Mangozz.com- Fresh Mango, Indian Alphonso, Langra, Chausa, Kesar, Dussehri, Sindhri, Neelam, Kent, Haden, Tommy, Ataulfo, Manila,Jam, Chutney, Fruit Spread, Pulp, Ice Cream

Ans. The ZZ Indian Mango comes to you from the Indian Sub-continent known as the cradle of Mangoes. The Indian subcontinent (India and Pakistan) produces more than 60% of the world Mangoes. The unusually hot and humid climate produces a Mango which is sweet, fragrant and unique in taste. USA allowed import of Indian Mangoes in 2007. There are thousands of varieties of Mangoes- we bring you the "Best-of-the-Best". Our Mango has the following unique characteristics:

Q. Can we buy your Mango in stores? Why should I order online?

Ans. We partner with stores in major cities every year to distribute the Mango to you. If you prefer to purchase your mango in the store, you can inquire about our mango at your local store. The supply chain for distribution to stores is more complex and optimum quality cannot always be maintained.

Q. What is the difference between Premium and Regular Mangoes?

Ans. Not all mangoes are created equal. Premium mangoes grow in ideal climate-soil regions of the world. They are lovingly nurtured by growers who have generations of experience cultivating them. They are properly graded, quality controlled, transported and delivered to the consumers in as best a form as possible.

Q. I pay premium price for these mangoes here, I expect them to be perfect. Can you guarantee every mango to be perfect?

Ans. GOD made the mango, so he alone can guarantee it. We manufacture a few products and can gurantee the quality on those products. On our part, we do our best to ensure quality- from selecting the proper orchards, to proper quality control and transportation. We focus on delivering the best fruit to you in as good a shape as possible. But despite all this we cannot guarantee that the next mango will be as great as the previous one. Our effort is to use minimal processing and chemicals. We expect our fruit to taste great, and deteriorate as well as a regular produce item should.

Q. We do not see your products in our Grocery Store- what should we do?

Ans. Stores are motivated to keep products that customers ask for. So please ask your Grocery Store owners/managers to keep our products. We are the largest importer of Indian Mangoes and are now setup to deliver to most US Cities. But stores have to place their orders in advance as the supply-chain is complex, season is short and we need time to deliver. Our products, such as Ice-cream, Jam, Chutney and Pulp are limited in quantity and generally produced during the mango season, so you might need to pester the your local store a little to carry our products.

Q. Can we be assured of availability of Mango this season?

Ans. Indian Mango is always in high demand around the world and a steady supply cannot always be assured. However, if you have pre-ordered the Mango on our website, we will have a clearer understanding of the demand, which will help us ensure supply. Season Pass holders have the best chance of getting an un-interrupted supply of Mango. So reserve your Mango today!!

Q. When will the payment be charged and what is the guarantee that delivery will be made without error?

Ans. Payment will be charged when an order is placed- the process is automated with online credit card processing. Each credit card order actually puts extra financial burden on us, but in the interest of predictability, we bear that cost. We offer online customer care which can be used to troubleshoot shipping errors. Shipping errors do happen, sometimes by us and sometimes by the shipping company- in such cases we work with you to enable the delivery.

Q. I ordered a Season Pass- now I want to cancel it- why is the cost per box more on cancellation?

Ans. We give a discount per box on the Season Pass as it helps us firm up demand for the season and commits the consumer to ride out the season with us. If the season pass is cancelled, the discounted price is not valid. The price is converted to a per box price to calculate the refund.

Q. Is there any order cancellation cost? Can an order be modified?

Ans. Yes, the cancellation cost is 20% of the transaction. Each order goes into our planning immediately and we bear order-related costs when we secure an order. An order can be modified or cancelled at any time till processing starts on the order- this is generally a week before the order is shipped. Once an order is being processed, it cannot be modified or cancelled.

Q. How will the Mango be delivered to us? Is the delivery fee refundable?

Ans. The mango will be delivered to the address you gave us at the time of ordering. As long as the order is still open, you can modify your order. Once the order is being processed, it cannot be changed and will be delivered. If an order has been delivered, the delivery fee cannot be refunded.

Q. What is the size and weight of a mango?

Ans. A mango will generally be about 225-325 grams by weight. Some varieties such as Banganpalli will weigh more.

Q. Where are you located?

Ans. Our main office is in Chicago area, but we have operations in California, New Yok and Texas.

Following are answers to some of the questions that came up time and again during the 2010 Mango Season:

Q. Now that Indian mango is being imported for the last 3 years, the prices should come down. What are you doing to bring down the prices?

Ans. The biggest chunk of the cost is for the shipping by Air. This costs have actually gone up. The other option is to bring the mango by sea. An experiment was done in 2009, which failed. We brought our own container in 2010 and that failed too. While we will continue to experiment there, we feel that bringing by sea will require refrigeration of the fruit and that will affect quality. Most of our customers have told us that quality is their top consideration. So we have re-focused our efforts on acquiring the quality fruit and ensuring that best quality fruit reaches the US.

Q. Why is the price of a season pass lesser than the regular box?

Ans. The best orchards in India and Pakistan are in demand all over the world. It is extremely important for us to have an estimate of demand as early as possible. So we encourage you to place your orders for the season as early as possible. A lower price for the season pass holders is an acknowledgement of your support for encouraging us to commit to the whole mango season irrespective of its ups-downs-and-uncertainities.

Q. I like to touch and smell my mango before I buy it- I cannot do this on the internet, why should I buy mango at your site?

Ans. Our mango does sell in stores too, so you can buy it there. Some stores sell mango loose in which case you can smell and touch the mango, but the cost per mango is higher there. If you can touch the touch the mango, so can others and this has a negative affect on the quality. If you purchase online, we do the quality control for you. We select the best mangoes from the whole shipment and send them to you. Also, if there are any supply issues with a shipment, the internet orders get top priority- we might cancel the shipments to stores, but will always try to ensure that the internet orders are fulfilled.

Q. I found a site which had mango listed cheaper than your site- why should I buy from you? Will you match their price?

Ans. We are the only site which lists out a schedule for a season and we bring our own mango all the way to you. We also try to bring the mango to you as fresh as possible. We do quality control on the mango, not only at the source, but also after it arrives in the US. Not only is the mango re-examined, each mango is re-packaged in a special packing which is designed to protect it as it travels to you and helps in proper ripening and storage of the fruit. We also stand behind our fruit and try to ensure within our limitations that you have a satisfying experience. We stand behind our pricing, our quality and our customer service. We do not try to match anyone else's price.

Q. I find the mango cheaper in the market- why should I buy from you on the internet?

Ans. In the marketplace, all kinds of pressures govern the price of mango. Sure, if you can study the variations and wait it out, you might get a better price. But you might not always get the best quality, freshness or the choice you get on our website. We feel that our website is the only place in the world, where you can predictably order all the choicest varieties of mangoes at one place with confidence of predictability and quality.

Q. I order pears on the Internet and they come out perfect every time. Why can't you guarantee mango in the same manner?

Ans. Some people have compared us to other Fruit/Gift packaging sites. While we are flattered at the comparison, we would like to assert that mangoes and pears are not the same thing- it is like comparing apples to oranges. Unlike many other fruits, Mango is a very sensitive fruit- a whole ripening process has to happen in a mango before it converts its sourness to sugar. Indian mangoes are complex flavors- this raises the stakes even higher as complex flavors are highly unstable. Every mango is different and not every mango will turn out perfect. Some will have imperfections inside, some will be weaker than others and some will be great- God made them that way. We try our best to filter out the imperfect mangoes. For the others we guarantee to preserve them for you exactly as God made them. In India, we have access to orchards who have been growing mangoes for generations. Even they do not guarantee each mango, so we have to accept our limitations as humans. On the other hand, we do manufacture a few mango products from the best mangoes- we can guarantee the quality of our products every time- you can order our products online at http://www.mangozz.com/showProduction.action

Q. I am willing to pay the price for the mango, but the shipping you charge is too high. Why is it so? I don't want to pay the shipping, what options do I have?

Ans. We deliver by USPS Priority Mail, or by fedex and our charge is very reasonable. In many cases we actually absorb a higher cost than we charge. Some users have expressed an interest in more shipping options- we are looking at allowing users to select their own shipping by Fedex for next day delivery.

Q. Why is the fruit cost so high? What happens if the mango is bad on arrival? What happens if the box is damaged on arrival?

Ans. The price of the fruit does become high due to the Air Transport cost from India and the spoilage of the fruit during transit. We acknowledge that the price becomes high by the time the fruit reaches you. We try all our wizardry to filter out bad fruit without cutting it- first at the source and then again in the US before shipping to you. If the fruit is damaged in transit and you are unable to consume the fruit, we give you a full refund for the product (shipping is non-refundable). Inspite of all this, if the fruit turns out less than perfect, we cannot do much about it. We can assure you that there is no one else in the business trying as hard as us to take the enormous risk of bringing the delicate varieties of your favorite fruit to you and making the investments to provide consistent top-quality fruit every time.

Q. Last year I ordered from your website- one shipment was good, but the quality of the next shipment was different. Why is that so?

Ans. Each shipment is different and depends on the weather conditions during that particular week at the orchard. We rely extensively on the orchards, our team at the source and a support group of scientists to give us a green signal for every shipment. Each shipment then goes through certifications from APEDA and USDA before we send them to you. Inspite of this, customers report issues. We encourage customers to provide us with as much information as possible. We do assess the reasons for every deterioration of fruit seriously and make every possible effort to prevent it from happening again. Within reason we provide a refund at our discretion. However after 7-days of delivery no refunds are provided for any reason.

Q. I think that all the processing that is done to the mango ruins the mango- what do you say to that?

Ans. We are following the process specified by APEDA and USDA. Some of the mango enthusiasts have speculated that some of the pest control activities specified in the process might actually affect the fruit quality. Honestly, we don't know for sure, but we try to study variations in quality seriously. We do however feel that some pest control activities are best if undertaken later in the ripening cycle and have requested USDA to allow us to do them in the US as opposed to India. USDA has already allowed these operations to be performed in the USA for Pakistani mango and we hope they allow the same for Indian mango too. Having said that, we have received some unbelievable fruit over the years, so we know that if the fruit is strong, it comes out good, no matter what it is subjected to.

Q. Why do you charge a cancellation fee on your orders? What refund will I get when I cancel a season pass in the middle?

Ans. The season is planned in advance and based on the orders, we make commitments and pay advance to the orchards. We incur costs when you cancel. In order to discourage cancellation and to offset some of our costs, we charge a cancellation fee. Also, the discounted price of the boxes is valid only when you order a season pass and see it through. In case you cancel, the season pass boxes get converted to regular boxes and get charged accordingly.

Q. Can I order all the shipments of a season pass to be delivered at the same time and to different addresses?

Ans. No. The season pass discount is to encourage you to help us estimate demand for the entire season. Ordering to different address is currently not handled by our system. If the policy changes, you should be able to make changes to your order once you have already placed it.

Q. How do you give a refund?

Ans. All refunds are made either through Paypal or by Check. No refunds are issued after 7 days of receipt of the shipment without exception.

Q. Why are your mango products expensive? What is so special about them?

Ans. Our products are made from the best and ripest Indian mangoes. They are made from Pure mango and do not have any artificial colors or flavors added to them. As you buy more of our products, the volumes increase and our costs become lower. We pass on the savings to you- please check our website for any changes in pricing.

Q. Will you deliver mango to Canada, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Guam in 2011?