Technical Services Rates and Scheduling
Rail Tales billable hour rate ranges from 20.00$ to 30.00$ plus the cost of any parts needed. The rate depends on the source and nature of the product and will be disclosed to the customer when the order is placed. The minimum charge is ½ hour.
Rail Tales will provide an estimate for service and if unexpected problems come up in the course of the work which would cause the cost to exceed the estimate, Rail Tales will notify the customer and give the customer the option to cancel the job. Rail Tales reserves the right to charge a minimum charge for evaluation in the case of cancelled work.
Rail Tales distinguishes between products purchased from us and those purchased elsewhere and also distinguishes between existing customers and new customers. Given that our staff is limited and because we want to take care of our customers first, products purchased from Rail Tales and products presented by existing customers will be given priority over products purchased elsewhere and/or products from new customers.
Rail Tales will make every effort to give the customer a realistic and reasonable estimate for completion of the project. If Rail Tales provides general deadline and cannot meet this deadline, it will make every effort to keep the customer up to date on when the work can be expected. If the customer requests and Rail Tales provides a fixed deadline and Rail Tales cannot meet the deadline for any reason, the customer has the right for return of the product at no charge even if some work has been performed but must notify Rail Tales immediately upon deciding for this option. If upon notification to Rail Tales, the item is actually complete and ready for pickup, the full charge still applies.
Technical Service Rates:
Any product purchased from Rail Tales will be serviced at a rate of 20.00$ per hour, billed in half hour increments with a minimum charge of 10.00$.
Any product purchased which could have been purchased from Rail Tales and was not will be serviced at $30.00/hour and given lowest priority with a minimum charge of $15. Rail Tales reserves the right to determine what determines ‘could have been’ and the right to waive the increased fee for any reason.
Products purchased prior to the existence of Rail Tales (June of 2013) and products which were not available from Rail Tales (vintage products and products which Rail Tales could not obtain or did not have in stock) are serviced at $25.00/hour with a minimum charge of $15.00.
Parts Costs
In most cases, the customer will be charged a standard fee for minor supplies such as cleaning materials, wire, solder, paint, bulbs, screws, glue, and so on. Customers will in some cases be charged for specific replacement parts such motors, brushes, circuit boards, and so on. The cost for factory replacement parts will be passed on to the customer at MSRP plus any shipping and handling charged to Rail Tales.
Cost for Cleaning and Lubrication Supplies per item being serviced: $5.00
Cost for Installation Supplies (solder, tubing, wire, etc.) per item being worked on: $5.00
Cost for HO or N Light replacement per light: $3.00. We use long lasting, low draw bright white bulbs unless otherwise requested or required by the installation.
Cost for O scale light replacement or factory replacement in any scale varies with the item and is equal to MSRP plus S/H.
Service Extras
Rail Tales provides the following at no charge as part of any Technical Service (Maintenance, Repair, Restoration, Performance Enhancement):
Rail Tales will tell you what we know about your item. In the course of determining how to proceed with technical work on your item, Rail Tales will often uncover specific information about the age and value of the item being worked on. What we learn, we pass on to the customer so that the customer will have a better understanding of the product they possess.