How shipping works
Straight from Korea
We're the importer, not a drop-shipper. Our own team in Korea gathers gear from the brands we carry into one shipment, and we bring it across the Pacific ourselves: a container every three weeks, a flight every week.
Our brands make far more sizes and colours than one shelf can hold. We stock what you ask for most and bring the rest in to order, so you get the full range at a fair price. Our story →
Every product page shows how your item gets to you and when it'll be ready. Already ordered? Track your order →
01
No duties. No brokerage fees.
We import as the distributor and pay every duty and tariff before your order reaches you. Nothing is added at checkout, and nothing is owed at the door, in Canada or in the US.
02
Warranty handled here
We're the importer, so warranty claims start with our team in BC. You don't deal with a factory overseas. See our Warranty Policy for what's covered.
03
Gear you won't find elsewhere in North America
Many of the Korean brands we carry have no other North American distributor. Brands like BUENOFE, Mount River, Biloc and KOVEA reach this side of the ocean through our Korea office.
Live from our shipping calendar
Next departures
The dates below come from our shipping calendar and match what you see on every product page. Each one is the day the shipment is ready at our warehouse in BC, not the day it reaches your door.
Next ocean container
Order by October 14
closes in 8 days
Ready mid November
Sails from Busan. Reserve by the order-by date to be on this container. Weather and port conditions can move these dates.
Next air shipment
Order by October 11
closes in 5 days
Ready October 20
Flies from Incheon. Express Air is offered on eligible items only, and any air charge is shown on the product page.
The route
How your order travels
Five steps from a brand's warehouse in Korea to ours in British Columbia. We handle four of them ourselves, which is why every product page can show you a date.
Step 1
Our Korea office
Our own team collects from each brand and consolidates everything into one shipment. Many brands, one container.
Step 2
Out of Korea
Ocean freight sails from Busan every three weeks. Air freight leaves Incheon every week.
Step 3
The crossing
About three weeks on the water to the Port of Vancouver, or three to four days in the air.
Step 4
Port and customs
Unloaded, cleared and trucked to our warehouse. We pay the duties at this stage, before your order is on the shelf.
Step 5
Ready at our warehouse
Checked in and ready. US orders cross the border from here with duties prepaid, and the tracking number is emailed the day it ships.
Three ways to order
How your order arrives
Each product page tells you which one applies, with dates.
In stock
Ready in 1–2 business days
Already on our shelves, in BC or at our US warehouse. Order it and it's ready to ship within two business days.
Standard Ocean · reserve it
Ready about 5 weeks after the order-by date
A container leaves Korea every three weeks. Reserve before the countdown on the product page runs out and your order sails on the next one. Miss it and you wait for the one after.
- Reserving gets you the Reserve price, usually 10% below regular, or the Early Bird price on a new product. The product page shows which applies.
- The order-by countdown and the ready date are on the product page.
- Once the container reaches Vancouver, any stock left unreserved is sold as Arriving: regular price, ready within about a week.
- Free to cancel, right up until it leaves our warehouse.
Express Air
Ready in 5–12 days
Flown from our Korea office on the weekly air shipment. Offered on items eligible for air freight, and the product page says so.
- Any air charge is shown on the product page before you add to cart.
- Same duties-paid import, same warranty.
- Express Air orders still qualify for free shipping.
What “ready” means
Every date we publish is the day your order is ready at our warehouse in BC. It's not the day a ship docks, and it's not a guess at when it lands on your doorstep. Ports and couriers keep their own schedules. Our warehouse shelf is the one thing we control, so that's the date we put on the page.
- Delivery in the US
From our BC warehouse: 4–10 business days after your order is ready, across the border with duties prepaid. From our US warehouse (some in-stock items): 3–7 business days. Either way, there's nothing to pay on arrival.
After you order
You hear from us when something happens, not in between. To check on your order any time, go to tracking.bigtentoutdoors.com and enter the email you ordered with. We'll send you a private link to your order's page.
If your order ships
- Order confirmation, right away. Your receipt and a summary of what you ordered.
- Shipping confirmation, the day it leaves our warehouse. It says your order is on its way and carries the tracking number.
If a date moves, we'll email you the new one. You can cancel for a full refund any time before your order ships.
What shipping costs
Free local shipping over USD $300
Contiguous US only. Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and other territories are excluded.
Reserve and Express Air orders qualify too. Below the threshold, shipping is calculated at checkout.
Two exceptions: oversized items, and items priced more than 10% below their regular price, such as sale, clearance and Early Bird prices. Each product page shows whether an item qualifies. Details in our Free Shipping Policy.
Changes and cancellations
Free cancellation, any time before your order leaves our warehouse. Full refund, no questions, however long it's been reserved. Chose pickup? The same applies right up until you collect it.
Once it has shipped, a change of mind falls under our Returns policy: you pay for shipping both ways, and refunds to your card are less the 3.5% processing fee we've already paid. Choose store credit and there's no fee.
Need to change a reserved order? Chat with us before it ships.
Questions we get
Will I be charged duties, tariffs or a brokerage fee?
No. We import on a delivered-duty-paid basis and cover all of it. Nothing is added at checkout and nothing is collected at the door. If a courier ever asks you for money on delivery, that's a mistake. Tell us and we'll fix it.
Why does an ocean order take about five weeks?
A container leaves Korea every three weeks. From the order-by date it takes about five weeks until the goods are ready at our warehouse in BC: about a week to place orders and load the container, about three weeks at sea to Vancouver, then about a week to unload, clear customs and truck it to us. Weather and port conditions can shift those dates by a few days.
What varies most is the wait before all that. Order just before an order-by date and you get the short end. Order just after and you wait for the next container. That's why the countdown is on every product page.
I need it for a trip in two weeks. What are my options?
Look for Express Air on the product page. Air orders are ready 5 to 12 days after you order, depending on when the weekly flight leaves. If an item isn't eligible for air freight, the page won't offer it, and paying more won't get it here faster. We'd rather tell you that than take your money.
What if my ready date changes?
Shipping schedules slip sometimes: weather, port congestion or a customs exam on the container. When that happens, we'll email you the new date. You can keep your order, switch to Express Air where it's offered (we'll tell you the price difference first), or cancel for a full refund any time before it leaves our warehouse. Customs exams are explained on our Customs Exams page.
Why did the Reserve price go away?
Once the container reaches port, there's only about a week left to wait, so the item goes back to its regular price and is sold as Arriving. If you've already ordered, you keep the price you paid.
Is the warranty valid here, or is this grey-market gear?
It's valid. We buy directly from each brand and import as their distributor, so warranty claims start with our team in BC, not with a factory in Korea. Coverage details are in our Warranty Policy.
Why not keep everything in stock?
Our Korean brands make many more sizes and colours than we could keep on a shelf in BC. Stocking all of it would mean carrying fewer products at higher prices. Reserving lets us bring in the full range, including items that would otherwise never reach North America.
I'm in the US. Does my order come from Korea?
No. In-stock items ship from our BC warehouse or our US warehouse. Anything we bring in from Korea lands at our BC warehouse first, where duties are paid and the shipment is checked, then crosses the border to you with duties prepaid. No customs paperwork, no broker and nothing to pay at the door.
Policies and help
Shipping Policy · Free Shipping Policy · Returns & Refunds · Exchange Policy · Warranty Policy · Customs Exams
Still have a question? Chat with us and a person will answer, or email support@bigtentoutdoors.com. We're here Tuesday to Saturday, 10 am to 7 pm PT.