Frequently asked questions

We hand your parcel to the carrier within 1 to 2 business days. International delivery then takes 7 to 14 business days, so the total is 8 to 16 business days. "Business days" means Monday to Friday, excluding Chinese and US public holidays.

Shipping is a flat $8.99 to the United States, and free on orders of $79.90 and above. There is no handling fee, and we do not add any surcharge at the door.

It is in your shipping confirmation email. If you cannot find it, check your spam folder, then search your inbox for "PlayPulseRC". If it is still missing, email support@playpulserc.com with the email address you used at checkout.

Almost certainly not. On international parcels the first leg is handled by one carrier and the US leg by another, and the number can go quiet for several days while the parcel clears customs or changes hands. Please allow up to 16 business days before treating it as a problem. After that, email us and we will open an enquiry with the carrier.

Before the order ships, yes — email us and we will fix it. After it has shipped, no: international carriers do not accept address changes from the sender. The parcel will arrive at the original address, and you can use our 30-day return process once it does.

Email us as soon as you can. If the order has not shipped, we will cancel or change it and refund you in full. If it has shipped, we cannot stop it — you can use the 30-day return process when it arrives.

Visa, Mastercard and American Express; Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal; and Shop Pay Installments where available. Everything is charged in US dollars. Full details: /pages/payment-methods

Usually one of three things: your bank flagged an international transaction, the billing address did not match what your card issuer holds, or our fraud screening held a first-time order. Try a different card or PayPal, or email us and we will usually clear it in one message.

Almost always, one of the two is an authorisation hold rather than a charge. We capture payment when your order ships, and a held authorisation is released when an order is cancelled. If it is still showing after 10 business days, email us with the date, the amount and the last four digits.

Request a return within 30 days of delivery. Email us first — we will approve it and send you the return address. A parcel sent without authorisation cannot be matched to your order. Refunds go to the original payment method once we have inspected the parcel.

Not always. Send us a photo or a short video and we will tell you within 24 hours whether it is a defect we can resolve without a return. For obvious damage or an out-of-the-box fault, we usually replace or refund without asking you to ship anything. We would rather solve it than make you spend postage on a model that never worked.

Defects in materials and workmanship: motors, ESC and control board, transmitter and receiver, electronic components, and battery swelling within the first 90 days. It does not cover crash damage, water damage, wear parts, or damage from a non-original charger. Full terms: /pages/warranty

Usually yes. Email support@playpulserc.com with the same information as a warranty claim and we will send a quote for parts plus our actual shipping cost, with no handling fee. We only proceed once you approve the quote.

No. Duties and import taxes are included in the price you pay. We ship from China, so every order is a commercial import — and we clear it under a delivered-duty-paid arrangement, settling the duty, the import tax and the carrier's clearance fee before the parcel is handed to the US delivery carrier. Nothing is owed when it arrives.

It should not happen. If it does, do not pay it — email us at support@playpulserc.com with your order number and we will resolve it with the carrier. Customs-themed text messages are a common scam, so check the tracking number against the carrier's own website before you pay anything, and send us anything you are unsure about.

No. The price you see at checkout is the final price. There is no separate customs line, and there is nothing for the driver to collect.

One more thing worth knowing: the old US rule that let parcels under USD 800 enter duty-free has been suspended for parcels from every country, including China. If you read elsewhere that orders under $800 arrive free of duty, that information is out of date.

It depends on how you drive it. As a rough guide, most models run between 15 and 30 minutes on a full charge, and a full charge takes 2 to 4 hours. Running flat and immediately recharging heats the pack, so let it cool for 20 minutes first.

Use the charger supplied with the model, on a hard, non-flammable surface, and do not leave a charging pack unattended or on a soft surface such as a bed or a sofa. Do not charge a pack that is swollen, punctured or wet. Never use a charger with the wrong voltage or connector, and never leave a pack plugged in overnight.

Stop using it immediately. A swollen lithium polymer pack must not be charged, discharged or punctured. Move it somewhere non-flammable, away from anything that can burn, and email support@playpulserc.com with a photo. Do not put it in household waste, and do not post it — we will tell you where to take it.

No. Our models are not waterproof or water-resistant, and running through water, wet grass or snow will damage the electronics. That damage is not covered by the warranty. If a model does get wet, switch it off, remove the battery and let everything dry completely before using it again.