Shipping Policy
We ship to most countries!
We ship USPS on Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays at least. UPS is picked up the business day following the day we print the shipping label. When we print the shipping label for your order, you'll receive an email notification which includes its tracking number so you can watch as it gallops your way. Make sure you enter a valid email address in order to receive this notification. As long as you created an account when you ordered, you can also sign into our website to check your order's status anytime.
We believe in keeping shipping costs honest. It's difficult for any website to know what size box will be needed for each order, so we've tweaked our shipping program over the years to get it as close as possible. However, we take things one step further: If we're able to ship your order for less than our website charged (by $5 or more), we'll refund you the difference automatically!*
Shipping within the U.S.
Transit time is usually 2-3 business days for the East Coast for Priority Mail and UPS Ground, and 5-7 days for the rest of the country. (Once the carrier has it, we can't guarantee transit time, of course, but these are the times we usually see.)International Shipping
Yes, we ship internationally! We send model horses all around the world every week.
Priority Mail transit time is usually 10-16 days to Canada and the UK. Time to Australia can be 6-8 weeks. Transit time to other countries varies. (Once the carrier has it, we can't guarantee transit time, of course.) First Class shipping (available for small-sized items) can be about half the price, but can add a month or longer to transit times.
International buyers should make themselves aware of their country's import rules and fees, if any. Customs/Import fees are between the buyer and their government. We can neither estimate them nor include them in the purchase price. If import fees are a concern, you may want to ask your country's import agency (Customs) about them prior to ordering. Also, if your order doesn't show up when expected, check with your country's import agency to see if it's being held while waiting for you to pay an import fee. Most countries only hold packages for 14 days, and if the import tax isn't paid by then, they ship them back to the sender. If a shipment is returned to us as "not picked up" or "not claimed" by your country, we will not be able to refund the shipping cost, since that does not get refunded to us, so please check on your shipment!
We always mark shipments as merchandise with actual product cost. We will not mark shipments as gifts or list them with lower values to avoid import fees... Our honesty is what helps get our shipments through to collectors with very few issues, as Customs in several countries is used to seeing our packages come through and know they are labeled correctly.
Please note that if you have us ship any packages to a freight forwarder, consolidator or other middle-man, we are not responsible for loss or damage - It is common for third-party freight handlers to create damage (and sometimes "lose" items), so use them at your own risk and only after thoroughly checking their reputation.
Packing for Safe Shipping
The safety of items we ship is of utmost importance, whether they're vintage models or fresh from the manufacturer. You can be confident in our packing: We have shipped tens of thousands of models safely to collectors all over the world.
Out-of-box models are insulated with a plastic bag, then bubble wrapped with special attention given to "pointy bits:" ears, muzzle, feet, and tail. The bubble wrap is secured with packing tape so they can't wriggle free in transit.
All items are shipped well-packed with either packing peanuts, crumpled packing paper, or air bags insulating them from the sides of the box for safety. Packing material is chosen for each order to best protect the items in the shipment.
IF damage occurs during shipping, bring the entire box, packing material, item and all, to your local Post Office branch (or equivalent if you're not in the U.S.) to file a damage claim. We are not responsible for damage that occurs while the item is with the carrier, so placing a damage claim with them promptly will be important.
Environmentally Friendly Packing
Taking care of our world is important to us, so in order to reduce the production of boxes and packing materials, and to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills, we collect shipping materials from local businesses to re-use.
Unless it ships in a USPS Priority Mail box, your order may arrive in a box that once held store signs, coffee cup lids, or other interesting items. If you see a re-used box, you'll know your order did not require new boxes to be created. We also collect packing peanuts, air bags, and packing paper from businesses for re-use. Many of these items can be used multiple times, so if they're still in good shape when you receive them, we ask that you try to recycle them if possible. Many shipping centers (UPS Store, Staples, etc) will take your packing material for re-use. ...Or perhaps YOU have a local small business that would like to reuse packing material again.
Thank you for helping us reduce waste and take good care of Mother Earth!
Order Cancellation Policy
If your order has not yet shipped and you need to cancel the order, you may contact us using our contact form or by email to make the request. A re-stocking fee equal to 20% of your order total will apply, as we'll need to re-sort items, update inventory sheets and re-list the items online.
If the order has already shipped out, it can no longer be canceled or changed. Thank you for understanding.
*Note: In certain situations, we're unable to process shipping refunds: 1) Because of the way funds are processed for Lay-Buys, we're unable to refund shipping. 2) For orders paid using PayPal, PayPal places a time limit on refunds, so we may not be able to refund shipping on preorders filled after their time limit has passed. This usually only affects Halloween and Holiday preorders placed early in the year.