Terms and Conditions

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We ship worldwide including to the UK, most countries in Europe, Canada, Australia, and the USA (via USA site) - see here for a full list of countries we ship to

If you'd like to return an item, have questions about customs, cancellations or other similar queries, please see below for our terms and conditions.  

Table of Contents

Refunds, Returns and Cancellations

For refund or return requests, please contact us within 14 calendar days after your tracking number has been marked as "delivered". Requests received later than 14 calendar days after delivery, will not be eligible.  

Our refund and returns policy applies only if the item is received with a fault, damaged, or is significantly different to the description.  To help us process your request, we may ask for photos or other documentary evidence as proof, so we can best diagnose the problem and work on a solution for you.  

If your refund/exchange is approved, you will be given an RMA Number (Return Merchandise Authorization Number), along with instructions to complete your return.  If we approve a refund, the money will be returned to the same method of payment used to make your purchase.

Item must be received within 14 days after the RMA Number has been approved and assigned. The customer will be responsible for the return shipping cost.

If you need to cancel your order, please contact us within 24 hours of placing your order.  This is because we aim to dispatch all orders within 24 to 48 business hours after receiving the order.  If you contact us after it's been shipped, we are not able to recall the order. 

Craftsmanship and Quality Guarantee

If you have found an issue in quality or craftsmanship with a product from us, please contact us immediately and we will repair or replace it, at our discretion. Products that have been subject to abuse are not eligible under this guarantee. Products on our site are described as accurately as possible, but occasional slight variations in measurements, colour, or design may occur.

Any remedy for an unintentional error in the description, pricing, or availability is at our discretion.

You must be over 18

You must be over 18 to make a purchase on our website. All products sold on our website are legal in the UK as long as you are over 18 years of age. Our products do not require a license. By purchasing from our website, you acknowledge and confirm that you are over 18 years of age. We age verify orders prior to shipment, and reserve the right to follow up with you directly for further verification if required (such as requesting you to provide identification). If we are unable to satisfy that you are over 18 years of age, we reserve the right to cancel and refund your order.

Shipping Policy

Orders will be shipped within 4 business days, with the exception of custom and back ordered products. Delivery in most circumstances takes 7-20 business days.  More information on shipping times can be found on our Shipping page. 

Customs Information and Customs Charges

Because we want to be fully transparent, we'd like to lay out some key information for you as it relates to customs.  To bring you the best products at the best prices, we ship from suppliers all over the world.  Depending on what you're ordering, and where you live, your order may arrive to you through customs.  The section below clarifies how this works, and what you should know. 

Unfortunately, because customs isn't something we can control in any way, we're not able to add customs or duties to invoices.  (If we did that, it wouldn't really be fair for our customers, since not all orders incur customs charges -- in fact, many do not). 

As the buyer, you are solely responsible for paying all fees such as taxes, duties, or other costs added to your shipment by customs within your country (including the UK).  More information on this is below.  We are not able to lower pricing on your customs forms, as this is illegal, and we always want to do the right thing. 

As the buyer, you are also responsible of making sure that the items we ship are legal/allowed to be shipped into your country, and you do so at your own risk.  As above, some of our items ship from outside the UK, as we work with a range of providers throughout the world, to bring you the best products at the best prices.  As such, UK orders may (or may not) incur customs charges.  For more detail on this, please see below.  

We will not issue refunds or be held liable for lost, stolen, or confiscated items. This includes items shipped to the UK, Canada, Australia, the USA, and worldwide.  With that said, if you have any issues with a shipment through customs, and aren't sure what to do, please contact us and we will do our best to help you.  

Customs Charges - Estimates (if your order is picked up by customs)

As we're often asked about estimates for customs charges, we provide some information below -- but please keep in mind that the amounts below are only that -- estimates

All customs charges are raised at the point of entry, and are completely determined by the customs office. This is why we are unable to 'add' customs charges onto invoices or produdct prices (if we did that, some orders may be charged too much, which wouldn't be fair to our customers).  There’s no official pricing, as it’s determined solely by Customs, and isn’t something we are able to control, change, or avoid. 

But, since we are sometimes asked about estimates, please see below - please keep in mind, this is just a rough idea for your reference, and isn’t something we can change or control:

  • Some items have customs charges raised, and some don’t.  This isn't something we can control. 
  • If they are picked up by the customs office, can vary from £0 to around £50. We have had an example of a £180 sword being charged £20, and £600 worth of swords being charged £40.
  • So, depending on the value of your order and whether or not it is flagged for customs charges, somewhere in the range of £0 - £50 is an estimate

What to do if your order is picked up by customs

Customs clearance will normally take 2 - 4 working days. During busy periods such as Christmas and New Year, it can take a little longer. If customs need extra information from you, they may send you a letter in the mail.  If you have questions or would like to inquire about the status, please call ParcelForce using the details on their contact page here

Other than that, if you have any questions, just contact us. 

Undeliverable Packages

if an item is sent to the wrong address due to an incorrectly stated address in your order (by you), you can repurchase the same item to the new address, or, wait to see if the package is returned to us safely, and then pay for additional shipping to a new address. Please notify us as soon as possible of any errors in your shipping address. Once an item is in possession of the Postal Service, we are not able to retrieve, redirect, or otherwise interfere with the shipment to its destination. We are not responsible for items that are not insured or that have tracking numbers that fail to update to a delivered status, for any reason, including system errors. We will not issue refunds or be held liable for lost, stolen, or confiscated items. NO EXCEPTIONS.

Backorders

On occasion, due to popular demand, some items may be unavailable or on backorder. Some products are more likely to become back ordered than others. Some products may have wait times from 2 weeks to 2 months if back ordered.  In the extreme cases, this can be due to exceptionally high demand, if the manufacturer has sold out, and is waiting for a new production run. This delivery time does not include any excessive delays due to customs. If you feel your order is taking too long, please feel free to contact us, and we will update you on shipping times or current stock levels.

Payment Methods

We accept credit cards (Visa, MasterCard and American Express), and Paypal.

Disclaimer

By placing an order the buyer represents that he or she is an an adult of legal age (18 or over in the UK) and that the products ordered will be used in a lawful manner. We assume no responsibility for any harm or injury resulting from the sale, trade, use or handling of any product purchased from us. It is the responsibility of the buyer, not the seller, to ascertain and obey all applicable local, and international laws in regard to the possession, and or use, of any item purchased. We are unable to provide refunds in the event that the package that you have ordered was lost by common carrier without insurance requested or seized by customs or other agencies. Consult your local and state laws before ordering if you are in doubt. 

For safety reasons, we are unable to deliver to schools or other addresses we deem unsafe.  Please do not provide a school address - if you do, we may contact you to arrange delivery to an alternative address.  Other address we may deem unsafe include nurseries, hospitals, day-care centers, churches, or government buildings, and other addresses at our discretion.  If we see such an address on your order, we'll contact you to attempt to arrange delivery to a different address.  

All products listed on our website are legal in the UK.  As above ("Disclaimer" section), it is the customer's responsibility to ensure they are of legal age when purchasing a product from this website, and to use it in a legal, responsible manner.

We have recently been approached by several customers citing a BBC article from 2008 that claims all Samurai Swords are banned in the UK.  While the article was correct when it was written, it was obsoleted 4 short months later by the passage of an amendment that allowed for swords "...made before 1954 or was made at any other time according to traditional methods of making swords by hand" [emphasis added].  All our swords are hand-forged using these traditional methods, so they are UK legal.

References for key points (but not an exhaustive list) are provided below, along with links to UK Government websites outlining current laws. Rather than replicating all information on our own website (which could become outdated as laws change), we provide a summary, with links to up-to-date government websites.

Key points (please ensure to read full articles listed below if in doubt)

  • All products sold on our website are legal in the UK. 
  • It is an offence to carry a sword in a PUBLIC PLACE without good reason.
  • All persons purchasing from this website must be over 18 years of age. 
  • Samurai and other curved Swords are legal *IF* handmade using traditional forging/production methods. All swords sold on this website are made using traditional forging methods, and we ship the swords with special documentation noting this on the packaging to ensure easy customs clearance.   If requested, we can provide an additional copy of this documentation to the buyer in the form of an authenticity certificate. (Samurai and other curved swords with a blade length of 50cm or more, which were *not* made using traditional methods, are not legal unless used for martial arts, actors and so-on). All swords sold on our site are made using traditional methods and are legal in the UK. 
  • It’s legal to own swords. It’s not legal to carry them in public ‘without reasonable excuse’. That would be for example, taking it home after buying it, taking it somewhere to sell it, or using it for a re-enactment or a play. 

For current laws and more detailed information, please refer to:

Privacy

For privacy information, please see our Privacy Policy. By using this website and/or placing an order, you agree to our privacy policy.