FAQs

Q- What is halal?

Halal is an Arabic word which means permissible. It also means something that is good for the well being of the humanity. Islam places great emphasis in the way in which an animal’s life ends. Life is a sacred blessing of God to all his creations, including humans and animals. If the life of an animal has to be ended for human survival, then it’s life should be taken only in the name of God. For this reason, muslims cannot consume or use products made from animals that are not sacrificed in the name of God.

Also, all foods pure and clean are permitted for Muslims; except if it is derived from: dead animals, blood, pig, animals slaughtered without the name of God (Allah) as we mentioned earlier and alcohol.

If the product contains any ingredients that come from these sources, it is haram (non-permitted). And if the source is not known or if the company doesn’t disclose, it is called masbooh (doubtful).

On the other end, if the companies completely avoid ingredients from the above 5 sources, then halal product would be similar to just any other product.

Q- What is the difference between kosher and halal?

Kosher is a Hebrew word which means proper or fit and Halal is an Arabic word which means permissible. Muslims follow Islamic dietary law (halal) whereas Jews follow Jewish dietary law (kosher). Both the laws have more similarities than differences.

Q- How do you certify that your products are authentic halal?

We, at eGrocers, only sell those products that are certified by leading halal agencies such as IFANCA(Islamic Food And Nutritional Council of America), SANHA (South African National Halaal Authority), JAKIM (Malaysian Govt. National Halal Body), MUI (Majelis Ulama Indonesia), Halal Sign (Halal Body from India) etc.

Some products that aren’t approved by these agencies, we make sure they are either plant based products or kosher certified (without the use of alcohol) etc.

Q- What is zabiha?

Zabiha or Dhabihah is the prescribed method of ritual slaughter of lawful halal animals. This method of slaughtering lawful animals has several conditions to be fulfilled.

We, at eGrocers, follow all the rules of that ritual slaughter.

Q- What is stunning?

Majority of the conventional slaughterhouses use some form of stunning – i.e., to subdue and immobilize the animal before the slaughter. The type of stunning varies depending upon the animal. Chickens are inserted into electric water; lambs and goats are stunned with electric rods, and cows are stunned using captive bolt pistol or pneumatic stunner. It is a very serious matter, according to some Islamic scholars. Therefore, eGrocers has decided not to do stunning before the animal is actually slaughtered.

ORDERS

Q- Where is my order?

After we have shipped your order, you should receive an email saying that your order has been shipped. And the email will give you the tracking number, with which you can track your order. If you haven’t received the email, then probably we haven’t shipped it yet.

We try to ship the order as early as we can. Please remember that the shipping companies that we work with doesn’t deliver the packages on the weekend. So, if you place the order after Thursday 4 p.m., then we can only ship it the following Monday.

Please look at our Shipping Policy before contacting us about your order.

Q- When I tried to checkout, why did the items in my shopping cart disappeared?

We are sorry that you were not able to complete the order. eGrocers website is live to everyone and it reflects what we have in stock at the moment. Someone would have purchased that item till you finished the checkout process. Placing an item in the shopping cart doesn’t guarantee your right to purchase that item. So, we recommend to finish the checkout process as soon as you are done adding all the products in your cart.

Q- Why I do I get a message “Maximum allowed quantity has been reached” while trying to add a product to the cart?

There are certain products for which you cannot exceed maximum allowable quantity per order. For example: You can only add one 10 lb of rice per order. If you want to order more bags of rice, then you will have to place another order. This is enforced so as not to increase your shipping cost and weight of the shipment.

Q- What if the perishable items that I received is (partially) thawed?

When we ship the order, we pack it with enough dry ice and gel packs (if needed) so that the perishable items reach you in great condition. When you receive the package and suspect that the perishable item has (partially) thawed on arrival, there is no need to panic. Please take the temperature reading of the perishable item, and if it is less than 40°F, we recommend using that item immediately and not refreezing it. If the temperature reading is 40°F or more, take a picture of the item(s) along with the temperature reading, and reach out to us with all those details within one business day. We will either send you the replacement items or issue you a refund for the thawed items. If you fail to provide us with those details within one business day after receiving your package, your claim would be considered void.

Q- What if there are missing items in my order?

If there are missing items in your order after receiving the delivery, please take pictures of what you have received and reach out to us within one business day. We will work with you to resolve the issue. If you reach out to us after one business day, your claim would be considered void.

PAYMENT

Q- Is it safe to use my credit card on your site?

Yes. eGrocers understands that the safety of your personal information is extremely important to you. So, we incorporate SSL certificate on our site that uses industry standard 128 bit encryption technology. This is the same level of encryption used by large banks to keep your information secure.

Our store is certified Level 1 PCI DSS complaint. That means we are authroizied to accept Visa, MasterCard and other credit card payments on our website.

Q- Is it safe to use my debit card on your site?

Yes. Please Note: If you pay by debit card, the amount will be on “hold”, meaning it will not be available to you once you place your order. Once your transaction is processed, the amount of the transaction will be withdrawn from your account and the original “hold” will be voided.

Q- What kind of payments do you accept?

We accept all forms of payment including: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Bitcoin and others.

Q- Do you accept international credit cards?

Yes, we accept international credit cards. Please note that the credit card must be issued and contain a logo from either Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or American Express.

Q- Do you charge sales tax on any item?

We are required by law to collect sales tax on orders shipped to various states. We automatically calculate the required sales/use tax depending upon where the product is shipped. Appropriate charges will be added to your total and displayed on your final order confirmation.

SHIPMENT

Q- Which shipping options do I have?

Depending upon your geographic location and the products that you have added to your shopping cart, we offer a combination of the following shipping options:

1. Perishable Food Shipping
2. Economy Shipping
3. Standard Shipping
4. Free Store Pickup
5. SHIPSI Instant Delivery

Perishable Food Shipping: This method is used to ship perishable products like meat. Since it is a time-sensitive shipment, we ensure that the products reach you in a maximum of 2 days after shipping your order.

Economy Shipping: It is the cheaper shipping option that you can select for non-perishable products. The delivery window is 2 to 8 business days depending upon your geographic location.

Standard Shipping: It is the faster shipping option that you can select for non-perishable products. The delivery window is 2 to 5 business days depending upon your geographic location.

Free Store Pickup: We also offer Free Store Pickup option if you want to pick up your order in person from our Downtown Los Angeles location. We don’t charge any shipping fee with this option. There is no order minimum requriement for this shipping option.

SHIPSI Instant Delivery: We also offer Instant Delivery within 2 hours for the 30 miles radius of Downtown Los Angeles. You will get instant notification on your email as soon as your order is picked up from our location. You can track your order in real-time with our Instant Delivery service.

For more details on shipping, please check our Shipping Page.

Q- How do you ship the products?

Perishable products: We ship meat, dairy and other perishable products in a specialized cooler box made from aluminum foil. Aluminum coil helps preserve the coldness inside the box. We add dry ice and/or gel packs inside the box so that it remains frozen. Cooler box with dry ice will make sure your products are not spoiled and arrive to you in a perfect condition.

Non-Perishable products: All the regular non-perishable products are shipped in a regular corrugated box, similar what you get from other e-commerce vendors.

(please note that we use regular corrugated box to ship products to you with SHIPSI Instant Delivery shipping method.)

Q- Do I have to be present to receive the shipment?

We use USPS, UPS or FedEx shipping companies for delivery. You don’t have to be present to receive your package as the shipping company will leave your package at your front door.

Q- What do I do with the cooler box?

You can reuse the cooler box for picnics, outing at the beach with family, etc. If you don’t want to use it, you can recycle them. Call your local recycling center to see if they will accept it.

Q- Do you ship internationally?

Yes, we ship products internationally.

RETURNS

Q- How do I initiate a return?

You can go to our Returns Portal to initiate a return. You will have to enter your Order number as well as the Email which you used to make the purchase.

We accept returns of unused and undamaged items. We don’t accept returns of perishable products like meat, poultry or any other frozen item.

Click here to view our return policy.

Q- Do I have to pay shipping cost for returns?

Yes, you will have to pay the shipping cost when you return the item to us. Once we receive your returned product, we will issue you the refund in 2 to 3 days.

Q- Can I do partial return?

Yes, you can do a partial return from your order.

Once you login to our Returns Portal, you can select which items you want to return from your order.

Q- How long will it take for me to get a refund?

Once we have received your product, it will take us 2 to 3 days to process and initiate a refund. Your amount would be refunded on the same card with which you made the purchase.

Q- Which items are eligible for return?

All the items, except the following are eligible for return.

1. Perishable Foods: All frozen and meat products are exempted for return. If the perishable product is spoiled, please reach out to us from our Contact Us page immediately. We may require proof like pictures etc. If there is a valid reason, we will send you a replacement item free of cost.
2. Perfumes: All sealed and open perfume items are not eligible for return.
3. Personal Care: All personal care items such as body wash, toothpaste, lotions are not eligble for return.