How long it takes, and what happens along the way

The honest answer is two to three weeks from the day we buy it, and a few hours before that to get you a price.

Here is what happens in between, and where the time actually goes.

The six steps

1. Quote accepted. You have the price, you have accepted it, and you have chosen where it goes. Nothing has been bought and nothing has been charged.

2. Deposit received. Your 20% is confirmed. This is the moment your order is confirmed and your price is locked. Paying by card confirms in seconds; a transfer takes the few hours a person needs to match it.

3. Purchased. We have bought it from the shop. This is also the point after which the order can no longer be cancelled — before it, you can cancel for a full refund at any time.

4. On its way to Egypt. The longest step by a distance, and where most of the two to three weeks lives.

5. Arrived in Egypt. We ask you for the balance here. Nothing is delivered before it is paid.

6. Delivered. To your door, with nothing to pay on arrival.

You can see exactly which step your order is on at any time in your account, and you get a message when it moves.

Where the time actually goes

Almost all of it is step 4. Steps 1 to 3 are hours or a day; steps 5 and 6 are days. The middle is the part nobody can compress, and any company that promises you otherwise is either charging enormously for it or about to disappoint you.

Two to three weeks is what we plan for and what we tell you. When something is going to take longer, you will hear it from us rather than wonder.

What can add time

Waiting on your deposit. Nothing is bought before it is confirmed. If you accept a quote on Sunday and pay on Wednesday, your clock starts on Wednesday.

A transfer with no receipt attached. Matching a payment without one is slow. Adding the confirmation screen turns days into hours.

The item being out of stock. It happens, particularly during sale season. If we cannot buy it, you get everything back within five business days with no deduction, or account credit if you prefer.

Customs. Occasionally something takes longer to come through than usual. The *cost* of that is ours — the price you were quoted does not change — but the time is real and we will tell you.

Public holidays, at both ends.

What you should not plan around

Do not order something you need on a specific date. A birthday next week, something for a trip — buy it in Egypt. We would rather say that plainly than have you counting days. It is the fourth item in what not to buy from abroad for exactly this reason.

If you are ordering for an occasion, work backwards: three weeks from purchase, plus however long you take to pay the deposit, plus a margin. A month before is comfortable. A fortnight before is a gamble.

Getting the price is the fast part

Sending a link takes a minute and a person comes back, usually within hours, with one fixed final price in Egyptian pounds. That costs you nothing and commits you to nothing — and knowing the real number is what lets you decide properly.

Send us a link, or work out an estimate yourself with the calculator.