Ordering, Shipping, Pricing & Warranty Policies

Ordering:

We accept orders through our On-line Shopping Cart System or by phone (toll-free), or fax at the present time. Also, if you live near, or are visiting the Vancouver, British Columbia area, call us to visit it our fully stocked store and we can assist you in directions.

When you place your order, please use our On-line Shopping Cart System which is a "SECURE CHECK OUT SYSTEM". Should you wish to order by fax or telephone, please include the following information with your order or have it ready when you call;

• The manufacturer, catalog number and quantity of each item you wish to order.
  
  
• Your complete shipping address and how we can contact you (telephone, fax, e-mail).
  
  
• How do you wish to pay? If you would like to pay by Visa, American Express or MasterCard, please include the credit card number, expire date and name on the card. Note: If you do not wish to submit credit card information over the Internet, you can call us with your order # at 1-866-799-6098 or you can fax 1-604-533-7277, a clear copy of both sides of your credit card with your signature authorizing your order number and related shipping charges.

After we have received your order by fax, e-mail or mail, we will contact you to confirm your order usually within 48 hours of receiving the order. The exception is holidays going into a long weekend.

For our address and other contact information, please see our contact page.

Minimum Orders back to top of page

Due an increasing number of small on-line orders, we are forced to resort to a minimum order policy. We have done our very best to avoid this policy, however, the amount of staff time involved in processing these orders makes the cost prohibitive and prevents us from fully serving all our customers.

Effective April 7, 2001, all orders must have a minimum value of $50.00 Cdn. in order for us to process. This policy will allow us to maintain our current low prices for all our customers. Thank you for understanding this policy change

Product Availability back to top of page

Early on, our customers told us they would like to be able to browse through complete catalogs with images of all the product lines we carry. We have worked very hard to provide you with one of the largest and most comprehensive on-line catalogs of European Model Railway products. Note: We make no guarantees that the catalogs are 100% correct as the factories themselves do not accept any responsibility for misprints or errors in printing and/or translation errors. To this, we do our best to ensure as much accuracy as possible.

We stock a large inventory for all the manufacturers we stock. We have even recently expanded our shop to allow us to carry more stock than ever before. However due to factors such as customer demand, factory availability and shipping times from Europe, we cannot guarantee stock of any item on our site. Most items, if out of stock, are available to us within two weeks. We will notify you as soon as we process your order if any items are not in stock and when we are expecting them.

Unfortunately at this point in time we cannot link our inventory to our on-line database. We realize this is a feature that our customers would like to see and it is in our future plans. In the meantime, if you are considering ordering an item and require it as soon as possible, please contact us using our toll-free phone number and we will check our inventory for you.

New Items back to top of page

We have realized that some customers may not be familiar with how the European manufacturers release new items each year. New releases are announced by the manufacturers in February at the Nuremberg Toy Fair and at other points throughout the year. These announcements are almost always in advance of the products actually being available to dealers. Delivery dates can range from a few weeks to a full year (rare, but it happens!) from the initial product announcement. At Euro Rail Hobbies and More, we try to ensure that the expected delivery date of the item is always listed when we have that information available to us.

Some manufacturers offer advance-order discounts on these items to dealers which we are then able to pass on to customers who wish to place advance orders though our pre-buy program each spring. Because of these programs and customers who have told us they like to plan their purchases for the year, we always post all manufacturers new items as soon as we have the information from the manufacturers.

Referral Program back to top of page

If you refer a friend to us and he/she spends over $100.00 on their first order from us you will receive 10% off your next order OR a free gift. If your friend purchases a starter set, you will also receive free gift.

Referral Program Details

• Your friend must give your name when their order is placed. They may either fill in the entry on our on-line order form or simply tell us on the phone or in writing by e-mail, mail or fax.
  
  
• Once we confirm the referral you will be eligible for a free gift or up to 10% off your next order (pending the referred customer order size) from us. You must let us know you would like to take advantage of the referral discount when you order.
  
  
• Friend's order must be the first order from his/her household. Their Order must be at least $100 CDN in value, exclusive of any taxes and shipping costs.
  
  
• If your friend orders a starter set, you will receive a free gift.
  
  
• We reserve the right to limit the number of referral discounts and may end this program at any time.
  
  
• Referral program discounts are not applicable to sale items, exclusive, one-time issues and special offers such as our annual pre-order discount programs on New Items. They apply to regular stocking items only.
  

Shipping Policies back to top of page

We are proud to have shipped to customers from over 60 countries including;

We charge for shipping based on the actual shipping costs for your order. We do not charge a handling or packaging fee of any type (with the one exception of some larger pre-formed layouts due to the size and cost of materials required to ship them safely - minimum $20.00 packaging fee depending on layout size). Due to the wide variety of shapes, sizes and weights, we cannot provide accurate costs on the internet. We will confirm the shipping method and provide a cost estimate upon request. Regardless, you will be charged the actual shipping cost we incur when we ship your order.

Canadian orders are shipped by Canada Post insured mail services at actual cost and/or Fed-Ex as they are the most economical options.

Items shipped outside of Canada will be shipped by the best means available at actual cost of shipping. We typically use Fed-Ex Ground or OCS for the United States and OCS/TNT for shipping overseas. Again, these are the most economical options. Note: All orders over $100.00 will also be insured over and above the shipper's insurance.

SHIPMENTS TO THE USA
Some customers have asked if any additional charges, taxes and duties apply when we ship to the USA. US customers pay NO ADDITIONAL duties or taxes on the items we ship (any kind of shipment - orders, repairs, digital installations etc.). In most cases, shipping charges are comparable to US domestic charges for the services we use. Customs brokerage fees are charged ONLY on items shipped by FedEx ground when a value is over $200. US Funds - in most of these cases we then use OCS for shipment. If you have any questions about our shipping procedures and costs, please contact us.

Pricing Policies back to top of page

All prices on our site are shown in both US Dollars (USD) and Canadian Dollars (CDN). As we are located in Canada, all invoices are in Canadian Dollars and that amount will then be converted into US Dollars or other currencies, on your credit card statement. (With some credit card companies, they will have a slightly higher rate for providing the service to you.) The exchange rate we use to calculate US Dollar prices is an average of past exchange rate fluctuations and is usually slightly higher that the posted current bank rates.
Note: With recent world events, the US $ has weakened and for the first time in many, many years, the Cdn. $ has increased in value to the US $. We therefore will make temporary changes to the exchange rate to better reflect current market conditions whenever rates change by more then 3%.

Our prices are based on current exchange rates with both EURO & U.S. $. Due to currency fluctuations, we reserve the right to change prices as required. You will always pay the quoted Canadian $ value when your order was placed, however, the exchange rate may have fluctuated to the date of actual charge on your credit card. (We reserve the right to make price corrections when factories arbitrarily make price adjustments and/or corrections to their product lists).

Note: Once your order has been confirmed at the Cdn. price you ordered, that will be the guaranteed Canadian Dollar price you pay, regardless of current price fluctuations. In some instances, the time that it takes for your order to be filled, i.e. some New Item releases have taken up to a year to be produced by the factories.

We are able to offer special web pricing to our internet customers, up to 10-15% off our current in-store prices. All prices shown in our on-line lists are available for on-line orders only. These orders will be shipped to you.

Occasionally items may appear in our lists with a price of $0.00. This indicates that we have yet to receive pricing details from the manufacturer for this item or missed pricing the item.

Returns/Cancellation Policies back to top of page

If an item is being returned, you must contact us first for a "Return Authorization No." so that we understand the nature of the return when receiving it. Please note: Once an order has been confirmed as being received by us and the customer has provided payment information to us, we then accept this as a purchase agreement. If the customer decides to cancel the item, either once received or when special ordered, (i.e. item not in stock), a 15% restocking/cancellation fee will apply. As noted in factory catalogs, we also are not responsible for last minute changes that a manufacturer may make to an item nor the pictures given to us by factories. We offer you the best information and photos available at the time of ordering. In addition, shipping/customs fees are the responsibility of the customer for returns/cancellations. Finally, all special sale items are non-returnable/ non-refundable including software programs. Any additional customs fees incurred as a result of not following our return authorization instructions will be expensed to the customer..

Warranty back to top of page

All Marklin, Trix, Fleischmann, Brawa and most Roco locomotives will automatically have a 2-Year Manufacturer's Warranty. In the rare instance that a warranty is required, you must provide a proof of purchase. We will then either repair your locomotive at No Charge or return to the factory for warranty repair and/or replacement. In some instances, it may be cheaper for the customer to return directly to the factory rather then sending back to us. We will advise the best course. This is up to the manufacturer. Note: If the locomotive has been abused and/or manufacturer's warranty instructions have not been complied with, we will repair your locomotive at our material costs and labor cost and then passed onto the consumer.

Please note that the customer is responsible for all related shipping costs.

Digital Conversions will also have a 1-Year Extended Warranty added to the 1 year part warranty. This will be voided though, if our installation has been tampered with or altered.

Questions? back to top of page

If you have any questions about our ordering procedure, shipping methods, pricing, warranties, etc. please contact us and we will do our best to answer all your questions. When we are unable to provide a satisfactory answer, we will do our utmost to find out for you.