Pre-Order Information
How does Pre-Ordering work at Southern Crescent Hobby?
- Find an item you'd like to pre-order and add it to your cart.
- Pay a 10% non-refundable* deposit to secure your item.
- At the set final payment date, your payment method will be charged for the balance of your order including any applicable shipping and taxes. This date is typically within 30-45 days prior to the expected arrival date of your items to our warehouse. It is not the ship date for your items. In certain circumstances we may need to change the final payment date - we will let you know as soon as possible if a change in the final payment date is necessary.
- Once your invoice is fully paid and your item reaches us, we ship to your address on file.
Why do we have to pre-order model railroad products?
The modern model railroad product industry operates largely on a demand-based reserved production schedule. In order to produce the detailed and complex models demanded by today's hobbyists, manufacturers commit significant time and resources into developing accurate prototype models that are then produced in limited-run availability. By selling these specialized products as pre-orders, manufacturers can allocate their limited resources effectively and ensure that production more closely meets demand versus producing products entirely on a speculative basis.
Why am I required to pay a 10% Non-Refundable Deposit on my pre-order?
A non-refundable deposit protects both your interest in acquiring items that you pre-order and our interest in maintaining a good relationship with the companies who make the products we sell. Remember that we are a small business with limited resources, and are still required to pay our suppliers for products we receive as part of pre-orders - even if our customer decides they no longer want to buy it - and without the security afforded by this 10% deposit, even a small amount of abandoned pre-orders can quickly place us in an unfavorable position with specialized stock that now must sit on our shelves until (if) someone else decides to buy it at a later date.
What if I'm unable to pay on the final payment date?
If you know that you will not be able to pay the balance of your order on the scheduled final payment date, please contact us as soon as possible. We will work with you in good faith to reach a solution for delayed payment and shipping. Please note that no product will be shipped without full and complete payment of all outstanding balance due.
What happens if a manufacturer cancels or delays an item I've pre-ordered?
If a manufacturer cancels or delays an item you've pre-ordered, we'll pass that information on to you. For canceled items, your deposit will be refunded. Deposits cannot be refunded for delayed items except for extreme circumstances. If you have any questions about this, please contact us.
When will my pre-order arrive?
We make every effort to communicate expected arrival dates for pre-orders. Whenever possible, we will include information in the item's product page on our website and update it if we learn of changes. If you have any questions about the status of a pre-ordered item, please contact us.
In the event of any inadvertent conflicting information appearing on this website, the information on this page describing our Pre-Order policies and procedures shall prevail.