Delivery
Deliveries are made by Joseph Schembri, trading as Dickens, of Bisazza Street, Sliema SLM 1640, Malta (info@dickens.com.mt). "We" means him.
1. Where We Deliver
Malta and Gozo, at the same price. We do not deliver outside Malta.
You can also collect from the shop at Bisazza Street, Sliema SLM 1640, free of charge.
2. What Delivery Costs
| Your order | Delivery |
|---|---|
| €50 or more of goods | Free |
| Under €50 of goods | €15 |
| Collecting from the shop | Free |
The €50 is the value of the goods including VAT, before delivery is added. €50.00 exactly counts as free.
The step is worth knowing about. At €49 of goods you pay €64. At €50 you pay €50. One more euro of goods makes the order €14 cheaper, so the basket shows you how far off you are before you get anywhere near the payment page.
The total you will pay, delivery included, is shown on the basket and again at checkout before you place your order.
3. Same-Day Delivery, and Exactly What It Promises
Order before 12:00 midday, Malta time, on a day we deliver, and we aim to deliver the same day, before 21:00 (9pm) in Malta and before 22:30 (10.30pm) in Gozo.
Three conditions, all of them real:
- Before 12:00, Malta time. Not your computer's time and not the server's: Malta's. If you order at 12:01 it is not a same-day order.
- On a day we deliver. We do not deliver on Sundays or on any of Malta's fourteen public holidays. An order placed on one of those days is not a same-day order however early it is placed.
- The item has to be there. We check the shelf before we set off. If it is not there we cannot deliver it that day, or at all; see section 5.
The days we do not deliver:
| Every Sunday | |
|---|---|
| 1 January | New Year's Day |
| 10 February | St Paul's Shipwreck |
| 19 March | St Joseph |
| 31 March | Freedom Day |
| (moves) | Good Friday |
| 1 May | Workers' Day |
| 7 June | Sette Giugno |
| 29 June | St Peter and St Paul |
| 15 August | The Assumption |
| 8 September | Victory Day |
| 21 September | Independence Day |
| 8 December | The Immaculate Conception |
| 13 December | Republic Day |
| 25 December | Christmas Day |
If you order after midday, or on a day we do not deliver: we aim to deliver the next day we deliver. In practice, if you order over the weekend or on a Sunday, that is usually Monday.
Same-day delivery arrives before 21:00 (9pm) in Malta, and before 22:30 (10.30pm) in Gozo. Exactly when depends on how many other deliveries we have that day. We cannot promise an hour, only that we aim to have it with you before those times.
Gozo gets the later time because of the crossing. A Gozo delivery has to make the Cirkewwa-Mgarr ferry and then cross the island, and that is an hour and a half we do not control. The promise is later so that it is one we can keep, rather than one that depends on a sailing being on time. The cut-off to qualify is the same midday either way, and the price is the same: section 1.
4. The Longest It Can Take
If we have not agreed a date with you, we will deliver within 30 days of the contract at the very latest.
If we miss that, tell us and give us a short further period. If we miss that too, you can cancel and we return everything you have paid. If you told us before ordering that a specific date was essential (a job, a shoot, a trip), you can cancel straight away without giving us extra time.
5. Stock, and Why We Never Say "reserved"
We have one shop and one shelf, and the website sells from the same stock as the counter. Placing an order, and paying for it, does not reserve anything.
Somebody checks the shelf and emails you to confirm. If it is not there, we cancel and refund you in full, including the delivery charge, to the way you paid. Automatically, with no fee, and without you having to ask.
That is why a same-day order says "we aim to deliver today" rather than "we will deliver today". The midday cut-off is a promise about when we set out; it cannot be a promise about stock we have not yet had in our hands.
6. Getting the Goods to You
- Until the goods are in your hands, or in the hands of someone you named to receive them, they are at our risk. If something is lost or damaged on the way, that is ours to fix, not yours.
- We can deliver to a different address from yours, and to someone else on your behalf. Put their name on the order.
- Somebody has to be there to receive the delivery. For a cash-on-delivery order, if nobody is home: the first two delivery attempts are free. A third attempt, and every one after it, costs €15, the same as our standard delivery charge.
- If you have already paid (by card, Revolut Pay or crypto) and nobody is home, nothing is charged and nothing is lost. We bring the goods back to the shop and hold them there for you. Come and collect whenever suits, or ring us and we will arrange another delivery.
- Cash on delivery is no longer offered (withdrawn 23 September 2026). For an order placed with it before that day: the driver hands over the goods when you hand over the cash, there is no delivery without payment, and the driver does not carry cash change.
7. Collecting from the Shop
Collection is free. Wait for the email telling you the order is ready before you come. The order is not put aside until somebody has checked it and confirmed.
- Where: Bisazza Street, Sliema SLM 1640, Malta.
- When: Monday to Saturday, 9:30–19:00. We are closed Sundays and public holidays, unless we say otherwise for a particular day.
- Bring: the order confirmation email we sent you, with the PDF attached. Showing it on your phone is fine; we just need to see it before we hand the goods over, so that an order is only ever collected by the person who placed it.
- How long we hold it: 3 days. If you have not collected within that time, we will get in touch with you.
Your 14 days to change your mind start when you collect, not when you order.
8. If Delivery Goes Wrong
Tell us: info@dickens.com.mt, or +356 2133 3562, with your order reference. What we do about late, missing or damaged deliveries, and how to complain further, is in the terms and conditions of sale and the returns and refunds policy.