Scalextric Digital, Analogue and Micro Scalextric at Slotcarcentre.co.uk

Online Catalogue > Shipping: recorded, special delivery, and overseas

Our take on postage
We've been running this business for a few years now and the only problems we have had with the UK postal system are: one parcel to Derbyshire taking a month to arrive, approaching Christmas; a parcel to Cyprus taking about the same amount of time, again in November/ December; a batch of about a dozen parcels held up in the backlog of the 2007 postal strikes that all took about a fortnight (first class) to arrive at various UK destinations, and one envelope containing a catalogue sliced by postal machinery.

Otherwise we find the postal system locally works well for us. Sure, there is room for improvement, but it works. In our "idyllic English village" setting, Postman Dave (not Pat) arrives on a pushbike, the Postmistress's children go to school with our children, the folks at the village sorting office are a friendly and reliable bunch and the parcels courier will stop for a chat and a cup of tea while he's loading the van. It's all true. We rarely even feel the need to send things Registered or Special Delivery except for the most valuable items.

But we know that elsewhere it's not the same story, and many people don't have much faith in their local postal service. If this is you, and you need some extra reassurance, then the following options are available.

Registered Postage allowance
Ref: REGPOST
£1.50 inc VAT + delivery*

We do not normally send items by registered post as many people have told us it is inconvenient, if they cannot arrange to be there to sign for the parcel. Queuing at the post office to sort out the paperwork can also mean an extra day's delay at this end too. However normal First Class post can sometimes be unreliable and there is no recourse until 15 days have elapsed. So if you would like the security of knowing your "small packet" (e.g. a car or two) will be tracked, add this item to your order (same price however many parcels). Please note that larger parcels (>4kg) and sets travel by courier, these are tracked anyway so no need to use Registered for those items.

Special Delivery Ref: SD350 £3.50 inc VAT + delivery*
Orders up to 500g in weight (approximately a maximum of two cars) can normally be sent out for next business day delivery if they are in stock and ordered by 1pm. Just pre-order this item in your shopping basket.

Overseas shipping costs
Our prices already include UK shipping. If you are ordering from overseas, here is what to do. Firstly, check the international stockists list - especially if you are in the USA, Asia or Australia. It could save you a lot of money and you could get the item much quicker if you can find it at a local stockist in your part of the world.

If you can't source it nearer then we are happy to ship it out to you. We just add on the extra shipping "at cost". To keep things as simple as possible, we just add to your order, the difference between the cost to send the item to the UK, and the cost to send it to where you are, using the standard Royal Mail international delivery services.

Items weighing over 2kg will need to travel by international courier, which will usually be a bit more expensive. If you want next day or guaranteed morning delivery, the price usually goes up by about THREE times. Courier companies definitely have us all by the "short and curlies"!

If you wish, (especially if you are using Paypal) you can add one of the following items to your shopping basket to tell us how much you are expecting the shipping to cost. If it comes to significantly more than that, we would let you know. However for the vast majority of parcels under 2kg we find the extra overseas shipping cost is in the region of £5 to £10. If you are OK with this sort of amount being added to your bill total then you don't need to do anything, we will just add on the appropriate amount and it will be shown on your email confirmation of despatch.

If you paid by Paypal, including the shipping amount, and you paid too much, we will refund the overpayment to your Paypal account once the package is shipped.

The examples shown for each price band are purely illustrative and based on shipping these types of items to Europe - sending them further will of course cost more. You can also see some examples of items that recently went abroad within the different price bands, in the "also bought" lists.

£2.50 overseas shipping Ref: SHIP2
Example: One or two lightweight items, car parts, etc.
£2.50 inc VAT + delivery*

£5 overseas shipping Ref: SHIP5
Example: One or two cars, catalogues, chips, etc. - slightly heavier stuff
£5.00 inc VAT + delivery*

£10 overseas shipping Ref: SHIP10
Example: Several cars, or packs of track
£10.00 inc VAT + delivery*

People who bought this item also bought:

1. £15 overseas shipping (Ref: SHIP15)

2. Chip fitting service (chip and ship) (Ref: FITTING)

3. Radius 2 curve 22.5 degrees (2) (Ref: C8234)

£15 overseas shipping Ref: SHIP15
Example: Smaller sets (e.g. Micro Scalextric)
£15.00 inc VAT + delivery*

People who bought this item also bought:

1. Single lane half-straights (4) (Ref: C7016)

2. £10 overseas shipping (Ref: SHIP10)

3. Chip fitting service (chip and ship) (Ref: FITTING)

2kg weight limit
There is a clear cut-off point with most parcel delivery services. Below 2kg, usually cheaper and sometimes slower services are available through Royal Mail Small Packets. Once the weight goes above 2kg we have to use couriers like DHL or UPS and there is a step increase in the price for larger parcels - although delivery times are generally faster.

£30 overseas shipping Ref: SHIP30
Example: Anything over 2kg in weight, mainly sets or parcels of several smaller items.
£30.00 inc VAT + delivery*

Over £30
Sending large sets and other large packages abroad is very expensive and, certainly outside of Europe, the cost of the shipping is easily half as much again as the cost of the set if not more.

If the extra shipping is likely to be over £30 it is unlikely we will be able to ship the parcel to you at a sensible price - you will need to try and source the item from closer to home.

VAT discounts
Sorry but we are unable to discount VAT as we would still have to pay the tax we didn't collect from you to the UK government, due to the VAT scheme we are on.

Online Catalogue > Shipping: recorded, special delivery, and overseas

*All credit/debit card details are securely captured and encrypted. VAT and UK postage and packing (except Highlands and Islands) included. For Channel Islands and overseas orders, and also to add registered or next day delivery, see the shipping section.