Shipping Policy

All items will be prepared for shipment or made available for pickup within 3 business days of receipt of full and confirmed payment. Payment is considered confirmed once funds have cleared — this excludes weekends and federal holidays.

Windy City Clearance ships exclusively through the following FedEx services. No other carriers will be accommodated at our warehouse for outbound shipments.

Buyers who wish to arrange their own shipping — including through a freight broker, a preferred carrier, or a third-party logistics provider — are welcome to do so under the following conditions:

• A $25 packaging and handling fee will be charged per lot to cover materials, labor, and warehouse preparation time. This fee is non-refundable.
• The buyer is responsible for providing all shipping labels, BOLs (Bills of Lading), and pickup scheduling directly with their chosen carrier or freight broker.
• All third-party carrier pickups must be scheduled as an in-store pickup appointment (Monday – Friday, 9 AM – 3 PM). See Section 5 for pickup hours.
• Items must still be picked up within the 5-business-day pickup window following payment confirmation.
• Windy City Clearance assumes no liability for items once they are released to a buyer-arranged carrier.

All shipping costs are the sole responsibility of the buyer. Shipping rates are calculated based on item dimensions, weight, destination, and the applicable FedEx service level. Rates will be quoted and presented to the buyer prior to or at the time of invoicing.

• Shipping charges are due in full at the time of payment and are included in the final invoice.
• Dimensional weight may apply to large but lightweight items and may result in higher shipping costs than actual weight alone would suggest.
• Fuel surcharges, residential delivery fees, and address correction fees are the buyer’s responsibility and will be billed if incurred after shipment.
• International shipping is not offered at this time. All shipments are domestic US only.
• P.O. Boxes are not accepted as shipping destinations for FedEx services.

Windy City Clearance reserves the right to adjust shipping quotes if the item’s actual dimensions or weight at the time of packaging differ from the listed specifications.

Buyers are welcome to pick up their purchased items directly from our warehouse at no additional charge. In-store pickup is available under the following conditions:

• Pickup is available Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, by scheduled appointment only. Walk-ins are not accepted.
• All items must be picked up within 5 business days of payment confirmation.
• The person picking up must be the account holder on record, or an authorized representative with a valid notarized authorization letter (see Section 7).
• A valid government-issued photo ID matching the account name must be presented at time of pickup.
• Items will not be released without matching identification.

All pickups are by appointment only. We do not accept unscheduled arrivals. To schedule your pickup appointment, contact us at [email protected] or call during business hours once your payment has been confirmed.

Appointments are typically 15–30 minutes. Please arrive on time. Late arrivals may need to be rescheduled if the appointment window cannot be accommodated. If you need to cancel or reschedule, please notify us at least 24 hours in advance.

If the account holder is unable to pick up their purchased items in person, they may designate an authorized representative to do so on their behalf. The following requirements must be met in full before items will be released to any third party:

• A notarized letter of authorization must be provided, signed by the account holder, explicitly authorizing the named individual to collect the specified lot(s) on their behalf.
• The notarized letter must include: the account holder’s full legal name and account email, the authorized representative’s full legal name, the lot number(s) or invoice number(s) being released, and the date of the authorization.
• The authorized representative must present a valid government-issued photo ID at the time of pickup that matches the name on the notarized letter.
• A copy of the account holder’s government-issued photo ID must be included with or attached to the notarized letter.

Windy City Clearance reserves the right to refuse item release if any documentation is incomplete, expired, or inconsistent. Items will remain held (subject to storage fees) until proper documentation is provided or the account holder arranges direct pickup.

Items not picked up within 5 business days of payment confirmation will be subject to the following:

• Storage Fee: A daily storage fee will begin accruing on business day 6. The storage rate will be communicated at time of purchase and displayed on your invoice. Storage fees must be paid in full before items will be released.
• Extended Hold: Items will be held for a maximum of 14 calendar days beyond the pickup deadline. After this period, items may be deemed abandoned.
• Abandoned Items: Items not retrieved within 14 calendar days of the pickup deadline, or for which accrued storage fees have not been paid, may be deemed abandoned and resold by Windy City Clearance without further notice and without refund of the original purchase price.
• Account Status: Repeated failure to arrange timely pickup may result in suspension of bidding privileges at Windy City Clearance’s sole discretion.

Risk of loss and title to purchased items transfers to the buyer upon handoff to FedEx or FedEx Freight, or upon release to the buyer or their authorized representative at our warehouse. Windy City Clearance is not responsible for damage, delay, or loss that occurs after an item leaves our facility.

• Shipping Insurance: We strongly recommend purchasing shipping insurance for all items, particularly high-value or fragile lots. Insurance options may be available through FedEx at an additional cost and must be requested prior to shipment.
• Damage Claims: All claims for damage or loss in transit must be filed directly with FedEx. We will provide packaging documentation and photos to assist with your claim upon request.
• Packaging: We take reasonable care in packaging items for shipment. However, as all items are sold AS-IS, we cannot guarantee that packaging will fully protect all items under all transit conditions.
• Buyer-Arranged Carrier Damage: Windy City Clearance assumes zero liability for any damage or loss involving a buyer-arranged carrier once the item has been released from our warehouse.

Items that exceed standard parcel dimensions or weight thresholds will be shipped via FedEx Freight and may require special handling. The following additional conditions apply to freight shipments:

• Freight items will be palletized and stretch-wrapped by our warehouse team. Palletizing is included in the standard packaging process; however, a supplemental fee may apply for exceptionally complex or multi-piece lots.
• Liftgate service at the delivery address may be required and will be quoted as an additional charge. It is the buyer’s responsibility to accurately indicate whether a liftgate is needed at delivery.
• Freight deliveries require someone to be present at the delivery address to accept and sign for the shipment. Missed deliveries may result in redelivery fees charged to the buyer.
• Delivery to residential addresses via FedEx Freight may carry a residential surcharge in addition to standard freight rates.
• For items requiring in-person freight broker coordination, buyers must schedule an appointment through our warehouse; all conditions in Sections 5 and 6 apply.

For shipping quotes, pickup appointments, third-party authorization questions, or any other shipping-related inquiries, please reach out to us through the following channels:

Please allow 1 business day for a response to shipping and pickup inquiries. For urgent matters related to active orders, include your invoice number in the subject line of your email.