Welcome to the Athearn Trains Website!
Shipping Policy
Horizon Hobby partners with FedEx and USPS. Free standard ground shipping is 'rate shopped' for the most economical, yet reliable, shipping option available for the weight and destination of the shipment, and may take just a few days longer.
Notice: FedEx is currently experiencing volumes that exceed capacity. Shipments may show delays between our shipment confirmation and the FedEx acceptance scan as they work through the volume. We appreciate your patience in waiting for the FedEx website tracking update.
We are not responsible for damage or theft occurring once the package has been delivered. To sign up for notifications of package delivery, sign up for services from our Shipping partners:
FedEx Delivery Manager: https://www.fedex.com/en-us/delivery-manager.html
USPS Informed Delivery: https://www.usps.com/manage/
Shipping Rates
The United States and US Territories:
| Method | USA Under $99 | USA Over $99 | AK/HI | PR/VI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | $4.99 | FREE | $14.99 | $14.99 |
| Ground | $6.99 | $6.99 | $19.99 | N/A |
| 2 Day* | $39.99 | $39.99 | $59.99 | $59.99 |
| Next-Day* | $74.99 | $74.99 | $79.99 | $79.99 |
*Expedited services ONLY run Monday through Friday. Any orders placed on Friday will not be received until the next week.
Canadian orders placed over the phone:
| Method | Cost |
|---|---|
| $14.99 | |
| Ground | $19.99 |
| Express* | $59.99 |
| Priority** | $79.99 |
* Express orders will arrive at the US/Canada border within 2 business days. Customs may delay final delivery—Horizon Hobby is not responsible for late shipments.
** Priority orders will arrive at the US/Canada border within 1 business day. Customs may delay final delivery—Horizon Hobby is not responsible for late shipments.
Qualifying Orders:
- The Contiguous United States orders only
- No guaranteed delivery date
- Orders may not exceed $99 prior to taxes and shipping charges
- Available on in-stock orders only
Items that are considered "oversize" are noted on horizonhobby.com. Oversize packages will not ship 2 Day, Overnight, or Saturday Delivery. For shipments to Puerto Rico, please call for a shipping quote. Oversize packages are not eligible for gift wrap. Some oversize packages are restricted to APO/FPO shipping.
Depending on your location and the availability of products, orders are shipped from our Illinois or California warehouses. All international orders will be shipped out of our Illinois warehouse. Order processing may be delayed by any incorrect or incomplete information provided by you or your payment provider. You will be notified by email if we need additional information to process your order. Delays due to payment processing are not the responsibility of Horizon Hobby, LLC.
If you have placed an order with Horizon Hobby the easiest way to find your order is to use the order status page here or sign in to your account and check the status of your order on your my account page. Please note we begin processing your order immediately after receiving it, and so we are usually unable to make changes or cancel the order once it is placed. Once your order invoices prints it has entered our shipping process and cannot be changed or canceled. Note: Our office will close on most major U.S. holidays including New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
Two day and Overnight shipping methods via our carrier ship Monday – Friday ONLY. Please note shipping carriers do not deliver expedited orders on the weekend.
Please be aware that most carriers are closed for national holidays and are not held responsible for delays due to weather conditions or natural disasters. Your order acknowledgment includes a tracking number for all UPS and Federal Express shipments. Accurate tracking is not available until one business day before the expected arrival. If you have an account on HorizonHobby.com, you may track your order from your Order History page after you log in to the Account section of our site.
Horizon Hobby and/or the carrier reserve the right to request a signature for proof of delivery. We cannot demand a shipment carrier to leave a package.
You may also visit the following websites to track your packages.
https://tools.usps.com/go/TrackConfirmAction!input.action
http://www.fedex.com/us/tracking/
Lithium / Li-Po Batteries
Both rechargeable and non-rechargeable power sources, common in computers, cell phones, cameras, and other small electronic devices. If dropped, crushed, or short-circuited, these batteries can release dangerous amounts of heat and may ignite, and are dangerous in fires. Special regulations, with special labeling or marking requirements, apply to shipping these batteries by Ground and Air both domestically and internationally.
Due to these regulations, certain Lithium batteries may be restricted for sale to Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, Canada, and other International locations.
Due to the Watt-hour rating of the cell or battery, certain lithium batteries may be considered a hazardous or dangerous good item. Shipments requiring dangerous goods shipping documents are shipped via FedEx. FedEx Ground hazardous materials shipments may not be shipped to, from, or within Hawaii or Alaska.
FedEx Express will only ship dangerous goods to the following cities in Alaska:
Anchorage, Anchor Point, Big Lake, Birchwood, Chugiak, Clam Gulch, Cooper Landing, Eagle River, Eielson, Elmendorf, Ester, Fairbanks, Ft. Richardson, Ft. Wainwright, Girdwood, Homer, Houston, Indian, Kasilof, Kenai, Kodiak, Moose Pass, Ninilchik, North Pole, Palmer, Peters Creek, Seward, Soldotna, Sterling, Talkeetna, Trapper Creek, Wasilla, and Willow.
Dangerous Goods are not accepted by FedEx Express at the following Hawaiian zip codes:
96737, 96742, 96742, 96747, 96752, 96769, 96772, 96774, 96776, and 96796.
For more information regarding where dangerous goods are not accepted by FedEx Express, please visit the following link https://www.fedex.com/en-us/service-guide/dangerous-goods/resources.html.
Hazardous Materials
Hazardous materials (HAZMAT) are only available via ground shipping.
ORM-D - Other Restricted Material
ORMD items can only be shipped via ground delivery. Products of this nature include quarts of fuel, glues, paints, thinners, and aerosol sprays. We cannot ship ORMD items to Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Catalina Island, APO / FPO, or international addresses at this time.
Free shipping to support our servicemen and servicewomen
- APO/FPO addresses
- Shipped via the standard shipping option
- The United States Postal Service no longer allows for the shipment of LiPo batteries to overseas military addresses. Please see Ground Only Shipments for details.
- Other restrictions may apply based on APO/FPO shipping rules.
Due to COVID, signature upon delivery has been waived by most shipping companies. As such, please ensure the delivery location is secure.
Our shipping partners have enabled delivery notifications for registered addresses on shipments from us and other companies. Due to COVID impacts nationwide, we have seen great fluctuations in delivery times, and porch theft is on the rise. Signing up allows customers to be notified of packages on their way, ask for holds, and submit claims.
If a package is lost prior to delivery, we will submit a claim with the shipper. If approved, we will refund the customer or send out a replacement. Typically, this process takes 3 to 5 business days, but shipper response times have been lengthened due to COVID.
We are not responsible for damage or theft occurring once the package has been delivered.
If customers are available when the delivery arrives and excessive damage to the packaging is visible, please REFUSE DELIVERY, and start the steps of the Claim Process.
If customers were not available at the time of delivery, and find damage upon inspection, please follow the detailed steps in Claim Documentation. Customers should save all paperwork and packing material with the damaged goods. The carrier has the right to inspect it before processing the claim. All claims should be made within 72 hours of delivery.
Please do not return damaged-in-shipment merchandise without approval. Doing so will jeopardize the customer’s claim and may keep them from receiving credit for the return.
We are not responsible for damage or theft occurring once the package has been delivered.
Our claim process has five (5) steps: claim documentation, claim submission, approval, return shipment, and refund processing.
- Claim documentation – all photos should show damage clearly without blurring, covered parts, or poor lighting.
- Take 360° photos of the damage to the exterior packaging before opening, and at each step of unpacking.
- Take thorough photos of how items and products are positioned in the box before removing packaging materials.
- Take 360° photos as each item is removed.
- Claim submission: To submit a claim for shipment damage, please email customerservice@horizonhobby.com with:
- The subject: Shipping Damage
- Please include the customer’s name, order number, delivery date, and short summary of damage.
- Attach images up to 25MB in total. Please resize images to fit through email servers.
- The subject: Shipping Damage
- Claim Approval:
- Once a claim is submitted, we contact our shipping partner with the photos and information.
- Due to COVID, shipping partners are much slower on their response times. As such, the shipping vendor dispute process takes longer than normal.
- Return Shipment: When packaging the order for return, please be sure all the original packing material and instruction papers, and/or manuals are included.
- If approved, the customer will be sent return shipping labels.
- Please follow the instructions included with the shipping labels.
- If instructed, please remove the battery from the return.
- Refund Processing: Refunds will be issued once we receive the item(s), evaluate the return condition, and issue the refund which averages 3 to 5 business days within the Continental U.S. Seasonal conditions may result in greater than 5 business days to process returns. The credit card issuer may take additional days to apply the funds on their end.
- Horizon Hobby reserves the right to charge a 15% restocking fee on any merchandise returned for credit.
- Shipping charges are not refunded if customers choose to return an item(s).
- Horizon Hobby reserves the right to suspend or terminate business interactions if customers violate return policies and/or attempt fraudulent returns.