Orders, Shipping & Payments FAQ

Below you'll find quick answers to common questions. You can also send us a message or reach our Minneapolis office between 8am - 5pm (CST) Monday-Friday by calling 612-886-2089

Website Orders

  • Orders for in-stock small goods (green coffee, small parts, books, etc.) will leave our warehouse within 1-2 business days of final payment.
  • Drop-shipped, backordered, made-to-order goods have their own timelines. See product pages of those items for expectations on when your order will ship.
  • Roastery service items such as bulk roasted coffee typically leave our roastery within 2-3 days. For first-time toll roasting customers or large orders (400+ pounds), we may delay your order until the following week to allow us to work you into our weekly schedule.
  • We will send an email when your order is ready to ship. Thanks for your patience.
  • Our website accepts US-based credit cards. Contact us if your payment was declined due to payment type or unverifiable international address.
  • If you prefer to set up an order via phone or email, we will email you an invoice you can pay online via our payment portal.
  • Offline Payments via bank transfer or personal check are available. Contact us for bank information or our mailing address.
  • Purchases over $100 to customers without an account may require a matching billing & shipping address.
  • At checkout, you will be able to choose to have you order shipped via the United States Postal Service (USPS), UPS, or Fedex.
  • You will be emailed when your order ships and provided a tracking number.
  • All packages are insured to the point of delivery. Mill City Roasters is not responsible for stolen packages or non-delivery due to incorrect address. If you require Signature Confirmation on your package, please contact us.
  • If purchasing on our website, you will be able to choose to have you order shipped via DHL.
  • We are only able to ship to the shipping address recorded during the credit card or PayPal transaction.
  • We are not able to ship green coffee internationally. Sorry.
  • Mill City Roasters is not responsible for non-delivery due to unclaimed packages or unpaid VAT. Watch for notification from your postal service or contact them if you suspect your package is being held by customs. Postage on returned packages is not refundable.
  • International customs processing can delay packages without warning. It’s unfortunate but there isn’t much we can do beyond waiting longer. Thanks for your patience.
  • If your package has not been tracked in 45 days (60 days in Italy & Greece) and we are no longer seeing delays due to the global pandemic, we can file an insurance claim and discuss a replacement.

Your package is insured to the point of delivery. If you have an unsecure delivery location (porch, stoop, multi-tenant building foyer, etc.), please change your address to a secure location or contact us to add a direct signature requirement to your package. 

If your tracking indicates your package was delivered but you cannot find it, contact your postal carrier or route worker immediately. They can direct you to where the package was left - they are your best resource for locating a package.

Please note that the carrier determines the point of delivery. If the carrier tracking says the package was delivered, the insurance we've purchased for your package will not issue you a refund. Your renters, homeowners or business insurance would cover in the case of theft from your property.

Choose a different address or contact us to add a signature requirement if you're concerned about your delivery location.

COFFEE ROASTER & Large equipment ORDERS

Most people start with a quote and then work closely with our team to build out a complete order. If your model is back ordered, we'll take a deposit to hold your place on our waitlist. If your model is in stock, full payment will be required after we verify your order and shipping details.

Please note, we cannot hold roasters without payment (or deposit when applicable). If you are financing your purchase and have a signed financing agreement from your lender, we can reserve a roaster without deposit while we finalize the order to submit for funding from your lender.

Deposits & Reservation Cancellation: A deposit is required to reserve a roaster. Deposit amounts will vary between 60%-100% of the machine value depending on where the available machine is in our production schedule. Deposits will be applied toward final balance of your order. You can request to cancel your reservation and have your deposit refunded up until final payment is due. Processing fees may apply for credit card reversals.

Final Payments: Final payment of orders for in-stock roasters will be due once we finalize order & shipping details. Final payment of back-ordered roasters will be due when the machine arrives in North America. If you are unable to make final payment when it is requested, we will contact you to move you down on our waitlist to free up your reserved machine for the next person in line.

Storage and Restocking Fees: If your order is paid in full but you are unable to take delivery of your order when it is ready-to-ship, we can store your order for 1 month. Longer term storage is available if required. Mill City Roasters reserves the right to charge upto a 25% restocking fee if you choose to cancel an order for a roaster we’ve stored for you -or- if you are unresponsive to discuss the status of your order.

Payment Reversals: If you request to reverse a payment or deposit to a credit card, a 2% processing fee may apply.

  • Our website accepts US-based credit cards.
  • If you prefer to place your order via phone or email, we will email you an invoice you can pay online via our payment portal.
  • Offline Payments via bank transfer or personal check are available. Contact us for bank information or our mailing address.

In-Stock Roasters: We process and ship roasters on a weekly basis – orders finalized and paid in full by Sunday night, leave the warehouse by the following Friday. Call us to verify availability – we do our best to keep our website up today but inventory changes daily (sometimes hourly).

Back-Ordered Roasters: If the model you want is not in stock, we have a waitlist system that allows us to allocate machinery on a first-come-first-served basis. See below for more information on reserving a back-ordered coffee roaster.

We build our coffee roasters in batches of 30-50 machines. When you place a deposit and your model is back-ordered, we will share with you which batch your machine is part of so you can follow our progress. All customers can follow our production and shipping progress on our Roaster Order Status pages.

For installations inside North America: All roasters are brought to our warehouse in Minneapolis, MN, USA where they are stocked and distributed. See below for more information on Coffee Roasters Shipping to North America.

For installation outside North America: Shipping will be arranged direct from our manufacturing partner in Shenzhen to skip our North American warehouse and save you time in transit. See below for more information on Coffee Roasters Shipping to International Customers.

Coffee Roaster shipping to North America

If your delivery address is located in the USA, Canada or Mexico, your freight will ship from our Minneapolis warehouse via Fedex Freight. This would be an LTL freight shipment which typically takes 5-10 business days to deliver depending on location. Please note that remote areas away from commercial hubs or in geographically challenging locations may take additional days for Fedex to arrange a truck that can reach you.

CANADA – Although NAFTA typically provides for low or no duties, you will still need a customs broker to shepherd your roaster across the border. If you do not have a customs broker, we can make a recommendation. Please submit your broker’s name and phone number to us before final payment so we can prepare your shipping documentation.

MEXICO – most Mexico-based customers self-import from freight forwarders or terminals in Texas. Using a freight forwarder is an option for all customers. Freight forwarded orders are still subject to applicable sales tax laws and the customer assumes liabilty for the safe delivery of the order once delivered to your freight fowarder or terminal.

Dock vs. liftgate delivery is really about the type of truck Fedex will use for final delivery of your crates.

Dock Delivery: You must have a standard-height delivery dock or forklift to get your crate(s) off of the 53′ delivery truck. A pallet jack is required for ALL dock deliveries for safe and efficient movement of the shipment from the delivery truck into your facility. YOU ARE REQUIRED TO MOVE YOUR SHIPMENT OFF THE TRUCK AND INTO YOUR FACILITY. If the driver moves your roaster off the back of their delivery truck, there will be additional service fees assessed as “inside delivery”.

Liftgate Delivery: If you don’t have a dock or a forklift, you will need a truck with a liftgate to lower your goods to the ground. Available only for roasters 10kg capacity or smaller. The delivery driver will not move your crates after offloading them on the ground. YOU ARE REQUIRED TO MOVE YOUR SHIPMENT FROM THE GROUND AND INTO YOUR FACILITY. If the driver moves your roaster after lowering to the ground, there may be additional service fees.

When your shipment arrives, inspect the outside of the crates/pallets/packages for any damage or missing pieces BEFORE you sign for your delivery. If you find damage on the outside of the delivery, open your order while the driver remains on-site and document any damage on the delivery form. Be as specific as possible when documenting the damage and take photos. If the outside of the delivery is undamaged, you will still need to open all crates/pallets/packages to inspect the contents for concealed damage. WE ONLY HAVE FIVE DAYS TO SUBMIT A CLAIM FOR CONCEALED DAMAGE. Contact us immediately with any problems. Please take photos whenever possible.

COFFEE ROASTER SHIPPING TO INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS (Outside North America)

If you are installing your roaster outside of North America, shipping will be arranged direct from our manufacturing partner in Shenzhen, China to skip our North American warehouse and save you time in transit. There’s two options for taking delivery direct from our manufacturing partner in Shenzhen.

Exworks Factory Pickup: See below

Freight Forwad to your Port via CIF: See below

This is the preferred options for most international customers. You hire a broker who arranges to pick up your order at our factory and manages for you the entire experience from shipping to customs clearance both in China and at your nation’s border as well as delivering to your location. Mill City Roasters charges no additional fees for you to pick up your order at the factory.

We will notify you when your order is ready to be picked up and provide you with contact information to pass your broker to arrange a window for pickup.

The benefit of you choosing to use a freight forwarder is that the cost is typically less but the process has challenges for those that are unfamiliar with importing and exporting without the help of a broker.

Some phases of freight forwarding are first-come-first-served so they cannot be pre-scheduled. All outgoing orders are subject to export customs in Shenzhen. Because freight forwarded shipping method is LCL (less than container) so it can not be prescheduled until after the crates have passed through export customs in Shenzhen. You will not know the exact date that your roaster will depart until it is just about to depart (and sometimes just after it departed). This process generally takes 1-2 weeks under normal conditions and we are not able to give you a status update during this time.

Once we know a vessel name, you will be able to track that vessel via vesselfinder.com or similar service. We will also provide to you all the customs documentation requried for you to manage you import once your crates reach you port.

Once your crates arrive at the port of your choice, you will need to arrange clearance of your nation’s customs department to import the machinery. You  may be able to pick your goods up from the port or you may choose to arrange additional shipping to your location.

Fees to paid to Mill City Roasters for freight forwarding are for transportation only. Mill City Roasters does not pay any import duty, VAT, port fees, storage fees, etc. If you are new to importing and exporting and port negotiation, it is highly suggested you choose Exworks Factory Pickup as your choice of delivery and have a professional broker manage your delivery & import.

Returns

Unless otherwise noted on the product page, you may return unopened, un-installed parts and tools within 14 days of delivery. Buyer covers all shipping costs in most cases.

In general, we do not issue refunds for the items listed below but check the Returns tab on the product page of your product to verify what is available to you or check the product warranty for terms.

  • Food (included green & roasted coffees)
  • Books & education materials
  • Classes within 30 days of class.
  • Items over $1000 in value (unless approved by Mill City Roasters)
  • Clearance & sale items

In any case, if you have an issue, reach out.

REQUEST A QUOTE

Request a quote to get freight costs to have your equipment delivered to your location.

CALL (612) 886-2089

Our office team is available Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm (CT) and messages are monitored nearly around the clock.

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Reach out to us via our contact page and we'll get back to you asap.