Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

We welcome your questions, which we will do our best to answer by email. If a question and answer seem likely to be of interest to others as well, we will publish them both on this page.

Please also note that many shop-related questions can be answered via our Terms and Conditions.

• How safe are K'NEX products?
• How do I order online?
• Why do you request my email address and phone number?
• Why can't I make payment?
• Can I order offline?
• Can I just ask for a quotation?
• How do I navigate around the site?
• Can the site be used by people who are visually impaired?
• Why do I get an error message?
• Covid-19

How safe are K'NEX products?

Unlike many construction kits and toys, all K'NEX rods, connectors and bricks are manufactured in the USA, at a sister factory next door to K'NEX headquarters in Pennsylvania. This factory uses raw materials from premier quality US manufacturers, operates under the strictest of guidelines, and is certified to meet ISO 9001 Standards. A small number of specialized parts, such as motors, are made in China.

All of the materials used in K'NEX products meet global toy safety standards including the United States Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (“CPSIA”), the European Union’s Toy Safety Directive, the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act, and the Australian Toy Safety regulations. The parts are routinely examined by an independent, third-party laboratory to ensure that they meet safety standards.

It is also important to note that all the K'NEX sets and parts we sell are new and unused, unlike most of the K'NEX sets and parts available online via eBay etc. Top ^

Warning

Warning - CHOKING HAZARD.

K'NEX is not suitable for children under 3 years, as it includes small parts. Top ^

How do I order online?

Ordering online could not be easier - simply add the products you want to buy into your Shopping Cart, and then proceed to Checkout, as shown below.

Adding items to shopping cart

We recommend that you start by browsing through our online shop, and then add any products that you wish to buy into the Shopping Cart by using the [Add to Cart] button for that product.

Any product you add to the shopping cart will initially have a quantity of 1. To revise the quantity for any product, change the value in the "Quantity" box for that product, and then click on the [Update] button at the bottom of the Shopping Cart page.

Products can also be removed from the shopping cart if you wish. Simply tick the "remove" box for the product, and then click on the [Update] button at the bottom of the page.

Checkout

After you have finished adding everything to the Shopping Cart, click on [Checkout] and you will be asked for a few details that we need to be able to complete your order, including your name, address and payment method. Top ^

Why do you request my email address and phone number?

When you place an order with us, we request during Checkout: your organisation name (if any), contact name, address, postcode, email address and (only if your order is being shipped via Express delivery) your telephone number.

An accurate email address is essential, as this is how we send your order acknowledgement, raise any order queries with you, and keep you up to date with the delivery status of your order.

Your telephone number can also be of help to us in fulfilling your order, for instance in situations where the carrier cannot find your address. Rest assured, we will never telephone you for any other reason, or pass on your telephone number to a third party other than the organisation(s) delivering your order.

We also use the email addresses entered with orders to email our occasional newsletters. You can opt out of this service if you wish. Top ^

Why can’t I make payment?

Our website processes large numbers of online payments from customers around the world. All online payments are processed on our behalf by PayPal, one of the world’s largest online payments companies.

The levels of security on such payments are very high, and as a result customers occasionally experience a problem whilst making payment.

The following notes may assist.

How do I know if my payment has been successful?

If your payment has been successful:
1. You will be returned to a page on our website that states “This is your receipt” in the top left-hand corner.
2. You will receive an email from us within a few minutes confirming receipt of your order.
3. You will also receive an email from PayPal within a few minutes confirming that your payment has been successful.
4. The payment will appear in your PayPal transaction history or on your credit/debit card statement.
5. Within eight hours, you will receive a second email from us, confirming that your order has been downloaded from our website, and is being processed.

Note that any emails we send to you may possibly be found in your spam folder.

If the above events have not taken place, then your payment has not been successful, and the order is probably still in your shopping cart. Please read on…

Payment by debit card or credit card not successful

Common reasons are:
1. Your card details have been entered wrongly.
2. The billing address you entered on our website does not exactly match the address registered for your credit card or debit card.
3. The payment requires online authorization by your bank, but this has not been given for some reason.
4. The payment would cause you to exceed the credit limit on your credit card or debit card.
5. You do not live in the UK, and your credit card or debit card is not authorized for payments made to UK companies.
6. A temporary error on our website, on the PayPal website, or on your bank’s website has caused the payment to fail before completion.

Payment from a PayPal account not successful

Common reasons are:
1. Your PayPal login details have been entered wrongly.
2. The billing address you entered on our website does not exactly match the address registered for your PayPal account.
3. The payment requires online authorization by your bank, but this has not been successful.
4. The payment would cause you to exceed the credit limit on your PayPal account.
5. You do not live in the UK, and your PayPal account is not authorized for payments made to UK companies.
6. A temporary error on our website, on the PayPal website, or on your bank’s website has caused the payment to fail before completion.

What do I do next?

The following actions may assist you to rectify the problem.

1. Check that the address you entered for the order exactly matches the address registered for your card or PayPal account, and try to make payment again, entering very carefully all the data requested.

2. If the payment is still not successful:
a. Make a note of the date and time
b. Take a copy of any error message that appears (a screen copy is ideal).
C. If you can, make a note of the full URL of the screen you were on when you received the error message.

3. If you are trying to make payment via your PayPal account, send this information to PayPal via https://www.paypal.com/uk/smarthelp/contact-us and ask them to explain why your payment transaction failed.

4. If you are trying to make payment from a debit card or credit card, contact the bank that issued your card to ask why your payment transaction failed.

5. Please also send the above information to us by email. We will do our best to assist.

Many thanks. Top ^

Can I order offline?

We would recommend that all orders are placed online.

However, if you have any queries about the ordering process, or the availability of parts, please email us. Top ^

Can I just ask for a quotation?

You can obtain a Quotation for any combination of products in our shop, as follows:

1. "Add to cart" the products you require.

2. Proceed to Checkout and complete Checkout pages 1 and 2.

3. The full cost of the order will be displayed on Checkout page 3 of 3, including the cost of the shipping method you have chosen

4. If you want a printed copy of the quotation, select the payment method "Quotation only", and then confirm the order.

5. You will receive a copy of the Quotation by email.

6. If you want to proceed at a later date to convert the quotation into an order, please email us. Top ^

How do I navigate around the site?

We have tried to make navigation around the site as simple and as quick as possible.

The main navigation features of the site are as follows:

   ♦ The navigation bar on the left will take you to the different main sections of the website, will allow you to change language and/or currency, and will also permit a Quick Search.
   ♦ The navigation bar at the top will allow you go to the Shopping cart or to Checkout.
   ♦ The links at the bottom of each page will take you to the main Information pages for the site, Terms and Conditions, and Frequently Asked Questions.
   ♦ A "breadcrumb trail" is also displayed at the bottom of each page, showing how you arrived at this page.
   ♦ On appropriate pages, navigation buttons appear at the top and also near the bottom of each page, including Top, Home, Prev, Up and Next. These buttons will take you to the top of this page; the website home page; the previous page at this level; up a level to the "parent" page of this page; and the next page at this level.

Please email us if you have any suggestions for improving navigation around the site. Top ^

Can the site be used by people who are visually impaired?

We have done our best to ensure that this website can be accessed by people who are visually impaired, and is compatible with all online accessibility features.

If you want to magnify the contents of any page to make it easier to read, we recommend that you enable the "Web content Page zoom" facility in an internet browser such as Google Chrome. You can then set the Page zoom to 120%, 150% or whatever magnification suits you best.

Please email us if you think we can make our website more accessible in any way. Top ^

Why do I get an error message?

There are three main reasons why you might get an error message whilst accessing our website:

1. You do not have Javascript enabled in your internet browser.

2. You do not have Cookies enabled in your internet browser.

3. Despite extensive testing, an error has crept into our website.

Javascript

This website will operate if you do not have Javascript enabled in your internet browser, but you will experience the following restrictions:

a) Prices displayed will be in GB pounds (£) only.

b) Some English-language words may appear on German or French web pages.

For these reasons, we recommend that you keep Javascript enabled whilst browsing our website. If you are not able to do so, please Email us for assistance.

Cookies

This website will operate if you choose not to have Cookies enabled in your internet browser.

You will not be able to buy any products online, but you can still browse through our online shop, and buy offline.

For this reason, we recommend that you keep Cookies enabled whilst browsing our website. If you are not able to do so, please Email us for assistance.

Other errors

We are always very concerned if anyone receives an error message other than the two above when accessing our website.

Please Email us immediately if this happens.

Any errors on the website can usually be fixed within minutes. Top ^

Covid-19

Last updated 5 April 2021.

The K'NEX User Group has been operating as usual throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, shipping to the UK, most other European countries, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc.

Orders can be shipped either via the postal service (Airmail etc), or by Express delivery. For more information, see Shipping costs and delivery timescales.

Please email us if you have any queries about the Covid-19 situation. Top ^