SHORT ANSWER: Why might my shipment take longer to ship?
Frozen aloe vera must travel within a limited number of transit days. To protect product quality, we sometimes wait to ship until the best day—avoiding weekends, carrier holidays, or delays—so your order spends fewer days in transit.
Shipping frozen foods is different from shipping shelf-stable products — and we want to be transparent about how and why.
Stockton Aloe #1® sells raw, preservative-free aloe vera gel made from the Barbadensis Miller species (Stockton variety). Because nothing is added, we freeze the aloe immediately after processing to preserve freshness and potency.
That decision affects how — and when — your order ships.
How We Choose the Right Shipping Day
If your order contains frozen, perishable products, we select a shipping method that ensures delivery within 3 days of transit time from South Florida.
To protect your aloe:
- We avoid shipping before weekends or carrier holidays
- We may hold an order briefly so it does not sit in transit while carriers are not moving packages
- This can sometimes mean shipping on Monday or Tuesday, even if your order was placed earlier
This is intentional — fewer transit days means better product quality when it arrives.
What Happens During Transit
After about 3 days in transit, the aloe is typically mostly thawed. This is normal and expected.
At that point, you can:
- Use it right away
- Pour it into smaller plastic containers
- Re-freeze portions you won’t use within 7–10 days
⚠️ Do not use glass containers.
Aloe expands more than most liquids when freezing and can break glass.
Understanding Shipping Options at Checkout
Flat Rate Shipping
Flat Rate is a fallback option, not a speed upgrade.
- We still ship using UPS or FedEx
- It’s usually about 3 days in transit
- Best used when:
- Other options are more expensive
- Free shipping promotions apply
- You want us to absorb part of the shipping cost
Express & 2-Day Shipping Options
When you select a faster option:
- Your package will be in transit for only the number of days selected
- It does not guarantee same-day or next-day shipment
- We may delay shipment slightly to avoid:
- Weekend layovers
- Non-operating carrier days
This ensures your aloe is not in the mail longer than the option you chose.
Tracking Your Order
Once your order is processed, you’ll receive a tracking email.
If you don’t see it:
- Check your spam or promotions folder
- Tracking is sent when the order actually ships — not when it’s placed
Warm-Weather Deliveries
During warmer months, your aloe may arrive fully thawed.
This does not mean it’s compromised.
In fact, many customers use this as the perfect time to:
- Portion it into smaller containers
- Refrigerate what they’ll use soon
- Re-freeze the rest
Orders Without Frozen Products
If your order does not include frozen or perishable items, it will usually leave our facility within 1 business day.
Excited to get my 1st shipment tyia
That’s great. Be Blessed!
hi. is the plant you produce a subspecies of barbadensis miller? I couldn’t find any clear information about this on the internet. I would appreciate it if you could tell me…
Barbadensis Miller is the species. Within the species, there are many varieties. This one referred to as the “Stockton” variety after Rodney Stockton who researched many varieties of aloe vera. If you look around, you will see many different characteristics within the species such as their color, flower color, spots when young vs. mature, etc. The leaf shape seems to be mostly related to sun exposure.
I love your aloe product however one thing keeps me from ordering as often as I would like to and that is the packaging. However, I did some research and found that there are sustainable packaging products that could replace your styrofoam. One of them is using mushroom mycelium which can be molded into shapes and insulate the aloe during shipping. Please look into this. We all need to be doing everything we can to live sustainably.
Thank you!
Thank you for the tip. I’ll look it up right now.
I’ve found a couple companies that make it. It seems to be for protection and not cold retention… but I’ve submitted the question on their contact forms and hopeful to find reasonable alternatives to styro. In the meantime, we’ll continue using “recycled styrofoam”… and hope for something better soon.
What kind of smaller containers can we use? I do not currently have anything suitable.
We recommend #2 plastic bottles