Delivery
Free on UK orders over £100, with a small item charge below that. Anything going outside the UK is quoted individually, so contact us before ordering. The part worth reading is the timing, because a good deal of what we sell is made after you order rather than picked off a shelf.
Free on UK orders over £100, small item charge below that. Stocked items usually go within a few days, made to order runs to weeks. Every parcel is tracked through AfterShip. Delivery addresses cannot be changed once payment has cleared.
What delivery costs
Two thresholds, and two optional extras if you want them.
Delivery cover
You choose this at checkout, and it is worth a moment on a valuable order.
Free standard delivery
- Included at no cost on UK orders over £100
- Carries basic cover up to £25 for loss or damage in transit
- An economy service with no guaranteed delivery date
- Fine for most orders, thin cover for an expensive one
Insured delivery, £9.95
- Selected at checkout as your delivery option
- Full cover based on the total value of your order
- Worth it on seats, helmets and anything high value
- Lets us handle a claim properly if something goes wrong
By completing checkout you accept the level of cover you selected. If a parcel worth several hundred pounds goes missing on free delivery, the maximum recoverable is £25, because that is the cover the courier provides on that service. It is not a restriction we invented and it is not one we can waive after the event.
On anything valuable, the £9.95 is the cheapest part of the order.
If you need it faster rather than better covered, small item express delivery is available on smaller parcels. For anything large or unusual, ring us before ordering and we will quote the right service properly.
Click and collect is switched off, so everything goes by courier. You can still come to the showroom by appointment to try things on before you order, and we will send the order out in the normal way. Book at calendly.com/gsm-performance.
How long it takes
The honest answer is that it depends on whether the thing already exists.
Stocked items are usually with you inside three to fourteen days. We list several thousand products and we do not hold all of them, because nobody sensibly stocks every size of every suit in every colour.
Anything custom made, embroidered, or built to your specification runs to weeks rather than days. Seats are the common surprise here: a lot of shells are made after the order goes in. Racewear with your name on it is the same.
We also dispatch from brand partners directly, which is usually quicker but does mean the lead time belongs to them rather than to us.
If you have a deadline, say so before you order. Send the product code and we will tell you honestly whether it is achievable, rather than finding out three weeks later that it never was.
Any delivery date we give is an estimate and not a term of the contract, and we are not liable for loss caused by a delay. Most of the wait in this trade sits with a factory rather than a courier, and neither of us can hurry that along. What we can do is be straight with you about it up front, which is why we would rather you rang before ordering than after.
Tracking your parcel
Shortly after you order you get an email and an SMS carrying your five digit invoice number and an estimated delivery time. From there the parcel is tracked through AfterShip, which pulls every courier we use into one place rather than making you learn four different tracking sites.
If a parcel goes quiet, ring 0115 9893488 with your invoice number rather than waiting it out. It is almost always faster for us to chase the courier than for you to.
Large and oversized items
Seats, shells and cages do not travel like a pair of gloves.
What to expect
- A large consignment service rather than a normal parcel round
- A Monday to Friday window rather than a timed slot
- Someone needs to be there, because these are not doorstep drops
- Roll cages travel by pallet and are quoted separately
Worth knowing
- Pallet carriers will not deliver a cage to a residential address
- Highland and island deliveries can carry a surcharge
- Cages and seats live on our sister store, so order them there
- Tell us in advance if access at your address is awkward
Seats, harnesses, frames and roll cages are all on sportseats4u.co.uk, which is the same company, the same phone number and the same delivery arrangements. Cage deliveries are quoted after the order because the cost depends on where it is going.
Receiving your sports seat order
What you do in the first five minutes at the door decides whether a courier damage claim can be made at all.
Seats, harnesses, race suits and anything else with fabric or trim on it are delicate goods travelling through a general freight network. The damage they pick up is rarely a flattened box. It is a small split, a scuff or a pulled seam, and it is easy to miss and easy to cause. Because of that, couriers hold claims on fabric and trimmed items to a much stricter standard of evidence than they do on a hard boxed part, and so do we.
If the four steps below are not followed we may not be able to put a claim in at all. Five minutes at the door is what protects a £600 seat.
Check the box before the driver leaves
Look over the outer carton for crushing, holes, punctures, tears or damp. If you find anything at all, photograph it there and then and make the driver aware of it so the damage goes on record against the delivery. Damage on a box that was accepted as clean is far harder to claim, and a claim cannot be made at all more than five days after delivery.
Never open the box with a knife or a blade
On most seats the trim sits directly against the inside of the carton. We see it several times a year: the blade catches the fabric and leaves a very sharp, very clean cut. A cut made opening the box is not a warranty, return or exchange matter, and no courier will cover it either. Take the tape off by hand, or use a retractable safety cutter with the blade set to a few millimetres, which is enough to part the tape and not enough to reach what is underneath. Due care here saves the seat.
Photograph anything you find as you unpack
If there are any signs of damage inside, photograph them before you move anything: the outer box, the inner packaging, the wrapping and the seat itself where it lies. We may ask for all of it. Photographs taken after the packaging has gone in the bin carry almost no weight with a courier, and the packaging is usually the thing that proves what happened.
Report it to us within five days
Email Sales@GSMPerformance.co.uk with the order number and the photographs. Do not fit or use the product in the meantime. Depending on what the photographs show, we may ask for the item back so it can be inspected before the claim goes in.
What we can claim for
- Crushing, holes or punctures to the outer carton, photographed on arrival
- Splits, tears or punctures in the trim found as the seat comes out of the box
- Pulled or burst seams and failed stitching
- Cracks, chips or deep scuffs to a shell, reported before the seat is fitted
- Anything recorded with the driver at the door, or photographed and reported to us within five days
What we cannot claim for
- Clean, straight cuts made by a knife or a blade opening the box
- Anything reported more than five days after delivery
- Damage reported once the packaging has been thrown away, with no photographs of it
- Marks or damage found after the seat has been fitted, sat in or used
- Damage that appears after a trial fit, since fitting counts as acceptance
A blade cut against a transit tear
The three pictures below are illustrations, not photographs of a real order. They are drawn from forensic textile damage analysis and they show the difference our trimmers look for.
Our trimmers work with this material every day and can identify what caused a mark almost immediately. A blade leaves a clean straight edge with the fibres cut square. A puncture or a transit tear leaves ragged edges with the fibres stretched and pulled around it. A seam that has failed shows broken thread and no cut to the cloth at all.
That is why we ask for photographs of the packaging and not only of the seat. The box shows where the force went, and the two together usually settle the question in a couple of minutes rather than turning into a long argument with a courier.
The full policy on damaged and faulty goods, including what happens next and who pays for what, is on the returns and exchanges page.
Real damage, and how it was photographed
These three are our own photographs, from claims and inspections we have handled.
Delivery outside the UK
Every destination is priced individually, so this one starts with a conversation.
We cannot ship outside the UK from the site, so please contact us before ordering and we will put together a bespoke quotation for you. This applies to Europe as much as anywhere else.
Ring 0115 9893488 or message us with the product codes and your delivery address, and we will come back with a price.
How we price it. Each quotation is worked out individually through FedEx or DHL on destination, size and weight, because a helmet and a pair of seats are entirely different propositions once they leave the country. Quotes cover carriage and packaging to your door. They do not cover import duty at the other end, and they are for uninsured carriage unless you ask us to include cover.
Customs charges. Some items ship directly from our partners in Poland, Germany, the Netherlands and France, and the courier applies customs clearance charges on those. If a payment link reaches you, forward it to us before delivery and we will deal with it. Anything you pay yourself cannot be reclaimed afterwards.
Manufacturer warranty and after-sales cover do not apply outside the UK, and returning an oversized item such as a seat is rarely realistic once it has left the country. Overseas orders are accepted on that understanding.
None of that is meant to put you off. It is meant to make the conversation happen before your money does, rather than after.
Common questions
How long will delivery take?▾
It depends entirely on the product. Stocked items usually move within a few days. Anything custom made, embroidered or built to order can run to several weeks, and seats in particular are often made after you order rather than sitting on a shelf. Send us the product code before you buy and we will give you a realistic date for that item.
Is delivery free?▾
Free on UK orders over £100. Below that a small item charge is applied at checkout, worked out on the size and weight of what you have ordered.
How do I track my order?▾
Shortly after ordering you get an email and an SMS with your five digit invoice number and an estimated delivery time. From there it is tracked through AfterShip, which pulls every courier we use into one place.
Can I change my delivery address after ordering?▾
No. In line with PayPal selling regulations and FCA requirements on credit applications, we can only deliver to the address given at checkout, and it cannot be changed once payment and the security checks have gone through. Check it before you pay.
Are the delivery dates you give me guaranteed?▾
No. Any delivery date we give is an estimate rather than a term of the contract, because most of the delay in this trade sits with the factory rather than the courier. If you have a fixed deadline, tell us before you order and we will tell you honestly whether it is achievable.
What does the free delivery service actually include?▾
An economy service from whichever courier suits the size of the parcel, with no guaranteed date. The courier may not need a signature and may leave it in a safe place under their own terms. Once we have proof of delivery, with or without a signature, the contract is complete. If that does not suit, ask us about an upgraded service before you order.
Is my parcel insured?▾
Free standard delivery carries basic cover up to £25 for loss or damage in transit. Insured delivery is £9.95 and covers the full value of your order. You pick which one you want at checkout, and the cover you select is the cover that applies, so on a valuable order the £9.95 is worth it.
Will I pay import or customs charges?▾
Inside the UK, no. Some items ship directly from our partners in Poland, Germany, the Netherlands and France, and since January 2021 the courier applies customs clearance charges on those. If a payment link reaches you, forward it to us before delivery and we will deal with it. Charges you pay yourself cannot be reclaimed afterwards.
Do you deliver oversized items like seats?▾
Yes, on a large consignment service rather than a normal parcel round. That means a Monday to Friday window rather than a timed slot, so it is worth making sure somebody can be there. Roll cages go by pallet and are handled separately.
Do you deliver outside the UK?▾
Yes, but not through the website. We cannot ship overseas from the site, so contact us first and we will put together a bespoke quotation. We price each one individually through FedEx or DHL on destination, size and weight, and quotes are for uninsured carriage unless you ask otherwise. Manufacturer warranty and after-sales cover do not apply outside the UK, and returns on oversized items are not realistic, so international orders are accepted on that understanding.
My seat arrived damaged. What do I have to do?▾
Photograph it before you move anything, and email us within five days of delivery. We need the outer box, the inner packaging and the item itself, pictured where it lies rather than after it has been unwrapped and carried about. Do not fit or use it. The full checklist is in the section on receiving your order above. The one that catches people out: never open a seat box with a knife, because the trim sits against the inside of the carton and a blade cut is not something we or the courier can cover.
My parcel has gone quiet. What now?▾
Ring 0115 9893488 with your invoice number rather than waiting it out. It is almost always quicker for us to chase the courier than for you to.
Ask before you order, not after
If something has to be there for a race weekend or a scrutineering date, tell us the product code and the date. We would rather turn an order away than miss it.
Call 0115 9893488Message usReturns and refunds
