 2020 later than Monday 28th December 2020.
At this moment in time, we cannot confirm what the implications regarding taxation will be for our UK customers. It’s unlikely that your favourite products on our store will cost more overall. Talks are ongoing regarding any potential trade deals, and hopefully red tape will be minimum for the type of products that we sell. DHL are well equipped to handle global shipments in terms of customs procedures and we’re confident our products will be processed without untoward delays.
If you have any further questions, comments or feedback please get in touch. We wish you all the best in health for the holidays and for 2021!
NaturalDye.nl