IMPORTANT - all UK customers please read!

With immediate effect (as of 19th May 2010) we are increasing the MINIMUM postage/packing charge on UK orders to £2.50, so all UK orders under £25 value will be charged £2.50 p&p; for orders above £25 the rate will remain at 10%, with a MAXIMUM charge of £10.

The reason for this alteration is that since Royal Mail's change in its way of charging postage (the "pricing in proportion" system) was introduced a couple of years ago, we have been significantly subsidising the p&p on many small UK orders, since the old £1 minimum charge failed to cover the cost of all but a very few packets. Until now we have absorbed this cost, but with the ever-increasing postal bill we have finally had to make this change.

Please note that our  basic % rate of UK p&p charge is UNCHANGED, it is still 10% of order value, it is only the MINIMUM charge that has altered.

UK POSTAGE AND PACKING:

All UK orders will have a postage/packing charge added to the order value when we process the order; please note this is NOT shown on your order confirmation email. As from 19/5/10, the rates are:

UK orders up to £25.00 value: £2.50 flat-rate p&p charge.

UK orders over £25.00 up to £100.00 value: 10% of order value as p&p charge.

UK orders over £100.00 value: flat-rate £10.00 p&p charge.

OVERSEAS POSTAGE AND PACKING:

For all international orders, we charge post/packing according to the final weight of the order; this is to be as fair to you, the customer, as possible, and will usually save you money compared to if we simply charged you a set % rate. For this reason, the online ordering system does NOT give you a p&p charge for your order, as this will only be calculated immediately prior to shipping and your card will be charged accordingly.

The notes and examples below will give you a rough idea of how much the post/packing charge on your order may be; for those of you outside the EU,  the saving off the list prices after VAT deduction (see below) will cover a significant portion of the p&p costs in many cases.

For orders to countries in the EU, you can expect to pay AROUND 20% on top of the order value as a p&p charge; for light orders (eg: mainly 15mm figures, or smaller starships) it may be a little less, or if it is all particularly heavy stuff (eg: lots of large 15mm metal vehicles) then it may be a little more. Very small orders may cost a slightly higher % of their value, eg: a £10 order might cost £3 in p&p.

[IMPORTANT NOTE: there are a few countries within the EU (particularly Italy and Greece, plus parts of Eastern Europe) where the postal services are sadly very unreliable - in most cases we will only ship orders to these locations if they are sent by INTERNATIONAL SIGNED-FOR service, which usually ensures safe arrival but adds a flat rate (currently £4.25) to the p&p cost. If you tell us specifically that you do NOT want this service used, then the packet will be sent entirely at your own risk.]

For orders OUTSIDE the EU, including all those to the USA, Canada and Australia, we again charge postage and packing at cost BUT you benefit from the deduction of VAT as explained below; the net result of this is that after VAT deduction and p&p addition, the final price you will pay is usually not more than about 10% on top of the listed prices for the items you order. In many cases it will be less than this, as for some lighter packets the VAT deduction actually covers all (or virtually all) of the postage cost. If your order is for heavier items (15mm vehicles, larger starships etc) and/or is for already-discounted special deal packs, then you may find that the final cost is a little over 10% on top of the list price, but the 10% is a good rule-of-thumb guide for most orders.

These prices are by "small packet rate" airmail,  typically taking about 2-3 days to Europe, 5-7 days to USA and 7-10 days to Australia.

All packages up to 2 Kg total weight will usually be sent by this method. Larger and heavier parcels may be sent by International parcel post airmail, taking usually 1 to 2 weeks in transit, or we may (at our option) split the order down into two or more sub-2kg packets and send each by Small Packet rate; if you get part of your order in a packet that is marked (for example) "1 of 2 packets", then you will know there is another one in transit to you with the rest of the goods!

If you have any queries about p&p rates, or want to know the exact amount before you pay for your order, please email me and I'll do my best to help - or you can choose to pay via Paypal, where we invoice you for the full amount including estimated p&p costs.

VAT deductions: VAT (Value Added Tax) is a European sales tax that is payable ONLY by EU residents (including us in the UK). VAT at the current UK rate of 17.5% is already included in the list prices of our models and figures (it is not charged on books). If you are resident OUTSIDE the EU, then we can ship your order without charging you the VAT - this equates to a 14.9% discount off the list prices.

We will calculate the price reduction for those orders being shipped to destinations outside the European Union. Please note that there is no reduction on BOOKS, as these do not carry VAT in the first place.

Be aware that your local Customs may or may not charge you something in duties and/or local taxes on the package on arrival, we have no control over this.