SHIPPING   

Our shipping is charged according to a sliding scale, which is based on the Royal Mail's tariff, dependent on the weight of the package, its destination, and its value. The Royal Mail charges can be viewed here This is automatically added to the amount of your order. We add a small fixed amount (£0.5) to these charges to cover the cost of the packing.

We keep our prices low by adding a postage and packing charge to your order - not a 'hidden' charge with each item. We aim to ship every item ordered within two working days, but there are occasions when this time frame is not achievable: for example, when we are on holiday. There may be problems with availability with your order, so you are advised to monitor your registered PayPal mail box in case we have encountered any problems.

Please note that for mutual reassurance all goods are shipped with Royal Mail insurance cover corresponding to the value of your order in 'Sealed Air', 'Mail Lite' (or similar) protective postal bags.

United Kingdom

Goods shipped to addresses in the United Kingdom will be posted by either Special Delivery or by First Class Post, depending on the value of the contents of the package. Because our shipping rates are based on the Royal Mail tariff, there is a threshold at about £39 which triggers an additional charge. In an effort to mitigate this significant price jump, if your order value exceeds £39 we split your order into multiple packages which we mail to you separately. If the parcel is sent to you by Special Delivery, it is guaranteed (by the Royal Mail) to reach you the next working day by 1pm, whilst First Class Post normally delivers the next day.

Other Destinations

Goods shipped to most other countries will be shipped by Airmail.

The scope of the Royal Mail services to some countries means that we are unable to ship 'Signed For' to some countries, in which case we will use the tracking facility provided by the Royal Mail's 'Airsure' service. 'Signed For' is available to the United States and all EU countries.

For goods outside the United Kingdom, please allow 4-7 days for delivery, but in some circumstances the postal service may take longer. The Royal Mail state 'International Signed For™ with Airmail delivery our target time is within three working days to Western Europe, four working days to Eastern Europe and five working days for the rest of the world' and they also claim the same delivery periods for packages sent by Airmail. We will advise you by email (to the email address provided to us via Paypal) when a package has been despatched, quoting, if appropriate, any Track and Trace reference data and link.

Customs and Excise Duties

Goods shipped outside the EU may be subject to import duties or taxes, and this process may slightly delay the progress of you parcel. If customs duties or import taxes are levied on your parcel at the point of entry into your country, your postal service will not pass the package to you without payment of the duty. Obviously, we have no control over whether or not duty is charged, but if you are considering placing a valuable order (say, exceeding £25) for receipt in a non-EU country, please contact us as we may be able to suggest some strategies to minimise any import duties or taxes.

Lost Packages

If an order is shipped by us to an address in the United Kingdom, and is lost in the post, the customer must wait 15 working days from the date of posting before claiming from us for the order. For parcels sent overseas via Airmail the period before a claim can be made by us, form the date of posting, is, unfortunatley, twenty-five (25) days. Royal Mail require that we wait this length of time and once we have shipped the order to you there is little we can do until this time has passed. Once this period has elapsed we then have to go through the process of claiming from Royal Mail and will liaise with you, our customer, about this at each stage of the process. For your reassurance, please be advised that the loss of a parcel is an extremely rare occurrence.

Paypal and other means of payment   

We prefer payment via Paypal, the secure on-line payment system used by over 74 million persons throughout the world, but we will accept payment by other methods.When you checkout from the shopping basket you will be transferred to Paypal where you will be offered the opportunity to pay by Credit Card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express), or, if you have a Paypal account, you can use it to make a payment for your chosen stockings. You do not need a Paypal account to pay us, and your payment transaction is conducted in a secure environment. Your Credit Card details are not disclosed to us. Payment in cash in either Euros; US dollars; or Pounds Sterling (GBP) is acceptable, but we strongly recommend that you send any cash to us by secure means.

If payment is made by cheque drawn on a UK bank there is no additional charge. For cheques drawn on foreign banks our bank levies a flat fee of £6 which we would add to the cost of your order. We will wait for all cheques to be cleared before processing the order - the clearing of cheques normally takes 3 to 5 working days, but can sometimes be longer for cheques drawn on a non-UK bank.

If you prefer not to use Paypal, please email us with your requirements so that we can advise you of the total cost of your proposed purchases.

Discretion   

All transactions are conducted with absolute discretion, and in the strictest confidence.We do not receive, store or handle your Credit Card details - this is securely handled via PaypPal - the world's leading Payment Processing agent, with over 184 million accounts worldwide.

We will never pass on buyers' information to any third party.

If the purchase is intended as a gift, please advise and we will keep the packaging as anonymous as is practicable. Unfortunately, for non-EU countries, we are required to paste on the packet a Customs declaration declaring the contents of the package, and in all cases our return address, using the title 'Maryland Engineering Ltd.( which is the parent company) is stated on the rear of the parcel. Generally, we describe contents as 'Vintage Hosiery', but we can adjust this to 'Clothing' should you require - use the 'Message' section of the Paypal ordering process for any special instructions. Neither the company logo or the word 'Ho-hose' appears on any package despatched by us.

We comply with The Data Protection Act 1998 and the law that governs the processing of personal information held by us on living, identifiable individuals.

We follow the eight data protection principles and provide individuals with certain rights, including the right of subject access. For more information on The Data Protection Act 1998 please visit here

We also comply with Distance Selling and Online Trading Laws and with the Electronic Commerce Directive Regulations 2002. For more information on this directive please see here

Complaints   

We treat all complaints very seriously, and will endeavour to keep you happy.
Please email us with any discrepancies in your order or if for any reason you are not entirely satisfied.

If you order an item that is listed on the web site but we are unable to locate in our comprehensive stock, we will generally offer you an increase in the value (e.g. if the stockings you ordered are priced at £3.99) so that you can advise us of your alternative requirements.

Please note that we are selling vintage and classic stockings at very realistic prices. These stockings and, particularly, their packaging may have deteriorated over the years. Where any defects are apparent, we have reduced the prices and, generally, we have identified the nature of the defect.

Please see our Terms and Conditions for returns.

Sizing   

Stocking sizing is not a very precise art: there are many factors to consider when assessing the size you might require.

The first thing is to get the foot size correct.

Sizing of stockings is a measurement from the tip of the toe of the stocking to the point at which the heel turns to become the leg. Thus a size '9' is 9 inches long on the foot.

The next measurement is the length of the stocking, and is not always given by manufacturers. This is the measurement from the turning point of the heel to the top of the welt of the stocking, and is given in inches. This measurement gives one an indication of the length of the stocking.

The actual length when the stocking is worn is somewhat different in that the length is affected by the shape of the wearer's leg - the slimmer the leg, the longer the stocking will go. Also, the nature or the 'knit' and the 'resilience' of the yarn will have an effect on the length; as will the 'cut' of the stocking.

Some manufacturers shape the stocking to be very full, and this gives a longer effective length, whereas some will skimp on the 'cut' and thus the stocking can have a shorter length when worn than the actual measurement would have you believe.

When selecting vintage hosiery from our selection, it is important to note that nylon degrades slightly over the years and becomes more 'brittle', hence it is more likely that a stocking in a size that is too small for the wearer will suddenly rupture causing ladders (runs), and thus spoiling the stocking.

Here is a useful conversion chart: please note that the stocking sizes are approximations derived from the conversion to inches. The chart is provided for guidance purposes only!!

Loyalty   

Our customers are important to us. We offer discounts to regular customers - please email us before ordering so that we can prepare a preferential order page for you, with a discount allowance.

We often include a gift or two with orders - either an extra pair of the stockings you have ordered or some different nylon stockings for you to try.

Tights; Pantyhose; and Stretch Stockings   

We do not stock tights or pantyhose.

Some of our stockings are of a 'stretch' variety, but only where these are 'special' enough to be included in our stock. Where a stocking has stretch characteristics we include this in the description.

Modern Fully-Fashioned stockings   

We specialise in vintage and classic stockings and travel extensively on a regular basis to acquire new stock. As you can see from the site, we a have a very extensive selection. We keep our prices very realistic, so our profit margins are low - we feel that we are unable to offer the more-recently-made non-stretch stockings at a competitive price.

Brochure   

Sorry, but we don't have a colour brochure.

Most of the stockings featured on our web site are available only in limited quantities: we feel that to offer a colour brochure would be not only uneconomic, but also any such brochure would very soon be out-of-date. We offer our stockings at realistic prices by offering a comparatively no-frills service, just honest quality and reliability. One of the ways we keep our prices so competitive is by not paying for photo images of models wearing our hosiery.

With each order we enclose up-to-date stock lists for your perusal at leisure.