Shipping, Returns

Returns Policy

Try buying and then returning your tire chains at retail establishments. It is very unlikely you will find a place that allows returns, but Chain STOP is different. Please contact us via our contact page for authorization to return any items that are still within the timeframes indicated below.

Please know that we only accept returns on unused items. We will look for signs of wear, scuff marks, dirt or other damage that causes the chains to longer be in the same condition as the way they were shipped to you. Before initiating a return for chains that seem to not fit your tires, we ask that you send us clear pictures of the how the tire chains appear on your tire from your attempted installation. Those pictures should be taken from the front and at an angle. Also, when possible, please take a picture of how the chains look on your tire from the inner sidewall. These pictures will help us to see if there are any steps that we can advise you to take in order to properly install the chains. If we determine from the pics that the chains do in fact appear to be too large or small for your tires, we can then initiate a return so long as the chains remain unused and in new condition as will ultimately be determined by Chain STOP.

In that case, we will fill out and e-mail you a Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) form. All you will need to do with that form is print it out and include it in the box with the chains. You will ship that package to the return address that we will indicate in the e-mail in which you receive the RMA form.

The shipping costs for the return must be prepaid by you unless Chain STOP indicates it will pay for that shipping cost due to its own error. Once the items are approved for return and delivered back to us, we will inspect the items and inform you of the result of our inspection. If your request for return and our authorization is due to an error on our part, if the items are returned to us within 30 days of their delivery to you, and if they are new and unused as determined by Chain STOP, we will issue you a full refund on the price you paid us for your tire chains.

In purchasing your tire chains online, you accept the trade-off of convenience for the slight risk that your tire chains will not fit on your tires. The incidence of "non-fitting" tire chains is approximately 2.5%. That is one out of every 40 customers or so that place an order. It does not happen too often, but it DOES happen. If you choose to return the chains because they did not fit your tires, you must prepay return shipping, but we can issue you a full refund on the price you paid us for your tire chains with no restocking fee if you ship the items back to us via UPS Ground or USPS Priority Mail*(see asterisk note below) and e-mail us the tracking number within 2 calendar days of delivery to you. 15% restocking fee between 2 to 7 days of delivery. 30% restocking fee between 7-30 days. No returns are accepted after 30 days.

You should expect to receive your refund within four to five weeks of giving your package to the return shipper, however, in many cases you will receive a refund more quickly. This time period includes the transit time for us to receive your return from the shipper (5 to 10 business days), the time it takes us to process your return once we receive it (3 to 5 business days), and the time it takes your bank to process our refund request (5 to 10 business days).

Shipping Policy

Our tire chains can ship to numerous locations around the world (including Canada, several European countries and Japan) via UPS Ground Service by selecting that shipping service ahead of checkout. Note, however that UPS Ground delivery times vary between 1 to 7 business days and rates also vary depending on your location relative to Iowa. Please see the first UPS map below for transit times of tire chains. See the one below that for transit times on recovery gear.

Other items will typically ship via UPS services as indicated by you in the process of buying items on our site.

If you need a more precise estimate of your delivery date, please enter into the ups.com tracking field the tracking number that we issued you soon after your purchase. You will often see an estimated delivery date there. If you are unable to determine an estimated delivery date from this, or you need a more precise estimate before you buy, please call us at the phone number shown on our contact page or in our website’s header. We will estimate shipping and delivery dates for you based on the availability of your items and the shipping options you choose. Depending on the shipping provider you choose, shipping date estimates may appear on the shipping quotes page of this website.

Please also note that the shipping rates for many items we sell are weight-based. The weight of any such item can be found on its detail page. To reflect the policies of the shipping companies we use, all weights will be rounded up to the next full pound.

Should you encounter any difficulties with shipping on the "checkout" page of our website, please call us at 515-897-1789 and we will help you process your order.

*Please note that there are advantages and disadvantage to using either UPS or USPS as your carrier for returning an item. Our experience has been over the years that UPS is much more reliable than the US Postal Service (USPS). That reliability comes at a significantly greater cost than you will pay for using USPS. The inverse is true for USPS which is that USPS has been significantly less reliable but also much less expensive. Of course the choice is yours, but we strongly recommend that if you use USPS you use their Priority Mail service (preferably with a sturdy box that would NOT be USPS' more flimsy flat rate boxes). Priority mail service will give you a tracking number which will be helpful to you in knowing where your chains are. It will also enable you prove to us that you did ship your chains out within the timeframe required to avoid or reduce restocking fees as mentioned above.

UPS Ground Transit Times for RUD Tire Chains from Iowa

UPS Ground Transit Times for Viking Winter Gear from Washington