Terms & Conditions of Sale

01Who we are and when these terms apply

MGN Military Antiques is a US-based dealer of original World War II German and US militaria, in business since 2005. The business is owned and run by one person. In these terms, “MGN”, “we”, “us” and “our” mean Michael Nicolaou, DBA MGN Military Antiques, 4115 Broadway, Astoria, NY 11103, USA. “You” and “buyer” mean the person buying from us.

These terms apply to every purchase made from us, whether through mgnmilitaria.com, by email, by phone or in person, unless we agree something different with you in writing. By placing an order you confirm that you have read and accept these terms. The version that applies to your purchase is the one published on our website on the date you place your order.

To buy from us you must be at least 18 years old and legally able to enter into a contract. All sales are conducted in English, and these terms are provided in English only.

02Our items and how we describe them

• Every item we offer is an original period piece unless its description clearly says otherwise.
• Our descriptions, including identification, dating, maker and attribution, reflect our honest expert opinion, based on our experience handling militaria since 2005 and on the reference material available to us.
• The photographs are part of the description. Please study them as carefully as the text, since they show details and condition that words cannot fully capture. If you would like more photos or information before buying, just ask.
• These items are roughly 80 years old or more. Signs of age, use, wear, repairs made during the period, and storage marks are normal and are part of an item’s history. We describe significant condition issues, but minor age-related wear may not be mentioned separately.
• Items are sold as collectibles for display and study. They are not intended to be worn, used or put back into service, and we do not guarantee the fit of any uniform, headgear or footwear.
• Equipment and accessories associated with weapons, such as holsters, pouches and slings, are sold strictly as historical items.

03Prices

• All prices are in US dollars (USD).
• Prices do not include shipping, optional shipping insurance, an optional Certificate of Authenticity, bank or wire fees, or any import duties and taxes. Any sales tax we are required by law to collect will be shown on your invoice.
• Prices can change at any time, but the price stated on your invoice is the price you pay.
• If an item is listed at an obviously wrong price because of a typing or technical error, we may cancel the order before shipping. If you have already paid, we will refund you in full.

04Placing an order and when a sale is binding

When you place an order (online, by email or by phone) you are making an offer to buy. A binding sale is formed only when we accept your offer by sending you an invoice or a written order confirmation by email. We may decline an order for any lawful reason, for example if an item has already sold, if a listing contained an error, or if we cannot lawfully ship to your destination.

Once we send your invoice, the item is reserved for you for 7 days while we wait for your payment. If cleared funds have not arrived by then and you have not agreed a different arrangement with us, we may cancel the order and offer the item to other buyers.

Please check your contact and delivery details carefully. We are not responsible for delays or losses caused by incorrect or incomplete information supplied by the buyer.

05Payment

• Payment by Bank Transfer Only.
• Our bank details appear only on the invoice we email to you. They are never published on our website. Protect yourself from fraud: we will never change our bank details in a follow-up message. If you receive payment instructions that differ from your invoice, or that seem unusual, do not send money; contact us first at mgnmilitaria@gmail.com.
• Please quote your invoice number as the payment reference.
• You are responsible for all bank, wire and intermediary fees. International buyers should select the “OUR” charges option, so that the full invoice amount reaches us. If we receive less than the invoiced amount, we will ask you to pay the difference before we ship.
• Your order is paid only when the full amount has cleared in our account.
• Ownership: the item remains our property until we have received cleared funds for the full amount owed. Ownership then passes to you.

06Layaway

Layaway may be offered on request. Every layaway plan must be agreed with us in writing before it begins. Unless the written agreement says otherwise, the following applies:

• A deposit of 20% of the purchase price is due to start the plan.
• The balance is paid in as many payments and over as much time as we agree with you in writing, by bank transfer as described above.
• No interest is charged.
• We hold the item for you during the plan. It ships, and ownership passes to you, only after the final payment has cleared. If more than one item is included in one plan, they are treated as a single order and ship together once the plan is paid in full.
• Missed payments / cancellation: if a payment is more than 14 days late, we may cancel the plan and return the item to stock. Payments already made are refunded, less a 10% restocking fee.

07Shipping and delivery

• We ship immediately once your payment has cleared. If we cannot ship right away, we will let you know and you may cancel for a full refund of the amount you paid.
• Shipping charges are shown on your invoice. Items are packed carefully and shipped with tracking. We will email you the tracking number.
• Shipping insurance is optional. It is available at your request and cost and will be added to your invoice. If you choose insurance and an insured parcel is lost or arrives damaged, we will file the claim with the carrier and pay you what the carrier pays out, up to the insured value. Please tell us as soon as possible if a parcel is damaged, and keep all packaging and contents for inspection, because carriers set strict claim deadlines.
• Risk of loss: if you decline shipping insurance, risk of loss or damage in transit passes to you when we hand the parcel to the carrier. In that case any claim for loss or damage in transit must be pursued with the carrier.
• Delivery times given by carriers are estimates. We are not responsible for delays caused by the carrier, customs or events outside our control.

08International orders, import rules, duties and taxes

• Import duties, taxes (such as VAT), customs brokerage fees and any similar charges in your country are your responsibility. They are not included in our prices and are usually collected by the carrier or customs on delivery.
• It is your responsibility to check that the items you order may lawfully be imported into and owned in your country. Many countries regulate militaria; for example, Germany and Austria restrict items bearing Third Reich symbols.
• We may refuse to ship any item to a destination where we believe it is restricted, and we may cancel the order and refund you in full.
• We complete customs declarations truthfully and accurately. We will not under-declare values or misdescribe contents.
• If customs seizes, returns or destroys an item, or if you refuse a delivery or do not pay the import charges, this is not a fault in the item. Any refund is subject to the item being returned to us in the condition sold and is reduced by the shipping costs, return costs, and any charges we incur.

09Certificate of Authenticity

A Certificate of Authenticity is not included with items by default. You may purchase one for $25 USD per item. Please request it before payment so that it can be added to your invoice. The certificate states our identification of the item and is backed by the authenticity guarantee below.

Each certificate is issued for a single item and is prepared from our own hand inspection of the piece.

Every certificate includes:

• a unique serial number, recorded in our register
• the item title and our inventory number
• our identification: type, maker where known, nation and period
• a written description of construction, markings and condition
• photographs of the item
• the current fair market value at the date of issue, determined personally by Michael NICOLAOU
• the date of issue
• a digital signature and the MGN seal
• cover under our lifetime authenticity guarantee
• delivery as a digitally signed PDF
• online verification at mgnmilitaria.com/verify

We can also provide authentication and valuation services. Please contact us at mgnmilitaria@gmail.com to discuss your item.

10Lifetime authenticity guarantee

We guarantee that every item we sell is original as described. This guarantee has no time limit. If an item is proven not to be original as described, we will refund the full purchase price when the item is returned to us, under the following conditions:

• Who may claim: the guarantee is given to the original buyer and is not transferable. Please keep your invoice as proof of purchase.
• Evidence: the claim must be supported by a written opinion from a recognized, independent expert or authentication service in the relevant field, explaining why the item is not original as described. The expert must not be connected with the buyer or have a financial interest in the item.
• Our review: we will review the opinion in good faith and may ask to examine the item ourselves or to obtain a second independent opinion. If the opinions conflict and we cannot agree, we will ask a third recognized expert acceptable to both of us, and that expert’s opinion will decide the claim.
• Condition: the item must be returned in the same condition as when it was sold, and must not have been altered, cleaned, restored, repaired, taken apart, combined with other items or damaged after delivery.
• What is covered: the guarantee covers what our description states as fact. Points that the description presents as opinion or likelihood (for example “probably” or “attributed to”), and normal differences of opinion on condition grading, are not grounds for a claim.
• Refund: we will refund the purchase price paid for the item, plus any Certificate of Authenticity fee paid for it, by bank transfer within 7 days of receiving the returned item. Shipping, insurance, bank fees, import charges and expert fees are not refunded.
• This guarantee is in addition to your rights under applicable law.

11Returns

If you are not satisfied with a purchase, you may return it on these terms:

• Tell us in writing (email is fine) within 3 days of delivery that you wish to return the item, and ship it back to us within 7 days of delivery.
• The item must be in the same condition as when we sent it, with all parts, packaging and any certificate supplied.
• Pack the item carefully, ship it with tracking, and insure it for its full value. The item remains your responsibility until we receive it.
• You pay the return shipping costs, unless the item is not as described, in which case we will reimburse reasonable return shipping costs.
• We will refund the purchase price by bank transfer within 7 days of receiving and checking the returned item. The original shipping charge is refunded only if the item was not as described. Bank fees are deducted from the refund.
• Items that are returned altered, damaged or incomplete, or returned after the deadline, may be refused and sent back to you at your cost.

12Sold items, archive and Virtual Museum

After an item is sold, we may keep its photos and description on our website in our sold archive or Virtual Museum as a reference for collectors and researchers. Buyers’ names and personal details are never published.

13Want lists and Virtual Museum enquiries

Want-list (wishlist) requests and enquiries about items shown in the Virtual Museum are non-binding enquiries for both you and us. Nothing is agreed and no item is reserved until we accept in writing and send you an invoice. We cannot promise to find any particular item.

14Historical disclaimer

All items are offered strictly for historical, collecting, educational and research purposes. MGN Military Antiques does not endorse, support or promote any political ideology, including the ideologies of the regimes whose material appears in our collection.

15Copyright

All photographs and text on our website are the copyright of MGN Military Antiques, unless stated otherwise. They may not be copied, republished or used for any commercial purpose, including on other sales listings, without our prior written permission.

16Privacy

We use your personal information only to process your orders and to send you any alerts or updates you have asked for, such as want-list matches or new-arrival notices. We never sell your information. This section is our privacy policy.

17Warranties and limitation of liability

Our authenticity guarantee and the return policy above are the only warranties we give. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ARE EXCLUDED, AND ITEMS ARE OTHERWISE SOLD IN THEIR PRESENT, AS-DESCRIBED CONDITION.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, OUR TOTAL LIABILITY ARISING FROM ANY PURCHASE IS LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT YOU PAID FOR THE ITEM CONCERNED, AND WE ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL LOSSES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS OR ANY CHANGE IN AN ITEM’S MARKET VALUE.

Nothing in these terms limits any liability, or any right you have, that cannot be limited or excluded under applicable law.

18General

• Changes: we may update these terms from time to time by publishing a new version on our website. Changes do not affect orders already accepted.
• Severability: if any part of these terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the rest remains in effect.
• Entire agreement: these terms, together with your invoice and any written agreement we make with you (such as a layaway agreement), are the entire agreement between us for your purchase. If there is a conflict, the specific written agreement takes priority.
• No waiver: if we do not enforce a right immediately, we have not given it up.
• Events beyond our control: we are not responsible for delays or failures caused by events outside our reasonable control.

19Contact

Questions about these terms or an order? Please contact:

MGN Military Antiques
Michael Nicolaou, DBA MGN Military Antiques
4115 Broadway, Astoria, NY 11103, USA
Email: mgnmilitaria@gmail.com
Website: mgnmilitaria.com