Terms & Conditions
Effective 8/24/06
The following are the legal Corporate Terms & Conditions set-forth by Champion
Hill Relics, LLC, and will be adhered to at all times in all circumstances. It
is the responsibility of the buyer/customer to read carefully, fully, and with
complete cognizance when purchasing any item, or performing any form of commerce
with Champion Hill Relics, LLC.
PLEASE READ in it's entirety:
Forms of payment accepted are personal check (personal checks must clear bank
before order will be shipped), cashier's check, money order, cash, or credit
card (Visa, MasterCard, or Discover). Personal checks may take 7 to 10 days to
clear the bank--even a little longer--so please keep this in mind when choosing
to use personal check. Please note: it is up to the you, the buyer, to provide
insurance, delivery confirmation, etc, for your payments made through the
mail--I have no control over the mail, so if payment gets lost in the mail, that
is between you and the mailing service. It would be wise to insure & get
delivery confirmation so that you, the sender, have proper recourse. Make checks
or any other payment means payable to John Spicer or Champion Hill Relics, at this address:
P.O. Box 2112
Brandon, MS 39043
All items are as described on my website to the best of my abilities.. Though most of my offerings are Civil War-era, I do carry other wars militaria--items made well before and after the Civil War--as well non-military items. "Civil War-era" is defined by me (and many in the collecting/selling community) as being something made and/or used just before, during, or not long after the years of the War (1861-1865). If a buyer wishes to see more pictures or desire any further detailed information than that provided through this website, the buyer needs to do so prior to purchase.
All listed prices on website DO NOT INCLUDE SHIPPING CHARGES, which must
be calculated based upon your delivery destination, insurance amount, rapidity
of delivery ("express" or "overnight" or "cheapest way possible", or any other
option you choose, including customer pick-up.) Once you contact me that
you want to buy and item, I then give you the total with shipping and insurance.
I ship either USPS or UPS, depending upon when I can ship, the size, value, etc.
Return/Refund Policy: Champion Hill Relics wants you to be satisfied with
your purchase, so if you are not satisfied and wish to return the item(s), you
may return any item within (7)
days of when I ship it (or 5 days if you purchase it in person)
for refund minus all shipping costs and restocking fee/lost sales fee. Once that
7 days is past (or 5 days if purchased in person), to the very minute it was
shipped-out, the return window has closed. Please notify me via e-mail or phone
message that you are wanting to return an item within the return period so that
it can be processed. If you want to make sure you receive the item before the 7
days after I ship it, please pay for quicker/guaranteed shipping. All returns
are to be insured. If return items sent by the buyer are NOT insured, and
loss/damage occurs, then the seller (me) can nullify the return.
Any returned item is subject to a 20%
restocking/lost sales fee. This is due to the fact than I most
often have many people wanting the same item, and will lose the sale to another
willing buyer, just because someone is on a "shopping spree" and then decides
they don't want it anymore.
Please make sure you ask all questions, ask for more pictures, information, etc,
BEFORE you purchase to ensure it is an item you want.
I will happily answer all questions, take more pictures, different angles,
different lighting, etc, to help you in your decision-making process. I
realize it is not always easy to see and know everything about a piece without
it being in your hands--I am running a website business, and I will do all I can
to help you before you buy the item. But all returns are returned items
require a mandatory, regardless.
Credit Card payment is available with on-line secure service with my credit card processor, but requires a mandatory 3% processing fee.
Returned items must be in same
UNALTERED, UNCLEANED, UNCHANGED CONDITION as they were shipped.
Any modification, alteration, or damage incurred to
the item in any way will VOID the return policy. Once an item purchased has
been cleaned in any way, scratched, damaged, discolored, changed the appearance,
repaired, or altered in any slightest fashion from it's original condition when
it left my hands to be shipped to purchaser, the return policy is entirely VOID.
This is a very simple and logical stipulation--all merchandise, let alone in the
field of antiquities, have their value based upon CONDITION, and once the buyer
has changed the purchased item in any way, they have immediately voided their
ability to return an item.
Any item damaged in shipment--whether on its shipping to you or to me--will not result in any return or loss to Champion Hill Relics, as it is the responsibility and fault of the shipper service. This is why I implore customers to PAY FOR INSURANCE for shipping, whether shipping to you or me. Then, the issue of accountability for, and restitution of damage to the item(s) lies solely with the shipping service. No return of Champion Hill Relics products shipped to customers shall be given due to shipping service damage, nor shall any purchase of products by Champion Hill Relics be transacted due to packing/shipping service damage.
Notification by phone or email is
required before any return is authorized. No item will be
returned due to damage during shipping, or by customer's handling once received
by the customer. The customer must ask and pay for shipping insurance in order
to guard against damage or loss during shipping.
Champion Hill Relics shall only sell on a "First-Come, First-Serve" basis -- whoever is first to communicate (either via phone call, phone message, or e-mail) that they shall "buy" or "purchase" an item listed on the website FOR THE AMOUNT LISTED ON THE WEBSITE, then it is theirs. Making vague reference such as "I'm interested in this item..." or making an offer/trade lower than full listed amount on the website does NOT constitute a legal "sale" or "hold" for this simple "first-come, first-serve" basis, and thus may be sold to someone else, unless I accept the offer made. That means, the item may get sold to someone else. Please do not get upset if an item sells after you leave a message or e-mail saying, "I am interested in this item...." or make some lower offer than that listed, or trade offer, etc. If you want it, please make clear you are buying it. Use definitive words such as "I would like to buy (such-and-such) if it is still available at it's price $xxx," or simply "I'll take it," or any clearly definitive language. The first person to effectively communicate that they are buying an item(s) AT THE LISTED PRICE is legally the first person to purchase it. I often get many e-mails/phone calls after listing an item, and often face very many vague communications, offers, etc. You certainly may make an offer lower than the listed price--and perhaps I will accept it--but the first person to communicate that they commit to purchasing at the listed price legally buys it. If I accept another lower offer/trade, then--of course--the deal is sealed, and it goes to that buyer, regardless of any other customers who come later with more money. I am very fair and easy, and will always do the "right thing" in any situation, but please be clear and definitive. Try buying real estate, boats, cars, auctions, etc, any other way than legally described above, and you are in for a (rude) surprise! What's "right" is right, and "fair" is fair.
Make sure to ask all the appropriate questions, seek all the relevant
information and pictures, as much as you'd like before the purchase to ensure it
is an item you really want. And please inspect your purchase upon receiving to
make sure you are happy with your purchase! A buyer cannot return just part(s)
or a piece(s) from an item purchased (i.e.: send a ramrod or nipple back, keep
the rest). Whatever is bought is bought in it's entirety, and therefore returned
that way, unless some arrangement is made between the buyer and myself.
There are no returns or refunds on items traded--obviously, once traded,
I may sell the item you traded immediately.
There are no returns on items sold at a Show or during the weekend of a Show
where you purchase an item(s). People have tried to pull "switch-er-roo"
games with dealers, and using common sense, we dealers are extremely busy buying
and selling, and once an item is sold, we dealer's are busy using our revenue to
negotiate and purchase other fine items to sell. Plus, once sold off our table,
all the other potential customers didn't have a chance to see and buy the
item--so no returns on items sold at Shows!
There are also no returns or refunds on items in "Layaway." It is
ridiculous to ask any seller who, in good faith, allows a buyer to pay over
several months without interest, only to have the buyer drop the sale and expect
to receive their money back: meanwhile, during that period, the seller could
have long-since sold the item to other waiting customers, who have now moved on.
All Layaway proceeds made buy the Layaway buyer are forfeited entirely, if they
choose not to pay the remaining balance of the layaway bill on a relic. If
someone does NOT pay ON-TIME for their item(s) in layaway, I shall grant a
notice via e-mail that they are overdue, and have 2 weeks to make the missed
payment. Otherwise, all layaway proceeds are forfeited to Champion Hill
Relics, and the item shall be placed back for sale--unless an arrangement is
made and agreed upon between Champion Hill Relics and the purchaser of the
Layaway item(s). Again, this should be common sense. Try missing your
house or car payments and see what happens....I think my policy is very lenient
and fair. Items on "Layaway" can NOT be traded for
another item. What you put on "Layaway" is yours. Please make sure to look at
all the pictures and as for close-ups before purchasing. Understand that I can
only describe so much in writing or over the phone, and pictures are what they
are--pics of the item, given the ambient lighting, quality of the pictures, etc,
so do not become despondent if you did not inquire for all the detail possible
prior to purchase.
There are no "trades" made with an
item on "Layaway", meaning the buyer can not wish to trade the
existing item on layaway for another item listed for sale. The item you bought
on layaway is the item you'll get.
Any Credit Card paid items returned are subjected to a mandatory 20%
re-processing fee, since it is the credit card processing company that
charges with the penalty re-processing/return fee--I don't see a dime of that
money. This does NOT include the 20% restocking fee.
Mississippi State Residents must
add/pay our 7% State Sales Tax.
To "HOLD" an item requires an
up-front payment of 20% of the purchasing price, and will only hold the item for
2 weeks. If no further payment is made after 2 weeks, or the
buyer chooses not to purchase the item at any time, then the "HOLD" money is
kept as a restocking/lost sales fee, and the item is placed back on the market.
If a person who paid the "HOLD" money changes their mind and doesn't want the
item, or returns it after purchase, the 20% HOLD fee is kept by me, the seller.
All items are sold "AS IS": these
are antiques! How they arrive into my hands is exactly how they
leave my hands, and don't even think about complaining regarding some aspect of
the piece purchased (little nicks, dings, rust spots, previous repairs,
alterations, etc) after the 7 day period and expect to get a refund. They are
what they are--pieces of history--that are in whatever condition they are in
after 140+ years and the effects of time, age, ground action on dug items, or
the actions by previous owners, and all this factors into why the artifact is
what it is today. These antiques are often very fragile, so please treat them
with the utmost care and respect they deserve once you purchase them. They are
also being constantly affected by one unalterable reality--time. Things
deteriorate with time, especially old iron, leather, paper, and just about
everything from long ago. They can, and will, continue to deteriorate. Not I,
nor anyone else on this planet, has any control over an item deteriorating once
it is in your hands.
Any item will be held for 7 days
for the payment to arrive. If payment is not received within 7 days, the item
will be placed back on the market for sale.
All items are shipped USPS unless otherwise requested. Shipping and insurance
(if desired by buyer) will be added to the total cost of your order. If the
buyer does NOT take insurance on the item purchased, and damage or loss occurs
in shipping, then the buyer has no claim against the seller (me). Again, I have
no control over the shipping service/deliverer! PLEASE take insurance out on
purchased items!
Layaway Payment Plan is simple:
1/3 payment down (paid immediately), another 1/3 payment 30 days from initial
payment, and the final 1/3 payment made within 60 days of initial payment--so,
you have 60 days in total for the Layaway period. If full payment is not
received within 60 days, item will be returned to stock and all payments
forfeited. If a customer decides they do not want to purchase the item at any
time during the Layaway period, all previous Layaway payments are forfeited, and
the item will be placed back to stock for sale by Champion Hill Relics.
Authenticity Guaranteed...or your money
back...at any time...
I guarantee that the relics I sell to you are authentic, or as described (in the
case of any repairs known to have been made, or time-frame in which it was made,
etc.) with 100% money back at any time if ever proven to be otherwise. And by
"authentic," I mean that they are not "modern," "fakes," or "reproductions" in
their entirety. Upon the buyer's request, I am happy to provide a Letter of Sale
on Champion Hill Letterhead, which will contain pictures of the piece sold to
you, as well as the listing verbiage (thus showing how the item was described
for the sale). A sales receipt does not in any way make for a Sales Letter on
Champion Hill Letterhead. A photocopy of any Sales Letter on CHR letterhead
signed by me is kept on file with me, so don't think about trying to "fake" any
letter (and my pitiful signature is easy to spot!)
This letter must be asked for PRIOR to the shipping of the artifact, as I must
be able to take pictures of the piece while it is in my hands. Clearly, the
quality of reproduction/faked artifacts out in the market today is scary, and
even fools the "best experts" around. As good Christians, we know that no man is
perfect. No dealer or expert is above making an honest mistake, but I, and many
other good and reputable dealers, back their relics with the "authenticity
guarantee." One quick clarification: I do NOT accept the "opinion"
of other dealers or collectors on my artifacts. Some dealers and personal
collectors have "other agenda's" in mind when they raise "questions" about other
dealer's artifacts, and some "dealers" or collectors aren't even close to being
qualified to judge some artifacts. I would be happy to accept the written
assertion by a noted, well-respected, and/or published "expert" in the field of
the item in question. For example: on plates, Steve Mullinax's opinion--though
even he admits he is not perfect--is accepted, since he's clearly an authority
in the matter. On Buttons: William Leigh. And so on. The guarantee only extends
to YOU, the buyer of the piece, as I have been warned by other dealers of people
who "attempt" to claim a certain item was bought from someone, who claimed they
bought it from the dealer, and--of course--it was not. Just another "scam". The
original letter of "Sale" and "Authenticity" written and signed by me and given
to the buyer must be presented to me by the original buyer, with a written
assertion by a published/accepted "expert" in the field in question. Otherwise,
the return is entirely up to me, the seller. Unfortunately, there are as many
"bad" relics being sold to buyers as there are people who try to scam "good"
dealers with returns. I will not fall for any trickery or underhanded attempts
of people trying to pass a "bad" item off for the "good" item I originally sold
in good faith, which is why the Letter of Sale on CHR letterhead MUST be
obtained, and kept. I will also not be assuming responsibility for someone
altering, breaking, or otherwise damaging and item and then wanting to get the
money back after they did it.
No original Letter of Sale (see above)--no "Authenticity" return policy. It's no
different than anything else you buy--asking for a Letter of Sale is like the
registration for warrenty/ownership that you are supposed to do on any other
major consumer item. If you don't take the time to do it, then you run the risk
of running into problems at a later date. Just ask!
If artifact has been damaged or
altered in any way than the day I shipped it to you, no return, regardless.
"Authentic" means the piece is not a "reproduction" or "fake" item, but is an
item as described within the item description here in the website. Note:
authentic items--for example, a weapon--may have repairs, screws, internal
parts, etc, that are not original, and I try to describe these to the best of my
ability and knowledge in the description, but they are "authentic pieces"! A
repair or some replacement small parts (i.e.: screws, wood filler found
somewhere, etc) DOES NOT MAKE AN ITEM A "FAKE". I also don't take pieces apart
(such as weapons), so I haven't got a clue what the internal workings of a piece
looks like! If a screw or spring, or whatever, is a replacement part or small
repair is present on a piece, the piece is still "authentic," and in no way will
result in a return under this "authenticity guarantee". Again, I will do all I
humanly can to describe any parts that may not be original to the item, but it
will not be covered under the "authenticity guarantee." As a dealer and
collector, I often run across items that are clearly very old, and whose
design/function were in use in some form during the Civil War-era, but little
may be known about the piece if it was, or can even be proven, to have been made
or used during that period, or in the Civil War itself (i.e.: an old axe, old
knife, etc). I will always describe any item as best as I can, and will not
represent them as being otherwise.
Please Note on Consignment Items Sold: I am unable to extend any "money
back guarantee" at any time on a consignment item, since the item is on
"consignment" from someone else, and there is no means of restitution on my part
with the original owner/seller who consigns through me. I do inspect and only
allow to consign those items I feel certain about, but once again, once sold, it
is out of my hands, and the matter would have to be taken-up directly with the
person who consigned the artifact through me, which I would happily provide the
last known contact information of the consignor. To Consigners: I have no
control over shipping, damage, or loss during the transaction with you and/or
the customer purchasing your item(s), just like with any item I sell, and will
not become muddled as the "middle man" who rightfully did all I could within my
power to serve both the consigner and the customer. You don't see eBay or other
"middle-man" agents getting wrapped-up in disputes! I will always do everything
I can do within my power and responsibility to serve both sides, but in all
contests, it will be between the consigner and the buyer for ultimate
resolution, since one side was the original "owner" and the other the
"buyer"...there isn't much I can do in-between.
eBay Lister's: if someone
is using artifacts from my website to list for sale/auction on eBay, whether
before, during, or after receiving the relic purchased from me, shall at any
time have the right to return the item purchased from me, the seller to the eBay
listee. Too many people are taking artifacts from honest, full-time dealers and
listing them for sale on eBay. Some do buy items rightfully from dealers--list
them at auction while the dealer is awaiting payment and shipping the
artifacts--only to have the "buyer" listing the item on eBay, and if the
auction/sale doesn't go well, they wish to return the item. Not here you won't!
If you buy an item, and I see it on eBay or anywhere else for sale, your 7 day
right to return is nullified and void.