FAQ

Contact

We are a small company and do not offer phone customer service. We are more readily available via email at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and pride ourselves on returning all emails as soon as possible or within 1 business day. 

Shipping

Shipping Costs

Shipping charges are calculated in real-time. Charges are based on total package weight and the destination address. We do not use a one-charge fits all pricing policy. To calculate the cost of shipping, add an item to your shopping cart by clicking on the buy button underneath the item you are interested in. The item will be added to your shopping cart located on the right side of the screen. Underneath the shopping cart is an option to enter your zip code and it will calculate the cost of shipping.

Shipping to PO Boxes

We ship to PO Boxes via USPS.

Shipping to APO/FPO

We proudly ship to APO/FPO addresses via USPS. Remember if you are in the Military we offer a 10% discount! For the discount code simply email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with your military email address. We will then send you the discount code to apply at check out. Don't forget to select United States as the country when shipping to APO/FPO addresses. 

Canadian Shipping

If you are shipping to Canada please be sure to check the box for USPS shipping. Standard USPS International Shipping rates will apply.

Military Discounts

We'd like to thank all of our men and women in the United States armed forces by offering them a 10% discount on all orders. In order to obtain the military discount, you must be able to prove military status. One way to do this would be by emailing us under your military email address. Once your military status is verified we will send you the coupon code. Email us at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Please note, the military discount is only extended to active members of the United States military and does not include veterans or servicemen from other countries. 

International Shipping

We proudly ship our products all over the world.  We ship international orders via USPS. However, we do NOT ship our meat products to the following countries (we only ship dried berries and PaleoKrunch cereal/bars): Australia, Austria, China, Croatia, Sweden, Ethiopia, Finland, Germany, Isreal, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand.

IMPORTANT: We are not responsible for packages that get seized by customs. Before placing your order please click HERE to find out what items are prohibited and restricted for import into your country. 

Tracking Numbers:

Within 24 hours of placing an order, a UPS or USPS tracking number will be emailed to the address you provided. Tracking usually take 24 hours to activate. If at any time there is an issue with the delivery of your order, please let us know at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). It is also very common for tracking emails to get dumped in spam folders, so we ask you to first check your spam folder.  

Quicker Shipping Options

When placing an order, simply select overnight, 2nd day or 3rd air in order to receive quicker turnaround.  Please note that 2nd and 3rd day air are not guaranteed. All orders received up before 3pm, leave our facility the same day it is placed, unless the product is not in stock. If that is the case, we will email you. 

Refund Policy

Our guarantee and commitment to excellence is your assurance of quality from Steve's Original. If we fail to live up to any aspect of our guarantee, we will replace your order or give you a full refund of your purchase price, less shipping, provided you notify us at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) the next business day after receipt of your order. Do not return any product without first making arrangements with our Customer Service. 

In no event will any replacement or refund constitute an admission of any kind by Steve's Original. We reserve the right to fully investigate claims that we believe may be unfounded or fraudulent.

Failed Orders

Please be sure to check that your order was successfully processed. Orders that failed will not be processed thru our system. The most common reason for a failed order is mismatch between the customer's billing address and the address attached to the card they are using. If all of your information is correct and your orders are still failing, please send us an email at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and we can process your order via email or phone.

Failed Order Charged

Steve's Original does not receive money from failed orders. Occasionally, when an order fails a customer's bank may authorize the withdraw, but not complete the transaction. This will result in the customer's money being held by their bank. Usually, this takes 7-10 business days to be re-deposited into your account.

Lost Shipments 

If you have not received your package, and the UPS or USPS tracking information indicates it has been delivered please contact us as soon as possible. If this is the case Steve's Original will open inquiries and investigations into the whereabouts of your package through the UPS or USPS system. This process often can take 7-24 days. We will not reship products until we receive a complete report from UPS or USPS. 

Prices

Affiliate/ Wholesale Pricing

We offer various levels of wholesale pricing to CrossFit Affilates and other resellers (must be a business). To receive our wholesale pricing list please send us an email at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Bulk Pricing

We do not offer any secondary or bulk discounts on our products as a.) our labor and ingredients cost are very high due to the nature of the products and b.) 15% of our proceeds go to help fund the Steve's Club National Program leaving little room for us to discount our products any further. 

Journeyman Club

We have discontinued the Journeyman Club as of June 1, 2011. We discovered that customers prefer to order what they want, when they want rather than commit to a standing monthly order.  

Products

What is Paleo?

The Paleo Diet, as written by Loren Cordain, is a way of eating in the modern age that best mimics diets of our hunter-gatherer ancestors - combinations of lean meats, seafood, vegetables, fruits, and nuts. By eating the foods that we are genetically adapted to eat, followers of the Paleo Diet are naturally lean, have acne-free skin, improved athletic performance, and are experiencing relief from numerous metabolic-related and autoimmune diseases.

What is Zone?

The Zone Diet, as written by author Barry Sears, involves a combination of lean protein, fats, and carbohydrates (preferably in the form of fiber-rich vegetables and fruits) in a 40%-30%-30% ratio. The goal of the Zone diet is to keep a hormonal balance - "homeostasis" - to maintain balanced blood sugar levels. This involves managing the "storage" hormone insulin (secreted by the pancreas in response to rising blood glucose; as in, after a meal) and the hormone glucagon. Glucagon is also secreted by the pancreas, but has the opposite job of insulin: It is responsible for stimulating the liver to release stored glucose (called "glycogen" when stored) back into the bloodstream to prop up blood sugar when it begins to drop. Maintaining a balance between the two hormones (insulin and glucagon), according to Sears, is achieved by maintaining the above macro-nutrient ratio. In particular, it can be defined as keeping the blood sugar in a tight zone: not too high, not too low. The Zone Diet is a life-long hormonal control strategy.

USDA Certification

All of our jerky is hand made and packaged by hand in a USDA-inspected facility. We highly advise customers to NOT buy jerky unless there is a mark of USDA inspection labeled on the bag.

Grass-fed/Grass finished?

Our grass-fed option is USDA certified Grass-fed, and meets all specifications of that qualification. Additionally, as we are aware of the boundaries of that qualification, we have sourced 100% grass-fed, grass-finished beef that we feel exceeds even the USDA requirements.

Preservatives?

We use NO preservatives in our jerky. Ever!

Smoke in the Jerky

We do not use any natural OR artificial "smoke" flavoring in our jerky. It is marinated with a select blend of spices and fruit juices to achieve our signature flavors.

Curing Process of the Jerky

Curing is a process of preserving, which is the nature of Jerky itself! While your question could be answered with a simple "yes," it's worth pointing out that there are several ways to cure meats. It's really a fascinating topic! Some companies choose to "cure" with synthetic nitrates - we do not - and traditional charcuterie (prosciutto, for example) is often cured only with salt and, at times, acidic marinade. Curing can also involve smoking - for example, the making of homemade bacon often includes a salt & sugar "cure," followed by smoking to augment the curing process and end flavor. Point is - the unique needs of any product will reflect on the highly individualized curing and preservation process. (Can you tell we're fascinated with this stuff?)

Gluten-Free?

While ALL of our products contain no gluten, dairy or soy, they are not made in a certified/dedicated gluten-free facility. If you want more information on the ingredients we use, you can find them on our site under each product's individual listing.

Shelf life?

We guarantee our unopened bags of PaleoKits will remain fresh for at least 6 months, Paleo Stix for 1 month and PaleoKrunch for 1 month. Once a bag is opened it should be eaten or frozen within 1 day for maximum freshness. Dried fruit has a shelf life of at least 1 year when stored in a cool dry place. 

Why is most beef jerky so expensive?

The main reason is that all jerky is costly to make. Beef is about 60% water, so when it is dried most of the weight is evaporated. It takes about 2.5 LBs of quality beef to make 1 LB of jerky. We use NO preservatives, other than those naturally occurring in the beet powder and smoker we use to dry the meat. We only source our beef from the highest quality meat we can find from cows that are raised responsibly.

Sugar in the Jerky?

Our jerky is carbohydrate and sugar-free. We only use a very small serving of apple and pineapple juice concentrate to cure the jerky and help soften the texture. Since we only use a minimum amount of natural fruit juice, this does not impact the carbohydrate or sugar count in any of our jerky products. 

Sunflower Seed Oil?

Sunflower oil is produced from oil type sunflower seeds and is topically applied on the apple juice infused dried berries that we source to help them stay fresher and healthier for longer periods of time. While the amount we use in each batch is close enough to be considered negligible, we prefer to be honest and list it anyway. 

Why the High Sodium in Jerky?

Compared to most commercial, store-bought jerky, the sodium content in our jerky is considered on the low side. To make clean and delicious jerky free of nitrates, sugars and preservatives from whole muscle meat, we are unable to successfully go any lower on the sea salt (which is used to cure the meat and prevent bacteria growth) without negatively affecting its taste and texture. If you find jerky with significantly less sodium, it is very likely "ground or chopped" which is made from various trims of the cow (all the leftover undesirable parts) and/or ground meat processed several times over destroying its protein value. To learn more, we encourage you to read "Friends Don't Let Friends Eat Chopped and Formed Beef Jerky".  If are concerned about the sodium in the jerky, you may also consider our Paleo Stix which has a fraction of the sodium content of the jerky. Also, be sure to read Liz Wolfe's post "Salty Situations" to learn more about salt intake. 

How Do I Become A Steve's Original Sponsored Athlete?

We are no longer sponsoring individual athletes, teams or other events in an effort to donate all of our resources to help building the Steve's Club National Program to bring CrossFit to at-risk youth in cities across America. 

Are PaleoKits sold in retail stores?

While we LOVE the idea of being embedded within local community stores, we want to be sure that we have control over the freshness and overall integrity of our products at the point-of-sale. Call us control freaks, but that's how we roll!

For this reason, we don't plan on extending our retail-store presence at this time. Everything is available online - we hope you'll hop over to our store for all the goods!  StevesOriginal.com/store.