Shipping Standards & Guidelines

By placing an order on this website you agree to the terms and conditions stated in this “shipping and returns policy.” If you have not agreed yet, you will do when you checkmark “Agree to the Terms and Conditions” at the checkout section.

At The Hallaca Factory, all products are handmade, fully cooked, and shipped frozen with cold packs and high-performance insulation. We offer a variety of shipping methods at checkout to accommodate different timelines and climate needs.

Our Free Shipping option is typically fulfilled via USPS Ground Advantage, a non-refrigerated ground service that can take up to 5 business days depending on your location. While this method is suitable for most orders, we strongly recommend choosing expedited shipping if you live in a hot climate or need to ensure faster delivery and a colder arrival.

It is important to understand that free shipping does not guarantee frozen or cold arrival. Cold packs are expected to melt during in transit, especially during warmer months or longer routes, but this does not indicate spoilage. Our products are vacuum-sealed and fully cooked, making them safe for transit within our specified window of 48 to 72 hours and sometimes even longer. However, upon delivery, all items should be refrigerated immediately, even if they are no longer cold to the touch.

By placing an order, you acknowledge that you have read and understood these shipping guidelines. The Hallaca Factory is not responsible for customer decisions to discard product based on melted cold packs or temperature perception alone, especially when the item remains sealed and safe.

Our fulfillment center is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. All orders ship anywhere from SoFLo.

We ship anywhere and only in the Continental US. We do not ship to Hawaii, Canada, or Mexico. Once an order is shipped it cannot be cancelled, nor refunded.

Attention:
The shipping you choose at checkout does not indicate the processing time of your order. The shipping you choose at checkout only indicates the transit time from our door to your door once the order ships.

We take from 48 up to 72 hours to process orders depending on the circumstance. No orders are process immediately.  Many items are made to order and they are made, baked, etc, on a specific day of the week. Example, Cachitos are baked on Thursdays. If your order contains Cachitos it must wait until the next following Monday. No exceptions. Orders only process immediately if certain conditions are met, example: If you are a recurring customer, it’s early in the week, and items are in stock. Otherwise it must wait until products become available.

All orders containing perishable items will be charged $4.99 for insulated boxes and dry ice-packs fee.
We ship in Styrofoam insulated boxes. These boxes maintain items at a proper temperature during transit, which is 2 to 3 days for the most part. Our insulated boxes also contain re-usable dry ice, or gel-packs.

Attention please: If you are planning a party, a gathering, or an event, and must have your order delivered before certain date, or day, please “Notify Us” by dropping a note on the: “Special Instructions to the Order,” at the checkout section. We are not wizards. Hence, advise us.

Attention: No orders will be sent to PO BOXES.
If by mistake we ship an order to a PO Box and it remains sitting due to no notification The Hallaca Factory will not be held responsible for the spoiling of products. If you live in a rural area, and your order must go via  FedEx or UPS, please “Notify Us” by dropping a note on the: “Special Instructions to the Order.” If you do not have a mail receptacle, live on a new development, or a rural area, Notify Us.”  Drop a line on: “Special Instructions to the Order.” If you plan to travel, and have a short dead line, please “Notify Us” by dropping a note on the: “Special Instructions to the Order.” We cannot remind you enough: We do not ship to PO Boxes using UPS or FedEx, avoid delays and complications. If you must have your order shipped to a Post Office Box for a special reason you must choose USPS. There are no exceptions to this rule, so please “Notify Us,”  drop a line on the “Special Instructions to the Order” box. As you can tell, almost anything can be done if you let us know. “Special Instructions to the Order” is there for you, so please use it!

Warning:
 Shipping fees are non-refundable. All Sales Are Final. We do not offer refunds — No exceptions. However, if there’s a verified issue with your order,we are happy to offer a replacement. The Hallaca Factory is not responsible for customer decisions to discard product based on melted cold packs or temperature perception alone, especially when the items remain sealed and safe.
The Hallaca Factory will not be also liable for spoilage of products due to: Forgotten pickups, packages left out in the sun, at the back, side door, or stolen, broken due to extreme rough handling, ripped out, eaten by the dogs, misplaced behind the steps, hidden on the porch, delivered elsewhere, next door, the guy did not ring the bell, or simply missing, etc . The Hallaca Factory does not remote control what the guy does. “Every head is its own world” all guys think different, and operate different. The Hallaca Factory’s sole obligation is to sell, pack, and hand the parcels to carriers to ensure a successful delivery. If any of the above unfortunately occurs, and trust us, “Stuff Happens,” it will be considered merely bad luck. Any event, or situation after a parcel has been picked up is completely beyond our means and control. However, if there’s a verified issue with your order,
we are happy to offer a replacement.

Attention: Track your package, avoid any of these previous situations. Take the necessary precautions. Let your neighbor know, or have the order shipped to your place of business. These are safe practices that help to avoid delays and complications. One safe practice is to make sure you double check the shipping address and write it complete,  include the Apt#, Unit#, Lot#, Suite#, etc. Please avoid unnecessary delays. Do not assume the “Mailman Knows You,” or “The UPS Guy, or Concierge Knows You.”

Anything can happen the day of the delivery. For instance, it could be the regular guys day off filling in for the regular guy. Mailman’s take a day off the week of and it rotates forward meaning it keeps changing every week. Plus some have Dr’s appointments, sick days, and the like. Others at times don’t even show up for work.

Other things to consider:
If for any reason, an order is returned due to being undeliverable, we will work with the customer. A short investigation will be conducted and we will come to a resolution. Most of the times the result is beneficial for both parties. In most cases we will replace the order.

Customers placing orders on this website hereby agree that it is the customer’s sole responsibility to look and track after their package to ensure a successful delivery. For such task, The Hallaca Factory hereby agrees to email promptly a tracking number to the customer once the order has been shipped. The Hallaca Factory will not be responsible for tracking numbers not being delivered due to email typos, emails falling on junk folders or considered spam by the customer’s server.

Make sure you receive an email order confirmation. If you do, you will receive a tracking number.
If you do not get an email order confirmation, check your spam, or junk folder. If still not there, most likely you had typo your email. Let us know by sending an email to helpdesk@thehallacafactory.com.

Tips for choosing shipping methods.
If you live in Mountain Time, or Pacific Time, we strongly recommend to use the “Express” option instead of the “Standard or Free Shipping” This ensures a faster and most important guaranteed delivery time.

USPS unfortunately is a gamble on most major metro areas, (and you don’t want to gamble with food you are going to eat.) They seldom deliver in two days. Sadly, they screw up a lot. Avoid using this option (Free Shipping) unless you know your post man very well and he knows you, and it is not a busy time of the year. Again, keep in mind you are going to be eating this food. Yet, the choice is ultimately yours. (If an order is delayed, please do not blame it on us. “We warned you” The previous circumstance does not  apply to dry products. If you are only ordering dry goods the mail service is more convenient than the other services, of course, depending on what it is.

Refrigerate or freeze upon arrival, cold and frozen products accordingly. We do not ship Thursdays, or Fridays to avoid weekend interruptions. Orders received late in the week, late means Wednesdays, will be shipped the next following Monday. Unless is an FL, GA, AL, MS, LA, TN, KY, SC, NC, OH, VA, DC, MD, PA, IN, AR, WV MO. If that the following Monday is a holiday, or such is being observed, it will then ship on the next following Tuesday, (Expect delays)

Here you will find a link to “Ground Map” of shipping transit times with UPS. (FL is Next Day Delivery via Ground ) except for the Pan Handle area, (west of Tallahassee.) You know you are in the Pan Handle if you are in Central Time. The Hallaca Factory will not issue refunds on wrong service choices made on shipping services. Click this link, enter the date and zip code to find out.