ORDERING POLICY, TERMS & CONDITIONS
Thank you for shopping with AstroShop, a dedicated secure online product supplier. Our goal is to provide you with the most up-to-date and accurate information available so that you can make the best purchase decision. We will continue to improve website information as time allows. We sincerely value your business and interest in whatever your optical based hobby may be. You can be reassured when purchasing from us that your privacy is highly respected.
​
Product Availability, Shipping and Liability
​
While most products are in stock, there may be delays on some items from time to time as due to supplier stock shortages & shipping constraints. Items are generally shipped next business day. Special order items may take up to 4 or 6 weeks depending on availability. In such instances, we will notify you (the customer) and you can feel free to cancel the order if the time line is unsuitable. With the exception of "special order" items, cheques and/or credit card payments are not processed until shipment of your goods can take place. Certain items on multiple item orders may be shipped separately (on your instruction) and will not attract any additional shipping cost greater than the total calculated order amount. All large items such as telescopes and telescope mounts are shipped fully insured.
Note: Special offers from time to time including waiving of delivery charges do not apply to orders outside of Australia. Any claims for damage or faulty goods must be reported within 7 working days and undelivered orders experiencing long delays must be reported within 21 days. AstroShop does not accept responsibility for tracking updates status provided by the courier including Australia Post and its agents where this is out of our direct control. We are proud of our highly successful delivery record. While every effort is made to ensure secure delivery of items purchased from Astro Shop or its affiliate businesses, responsibility for loss or damage of received goods via Australia Post is at the buyers risk. Most goods like accessories etc under $200 in value are generally shipped via normal Australia Post Express Post services unless postal insurance is requested when ordering. Goods above this value are shipped registered post. The buyer must be aware that if registered or express post goods are signed for by a receiver at the post office or confirmed as delivered by Australia Post to the nominated address, Astro Shop and its associates are not responsible for any claim of lost or undelivered goods. From around $10 extra (can vary with the item being ordered and the delivery address), the buyer may request (at time of purchase) to add insurance with the postage to cover for any potential loss using the comments box at the bottom of the order form. Please note that some carriers in countries outside of Australia may bill you for taxes and customs clearance charges specific to your region and laws.
​
Shipping Charges
​
Shipping within the large continent of Australia has become increasingly more expensive and we do our best to maintain reasonable cost and insurance for our customers.
We believe in following this practice and display our shipping charges honestly in the online check out procedure, and why we currently ask customers to contact us first for a freight quote on large and special order items.
You can see what the shipping charge will be before committing to the payment page by going through the shopping cart procedure and can hit the back button at any time if you don't wish to proceed. If you're unsure, you can always call us on 0423 121 764 for a quote... particularly if you live in a remote region.
​
Warranty
​
All products are covered by manufacturers warranty as published by the manufacturer at the time of ordering. Warranty period is normally 1 year statutory or up to 5 years complimentary (depending on the manufacturer) and extends only to the original purchase. In some cases, complimentary manufacturers warranty may extend to a second hand purchaser so long as they can present the original purchasers receipt to the manufacturer or its distributor / agent. A warranty claim only applies to manufacture defects, defective parts or system failure within normal use. Manufacturer or statutory warranty does not apply where goods have been damaged through poor or irresponsible user handling and AstroShop or its suppliers reserve the right to make this assessment. A copy of the original receipt must be presented with returned goods to either AstroShop, its nominated service agent or the wholesaler / manufacturer. Servicing and repairs may be carried out by Astro Shop or by the wholesaler / manufacturer. The purchaser must notify Astro Shop of damaged, faulty or incomplete "goods on arrival" within 2 days of receiving the item/s. Return of goods is the customers responsibility and the item/s must be packed appropriately for safe return transport and at the customer's expense. We recommend you keep original packaging for large fragile items like telescopes and mounts etc if possible.
Astro Shop and its associates or subsidiaries will undertake replacement or repair of manufacturer faulty parts as deemed applicable and will cover return freight costs of the repaired or replacement item. Goods deemed as faulty by misuse of the buyer shall incur the cost of replacement parts and return freight both ways. Goods will not be released for return until full payment for parts, service and transport is made by the customer.
Items being returned for refund by prior arrangement and approval must be in "as new" condition as determined by Astro Shop staff. On approval, the purchase value of the item will be fully refunded. Note: this does not include any postage or courier costs attached to the original sale.
​
Ordering & Payments
​
Orders can be placed securely online using a credit card (MasterCard, Visa or via PayPal) or by direct bank transfer. The purchaser must be 18 years and over. Please Note: Placing a false or misleading order or using a false identity or unauthorised payment method in any way is a serious criminal offence and will be prosecuted by law.
SHOPPING CART - If you are experiencing problems adding items to the shopping cart, then it is likely that the security settings of your browser are set very high and somewhat restrictive. You can change the security setting to allow use of cookies for our shopping cart to function then after making your online purchase, simply switch the setting back if you really need to. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, please note that orders placed for special stock clearance offers must be settled within 3 working days from the time of ordering including direct bank deposit orders. Price for special clearance sale items is only valid while stocks exist. If payment for either direct deposit or PayPal invoiced requests are made after the 3 day limit for special sale items listed and stocks are exhausted before the payment is received, we will refund your payment. Fraudulent ordering or use of unauthorised payment methods will be subject to lawful action under the Australian crimes act.
Overseas Orders
​
Unless approved by prior arrangement, payments for overseas orders must be made by Direct Bank Deposit, PayPal or bank cheque. To organise a direct bank transfer transaction you can obtain our banking details via e-mail or by calling +61 0423 121 764. Orders from overseas are exempt of Australian government GST taxes which are included in our online prices. Orders are not despatched until cheque or deposits have been acknowledged by PayPal or our bank.
​
Pricing Changes
While every effort is made to maintain accurate online pricing, some items may vary with exchange rate fluctuations and ever increasing delivery / fuel costs imposed by Australia Post and our other nominated carriers. We will notify you where prices have varied before applying charges for purchased goods.
​
Delivery
​
All orders are shipped Express Post, registered mail or by our nominated courier. Large items may be shipped via courier express services and require a signature by the receiver at the receivers nominated delivery address. Personal pick up and delivery arrangements can be organised depending on the circumstances. Note: that while delivery is generally door to door for most cities and built up regional areas, in some cases, the courier or their sub-contractor may, in some areas, only deliver to the nearest depot in your town and you can contact them to arrange pick up using the tracking number advice we issue at the time of shipping. For some large telescope packages that may ship in two or more cartons, partial delivery of items may occur depending on the couriers daily load limits. You can agree to accept partial item delivery when the courier provides a partial delivery sticker or similar. The remaining cartons may ship the next day or so if this is the case. Please note that it is the customers responsibility to be available on the delivery day to accept and sign for a courier delivery. Astro Shop and its subsidiary businesses takes no responsibility for customer absence for unsuccessful delivery attempts. We suggest that you use the tracking number provided by us to keep tabs on anticipated delivery day and if it is inconvenient, to call us or our courier directly to arrange a better day. You can also organise to have items shipped to a relative or neighbour who you know will be available to receive items in your absence, or your workplace if that is convenient. In the event of customer unavailability to sign for receipt of goods within reasonable circumstances or refusal to accept delivery whereby subsequent return of undamaged goods to us occurs for whatever reason, the cost of return shipping be born by the customer on top of the original shipping cost and will be deducted from any request for refund including the original shipping charge.
Disclaimer
​
While every effort has been undertaken to ensure the information provided on this website is accurate at the time of publication, information provided is based on best access to manufacturers specifications including provided images. While we are renowned for doing as much testing as practical and provide our own personal opinions as to the value and performance of various products and brands, they are indeed only our own personal opinion and we recommend you seek information and opinions from other qualified sources before making your final purchase decision. We do not however accept responsibility for the information or promotion of products provided by others.
Astro Shop and myAstroShop do not accept any responsibility for purchases that do not meet the absolute expectations or ill-informed decision of the buyer. By purchasing from our business, the buyer/s assumes full responsibility for the decision of the purchased item/s and no refunds can be requested unless authorised by Astro Shop and or its associates in writing in accordance with current ACCC and Fair Trading ACT of Australia.
​
If a return authorisation (RMA) is issued, and the goods are deemed by Astro Shop or its suppliers to be in "as new" condition, then purchaser may use the amount of the item/s (less postage and restocking fee of 5% of paid value of the goods ) as credit towards their next purchase. Any approved credit must be used within 6 months from the original purchase date. If you have a physical disability of any kind that might affect your ability to use any of our products, we highly recommend that you contact us first to see if your choice is suitable to your personal situation. The buyer is automatically deemed to have read these terms before making the purchase. Prices are subject to the current exchange rate and manufacturers information and as such, Astro Shop and its subsidiaries reserve the right to change prices as required from time to time. In cases where an order has been placed for an out-of-stock item that is subject to updated manufacturer pricing not as yet indicated to Astro Shop, we will endeavour to honour the online purchased price where reasonably possible. In extreme circumstances this may not be possible and the purchased price may need to be adjusted however this will not occur without the express prior consent of the buyer.
Product descriptions, specifications, images and included accessories are supplied by manufacturers in most cases and provided to the customer in good faith. Some product images may be used for illustrative purposes only. Manufacturers may alter quoted specifications or cited accessories from time to time and will always endeavour to keep this information as up-to-date as possible.
​
Privacy and Security
​
Like you, we dislike marketing companies that abuse personal information obtained via numerous means including the internet. We utterly respect your privacy and give you our guarantee that any personal information provided to us will remain confidential at all times. Credit card information is destroyed immediately after the final purchase transaction has taken place. We do not believe or condone the practice of storing highly confidential credit card information like so many other dealers. Yes, for common returning customers this may be a little frustrating but we value and respect your credit safety. Further to this we advise strongly that you have current and up-to-date computer virus, e-mail and firewall protection on your personal computer before placing any order online. While we provide 128 bit secure encrypted online shopping and maintain up-to-date virus and firewall protection within our own systems, Astro Shop and its associate companies accept no responsibility for irresponsible computer-based online shopping and by purchasing online with us, you acknowledge this responsibility. We recommend that you use only a credit accounts with a manageable limit to suit your purchases. We otherwise recommend that you phone us directly with your details for ultimate protection.
​
LAY-BY OPTION
Available for orders over one thousand dollars, Astro Shop offers a 'lay-by' option to help you manage payments for something you really want over time. Our Lay-By terms requires initial non-refundable upfront deposit of 25% (or as otherwise agreed) followed by 3 additional regular repayments over a 3 month period until payments are complete and match the sale value including shipping of the goods at the time the order was placed. Item/s are held by Astro Shop until the final payment is completed at which time the item/s will then be delivered. Lay-By terms are outlined in our contract as issued at the time of application.
Found a better price somewhere?
Now and then special promotional prices from the manufacturer may eventuate for a short period of time. If you believe our product pricing may not be up-to-date with a current special you've seen elsewhere then please let us know. If another dealer is offering an "authentic" special (not some overstocked sell-off or shop demo unit) and they are indeed an authorised distributor then we will always do our best to match or better a price.
It is important to ensure that a dealer can provide genuine and complete manufacturers warranty supported not only by the manufacturer but also by Australian authorised distribution channels.
Importer Direct Pricing
As an importer also, we do our very best to keep prices as competitive as possible. Like any genuine business, we are subject to fluctuating foreign exchange rates, freight charges, port duties and local government taxes and thus prices on certain manufacturer products will alter form time to time. We will always endeavour to pass on the best pricing based on the current exchange rate wherever possible on all goods ordered back to back with our manufacturers for the given currency rate at the time.
You can always be assured that Astro Shop can offer you the best realistic prices possible.
Consumer Guides
Consumer protection in Australia & New Zealand - www.consumer.gov.au
Lay-By information www.accc.gov.au/consumers/contracts-agreements/lay-by-agreements