Shipping policy

Here at Canberra Hobby Centre, we use Australia Post to ship our products. We dispatch from our location in Melbourne, Australia (having relocated from Canberra in late 2024).

To eliminate as much waste as possible, most items will be shipped inside a bubble mailer. All items will be shipped this way unless you specifically ask us to box the items.

When we do use boxes, most of our boxes are recycled from its' previous owners, so they may contain non-Canberra Hobby Centre graphics.

All of our shipping costs are pre-calculated by the system, but we're mindful that sometimes the postage cost can be incorrectly generated for some reason. If the system accidentally overcharged you for shipping, we will refund the difference to you!

Please keep an eye on Australia Post's service updates, since this may affect delivery times for your order, both domestically and internationally.

 

Can I cancel, or make changes to, my order?

We process orders very quickly, so it’s not always possible to cancel or change your order; however, we are sometimes able to do it. To request a change or cancellation, please contact us at info@canberrahobbycentre.com


Local Pickup in Melbourne and/or scale model shows:

As of January 2025, we are no longer offering local pickups. This includes pickups at local scale model meetings (IPMS, etc). However, we are still attending scale model shows! If you would like to pick up your items at a scale model show (e.g Melbourne Expo, ScaleACT, etc) - do send us an e-mail so we can waive the shipping fee.

It is then your responsibility to pick up your order at the show. We will cancel the order if it's not picked up by the time the show concludes.

 

Domestic Shipping Options:

  • Standard shipping: Most of our shipments will be sent this way. Please note that for decals or very small items, tracking may not be available. Items usually arrive between 3-7 business days (remote areas may take up to 8-9 business days).
  • Express shipping: For those of you who wants your items as soon as possible. Delivery within 1-2 business days for most metro areas, within 3 business days for remote areas.

International Shipping Options:

  • Economy air: As of July 2024, we are no longer offering Economy Air services. Customers can request for Economy shipping, but we are not responsible for any losses from this method of transport. More details after this section!
  • Standard shipping: Buying from overseas? We got you covered! Australia Post's standard shipping comes with tracking for peace of mind. The prices are pre-calculated from our website and differs from region to region. Delivery times vary from country to country, but expect it to arrive between 3-6 weeks.
  • Express shipping: For international buyers who wants their items super fast. Please be mindful that the cost for this service is very very expensive, but most customers would receive their items within 1-2 weeks (sometimes even less, depending on freight availability and country).


Shipments with no tracking

We know that shipping can be expensive, and that customers would like to save as much money as possible by choosing an economy shipping method. However, Canberra Hobby Centre is not responsible for any loss of packages resulting from this method being chosen as the primary shipping method.

Please be mindful that international letter shipping, and economy shipping option for select international parcels cannot be tracked.


Stolen Packages / Package Theft

Once an item has been delivered to a premise, Canberra Hobby Centre is not responsible for any loss of packages due to theft, and we don't provide refunds of the stolen items.
If you seriously suspect that you've been hit by a "porch pirate", please call your local police number and file a report. If you have doorbell camera footage, be sure to share it with the officers.

If you think your package has been stolen, feel free to contact us about the situation so we can raise it to Australia Post for further investigation.

Please make sure that you have a safe location for your parcels to be delivered to. Alternatively, for Australian customers, you can send it to your Parcel Locker or local GPO to collect. The added privacy is always great, and it guarantees there's plenty evidence for delivery!


International Orders: Don't get caught by import taxes!

When ordering from Canberra Hobby Centre, the recipient is the IMPORTER, and must comply with all laws and regulations of the destination country. Orders shipped to countries outside Australia may be subject to import tax and customs duties levied by the destination country once a shipment enters the country.

If you are required to pay import taxes, usually your postal carrier will hold your item and send you an invoice. Unless this invoice is paid, the item will continue to be held in customs, and returned to us after the holding period is exhausted (usually around 2 weeks).

The good news is this never happened to any of our international customers!

Before any of you ask, no - we can't manipulate the invoice to make the item value lower. Sorry :(

 

International Orders: Using freight forwarder/ dropshipping addresses

Canberra Hobby Centre will automatically cancel orders that uses a dropshipping/ freight forwarding address. This is because of our own personal bad experiences, coupled with the fact that most orders shipped to addresses like these are bought using stolen credit cards, and unverified Paypal accounts.

 

International Orders: Information about shipping paints / aerosols overseas

We are yet to find a country that we can't ship our paints to, but if you can't seem to purchase Zurc paints on checkout (due to shipping restrictions), we would still like to work with you on this and give alternate options (such as TNT, DHL, and FedEx).

With the provision of an MSDS, these couriers should be able to transport the paints for us. EVERYBODY needs to try the magic of Zurc Scale Model Paints! :D

 

Returns Policy

Received an item that's not quite right? Please review our returns policy below:

  • To return an item to us, the item must be new, unopened, and within 15 days of delivery in order to be considered for a full refund.
  • We will pay the return shipping costs if the return is a result of our error (packaging error, we sent you a torn decal, etc)
  • Damage to product packaging or boxes are not considered product damage. We are only able to consider returns in cases of damage or defects of the actual merchandise itself.
  • We reserve the right to reject claims of manufacturing defects on items in cases of obvious user abuse

If you need to return an item, please message us with your order number and details about the product you would like to return.