Shipping policy

General information

All orders depend on stock being available. If something you ordered is not in stock, we will let you know and refund that amount to your original payment method.

1. Where we deliver

We deliver anywhere in South Africa. You can have your order sent to an address, sent to a Bob Box locker to collect when it suits you, or you can collect it from our warehouse in Boksburg. We do not ship outside South Africa. Customers outside South Africa are welcome to order at our South African prices, including VAT, and collect from our Boksburg warehouse, or arrange their own courier or freight forwarder to collect on their behalf. Export and import documents, duties and taxes are then for the customer's account.

2. Your options at checkout

Which options you see depends on your address, the weight of the parcel and the size of the box. The exact price shows before you pay. Section 3 explains what to do if something arrives damaged or goes missing.

• Collect from SmartLabs, Bartlett. Free. Your order is ready within 1 business day and we email you when it is. Collection hours are Monday to Thursday 08:00 to 16:00 and Friday 08:00 to 15:00. We are closed on weekends and public holidays. Our complex is linked to the eNaTIS system, so security needs your driver's licence at the gate. Please have your order number with you.
• Bob Box locker. We send your parcel to a locker near you, usually 3 to 5 business days. You have 36 hours from the notification that it is ready before the locker releases it back to the courier and it is returned to us, so please collect promptly. Available for parcels up to 12 kg, where there is a locker close enough to your address.
• Economy delivery. Delivered to your address, usually 2 to 5 business days after dispatch.
• Express delivery. Delivered to your address, usually 1 to 2 business days after dispatch.
• Same day delivery. Order before 10:00 on a business day and we deliver the same day in parts of Gauteng. It only appears at checkout if your address qualifies. Orders placed after 10:00, or on a weekend or public holiday, go out on the next business day. If we cannot meet the same day window for any reason, we will contact you and either deliver on the next working day or refund the difference between same day and our standard delivery charge.

3. If something arrives damaged or goes missing

Report it to us within 24 hours of delivery. We assess every claim and, once it is confirmed, we replace or refund the affected items. This is our own undertaking, not courier insurance, and it applies whichever delivery option you choose.

To report it, email info@smartlabs.co.za with your order number and clear photos of the item and its packaging, and we will reply within 2 business days. Missing parcels are checked against the courier's proof of delivery. The 24 hour window is there so we can act while the delivery is still fresh, rather than picking up two weeks later that a parcel arrived broken. If the item is out of stock, we refund it in full instead.

Check your order as soon as it arrives. If the packaging is damaged, or something is missing, tell us straight away even if you have not unpacked everything yet.

Delivery charges are not refunded once your order has been delivered, because the delivery service has been rendered. If you change your mind and return an item, we credit you for the product, and any replacement order carries its own delivery charge. The exception is a cooling-off cancellation under section 44 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, where we refund the full amount you paid, including the original delivery charge. If the mistake is ours, none of that applies: where we sent the wrong item, the item is faulty, or your order arrived damaged, we cover the return courier cost and we deliver the correct or replacement item at our cost. You are never out of pocket for our error.

Couriers in South Africa carry limited liability for transit damage, and on fragile goods such as glassware they usually carry none. That is their position, not ours, and it is why we pack glassware the way we do and carry the replacement ourselves. You can read their terms on the Bob Go shipping restrictions page.

Nothing in this policy limits your rights under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008, including the six-month right to a repair, replacement or refund on defective goods, or your 7-day cooling-off right as an individual shopper under the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act. Our returns process is set out in the Return and refund policy.

4. Dispatch and delivery times

We aim to dispatch your order within 1 business day. Business days are Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays, and we do not ship over weekends. Same day orders are collected within hours rather than the next business day.

Delivery times run from dispatch, not from when you place the order, and they are estimates. They change with the courier, the destination and what you ordered. A large order may arrive as more than one parcel.

5. What delivery costs

The price depends mostly on where the parcel is going, and on how big and heavy it is. Couriers charge on whichever is greater, the actual weight or the space the box takes up, so a light but bulky parcel costs more than you would expect. Add your items to the cart and the exact charge shows at checkout. Remote areas and oversized items cost more.

6. Delivery instructions

There is a Delivery instructions box in your cart, just above the checkout button. Use it for anything the driver needs, such as a gate or complex code, school office hours, or the department to ask for at reception. Couriers run their own routes for the day, so we cannot promise a specific delivery time or a time window, but we do pass your instructions on to the driver.

7. Tracking your order

Enter your tracking number on the SmartLabs tracking page to see where your order is.

8. Items we cannot send by courier

Some products cannot travel with our couriers for safety and legal reasons. These include flammable liquids, corrosives, compressed gases and mercury-filled instruments. Where an item cannot be couriered, we will contact you to arrange collection from our Boksburg warehouse or another suitable option. Chemicals and hazardous goods are never sent to lockers or pickup points.

9. Questions

Email info@smartlabs.co.za or call 011 894 2070 and we will help.