TMB Studios Terms and Conditions
In order to ensure a smooth transaction, and a positive shopping experience for our customers, we ask that you read the information below before continuing. By placing an order through our online shopping cart using any of the payment methods offered, you are agreeing to the terms and conditions set out herein.
Payment methods
We offer credit card payment by Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or American Express, all processed through our secure online shopping cart. We never see your credit card and banking information, and it is never saved anywhere on our online store. In addition, we offer payment through Paypal, as well as Credit Card by fax or mail, and Money Orders or Personal Checks by Mail.
Online Credit Card payments: Our payment processor verifies your billing/shipping address and the CVV (security code) on your credit card transactions, and notifies us of any mismatches.
Paypal payments: When you choose to pay by Paypal Express, you will be taken to the Paypal site for completion of the checkout process. You are NOT required to have a Paypal account to pay for your purchase using this method; however you must provide a Confirmed Address, or we must be readily able to verify your billing/shipping address and phone number in order to process your order. Please note that payments made by Paypal eCheck require 3-4 days additional processing time, as shipment will not be made until your payment clears.
Credit Card by Mail: When you specify Credit Card by mail, your confirmation e-mail will contain a link to a downloadable form for mailing your information to our office to complete the transaction. At the current time, we do not offer payment by phone.
Please enter your information carefully. We reserve the right to contact you to request additional information for any order where we are not able to verify all the details. We check all orders carefully, for both our own safety, and that of our customers. We reserve the right to cancel any order not meeting our security requirements. If this happens, we will notify you, and issue a full refund on the card used to place the order.
Money Order/Personal Check by Mail: When you specify Money Order/Personal Check by mail, you will be provided a link to download a printable order form to mail to TMB Studios with your payment. Please be aware that payment by this method may significantly delay your order, as we must wait for payment to clear before processing of your order will begin.
Shipping & Handling Policies
Shipping charges include cost of postage, and other incidental expenses of shipping your order to you. It does not represent actual cost of postage paid by TMB Studios.
Domestic Shipping – We choose the shipping carrier for your order depending on item(s) ordered and location of origin. Some multi-item orders may ship from two or more locations by different methods. If one or more of our carriers (UPS, FedEx, USPS) does not deliver to your shipping address, you must contact us prior to placing your order. We are not responsible for misdirected shipments, or shipments that are returned to us due to imprecise or incorrect shipping information entered on your order. Re-shipping of misdirected orders, if due to customer input error, will be subject to additional shipment fees.
P.O. Boxes – Some of our items are shipped directly from distributors by FedEx or UPS. These shipping companies need a physical street address for delivery. We can generally arrange to have these orders shipped to our office, and then re-ship to a P.O. Box if necessary. However, there are usually additional fees for this service, and processing time will be increased. If you need shipment to a P.O. Box, please contact Customer Service prior to placing your order to determine the best way of proceeding.
Standard shipping & handling (Average 2-9 days in transit) may be by UPS Ground, UPS Basic, USPS First Class or Parcel Post, or FedEx Ground Home Delivery.
Expedited shipping & handling – (Average 2-3 days in transit) is usually by UPS 3-day Select day or USPS Priority with some exceptions. TMB Studios does not guarantee delivery dates for expedited shipping methods unless you get a custom quote for Guaranteed 1,2 or 3-day service.
Guaranteed 1, 2 or 3-day shipping – contact Customer Service for a custom quote. Our shopping cart does not offer automatic calculation of this service. TMB Studios is not responsible for the failure of any shipping service to deliver orders in a timely fashion.
“Days in transit” represents the average number of days you can expect your shipment to take once the order has shipped. Please allow additional time for order processing. Every effort is made to process orders promptly. Many orders ship the same day they are received. However, factors beyond our control may delay order processing. If we will be unable to ship your order within two business days, it will be noted on your Order Status page.
Misdirected, unclaimed, or refused shipments – TMB Studios is not responsible for orders that are misdirected by the shipping company if a correct address is entered on the shipping details page. TMB Studios is not responsible for missing packages if shipper’s tracking information shows that order was delivered to the address entered on the shipping details page, even if a change of shipping address is requested by the customer after we receive the order. Packages that are unclaimed or refused by the recipient will not have outgoing shipping charges refunded, and any postage/fees due from refused or unclaimed packages returned to us will be deducted from your refund. Some shippers will not leave packages on the doorstep, or may require signature confirmation upon delivery. We provide tracking information when your order ships, which should indicate an expected day of delivery. Please be sure that there is a secure location to leave packages if you will not be at home, or check for delivery attempt notifications if a package does not arrive when expected. IN NO CASE is TMB STUDIOS OR ITS SUPPLIERS RESPONSIBLE if packages are not reported as undelivered more than seven (7) days past the date of shipping.
Shipping Outside Contiguous U.S. – Many of the items in our product listings are available for shipment internationally. However, our shopping cart does not allow automatic calculation of shipping charges for most items outside the contiguousl US. (Atlantic Liners books are one exception.) We ask our valued international customers to contact Customer Service to get a quote for shipping items to their location. Orders for merchandise to be shipped outside the Contiguous U.S. may be cancelled if the shipping costs exceed those calculated by the shopping cart.
Shipping to address other than billing address: For the security of our customers and to combat credit card fraud, we prefer shipping to the card-holder’s verified Billing Address. When this is not possible, we must be able to verify that the order is actually being placed by the card holder. For this reason, it is important that you enter a phone number verifiably associated with the name and/or billing address of the card or account holder through a reverse directory search so that we may verify the validity of the order. (Please note: cell phone numbers are not generally verifiable!) If we are unable to verify the validity of the order, we may choose to ship your order to the billing address, or cancel the order and issue a refund. If it is not possible to provide a verifiable land line number, contact Customer Service to discuss alternate methods of verification. We do not use your phone number for any other purpose, nor do we sell, share, or otherwise distribute your personal information.
Other
Discontinued Items: We make every effort to keep our product listings up to date, but sometimes a supplier will discontinue an item without notifiying us. If this should happen, and an item you order is permanently out of stock, we will notify you by e-mail and give you the choice of substituting a similar item or receiving a refund of the purchase price on that item, plus any applicable shipping charges and taxes. If you paid with your debit card or credit card, your payment is refunded to that card. Refunds may take up to 30 days to appear on your statement.
Back-ordered items: If an item is temporarily out of stock, this will be noted on your online order status, along with the expected date of availability. If we expect a long delay, we may also contact you personally by e-mail. You will then have the option of waiting for the item to be in stock or substituting a similar item. If no suitable substitute can be found, we will offer you the option of cancelling your order for a full refund of the purchase price on that item, plus any applicable shipping charges and taxes. You may notify us of your wishes by contacting Customer Service. Please note that your shipping costs are based on all items in your order being shipped together, so if one item is on short-term back-order, we may wait until that item is available for shipping and ship your entire order together.
Returns: All returns must follow the procedure outlined herein. Some of our items are not returnable, including custom-made items. DO NOT return any item without an RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization).
When you receive your order, please examine it immediately, and retain all original packing materials and documentation. If what you received was a wrong item (not the item you ordered), we will arrange for the correct item to be sent to you upon return of the wrong item. Depending on the supplier, they may issue a call tag to pick up the wrong item. We will notify you of the procedure once we have communicated with our supplier.
If you receive an item that you believe is damaged or defective, contact Customer Service by e-mail as soon as you receive it, but in no case no later than 7 days after receipt of your order. (If you are ordering the item as a gift, it is still your responsibility to ensure that the item is intact and working properly and notify us of any problem within 7 days of your receiving it.) If a call tag is issued, or a claim is made by the supplier for shipping damage, you must surrender or deliver the item to the shipping company with all original packing materials including the shipping box with label. Shipping damage can sometimes be present without any obvious damage to the outer shipping carton. Customer must not make any verbal or written statements to shipping company that could prevent supplier from collecting on a damage claim. Upon examination, the supplier and shipping company will determine the cause of the failure. No refund or replacement will be given if the problem was caused by abuse, misuse, or alteration of the product, either intentional or unintentional. Misrepresenting the reason for the return, refusal to return the item in question, returning items without prior authorization, or failure to follow our return instructions will result in deduction of the maximum re-stocking fee in addition to any return shipping fees charged by the shipping company before any credit is issued, and may result in your being ineligible for any credit.
Electronics, binoculars, cameras, sound monitors, battery or electrically operated merchandise, and window-mounted bird feeders may only be eligible for exchange, depending on the supplier. Custom sound monitors are not returnable for credit. Contact customer service for details.
If you ordered the wrong item, or change your mind about the order after the order has been processed, you may still be able to return the item for a partial credit, if you contact us within 7 days of receiving your order. Our outgoing shipping fees are non-refundable. You must send the item back to the address given with your RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization) and a re-stocking fee may apply, depending on the supplier or manufacturer of the item. Items with “Free Shipping” or “Shipping Included” will have shipping costs deducted before calculating your credit. Credits are given in the form of either a refund to your original payment method or a store credit for the merchandise total, good toward the purchase of any in-stock item in our store inventory, or available to us from one of our suppliers, even if it is not listed on our store. Applicable credit will be applied provided the procedure outlined above is followed, the item is returned promptly once we have given authorization, is in its original packaging (if it came with commercial packaging), and is in re-sellable condition. Cost of return shipping is the responsibility of the customer.
After 7 days, items covered by manufacturer’s warranty must be handled through the manufacturer. Please contact us if you require manufacturer contact information and we will try to assist you.
Order Cancellation/Changes: Orders cannot be cancelled once they have been processed. We make every attempt to process orders quickly. If you realize that you made a mistake on your order, contact Customer Service to see if cancellation is possible. Orders that are cancelled are subject to additional fees for processing costs, package intercept, and re-stocking. Orders that are refused by the customer at time of delivery will receive only partial credits to cover these additional costs.
Chargebacks: Chargebacks cost everyone money. In the unlikely event that you have a problem with an order, please contact Customer Service to resolve the issue. We fully pursue wrongful chargebacks. In the event that a chargeback is determined to be wrongful by our payment processing service, we reserve the right to assess an additional $15.00 surcharge in addition to the recovery of the funds in question.
Pre-Orders: “Special Offer” or “Limited Edition” items made available for pre-order and pre-paid by Credit Card or Paypal Express will be charged upon ordering. Dates for expected shipment on pre-order items are estimates, subject to change due to supplier delays. If you have pre-paid and shipment cannot be made within 1 week of expected availability, you will be notified by e-mail.
Live Food Items: Orders for Live Food: Live food items (mealworms/wax worms) are shipped from our supplier’s location. We insist that someone is available to receive the shipment when the delivery carrier arrives. Our carriers have been instructed to not leave the shipment unless someone is available to sign for the shipment and ensure that the product is rushed to optimal temperature for storage. If an unfortunate circumstance should arise, and your order does not arrive in good condition, you must notify us within 24 hours of the delivery in order to file a valid claim for reshipment.
Photos & Product Descriptions: No unauthorized reproduction of photos used on this site is permitted. Product information, photos and product descriptions are provided to TMB Studios by manufacturers, suppliers, or other third parties. We try to provide you up-to-date information, but we cannot guarantee and cannot be held responsible for any errors beyond our control. Please notify Customer Service of any inaccuracies you find, and we will take steps to correct them. We reserve the right to change prices/product details at any time.
Typographical and/or Listing Errors: We are not responsible for typographical errors in product descriptions or pricing, or in calculated shipping rates. If we discover a substantial error in an item you have ordered, we reserve the right to correct such error, and notify you by e-mail. You will then be given the opportunity to place a corrected order, or cancel your order. If you feel you have found an error on our website, please notify us by contacting Customer Service.