General Shipping Approach
Shifu Distribution (PTY) Ltd provides both local South African fulfilment for selected in-stock or forward-deployed products and cross-border fulfilment for goods sourced or procured from suppliers outside South Africa, including through platforms or channels operated under the ShopShipShake trading name.
Shipping times, dispatch estimates, and delivery arrangements differ depending on the origin of the goods, the supplier, the selected shipping method, customs requirements, and the customer’s profile or commercial arrangement.
Delivery Options and Estimated Timeframes
| Delivery options | Estimated Delivery* | Price |
| Pudo | +/- 3 to 5 working days | R85 quoted via Shopify Portal |
| Economy Courier | +/- 3 to 5 working days | R120 quoted via Shopify Portal |
| Courier | +/- 1 to 3 working days | R140 quoted via Shopify Portal |
| International Shipping – Air Freight |
Estimated at quotation stage | Quoted via international B2B portal |
| International Shipping – Sea Freight |
Estimated at quotation stage | Quoted via international B2B portal |
* All delivery and transit times are estimates only and may vary depending on operational, customs, carrier, supplier, and destination factors.
Local South African Orders
For products stocked or fulfilled locally in South Africa, orders are generally dispatched within 1 business day for in-stock items. Orders placed on weekends or public holidays are generally processed on the next working day.
If a local item is out of stock, we will notify the customer as soon as reasonably possible regarding the expected dispatch timing.
Cross-Border Orders
For cross-border orders, the shipping process may include multiple stages before final international dispatch, including supplier confirmation and order placement, supplier preparation or dispatch, domestic transit in the country of origin, receipt into warehouse, parcel measurement or weighing, parcel consolidation where applicable, freight quotation or selection, customs processing, and final-mile delivery.
As a result, cross-border delivery timelines are estimates only and may vary based on supplier readiness, warehouse processing, freight booking, customs clearance, carrier performance, destination-country procedures, and other operational factors.
Dispatch and Delivery Estimates
All dispatch times, shipping times, transit estimates, and delivery dates are indicative only unless we have expressly agreed otherwise in writing.
- supplier processing times
- stock availability
- domestic transport in the country of origin
- customs inspections or clearance
- public holidays
- courier backlogs
- weather events
- address verification issues
- force majeure events
- or other events outside our reasonable control
Peak periods, promotional periods, and holiday seasons may result in longer delivery times.
Payment and Release of Goods
We are not obliged to release, dispatch, deliver, or make goods available for collection until all amounts due in respect of the relevant transaction have been paid in full in cleared funds, unless we have expressly approved written credit terms.
For transactions involving wallet funding, recharge, freight selection, customs disbursement, duty/import VAT payment, or staged shipping charges, dispatch or release may be delayed until the relevant amounts are allocated and cleared in your account. For ShopShipShake cross-border procurement transactions, withholding release, dispatch, delivery, or collection is a payment-control and risk-management right and does not, by itself, mean that Shifu Distribution is the importer of record or principal seller.
Delivery Territory
Unless otherwise agreed, shipping is primarily offered within South Africa and its provinces, with additional cross-border or international arrangements being available only where expressly supported by the relevant platform, customer profile, or commercial arrangement.
Import Treatment for Cross-Border Shipments
For ShopShipShake cross-border shipments, the customer or customer profile remains the importer of record unless Shifu Distribution expressly agrees otherwise in writing.
The applicable import treatment, shipping route, customs-payment process, and duty/import VAT handling may be determined by the customer profile, shipment arrangement, quotation, invoice, product type, destination, available logistics route, operational requirements, carrier or clearing requirements, and applicable law. The applicable structure may not be changeable on a per-order basis.
The import treatment for a shipment may be described as follows:
- Duties/import VAT prepaid via Shifu as customs disbursement: Shifu Distribution collects duties and/or import VAT from the customer/importer and pays or passes those amounts through the relevant procurement, logistics, clearing, or customs-payment chain on behalf of the customer/importer.
- Duties/import VAT payable directly by customer/importer: duties, import VAT, customs fees, and related amounts are not collected by Shifu Distribution and remain payable directly by the customer/importer to the relevant clearing agent, carrier, logistics provider, customs authority, or other applicable party.
Any system, invoice, report, quotation, or operational reference to import treatment, shipping route, customs-payment process, or duty/import VAT handling is intended to describe the commercial shipping and customs-payment arrangement only. It does not change the customer’s importer-of-record status unless Shifu Distribution expressly agrees otherwise in writing.
We reserve the right to require duties/import VAT to be payable directly by the customer/importer where necessary for legal, regulatory, customs, operational, carrier, or risk-management reasons.
Customs and Import Charges
Customs clearance delays may occur and are outside our direct control.
Unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing, the customer/importer remains responsible for:
- any duties, taxes, import VAT, customs fees, clearance charges, storage charges, inspections, permits, penalties, regulatory costs, or other import-related charges applicable to the goods;
- ensuring that the goods are lawful to import and compliant with applicable laws, regulations, standards, permits, and product-specific requirements; and
- ensuring that importer-of-record details in the account profile are accurate and up to date.
Where duties and import VAT are prepaid via Shifu as customs disbursements, Shifu Distribution may collect those amounts from the customer/importer and pay or pass them through the relevant logistics and clearing chain. Where those amounts are payable directly by the customer/importer, the customer/importer must pay the relevant clearing agent, carrier, customs authority, logistics provider, or other applicable party directly.
Duties, import VAT, and customs-related charges may be shown as order-level, shipment-level, or consolidated totals on customer-facing invoices, shipping invoices, statements, or account records. Product/SKU-level customs breakdowns may be retained in Shifu Distribution’s internal records or by the relevant logistics, clearing, or customs parties and may not appear on customer-facing invoices.
Where customs authorities, carriers, or service providers impose additional fees, delays, holds, inspections, or penalties, these may affect the final delivery timing and cost.
Chargeable Weight and Volumetric Weight
For certain cross-border shipments, shipping charges may be based on actual weight, volumetric weight, or chargeable weight, depending on the relevant carrier or service model.
Volumetric weight is used where the space occupied by the parcel is more commercially significant than its actual physical weight. Chargeable weight is generally the higher of the actual weight and the volumetric weight, in accordance with the carrier or service provider’s applicable formula and rules.
This means lightweight but bulky parcels may cost more to ship than dense parcels of the same actual weight.
Lost, Delayed, or Damaged Shipments
A shipment is not automatically considered lost merely because it is delayed beyond an estimated transit time.
For local orders, a parcel may be treated as potentially lost only after a reasonable investigation period has passed. For cross-border orders, additional investigation time may be required due to supplier dispatch timing, warehouse handling, customs processing, and international carrier movement.
Any visible shortage, transit damage, or delivery discrepancy must be reported to us in writing within 48 hours of receipt and supported, where applicable, by delivery records, photographs, carrier notations, or other reasonable evidence. Any concealed damage or non-obvious shortage must be reported within 7 calendar days of receipt. Any non-delivery concern must be raised within a reasonable time after the customer becomes aware that the shipment may be materially delayed beyond the applicable estimated delivery window, and only after allowing us a reasonable opportunity to investigate the shipment status with the relevant supplier, warehouse, carrier, customs authority, or service provider. Where carrier procedures apply, the customer must also comply with the carrier’s applicable claims process.
Incorrect or Incomplete Address Information
The customer is responsible for providing accurate and complete delivery details.
If a parcel is delayed, returned, misrouted, or incurs additional charges due to an incorrect, incomplete, or outdated address, contact detail, or delivery instruction supplied by the customer, the customer will be responsible for any resulting re-delivery fees, storage fees, or additional charges, and we will not be responsible for loss arising from inaccurate customer-provided delivery information.
Contact Us
If you have any shipping-related questions, please contact us using the contact details listed on our Contact Information page.
