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Customer Information
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have questions about the order process, about the shipping, or about possible payment methods? Here, we give you answers to frequently asked questions as an immediate help. If you (still) cannot find the answer here, please send us you question by e-mail using the contact form. You can access the form at anytime using the field "Contact" in the red navigation list above.
Your Order in the Märklin Online Shop
- Finding and Selecting Products
Three possibilities are offered in the left navigation column for finding product: You can enter an item number you already know or a key word in the fast search. If more than one product is found, you will be taken automatically to an expanded search, which you can use to improve the precision of the search by entering other search terms. The third way makes use of the subject "Our Program", where you also have access to the spare parts program in addition to the overview selection by gauges and layered categories.
Place selected products for the order "in the shopping basket" by clicking on the field of the same name. The current contents of the shopping basket will be shown to you by the number of units and the value in the upper right part of the screen at all times. After you have placed an item in the shopping basket, you continue to select additional items, and the contents of the shopping basket will remain preserved in the process.
- "Item Temporarily Out of Stock at the Warehouse"
From time to time items from the current program may be sold out temporarily. In this situation a "yellow traffic light" will inform you of this, and it is not possible to put this item in the shopping basket. The Shop does not offer the possibility of reserving or pre-ordering and item; only those items can be ordered that are available according to the data processing inventory report.
Here are two tips for this: In this situation, ask your local dealer if the item you are looking for is available there. If you don't have the possibility of doing this, you can put the item in the Shop "on a note" and have an e-mail sent immediately, when that item is available again. (This function is only available for customers registered in the area "My Account".)
- Giving an Order
In order to give an order for the items selected, first click on "Show Shopping Basket". In this first step you can change the order quantity for the individual items or completely delete items entered. If the shopping basket now corresponds to your wishes, click on the second step "Go to Shipping Address" and enter you billing and shipping address. This is particularly easy for registered customers and for members of the consumer clubs, who also enjoy other advantages beyond this. Of course, you can also buy without being registered, if you have entered your information for this order.
You can go to the third step by clicking on "Method of Payment". For your and our safety, certain maximum amounts have been provided for payment by bank debit / bank draft and by COD (cash on delivery); depending on the value of the items in your order, not all methods of payment may be available in certain situations. Orders from outside Germany can only be payed for by Credit Card.
After clicking on "Send Order", check your shopping basket one more time in this fourth step, the information about addresses and method of payment, and confirm that you understand and agree with the general business terms for the Online Shops. If all of the entries are correct, click at the end of the page one more time on "Send Order".
If you have decided to pay by credit card or bank debit / bank draft, questions about the credit card or the bank information will appear on the next screen (the transmission of this information to the safety servers is encoded; see also "Notes about Data Protection"). The order is completed after this information has been entered, and you will receive an order confirmation by e-mail in a few minutes.
Shipping Your Order
- Catalog Items or Spare Parts?
You can order items from the current catalog program as well as spare parts in the Online Shop as part of an order. If spare parts are part of the order, they are first brought together in the spare parts warehouse in the factory and then brought to the logistics center, where they are put together in the shipment with the catalog items that have been ordered. Spare parts are brought over to the logistics center several times a day, but it may happen ? depending on the time at which the order was entered ? that the two-step processing of the order can extend the shipping time by one day, even though we of course do everything to process your order as quickly as possible.
- Transport and Shipping Time
The transport of your order in Germany is done by our logistics partner GLS, General Logistics Systems. The shipping time for an order is generally 1 to 2 work days. This total shipping time may be extended in certain situations, depending on the time at which the order is entered and the type of order. The transport of orders from outside Germany is done by different transport firms. Your order leaves our warehous within 1 or 2 days, the actual shipping time may vary depending on the carrier and the destination.
- The Status of Your Order
In the area "My Account", you can see your current and earlier orders under the point "Order History". You can also see there, whether your order is still being processed at Märklin or has already been shipped. In the near future, we will also set up the possibility here of tracking your shipment.
When the shipment is finished and has left our warehouse, the invoice is generated and your bank account is debited or credit card is charged for these types of payment. At this point you will receive a shipping notice by e-mail. For technical reasons, you will still receive the invoice for your order by regular mail.
- Items Ordered "not available"
In general, only those items available in the warehouse according to the data processing inventory report can be ordered in the Shop. Despite this, it may happen that an item cannot be delivered even though there is a "green" indicator next to it on the screen. It may be that the last piece was just ordered by another customer or that it cannot be sold due to damage to the packaging, for example.
In such situations, you will be informed by e-mail about the item; of course, you bank account or credit card will not be charged in this situation for the item.
