Choochooauctions.com Train City Important Policies
TRAIN CITY IMPORTANT POLICIES

Procedure for payments after auction ends
Shipping and Handling
Return Policy
Grading Standards
Sales Tax

Procedure for payment after auction ends: Train City sends an e-mail to all winners of auctions the following business day of the auction. Please note: payment is due within seven days of this notice! There are financial penalties for not paying within this time period. Please see shipping below for more information. If the auction ends on Friday you will receive this e-mail on Monday. The e-mail includes payments including shipping and handling and other pertinent information. If you would like to make payment before you receive the e-mail, you may do so. We accept Visa, Master card, Paypal, check, and most forms of payment. We do not accept American Express anymore, however you can use American Express through Paypal. Actually you can use all major credit cards through paypal in a secure environment. Paypal is easy and convenient to use. To use paypal simply click on the paypal icon in the auction which will take you directly to Train City's account to make payment. If you do use a credit card directly with traincity.com and keep it on file, we offer auto send which is where we will automatically send your auctions to you charging your credit card after each auction you win closes. If you are interested in this service, please email auctions@traincity.com to set this up.

To figure your total payment take your winning bid and add shipping and handling. Charges are based on the amount of the order. If your winnings total under $165.00 you will pay $13.50 additional for S & H unless your order is big and bulky or needs to be packaged in more than one shipping carton. Between $165.01 and $375.00 there is a 9% S & H charge. $375 - 799.99 is 8%. Above $800.00 is 7%. Exceptions are for light items with a high value. We will adjust S & H down to a lower level. We are trying to be as fair as possible with you on shipping charges. We do not make a profit on these charges. There may be a surplus charge on very large or very heavy lots. We will combine shipping on only 6 items per box in order to package your order safely. Florida residents must add sales tax which is 6.5%. Example: your winning bid is 172.00 and you do not live in Florida. Multiply 172.00 by .09 which equals 15.48. Add 172.00 + 15.48 = 187.48. Please note this is for the continental United States. Shipments out of the Continental United States and special shipments such as USPS or 2nd day air incur additional s&h charges. If you live in Florida you will ad 6.5%. Non-Ebay buyers are responsible for any internet sales tax that may apply.

If you prefer to send a check, make it out to Train City, and send to Train City, Inc, 387 Imperial Blvd., Suite 2, Cape Canaveral, FL 32920. If you prefer to call in your credit card number you may call us at 321.799.4005 during our regular business hours which are 10AM to 2PM EST Monday through Friday. Please note we are usually in the office past those hours and sometimes on Saturday and Sunday. If no one answers you can leave a message.

Shipping and Handling Information: Fedex is our normal carrier in the United States. (Alaska and Hawaii are shipped 2nd day air.) The United States Postal System is our carrier for international shipments.

*Please note S&H prices have been updated as of November 30, 2017. Also we will be changing our shipping to actual shipping charges plus a nominal handling charge. We will utilize this first on our shopping cart. But until we get this fixed and ready to go the following will remain as our shipping policy:
Shipping and handling charges in the continental US are a minimum of $13.50 Winnings between 165.01 and 375.00 are 9& of total. Above 375.01 to 799.99 is 8% of total. Above $800.00 is 7%. Exception is for light weight items of high value. (We will make appropriate adjustments for lighter items where possible.) Oversized/overweight packages will receive a surcharge. Non-continental U. S. and Canada are charged actual postage plus a 25% (on postage) handling fee. Other countries are charged for shipping using credit card after shipment for the exact amount of shipping plus a 25% handling fee. Other Countries please specify Air or Surface shipping. Of course surface is much slower than air, but air is much more expensive especially for heavier items. We will combine shipping payment as long as payment is received within 7 days of invoice for auctions. Otherwise there will be a $5.00 holding charge and although the physical shipment may be combined, you will be charged full amount of shipping and handling for multiple invoices. Please note we can only combine payments when we are able to physically combine the shipment safely. We cannot guarantee combining more than 6 items but we will try.

Return Policy: Returns for reasons of grading and defective items are allowed within 7 days of receipt. For this reason it is very important that you check your order very carefully at time of receipt.

Items must be received by us in the same condition as they were when they were shipped by us. For this reason, please do not run or operate the item, unless you are sure you are going to keep it. Abuse of this policy will result in our refusing the return, or a substantial restocking fee. Please note shipping charges are non refundable.

We check for authenticity of items that we sell. We would never knowingly sell an item we believe to be fake as an authentic item. However sometimes bogus items can get through our system without our knowledge. For this reason we ask that you inspect all items purchased from us immediately upon receipt. We stand behind what we sell, however we cannot allow returns for reproduction or fake items for a longer period than 30 days. We simply ask that if you suspect an item you purchased from us is not authentic, that you confirm that within 30 days of receipt. We will not allow refunds for any reason past 30 days of receipt.

Contact us for return authorization. Returns must include a copy of your invoice and an authorization code to be placed on the outside of the shipping box in order to be accepted by us.

Please don't order items unless you are certain that you want them. Note above that we accept returns based only on grading problems. We do not accept returns because you changed your mind.

IMPORTANT - Call for instructions should you receive damaged goods or items that don't work correctly, regardless if they were damaged in shipment or not. Attempts to fix or alter in any way returnable items without authorization void your return privilege.

Grading Standards: Grading is certainly the most important consideration for you. We try to grade consistently and conservatively. If you are happy with our grading, we know you will order again. And that is the whole idea, and probably the reason we have been very successful!!

New (Mint): Absolutely new and never used. Most new items have the original box which will be indicated by OB. Most MPC engines are test run at the factory. I do take that into consideration when grading those items. If Post War items have original instructions it is indicated with the grade. All Modern trains in new condition have original paper.

Like New: Item looks new except you can tell it has been run by looking at the wheels or rollers. Like new items usually have the original box. I don't guarantee original paper with like new items.

Excellent: Item is very clean with a minimal amount of scratches. No problems, unless noted.

Very Good: Average run item. It definitely looks used, although not abused in any way. I try to identify any problems such as chips, broken parts, etc. Some items that might actually grade excellent with a problem might be downgraded to very good with an explanation of the problem.

Good; I always describe good as 'not so good'. This item will be well used, have lots of scratches, possibly chips, etc. But good enough to use on a layout.

Fair to Poor; A polite way of saying, terrible. But not quite bad enough to throw away.

Dirt; Dirt doesn't change the grade of the item in my opinion, since it can be cleaned off. I have a terrible allergy to dust, so you may find some items with dust. I try to identify them, and usually drop the price a little, so you can get paid for your efforts!

U-Fix; Many times I buy large collections that have items that need repaired. Many times I will repair them myself, but sometimes I just don't have the time. A fast fix is to reduce the price and place a UF at the end of the part number. This means you buy it as is. I can't guarantee what is wrong, as I haven't tried to fix it. All I can say is that all parts are there as far as I can determine. These are usually great deals, especially if you like to tinker, because the price is well reduced.

Rust: There is rust, and then there is rust! Generally I will try to mention rust when it exists on an item. If the rust is very minor, can be cleaned, or is on a part that can easily be replaced, I may not mention it, depending on how much space I have to describe the item. I do not feel that having very light rust on an item downgrades, for instance an excellent overall condition item down to good or fair. In many cases a little WD-40 will take care of this type of rust anyway. If the rust is major, very visible, or in a key spot I will always mention it, and usually downgrade the item.

Sales Tax: We charge sales tax in states only when we are required to do so based on volume sales and/or the number of transactions we incur as required by individual states we sell trains in.

If you are not charged sales tax on this site you may have an obligation to pay a use tax in your state. Please contact your state sales tax office for more information and clarification.