Delivery and Returns Policy

Mail-Order Only

Our Militaria business is run in our limited spare time.  We do not have a physical shop or sell via Antiques Fairs or Militaria shows.   We operate solely by mail order and do not offer an 'order and collect' service.  Simply order and pay via this website and we will mail the items to you.

Postage fees include handling and packing fees as well as postage costs. Handling fees are fixed, whereas transport fees vary according to weight, value and size of the packed items. We advise you to group your items in one order. We cannot group two distinct orders placed separately, and shipping fees will apply to each of them. Your package will be despatched at your own risk, but special care is taken to protect fragile objects.

Delivery

We use UK Royal Mail for almost all of our deliveries.  If it is more cost-effective, we sometimes use a cheaper courier for large items such as a quantity of military hats. 

In all cases, we retain 'proof of posting' documents and ensure that postal compensation arrangements are adequate to cover the value of the goods that we send.

The Militaria business is run in our spare time (normally at weekends).  We despatch orders several times each week, but we are based in a rural area and it is not cost-effective to travel to the Post Office every day.

Please be patient - this is a small family business which is run in our spare time.  Occasionally we have holidays and catch-up with orders when we get home.

UK Orders.  Depending on insurance value, mail is sent by First Class post, Signed-For, or Special Delivery: after packets enter the Royal Mail postal system, these services are normally next-day delivery within the UK.

Overseas Orders.  Depending on insurance value, mail is despatched by Royal Mail Air Mail, or Airmail International Signed-For.  Delivery time-scales are shown on the Royal Mail website.

Correct Addresses and Signing for Receipt of Packets. 

We cannot be held responsible if you give us an incorrect delivery address, or if a packet is returned to us because you have failed to sign for delivery.  If you wish us to re-send a packet which has been returned to us, you will be responsible for the additional postage cost.

Items Delayed, Lost or Damaged in Transit

We cannot begin any compensation claim with Royal Mail or give a refund until the packet is officially declared 'lost' or has been found damaged.  There is no compensation for delayed mail.  Lost mail is defined as follows:

  • Mail sent within the UK.  Although First Class Mail is normally an overnight service within the UK, the Royal Mail does not regard an item of mail as 'lost' until 15 'working days' after the due date of delivery.  
  • Mail sent to other European counties.  For items sent to other European countries, the Royal Mail does not regard an item of mail as 'lost' until 20 'working days' after the due date of delivery.  
  • Mail sent to the rest of the world.  For items sent outside Europe, the Royal Mail does not regard an item of mail as 'lost' until 25 'working days' after the due date of delivery. 

Working days exclude Sundays, national holidays and days lost due to industrial strike action.

Very occasionally, items are lost in transit and we regard it as the sender's responsibility to deal with this as follows:

  • If we have sent the item, we will initiate a compensation claim with Royal Mail and either replace the item or refund you.  In many cases, our items are held as single quantities and cannot be replaced from stock.  If you believe that an item has been lost in transit, you must inform us within 2 months of despatch.
  • If you have sent the item, then it is up to you to sort-out the compensation claim with your delivery company.  This includes goods that you are returning to us, so please ensure that you have proof of posting and adequate postal insurance.

Returns, Refund / Cancellation Policy

To give you confidence in buying by mail order, everything we send is 'on approval' - if the item you receive is not what you want, simply send it back well-packaged, within 14 days of receipt.  We only sell items that we believe are genuine and in good collectable condition for their age, and we ask that you pay postage costs both ways so that we are not out of pocket. 
Despite you paying the postage, mail order is still a lot cheaper than driving to a Militaria fair, auction or shop in town.

Refunds.  We will only issue a refund after we have received the returned goods from you or after the Royal Mail delivery has been officially declared 'lost' - please see above for the Royal Mail defintions of 'lost'.

Cancelling an Order.  If you decide to cancel an order before it has been despatched, please use our website message form to the cancel the order.

Contact Address & Postcode

Our address for all correspondence is -

Ian G Kelly (Militaria)
P.O. Box 66
ELLESMERE
Shropshire
SY12 0YS
United Kingdom

As a spare-time business, we do not operate a telephone service, but can be contacted online via our message form.  Please read our Common Questions page before attempting to contact us.