Return, Refund and Warranty Policies

O'Telescope wants you to be satisfied with your purchase and be able to effectively use your telescope or other purchase. If you are not 100% satisfied with your purchase, you may return your purchase within 14 days of receipt for a refund or exchange less a 30% re-stocking fee. Refund will be in the same form as payment.

All returns require a Return Merchandise Authorization number (RMA). Please contact us regarding returns before shipping your item.

We require that the product be returned in 'as new' condition in its original, 'as new' packing, so it may be re-sold as new equipment. It must be fully insured and O'Telescope must be consulted before the return. Shipping charges on all returns, whether for refund, replacement or warranty work, must be paid by the customer. Charges arising from the return, such as customs, taxes or surcharges, will be the sole responsibility of the customer. O'Telescope will not be responsible for lost shipments or for damages in shipping from the customer. Insurance claims will be the responsibility of the shipper.

Upon receipt of a returned product, O'Telescope will examine the shipment and determine if the criteria for the return has been met. A refund or credit are generally issued within seven days. In the event the product is not returned in 'as new' condition or with missing materials, manuals or without 'as new' original packaging, the return will be rejected, or a reduced refund offered as the product would offer as 'used' to other customers.

We recognize that you likely will not have 14 nights of clear skies to test your equipment after purchase, we so ask that you find at least one night during the first 14 days of possession to use the equipment and make sure it is functioning properly.

Exceptions to this policy: The following products are exceptions to this policy. They are non-refundable, and they are non-returnable unless there is a manufacturer's defect in which case the product will be replaced or repaired by the manufacturer:

• CLEARANCE, OPEN BOX, and USED items are sold as is with no warranty unless specified, returns not accepted under any circumstances.
• SPECIAL ORDER ITEMS - including products that are not usually kept in stock by O'Telescope (Please ask for clarification before ordering)
• HIGH VALUE ITEMS; items over $4000 CAD (Please ask for clarification before ordering)
• ABSOLUTELY no refund on BackyardEOS or BackyardNIKON software once an activation key has been issued

If the product contains dings, scratches or basic wear and tear, the RMA will be subject to an additional re-stocking fee which will be determined upon completion of the inspection.

Note regarding exchange rate: Our prices are adjusted every day based on current daily exchange rate.  It is normal to see the price of an item fluctuate from day to day.  When you purchase an item, the price you pay is the price of the item on that day.  We do not issue refund, nor would we ask for additional payment, on small daily fluctuation.

Note regarding shipping: We offer free shipping and/or free shipping insurance on many products! If you decide you want to return an item, and it is in new condition, our initial shipping cost, including initial shipping insurance, associated with shipping the product to you will be deducted from your eligible refund. This includes all products with free shipping promotions attached to them.

Note regarding custom pre-clearance items: We offer USA Customs pre-clearance on selected orders! If you decide you want to return an item, and it is in new condition, you will receive a full refund less our customs pre-clearance cost associated with shipping your order to you. This includes all orders with free customs pre-clearance. We can provide our customs pre-clearance receipt/fee paid on request.

USA Customs and Border Protection (CBP) does not have control over your state's tax requirements: Customs and Border Protection (CBP) does not collect state sales tax on goods imported into the United States. States that require taxes to be paid on goods brought in from outside the United States may periodically audit CBP declarations to identify these residents. The state may then elect to send a bill to those residents requiring them to pay sales / usage taxes at a later date. State taxes are solely the responsibility of the customer. This includes all orders with free customs pre-clearance. At no time will O'Telescope be responsible to pay state sales taxes on behalf of the customer.

When returning an item from the United States back to Canada, you must ship the item using the same carrier used when your shipment is returned to us for repair, replacement, or returned for a refund.  USPS is preferred for small items as it usually does not incur additional import fee.  It is the responsibility of the customer to ensure the shipment is properly documented, and if required, to provide a pro-format invoice.  All fees we incur to import back the item to Canada due to lack of proper import documentation or error in declaration is the sole responsibility of the customer and any such fees will be deducted from your refund entitlement.

 

Attention PayPal and Credit Card Customers

If you cancel an order, or return an item, for any reason, and you paid using PayPal or by Credit Card, we will deduct the original PayPal or Credit Card transaction fee from your refund entitlement. For partial refunds, the original transaction fee amount will be prorated and will be deducted from your partial refund amount. 

Why? As of May 2020, PayPal and Credit Card merchants are no longer refunding the original transaction fee when a purchase is refunded. As a result of this new PayPal and Credit Card merchants policy, the original purchase transaction fee we incurred during the purchase process will not be refunded under any circumstance.

 

Gift Cards

Gift cards are non-refundable, either in part or in full.  Gift cards do not expire.

 

Fulfillment Mistakes

Fulfillment mistakes that we make resulting in the shipment of incorrect product to you will also be accepted for return 14 days from the date of purchase or 14 days from the date you have received your product if your shipment had a tracking number.

 

Inventory Items

We try our best to keep some popular items in stock to ship your product in a timely manner.  While we try to have the latest and greatest items in inventory, it happens from time to time that manufactures will bring minor modifications to a given product with little or no change to the operational use of the product. Examples of such minor changes, but not limited to, could be a USB connection type, product color, etc.  

 

Warranty

Warranties are offered by the manufacturers of the astronomy equipment.  We're required to follow their policies and procedures for warranty claims, and the final decision in all warranty claims rests with the manufacturer. Warranty issues are to be taken up with the manufacture of the product.  Please contact the manufacture for warranty support. 

Upon request, O'Telescope may act as an intermediary on your behalf between you and the manufacturer to facilitate the process. Charges, such as delivery or customs clearance charges, may apply.