Summer changes our shipping in three specific ways: hot route forecasts get an insulated liner, thermal orders ship only early in the week, and the hottest lanes get cold packs at no charge. None of this shows up as a separate invoice line. It's just what a July warehouse owes a bottle of softgels, and here is the reasoning behind each rule.
If you want to see this on a real label, the Aged Garlic Extract Gummies 90 Count - 45 Day Supply, Subscribe and Save Available product page carries the full Supplement Facts panel.
What heat actually does to a bottle
Supplements don't spoil like milk, but heat is still their enemy. Softgels can stick together and, in the worst case, fuse. Capsules soften and, above roughly 40 degrees C for sustained hours, the gelatin wall can deform. Powders are sturdy but moisture that follows temperature swings can clump them. The smell test is your friend: if a bottle arrives smelling strongly different from usual, the heat won that trip.
A parcel in a July delivery van can hit 50 degrees C. That's the number the whole protocol is built around, and it's why we act on route forecasts rather than the temperature at the warehouse.
The Monday to Wednesday rule
The danger window isn't transit, it's a parcel sitting in a hot depot over a weekend. A 2 day service shipped Thursday becomes a 4 day exposure with 2 of those days sitting on concrete in the afternoon sun. Restricting thermal shipments to the front of the week costs us some order volume and costs you nothing, and it removes the single biggest risk in the chain. Orders placed after Wednesday's cutoff for thermal routes roll to Monday with the same shipping fee, and you'll see the adjusted date at checkout before you pay, not after.
It's a slightly old fashioned rule, and it's the one that saves the most product per dollar of any line in our shipping budget.
What it costs and who pays
We pay. An insulated liner runs about $1.80 and a cold pack adds $0.75, and the surcharge on our side is a summer cost of doing business rather than a line item on your invoice. The alternative, shipping bare through a heatwave and refunding the casualties, costs more in both money and trust once you count the second shipment.
Our carrier invoices in summer run about 9% above winter for the same orders, which is the honest size of the problem. It's manageable, it's cheaper than the returns, and it beats the alternative of quietly narrowing our delivery map every July and hoping nobody notices the missing states.
What you can do on your end
Track the parcel and bring it inside on delivery day, because the 4 hours on your doorstep in afternoon sun undo everything the liner did. If a delivery will land while you're away in August, use the hold at location option rather than letting the box sit. And if something arrives fused, soft or off smelling, tell us within 30 days and the replacement ships immediately. We'd rather eat the cost twice than have you rationalise a ruined bottle.
None of this is heroic. It's a checklist that runs from June to September, it repeats every year without drama, and it exists because heat is predictable and so is the fix. The cutoffs are 30 degrees C for the liner and 35 degrees C for the cold pack, and every order is screened against the 3 day forecast for its lane before the label prints.
Frequently asked questions
Do you ship differently in summer?Show answerHide answer
Routing and packing are adjusted during the hottest months, sometimes with insulation.
What if they arrive warm?Show answerHide answer
Warm is usually fine. Melted together or deformed is not. Tell us and we replace it.
Should I avoid ordering in summer?Show answerHide answer
No. We would rather ship it properly than tell you to wait three months.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
