Purchase Terms / Shipping Details
Review, Returns policy & Warranty of Description, Consignment Sales policies, etc.
All Wisconsin state residents pay sales tax* or supply a valid resale certificate.
*The statewide sales tax in Wisconsin is 5%. Local taxes of 0.5% are collected in 62 Wisconsin counties, and in five counties there is an additional “Stadium Tax.” So, in practice, sales tax rates in the state range from 5% to 5.6%. Last updated 2017
In the United States – We accept bank wire transfer as then there will be no delay in shipping. If you are an established customer we will consider alternate payments, such as by check, or zelle. If payment is other than wire transfer we reserve the ability to hold the item for a reasonable period of time to allow clearance.
For International Sales – We only accept International Bank wire transfers and PayPal (or similar services) for smaller purchases.
* Other terms A credit card processing fee will be charged (fee goes directly to credit card company or PayPal). Percentage is approximately 3.5-5.0% dependent upon if its a domestic or international credit card.
If Shipping payment via UPS, FED EX, IE: other than USPS, Call ahead for our Street Address.
All checks will be held until funds are secured.
Tim Pepin: 608-315-0083 (Cell) Call any time.
See Email below
Matt Pepin (Main Office): Fax # on request.
info@samuraisword.com
24 hour Review period in the USA
24 hour Review period in the USA: Our items are 100 % guaranteed to be as described (except with buying service items)*. We offer a 24 hour inspection period for all Antique items (USA only). The 24 hour viewing period begins with the date and time of verifiable delivery receipt, not when you start inspecting it or when your agent (neighbor, friend) delivers your package. Should for some reason you expect to be away from home when the package is due to arrive, please lets us know, we’ll gladly hold off shipment until you are home. If we do not receive any communication within 24 hours we will assume that you will consummate the sale. Sales are final after the 24 hour period. No refunds for consignment items (after 24 hrs), custom orders, lay a ways (structured payments), or special interest sales.
Event Sales: Sales are final. Returns only for exchange of a different item in stock within 24 hours of consummation of initial sales transaction. In the case Event has ended, within 24 hours of purchase, notify us at info@samuraisword.com or by telephone @ 1-608-315-0083. Any notice after the Event ending, you will pay shipping and or insurance to and from. After 24 hours no exchange.
Warranty of Description*: Our items are 100% guaranteed to be as described, provided that all measurements and weights provided in any descriptions or captions of the item are approximate only. This does not apply consignment sales and in buying service items. We do not warrant any Japanese sword we sell for anything but that of study or appreciation. We will not guarantee a Japanese sword is suitable to be used by an practitioner for such things as toyama-ryu (cutting), iaido, kendo or any other martial art, sport or practice.
Claim of Breach of Warranty. Customer agrees, that with the purchase of any item (or restoration & shinsa services) from our company, to abide by these procedures for any claim of breach of warranty. Customer must notify company of a breach of warranty claim within two (2) weeks of purchase of item or service. Customer agrees to ship back such contested item to company at customer’s cost and in accordance with company requirements for shipping of item.
Company will then ship such item to N.B.T.H.K. or N.T.H.K. (at companies choice) in Japan for a shinsa evaluation. Any opinion granted by N.B.T.H.K. or N.T.H.K. will be a final determination as to whether or not there is a breach of warranty.
If it is determined by any such organization that the warranty is not 100% as stated, company will pay customer a full refund, minus original cost of shipping, insurance and other items provided to customer by company free of charge.
Any disputes with the company, including any relating to breach of warranty claim, shall be fully and finally resolved by submission at company’s sole option to: (a) the Circuit Court of La Crosse County, State of Wisconsin; or (b) arbitration conducted in accordance with the rules of the National Arbitration Forum, under the Code of Procedure then in effect and such arbitration to be held within La Crosse County, Wisconsin.
Returns in USA
If the item is not to your satisfaction, please contact with in the 24 hours us to let us know you will be returning it, we will gladly refund your money less any shipping costs and items provided free of charge. Please ship the item back, within 48 hours of receipt, the same way it was shipped to you. The item must be in the same condition as you received it or a refund will not be issued. Please insure the item for its full value; you are responsible for it while it is in transit. Refund checks are processed within 30 business days after return of item (s). We reserve the right to charge a restocking fee of 15% on returned items, this has never been necessary, but would only occur only if there are expenses or fees charged in purchase order of items from Japan that cannot be refunded (such as bank transfer, and conversion fees), only the actual amount would be charged. Please read below for shipping and insurance policy as it also applies during the review period while item is being shipped to you. All other terms apply, and if applicable additional terms of arrangement as noted on purchase invoice.
Custom orders, for a new sword, restoration or custom work: are final and must be paid in full in advance, unless prior arrangements are made. Regarding polish, while not common it is always possible a kizu, fatal or even minor can appear with new polish, there are many factors and risks with polish, therefore there is no guarantee made as to the final results. Customer understands and accepts risk associated with polish, with payment of polish services, customer agrees to hold harmless Samuraisword.com to any monetary claim should kizu, fatal or even minor appear, there will be no refund on polish cost or purchase price of blade. On request we’ll send to our polisher for further inspection before sale is consummated, at extra cost this can include a window polish if desired. The opinion of our polisher is his alone, we cannot guarantee polisher opinion to be correct. There are no refunds on custom order requests or on purchased item which custom work is ordered on. Item must be paid in full before work is to be ordered. If purchase of item involves custom work or restoration of item; i.e.: modification, and buyer chooses not to take allowed inspection period, buyer agrees to waive inspection period and understands there will be no return period for purchase. The buyer is permitted to inspection period (as applicable per USA & International Return sections) if prior to “modification” being ordered, per Return policies stated on this page. We do not provide insurance for items while in our possession or that of the craftsman.
Consignment items: We will give our opinion as to the authenticity, condition and description of the item however our guarantee does not extend past the 24 hour review period (USA sales). All terms of policy listed here-within apply. International sales of consignment items are final, even if delivered in the USA. Items purchased as is.
Restoration blade (in need of polish) purchases: Blades in need of restoration, are sold as is! We will give our opinion as to the authenticity, condition, description and possibility of item taking a new polish however our opinion does not extend past the 24 hour review period (USA sales). International sales of consignment items are final, even if delivered in the USA. While not common it is always possible a kizu, fatal or even minor can appear with new polish, there are many factors and risks with polish, therefore there is no guarantee made as to the final results. Customer understands and accepts risk associated with polish, with payment of item, customer agrees to hold harmless Samuraisword.com to any monetary claim should kizu, fatal or even minor appear, there will be no refund on polish cost or purchase price of blade. On request we’ll send to our polisher for further inspection before sale is consummated, at extra cost this can include a window polish if desired. The opinion of our polisher is his alone, we cannot guarantee polisher opinion to be correct.
International
Our items are 100 % guaranteed to be as described (except with buying service items)*. All sales are final on International orders, even if delivered in the USA. Should an item offered on samuraisword.com be proven to be incorrectly described the item will be guaranteed for 100% credit of purchase price towards another item. The item must be in the same condition as you received it or a credit will not be issued and item will be returned at your expense. Please read below for shipping and insurance policy as it also applies if item is shipped to Samuraisword.com. Should for some reason you expect to be away from home when the package is due to arrive, please lets us know, we’ll gladly hold off shipment until you are home.
Custom Orders; new swords, custom work or restoration — USA & International
If purchase of item involves a new sword order, custom work or restoration of item; i.e.: “modification”… see section below “Custom orders, for a new sword, restoration or custom work”.
Buying services ~ for items from 3rd party sellers
In our offering buying services, we do not offer Warranty of Description or to be 100 % guaranteed to be as described of any item purchased on your behalf. We can only give our opinion as to the authenticity, condition and description since the purchase involves special order items. The sale is deemed final (regardless if domestic or International), there is no inspection period offered through Samuraisword.com, however if we are permitted to inspect the item before ships to your location we will do all we can to insure the sword is as described and offer a final inspection prior to delivery to your location.
Custom orders, for a new sword, restoration or custom work: are final and must be paid in full in advance, unless prior arrangements are made. Regarding polish, while not common it is always possible a kizu, fatal or even minor can appear with new polish, there are many factors and risks with polish, therefore there is no guarantee made as to the final results. Customer understands and accepts risk associated with polish, with payment of polish services, customer agrees to hold harmless Samuraisword.com to any monetary claim should kizu, fatal or even minor appear, there will be no refund on polish cost or purchase price of blade. On request we’ll send to our polisher for further inspection before sale is consummated, at extra cost this can include a window polish if desired. The opinion of our polisher is his alone, we cannot guarantee polisher opinion to be correct. There are no refunds on custom order requests or on purchased item which custom work is ordered on. Item must be paid in full before work is to be ordered. If purchase of item involves custom work or restoration of item; i.e.: modification, and buyer chooses not to take allowed inspection period, buyer agrees to waive inspection period and understands there will be no return period for purchase. The buyer is permitted to inspection period (as applicable per USA & International Return sections) if prior to “modification” being ordered, per Return policies stated on this page. We do not provide insurance for items while in our possession or that of the craftsman.
Consignment items: We will give our opinion as to the authenticity, condition and description of the item however our guarantee does not extend past the 24 hour review period (USA sales). All terms of policy listed here-within apply. International sales of consignment items are final, even if delivered in the USA. Items purchased as is.
Origami from organizations (or other persons) other than the N.B.T.H.K. or N.T.H.K: We display the papers as they are and provide an translation of any documents, however our guarantee does not extend past the 24 hour review period. We do not dispute formal certifications by reputable organizations or their experts.
The policies stated above apply to all sales whether in person or via our website, telephone, auction, magazine advertising, and or classifieds displayed on the internet.
Restoration / Shinza Services
All related services (restoration, shinza and associated costs such as shipping/insurance, Japanese agent fee, and police registration fee) completed must be paid upon completion before items will be returned. We may request down payment / full payment on restoration / shinza services. We will provide price and time estimates before work is ordered by request, which will vary dependant on service to be performed. On Restoration / Shinza services we may charge a percentage fee of 15-25% on top of the total charges for our time spent.
We cannot be responsible for time delays during restoration or shinza. In Japan, there are often delays for numerous reasons (we are not dealing with mass producers from China but with very qualified, high demand Japanese craftsman keeping an old art alive). Work orders cannot be stopped or interrupted once started. Images will be provided of restoration work completed before payment is finalized. No refunds on custom orders, restoration or shinza services. With polish, while not common it is always possible a kizu, fatal or even minor can appear with new polish, there are many factors and risks with polish, therefore there is no guarantee made as to the final results. Customer understands and accepts risk associated with polish, with payment of polish services, customer agrees to hold harmless Samuraisword.com to any monetary claim should kizu, fatal or even minor appear, there will be no refund on polish cost or purchase price of blade. When necessary, please email for updates of your work order.
Refusal to pay for services ordered and completed in good faith of expected payment will result in holding of item until full payment of invoice is rendered, and will ultimately result in a sale of your item to recoup invoice total as allowed by applicable laws in the State of Wisconsin. We reserve the right to charge the maximum annual APR interest rate allowed by Wisconsin state law, on services invoiced older than 30 days.
Deposits
Deposits for purposes of making purchase without immediate full payment are treated as Layaways “structured payments”, sale is final, purchaser waves review period with deposit being received. In cases of a purchase where down payment deposit was made, there will be no refund of deposit, however a credit will be applied towards another sword. We reserve the right to charge a fee of 5-20% of the deposit in consideration to time spent on order canceled. Custom orders / Restorations are non-refundable once ordered/paid.
Holds
When a commitment is made on a item, we will as an courtesy hold the item for a 24 hour period. Should 24 hours not suffice you can arrange to make a deposit to hold it longer or arrange a layaway per terms above. At our discretion we will require a deposit of 10-25% (depending on cost items) for some holds. We will allow longer holds as necessary without down payment for our repeat customers.
Layaways (“structured payments”) are now available to our customers. We will try to limit the period to 3-4 months maximum time. A minimum down payment of 15-25% is required, or less if negotiated. All items will be placed into a hold status made per agreed scheduled payment terms. With initial payment by consumer it is agreed that sale is consummated and the return period is waived. The sale will be final. Any purchase with more than one payment will be deemed as a Structured payments arrangement. Each purchase invoice will have additional payment terms based on requirements of sale.
We reserve the right to charge a restocking fee of 15-25% on purchase price of sale items placed on a Layaway “structured payments” plan that is abruptly stopped. I’m example if you stop making payments and do not respond to our correspondence your layaway plan may be terminated, then associated restocking fee and hourly charges charged for time used in consulting with the buyer/owner as applicable. If we have existing payments from you, then restocking and consultation fees may apply to your paid balance. We go out of our way to help those who are not able to pay in full but it has to be fair for both sides. If all efforts made fail then at our discretion the aforementioned will apply. With your entry into a layaway “structured payments” program with us you agree to this policy.
All other purchase terms within this page do apply as applicable.
Trades
Purchases involving trade of item(s) purchased with us are subject to the approval of www.samuraisword.com, if a trade is agreed on, a credit equal to total amount paid minus shipping costs will be given. We’ll also consider trades that are part cash – part trade, or all trade (for items of higher or similar quality). See our want list for an idea of items we desire to have.
Consignment Sale Inquires
We will accept consignment sales, after full visual inspection of item at our premises. We will try to give a ballpark estimate via email if clear digital images are received, however; in the end it will be necessary to perform full visual inspection at our premises before any acceptance will occur. Item must be kept at our premises to secure purchase for potential clients while item is displayed on our website. We do not provide insurance for items while in our possession. We will not directly charge you a commission for items sale, however; in the case that the item must be sold for less than your agreed price we will charge a 10-20% commission rate, with percentage amount being based on level of time spent. A consignment agreement will be necessary and is available for review by request. If a item is sent for consignment and the agreement is not returned signed, item (s) will be removed from our website and returned to address on file after 10 days have passed from consignors receipt of agreement via COD to cover our shipping costs and or any authorized performed services. At our option we reserve the right to remove consignor’s item (s) from website and return item (s) at any time without prior notice. Consignor is responsible for approved repairs/costs (if applicable), return shipping, insurance costs and any fees resulting in attempts to sell (such as eBay) and paid in full before return shipment will occur.
Shipping can take 1 day up to three weeks depending upon shipping address. In many instances we ship via registered insured mail, this is the safest but definitely not the most expedient. Security and safe arrival of your item our are primary concerns.
Domestic Orders
We ship items via FedEx or USPS. All shipment prices vary and will be determined on a package by package basis. Upon request we can facilitate requests for shipment via other carriers at the buyers preference.
International Orders
We use the United States Postal Service for International Shipments and sometimes when restrictions require, UPS or FedEx. We are not responsible for customs, duty on international orders or additional insurance not covered over the shippers max insurance value allow while in transit. Items must be insured for the full purchase price. If an item is not insured or declared for the full purchase price, you are responsible for any loss or damage during transit. Upon request we can facilitate requests for shipment via other carriers at the buyers preference. All shipment prices vary and will be determined on a package by package basis.
Shipment Restrictions in your country???: Click here to see if restrictions are in place in your residence country for the receipt of antiques in general or Antique or less than 100 year old Japanese Swords (At times also termed as edged weapons). Restrictions vary by country. Although we have shipped to many countries Internationally without issue, the policies within link are suggestive at best, we recommend that you consult the proper authorities in your country of residence to clarify items you which to purchase from us and that they can be imported.
UK Sword ban: This is the policy of the United Kingdom as we were made aware: “Genuine antique swords are exempt from the ban as are those made in Japan up to 1953, or subsequently by a Japanese registered swordsmith. Also exempt are those replicas used in martial arts or for similar purposes.” We will make every effort to assist you in getting your purchased sword(s) into the UK however you make your purchase at your own risk. Please inquire if you need assistance and are a client.
We are not responsible if customs takes temporary or permanent control of your item. No refunds will be issued, however if item is refused by customs and received back in same condition as when sent – a credit will be issued for purchase value minus shipping & insurance costs.
Insurance: It is the policy of Samuraisword.com that shipping and insurance on all shipments domestic and international is not included in purchase price of items sold, of restoration/shinza items in transit to Japan or any other shipments for any purpose not already mentioned. We will endeavor to handle shipping and insurance matters for you upon request however we will bear no responsibility for theft during transit, or to the errors and omissions of shipping companies and or insurance companies. We recommend in all shipments of your items that you have your insurance coverage extended to cover the item while in shipment to and from our office, or to and from Japan for purposes of restoration/shinza and also while it is in our possession.
Erroneous Errors
Samuraisword.com is not responsible for erroneous errors via our communications through the website or any other medium. I.E.: You receive an email whereby a price is mis-labeled by honest mistake. (Example: $500 is listed when it really should have been $5000 or say the price was noted as a cash price when it really should have been a trade price [or vice versa] we will not expect to be held to such an error) Our 100% guarantee does apply however to our items being as described.