Navidium Shipping Protection

The Interstellar Collection, LLC is acknowledged by the IMCA (#3950), the Global Meteorite Association (GMA #042) and the Meteorite Club. We work directly with scientists in the field of Meteoritics to bring genuine meteorite specimens into the hands of museums, universities and to the general public. We unconditionally guarantee the authenticity of each meteorite we sell.

***Signed certificates of authenticity (by Brett) are provided with every meteorite order ***

***Cases are provided complementary with every order, as long as the meteorite fits***

***Scale cubes and stands do not come with your order ***

Shipping:
$8.00 domestic shipping.
International: Determined at checkout.

About how long will it take to receive my package?
We always mail packages through USPS Priority Mail (3 day delivery for Domestic) unless we are forced to use another provider.  

For International mail, we've seen packages arrive anywhere from 15-30 days.  Unfortunately, timing of delivery is out of our control once we mail the package, but we use the most trusted and reliable postal service in the United States and that time frame is what we typically see.

Do you recommend I get added insurance on my package? 
We urge all customers to consider insuring their packages through Navidium, the insurance option you'll be asked about at checkout.  For inexpensive packages, we automatically cover you up to $100 US Dollars for lost, stolen or damaged parcels.  For higher priced items, you may want to consider Navidium.  We typically mail using USPS Priority Shipping, which is trackable and very reliable.  With that being said: in the unlikely event that a package is lost or damaged during transit and is uninsured, The Interstellar Collection would not be held responsible.  The responsibility is now between the carrier and the customer. Once a package is no longer in our possession and has been turned over to the post office, it is out of our control.

Navidium to the rescue!  You may have noticed (or will notice) Navidium upon checkout of your item(s). Discover peace of mind while you shop with Navidium Insurance! When you choose Navidium, you’re not just getting coverage; you’re opting for a seamless shopping experience. Unlike traditional insurance agencies, Navidium collects a simple percentage (3%) of your purchases upon your request and applies 100% of that amount directly towards protecting your parcels. This means you can shop with confidence, knowing your investments are safeguarded without complicated policies or excess fees. To experience effortless protection that’s tailored to you, consider opting in for Navidium.  

Without additional insurance, you will unfortunately not qualify for a refund in the unlikely event that something goes wrong. 

If I am located outside of the United States, will I be charged import fees?
Every country is different.  Please connect with your local postal service to get the answer to your question.  The value you pay for the meteorite(s) from us will be exactly what is documented and presented on the customs form -  not a penny less. While this may be inconvenient to our customers (and we completely sympathize with you for the outrageous, unnecessary expensive import fees), this is the law. Please do not request us to document it any differently - we assure you we won't.   

Return Policy:  We accept returns within 14 days of purchase, however, in order to be eligible for a refund to your original method of payment, details below must be adhered to:

Prior to your return, you must email us at ICMeteorites@gmail.com to receive a Return Authorization number.  No returns will be accepted without contacting us first.  You will be responsible for the cost of mailing the item back to us, and will receive a refund within 7 days minus the original shipping costs after our team quickly inspects and confirms the returned item's condition.  

Item(s) must be returned in the condition in which they were received.  We suggest you keep all the original packaging that it came in. Due to the nature and fragility of meteorites, they must arrive safely to us in order to qualify for the return. 

If you have questions on how to package them correctly, do not hesitate to contact us prior to mailing it back.  We will be more than happy to go over best practices, which vary from stone to stone.  

How do I care for my meteorites?

For stony meteorites, you have very little to worry about outside of accidentally dropping and breaking the specimen.

With iron/stony-iron meteorites - you'll need to pay a little more attention to them. it's always a battle of humidity vs meteorite, and usually depends on where you live that will determine the level of extra attention that you'll need to give it.  The higher the humidity, the bigger hit the meteorite will take.  But with good habits, care and attention for your meteorites, you'll catch any issues before they ever become a serious problem.   

If you are finding that you are running into any problems down the line, you might want to consider sending the meteorite in for restoration, which we can do for you for a small fee.

Depending on how you display an iron or stony-iron meteorite (in or out of a cabinet) will determine if you should consider purchasing a desiccant container or not.  If it's being displayed inside of a cabinet, we suggest getting something like what's found in the link below to keep in the cabinet along with your meteorite: https://www.acehardware.com/departments/heating-and-cooling/air-quality/dehumidifiers/4205597

If you are storing it outside of a cabinet, just be sure to use a microfiber cloth every so often to (very, very gently) wipe any oils from your fingers off of it. 

The following methods below are helpful advice for the care of your iron meteorites that you can follow if you desire to do so, however, this is to be done at your own risk.  It is always best to send your specimen in for professional restoration:

If you have any rust appearing on the meteorite, consider using a little bit of CLR (found in most stores such as Lowes and even on Amazon, and apply it to the meteorite using distilled water.  Wear gloves and gently scrub the solution into the meteorite.  This usually removes rust the fastest, but you're not done yet!  Rinse the stone off with distilled water and place it in the oven at approximately 150 degrees F for about 6 hours.  This will take care of any remnant liquid left on the meteorite to prevent rust from forming.  The iron will be very hot, so please use caution when handling while still in the oven.  

When it comes to iron meteorites, we also suggest avoiding the use of membrane film cases.  While they are fine to use for transportation from point A to point B, over time they trap moisture and can cause the meteorite to begin to rust. 

If you bought a stony meteorite, you don't need to worry about rust - just its fragility.  All meteorites have varying levels of fragility - some more than others.  Always handle with care!

If you do not wish to attempt to clean your meteorite, we can do this for you.  The fee for restoration is minimal, but depends on the size, type and condition of the meteorite in question. If you've waited too long to send in for restoration, it might require more work to rid the specimen of rust and moisture.  If you've waited until the point of no return, you might have a meteorite that is too far gone for any restoration.  Essentially, you will have killed your meteorite... don't kill your meteorite. It lasted 4.6 billion years before it met you.  Do you want to be the reason you wiped it out of existence in such a short amount of time?