Payment And Shipping

Payment:
TopHobbyTrains accepts the following forms of payment:
* Credit Card: Bankcard
  Visa
  Switch
  Discover
  PayPal Express Checkout
  American Express
  Solo
  MasterCard
* U.S. Postal Money Order
* PayPal
Please choose the payment type at time of checkout.

Paying with a U.S. Postal Money Order:
We will hold your order for10 daysfrom the time it was placed.  If we do not receive payment within that time we will cancel the order and return the items to our stock.

Please make your U.S. Postal Money Order payable toTopHobbyand send to:
     TopHobbyTrains
    441 Oakland Ave
    Staten Island, NY  10310
    Attn: Sales

Credit Card Payment:
If you pay for your order via Credit Card (Master Card or VISA) the charges will appear on your statement fromTopHobby. 

Special order items(items not in stock): Require payment in full at the time of order.  The use of a credit card is required.  We will work with you to get the product you need in a timely way.  Special orders are not returnable or refundable.  TopHobby will not place special orders until payment is received in full.

Pre-Order Items(Items announced for future release): Items for future release can be pre-orderd through TopHobbyTrains.  The advantage is you will be assured receipt of the item and you will also receive a substantial discount over our normal selling price.  Pre-order items should not be mixed with in stock items.  During check out use the "e;Pre-Order"e; button on the 2nd check out page.  If we do not have your credit card information on file you will need to call us with your billing info.  718 273 1992.  We must have your current billing information on file for you pre-order to be processed.

PayPal
When making payment via PayPal please remit payment to TopHobby@Verizon.net .  Just choose PayPal payment at checkout time and the system will bring you to your PayPal login screen.  Orders paid for with PayPal can only ship to the address filed with PayPal.  There are no exceptions to this policy. A special note: PayPal has amended their Refund Policy.  In the event of a PayPal refund a $1.00 fee will be deducted from the refund amount.  ie if you have a $20.00 refund the actual amount refunded to you will be $19.00.  This fee will be charged regardless of the reason of the refund.  We regret having to charge this fee but PayPal charges us to issue a refund.

Shipping:

TopHobbyTrains generally ships in-stock items within 4 days of order placement.  Shipping charges are generally $9.00-15.00 for most Continental US ground orders.  Hawaii and Alaska may be higher. TopHobby reserves the right to cancel any order it deems as inappropriate.  Shipping is determined by weight and destination.  It is calculated on the website on line at the time of purchase.  From time to time shipping costs may be above the billed amount due to large packaging not accounted for in the on line system.  TopHobby may charge separately for this additional shipping cost.  TopHobbydoes notprovide shipping quotes outside the website online system.   

Please note:TopHobby is not responsible for packages/merchandise that are lost or damaged in shipping, once they leave our shop.  For this reason Tophobby offers the option to purchase Domestic Shipping Insurance. Click here to go to our Domestic Shipping insurance page.

• For shipment of locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, track pieces (not including flex track) there are 4 methods of shipment.  Shipping is calculated by weight automatically by the system.  You can gauge the shipping by putting in your zip code in the lower right of the screen and pressing calculate.  You can then select the most economical shipping method.  This can also be done at checkout.
  • Less than 14 oz First class mail.  Generally a couple of N Scale cars, Decoders etc.  These items generally will ship in a bubble pack.
  • Over 14 OZ Priority Mail, UPS Ground Home Delivery, UPS 2nd Day. 
• Our experience has been very good with USPS Priority mail and First Class Mail to all points in the U.S.
• For flex track Priority Mail should be used since this ships separately in most circumstances.  If orders are a mix of Flex track and other items an additional charge may apply if all can not be shipped in a single package.
  
  Split Orders:
  Orders may be split in the case of large bulky items such as flex track or some large/heavy scenery items. In this case the split item will incur a separate charge and be billed as such.  All books and publications will ship USPS Media Mail.
  
  Next Day/2nd Day Shipping requests:
  TopHobbyTrains, at the customer's request, will ship next day, 2nd day or 3rd day via UPS. A $2.50 handling charge for this type of shipment will be added to the actual shipping cost. Please note that only in stock items can be ordered with this type of priority.  Next day and second day orders placed on Friday after 11AM, Weekends or holidays will ship out on the next business day.  ie.  An order placed on Friday at 11:15 AM will ship on the following Monday.
  Special Order Items:
  Special order items will ship within 7 days of receipt from the manufacturer.

Free Shipping Specials:

From time to time TopHobbyTrains may offer free shipping sales.  This type of shipping is limited to in stock items being shipped to the continental United States only.  Choose Free Shipping at checkout.  Free shipping can not be combined with other sales programs being offered at TopHobbyTrains.  DCC installations, special orders and international shipments are not included in the free shipping offer.   The shipper is the choice of TopHobbyTrains and does not include shipping insurance.  If you wish to have your free shipment insured you can purchase shipping insurance from our site. Click here to go to our Domestic Shipping Insurance page.  If you want a specific shipping method such as UPS or USPS Priority etc.. and choose it at checkout, the normal shipping charges will apply.

Please note: At any time if there is a problem at check out you can email us and we will try to correct the issue real-time.  Shipping costs are automatically calculated real-time by weight and destination using the shipping vendor on-line rate systems.

Gift Certificates:

You can purchase the Gift Certificatesith your Visa or MasterCard, PayPal or Money Order.

Once purchased and funds have been received at TopHobby, the Gift Certificate PIN code will be emailed to you.  (Important! AOL and Yahoo email customers will have to add the following email address to their buddy listSales@TopHobbyTrains.com). If not the email will bounce back to us.

To use the certificate, at checkout, just copy the PIN code in the PIN code field.  Any remainder on the cardill automatically be adjusted for a future purchase.  If there is insufficient amount on the certificate you ill have the ability to supplement ith a credit card payment at your checkout.

International Orders:

• We will ship to Canada, and most European countries.  The buyer is solely responsible for all applicable duty's, fees and import costs. We use USPS services as our primary shipping vendor.  
• Westronglysuggest that items ship USPS Priority International Mail.  Use First Class Mail International for small low value items.
• All international orders will ship with actual values.  We can not ship with lower values.  This would put the shipment at risk impacting the customer and TopHobbyTrains.

Our sole reason for being in business is to have customers that are completely satisfied with their purchase.  After all the hobby is supposed to be fun and relaxing.  We, at Top HobbyTrains, pride ourselves in personal service and go the extra mile for you our customers.

Thanks!
The Staff At TopHobby