Frequently Asked Questions

Most Ostheimer figures are made of maple wood. Its light-colored wood is delicately grained and makes the colors of the toys shine. Some Ostheimer figures, such as the camels, are made of solid, heavily grained ash wood. Here you can see the wood structure particularly well. The figures in our toddler series are made of alder wood.

Each rocking horse is custom-made and the arm rest is individually adjusted. If we send a single arm rest, it will most likely have to be adapted to the “old” rocking horse.

To ensure good surface protection, the figures are dipped in oil after painting. It consists mainly of ricin oil, which we obtain in organic quality from a regional manufacturer. It is safe for children and fulfils the requirements of the Toy Safety Directive.

If something breaks, it is not a lack of quality, but rather a condition that comes with wood as a natural material. The spike in the royal crown or the foot of a figure can usually be glued back in place with a drop of wood glue. Or you can sand the edges of the break with sandpaper. [More on this]

To paint the figures, we use water-based wood stains that are specifically designed for toys. This means that they are saliva-proof, harmless to health and fulfil the strict standards required by law for toys. In addition, the translucent properties of these precisely coordinated colors beautifully highlight the characteristic, lovable nature of the Ostheimer figures.

Our products are available from good specialised toy retailers. You can find Ostheimer specialist dealers in your area using the store locator.

You can buy directly from the manufacturer in our online shop.

There is also the 2nd choice shop at the Ostheimer company in Zell u. A. Here you can only buy 2nd choice products.

Deliberately gently rounded and kept in a simple shape, the warm effect of the wood can come into its own in our toddler series. With their finely sanded surface, they nestle in the mouth and hand of the small child, who encounters a piece of the world in the toy. That's why we deliberately avoid using any kind of colors and the typical Ostheimer stamp.

Our wooden figures are stamped with the Ostheimer logo on the bottom side. Until the 1970s these were paper stickers and until the end of the 1980s our figures were branded. Since then, the typical rubber stamp has labelled the wooden figures as Ostheimer originals.

The child, the developing human being, is at the center of everything we do. This also means producing safe toys for children from tested materials. All of our toys always comply with the latest toy safety standards.[More on this]

The two Nativity Assortments can be combined with each other and the sizes of the figures match.

If you have a complaint, please contact the retailer from whom you purchased the goods directly. In case of doubt, they will contact us.

We recommend our unpainted natural wood figures Rocking Bear, Rocking Rabbit, Dolphin, Bear running, Dog and Horse for children of toddler age. They have an untreated surface and are made of alder wood in soft shapes.

The wooden figures are painted with colors that are not of animal origin. The tails are made of hemp or sisal. In the article Crib with Child II there is some sheep's wool in the crib. Except for the horse for St.Martin and the pony, where the reins are made of real leather, all items can be described as vegan.

Our decorative cloths are manufactured in a small company in Silesia (Poland). The pure cotton fabric is also woven in Poland, is cut to the appropriate size, then sewn, dyed and washed. Unfortunately, due to the many work steps that are often carried out by hand, small size deviations cannot be completely avoided in the fine, loosely woven fabric.

Here, it's not a piece of wood that's broken off, but we've sanded off the color at this point, which represents the "mirror", the white spot on the hindquarters of a deer that every deer naturally has. First the deer is completely dipped in brown paint, then the face is painted on, and then the white spot on the rump is sanded in.

Wood contains tannins that have a natural antibacterial effect. However, if cleaning is necessary, for example if it is heavily soiled, then we recommend 

• Use lukewarm water, possibly with a little diluted vinegar or a splash of ecological washing-up liquid
• Gently rub the surfaces with a soft, clean cloth or sponge
• Lightly sand natural wood figures (not painted figures) in heavily soiled areas with 120 grit sandpaper
• After cleaning, rub the toy with a soft cotton cloth and let it air dry.

You can either create a customer account in our Ostheimer Shop or simply place an order as a guest without registering. Generally, the ordering process is started by placing items into the Ostheimer shopping bag via the "Add to shopping cart" button. A click on the shopping cart icon shows you the content you have currently selected with the possibility to change it. If you are already a PayPal customer, the yellow button “Directly to PayPal” will bring you directly to PayPal at this point, and allow you to pay for the order and complete it quickly. By clicking on the "Checkout" button, you will be guided through the following steps to the completion of your order, whereby you can cancel or return to a previous step at any time:

1. Shipping Information / Registration 

At this point, you decide whether you log in to your existing customer account or enter your name, billing and delivery address. You can register with a new customer account by ticking the box "I would like to create a customer account, I have taken note of the data protection information" or you can proceed to checkout as a guest without creating a customer account. For example, you can use your customer account:

• to complete orders via the online shop faster 
• to check the status of your orders
• to view your previous orders
• to save alternative delivery addresses

2. Complete your Order

Here you can view your order again, check it and, if necessary, change it. You can also see your previous entries for the shipping and billing address and correct them if necessary using the corresponding buttons. 

Selection of Shipping Method:
Since we currently only offer standard shipping with DHL, there are no other options available in this regard. 

Selection of Payment Method:
Here you can select the desired payment method. 

Before completing your purchase, you are made aware of the information on the right of withdrawal that can be accessed by clicking on the link. If you want to complete your purchase, you declare your agreement to the terms and conditions of the Ostheimer online shop by ticking the checkbox. 

By clicking on the "Buy now" button and completing the payment using the selected payment method, your purchase is completed.

We ship available items on working days from Monday to Friday within 24 hours of receipt of the order.

We ship all of our packages with DHL and charge a flat rate of €3.50 per order for deliveries within Germany.

For orders with a value of more than €45.00, Ostheimer will cover the shipping costs for you.

In our shop shipping is currently only possible within Germany.

Payment Information

We work with Paypal as payment service provider and offer you different payment methods via Paypal which you can select. Payment is processed via the payment service provider PayPal (Europe) S.à.r.l. et Cie, S.C.A. (22-24 Boulevard Royal L-2449, Luxembourg; “PayPal”). “PayPal” can use other payment services for payment processing. 

Further information about Paypal payment terms can be found in the legal agreements for Paypal services at:
https://www.paypal.com/de/webapps/mpp/ua/legalhub-full?locale.x=en_EN

In addition to the payment method via a Paypal account, Paypal also offers you the following payment methods, which can be chosen without a Paypal account: 

Purchase on account (via Ratepay GmbH) 

After completing your order, the bank details for transferring the invoice amount will be displayed. In addition, the bank details will also be sent to you by email. The payment term is 30 days after the invoice is issued. 

SEPA direct debit 

After you have issued Paypal a one-time SEPA direct debit authorization, the invoice amount will be debited from your account by Paypal within 2-3 working days.

Debit card/credit card 

Once entered, your credit/debit card details will be encrypted and transferred to Paypal. If the issuing bank of the credit card used authorizes the transaction to Paypal, the purchase will be approved and completed. This process only takes a few seconds. 

Giropay

You log in to your online banking with your access data and confirm the transfer to Paypal. The payment will then be debited from your account within 2-3 days.

PayPal and its contractual partners - e.g. Ratepay GmbH for the “purchase on account” payment method - may carry out an address and creditworthiness check for certain payment methods as part of the payment process and reserve the right to only offer selected payment methods. We have no influence on that.

As part of our cooperation with Paypal, the merchant's purchase price claim is assigned to the payment service provider, so that customers can only pay to the payment service provider in a exempt manner.

Institutionen und Einrichtungen können direkt über unseren Online-Shop bei Ostheimer bestellen. Um den spezifischen buchhalterischen Anforderungen gerecht zu werden, bieten wir Institutionen einen von Paypal unabhängigen Rechnungskauf an. Um dies zu ermöglichen, bitten wir darum, vorab ein Kundenkonto für die Institution in unserem Online-Shop einzurichten und uns per E-Mail oder telefonisch darüber zu informieren. Nach einer erfolgreichen Prüfung schalten wir das Konto frei und Ihr könnt die Bestellung für Eure Institution/ Einrichtung aufgeben. Das Zahlungsziel beträgt 14 Tage. Die Liederadresse kann nur im Rahmen einer Prüfung verändert werden.  

At Ostheimer, all items marked in green are always in stock and ready for dispatch. If an item is sold out, you will recognize this by the “currently not available” mark.