Here's How It All Works

All products can contain small parts and are not intended for children under 12.

Shipping: We ship all items via US Postal Service Mail. Customers in the US will generally receive packages by US Priority Mail.   You can get a good estimate of shipping costs by visiting the US Postal Service website and using their 'Calculate Postage' tool (the order will ship from zip code 60046).  

Postage is calculated by weight AND volume.  Anything over 1 cubic foot (12"x12"x12") incurs an extra postage charge - which can quickly get expensive.  As an example, a 3.5 pound box with outside dimensions 15"x15"x10" (this is the size and weight for one Pegasus Hobbies pre-finished Martian War Machine) can cost over $30 to ship by Priority Mail outside our postal zone.  In the event your domestic order is oversized (ie, more than 1 cubic foot in the box)  we will provide you the option of Priority Mail or USPS Parcel Post (Ground Mail), unless you request another method.  Parcel Post is generally less expensive than Priority, but can take up to four times as long to arrive.

For US domestic orders under 4 pounds calculated weight, you will automatically be offered the choice of :

USPS First Class Mail (less than 14 ounces) – 4-10 days
USPS Priority Mail (over 14 ounces)-- 2-5 days

Please note these are average times advertised by the USPS. Once the package is in the hands of the post office we have no control over how fast it's delivered.

Delivery confirmation/tracking is included with all domestic orders. You will receive an eMail with the information when your order ships. It will also be noted on your order, which you can view by looking up the order in "My Account".

Insurance is not automatically included with the basic USPS services. If you want us to add insurance to your order (at cost), please choose "offline order" at checkout and contact us to take care of the details.

If you wish to use another method (like USPS Express/EMS) or carrier (FedEx/UPS/DHL), please choose “offline order” at checkout and contact us to work out the details. Please note that we do not have FedEx, DHL or UPS accounts and there will be an extra charge if we have to drive to the nearest office to ship the package. We will, however, gladly bill the freight to your account and call for a pickup.

International orders under 4 pounds and 36” L + W + H will be shipped via USPS First Class International Mail. There is no real-time tracking with this option; USPS will only update its status up to the point it leaves the USA. However, your package is assigned a customs number which may be used to find the package when it enters your country's postal/package system. Over 4 pounds, over 36” girth, and high-value orders will be shipped via USPS Priority International Mail, which does include tracking. As with domestic orders, you may choose to upgrade to EMS, or use a different carrier. The same qualifiers regarding accounts apply.

Regardless of shipping method, we will ship to the address you list on your order in our system. Please ensure that the address listed on the order as “Ship-to” is where you want the order to be sent.

Payments

For oversized domestic and all international orders (outside of the US), shipping is calculated manually after the order has been placed.  This ensures that we take into consideration box sizes and limitations for various countries.  AFTER YOU HAVE COMPLETED YOUR ORDER, YOU WILL RECEIVE AN EMAIL WITH THE ORDER TOTAL, INCLUDING SHIPPING.  At that time, you can opt to pay by PayPal, credit card or international money order.  Please check your email for the shipping calculation email.

If you do not receive an eMail with the subject "Postage for SSM Order xxxxx" within 24 hours, please check your SPAM folder first before calling/writing to complain we never sent it.  Yahoo and Hotmail in particular seem to shunt our eMails straight to the spam folder (though there's no ryhme or reason to it - some folks have no problems receiving them).

Payment Options: We accept personal checks drawn on US banks, domestic (US) and international money orders, PayPal, and credit cards.  PayPal is fast, secure, easy to use - and free to people making payments.  No merchandise will be sent without a confirmation of payment from PayPal, credit card information or a check/money order in hand.

• PayPal:  Complete the order and select to pay by PayPal.  You will be directed to the PayPal site where you will submit a payment to Starship Modeler through the email address of onezero@aol.com.  When the payment is completed, you will receive a confirmation message and be returned to the Starship Modeler Store.   INTERNATIONAL ORDERS CAN STILL PAY BY PAYPAL, BUT YOU NEED TO WAIT UNTIL YOU RECEIVE AN EMAIL WITH SHIPPING CHARGES ADDED TO THE ORDER TOTAL.
• Credit Cards: We accept VISA, MasterCard and American Express. We use Authorize.net to handle online credit card transactions. If you would prefer not to use your credit card online, or if the order requires us to manually calculate shipping costs, you may print the order confirmation page and fill in the credit card information.  Fax the page to us at 224-372-7429, or call us at 224-372-7428 with the credit card information.  If desired, we can then keep your credit card info on file so we'll have it for future orders.
• Checks/Money Orders: Complete the order and print the order confirmation page.  We'll set aside the items with your name on them for ten business days - long enough for your check to arrive (20 days for overseas orders). Send all checks/money orders to: Starship Modeler, PO Box 549, Lake Villa, IL 60046.

Back Orders/Out of Stock: To reserve an item that is out of stock, click on the Pre-Order link to add it to your Pre-Order list.  When the item is in stock, it will be put aside for you.  You will receive an email telling you to go back to the store and place your final order for the item.  Normal order processing will proceed from there.

Customer Service: Please direct Customer Service inquiries to:

• eMail: onezero@aol.com
• Phone: (224) 372-7428
• Fax: (224) 372-7429 

What happens if my order never arrives?: We have shipped almost 20,000 orders, and only a handful have never arrived. Shipments are delayed for a variety of reasons. In most cases, it was delivered to the wrong address and it takes extra time for it to be returned to the post office and then re-delivered to the proper address. If the shipment is sent outside of the US, the delay is usually caused by the local customs office.

If your order hasn't arrived in a reasonable amount of time, ask your local mail carrier about it. Insured packages require a signature, so maybe they are holding it at your local branch. Ask your neighbors about it. Sometimes it gets delivered to the wrong address. Your neighbor may have it and is waiting to flag you down in the driveway to deliver it the next time he sees you. If you live in an apartment complex, check with the office as they may be holding it there. Basically, just ask around locally first to see if anyone is keeping it for you until it can be handed over.  (Don't forget to ask your wife too -- she may have put it aside and forgotten to tell you!)

We respectfully ask that you wait 30 days to see if the package shows up. Why wait 30 days? Because 99 times out of 100, it will arrive either returned to our office, or be redelivered to your address.

Once the package leaves our local post office we have no control over its delivery. We can't be held responsible for a foreign country's failure to deliver, or for someone stealing your package, or any of the other reasons it may not be delivered.

Unconditional Money Back Guarantee: If, upon receipt of any merchandise sold by Starship Modeler, you are dissatisfied with the condition or quality of any item, simply return it for a full refund (including return shipping costs). No questions asked. We reserve the right to implement a restocking fee on an as needed basis for people who abuse our lenient return policy.

Starship Modeler reserves the right to refuse to do business with anyone for any reason at any time.