Frequently asked questions
Before you order
How much does shipping cost?
In Italy it is free if your order includes a box of citrus fruit. Without citrus fruit it is free from €29 of products; below that it costs €9.90.
For some smaller islands (€10) and hard-to-reach areas (€3) there is a surcharge: we calculate it from the postcode and you see it in the basket.
At checkout you can add delivery to your floor (€5) or delivery by appointment (€4).
When will my order arrive?
Delivery takes 3 to 5 working days from the day the parcel is dispatched.
We pick the fruit after your order. We do not ship at the weekend: that way the fruit does not sit in the courier’s warehouses.
If you pay by bank transfer, we pick the fruit when your payment arrives.
How does delivery work?
The courier delivers from Monday to Friday, during the day, at street level. When the parcel leaves, we send you the number to track the shipment.
If you are not at home, the courier leaves a notice: you use it to ask for a new delivery, free of charge.
Want the parcel at your front door, or at an agreed time? At checkout, add delivery to your floor (€5) or delivery by appointment (€4).
How can I pay?
In Italy by card, PayPal, cash on delivery or bank transfer.
Card: you enter your card details directly at checkout, without a PayPal account. You pay when you place the order.
PayPal: you sign in to your PayPal account and confirm the payment.
Cash on delivery: you pay the courier in cash. It costs extra, which you see at checkout.
Bank transfer: the bank details are on the order confirmation page. We pick the fruit when your payment arrives.
For orders abroad you pay by card, PayPal or bank transfer.
How does the “The more you buy, the less you spend” discount work?
From 2 boxes the price of each goes down; from 3 it goes down again.
The boxes can be of different varieties. The three prices are shown on the page for each box, and the basket works it out by itself.
Offers and the mixed box do not count towards the discount.
What is the mixed box?
It is a box that you put together yourself: you choose up to 4 varieties from those ripe today, and decide how many kilos of each.
It comes in 9 kg and 16 kg sizes. You pay for the box, not for the varieties. We ship it within Italy.
Do you ship abroad?
Yes. Shipping is free if your order includes a box of citrus fruit. Without citrus fruit it is free from €99 of products; below that it costs €30. For the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Norway, €10 is always added. In these three countries you pay any customs duties yourself, on delivery of the parcel.
Delivery takes 3 to 5 working days. You pay by card, PayPal or bank transfer.
Choose your country at the top of the page: you will see the prices and sizes for that country. Some products ship only within Italy: it says so on their page.
My order
A product is missing from my order: what do I do?
Write to us at reclami@aranciadoc.com with the order number, which you will find in the confirmation email, and tell us what is missing.
We prepare every order by hand and a mistake can happen: we apologise.
The parcel weighs less than I ordered: is that normal?
A few hundred grams less is normal: during the journey the fruit loses a little water.
If more is missing, write to us at reclami@aranciadoc.com with the order number and a short description.
Some fruit has arrived damaged: what do I do?
Write to us straight away at reclami@aranciadoc.com with:
- the order number, which you will find in the confirmation email;
- photos of the parcel and the fruit;
- how many pieces of fruit, or how many kilos, are damaged.
We do not treat the fruit with waxes, anti-rot treatments or preservatives. If the peel gets bruised during picking or the journey, the fruit can spoil even within two days.
I am not receiving your emails: what do I do?
Look in your junk mail (spam) folder: sometimes our messages end up there.
If you are waiting for an order confirmation and cannot find it, contact us before placing the order again: info@aranciadoc.com, +39 392 7626357.
For your next orders you can use another email address: sometimes it is the recipient’s mailbox that rejects the messages, for example when it is full.
The products
What do “Class I”, “Size 7‑8” and “weight loss” mean on the product pages?
Class I is class I: for citrus fruit the European rules define it as “good quality”. The fruit may have slight defects of shape, colour or peel, which do not affect the flesh.
Size is the calibre, that is, the diameter of the fruit. The lower the number, the bigger the fruit. These are the sizes of our citrus fruit:
- oranges, size 4: from 77 to 88 mm;
- oranges, size 7‑8: from 64 to 76 mm;
- oranges, size 9‑10: from 60 to 70 mm;
- mandarins and clementines, size 1X: from 63 to 74 mm;
- lemons, size 3: from 63 to 72 mm;
- grapefruits, size 2: from 100 to 119 mm.
Weight loss means that during the journey the fruit loses a little water, and the parcel may weigh a few hundred grams less. We explain this in the answer “The parcel weighs less than I ordered: is that normal?”.
Can I use the peel?
Yes. After picking we do not apply waxes, anti-rot treatments or preservatives: the peel can be eaten, and used in baking.
Why are there seeds in some citrus fruit?
It happens rarely. During flowering, in March, bees carry pollen from other plants nearby, and some fruit develop seeds. It cannot be predicted.
Why is the peel still green?
It happens mostly with the first fruit of the harvest: the peel takes on colour more slowly than the inside of the fruit ripens.
Why are my Tarocco oranges not red inside?
The red of the flesh comes with the winter temperature swings on the Etna plain. In the hillside and lowland orange groves it arrives at different times, and some oranges develop it later.
The colour does not tell you whether the orange is ripe or sweet: the flavour is the same.
Why are there small black spots on the peel?
They come off with a damp cloth. They are left by the aphid, a small insect that between August and September releases honeydew on the plants: soil, dust or Etna ash settles on it.
Why does citrus fruit arrive without leaves?
We cut the stalk with the leaves because the twigs, in transit, can injure the other fruit and make it rot.