FAQ

ABOUT THE SWORDS

Are Your Swords Full Tang?
Are Your Swords Fully Tempered?
Are Your Swords Sharp? If so, how sharp?

ABOUT OUR STORE

What is Your Return Policy
What Kind of Warranty Do You Offer?
What Happens After I Place My Order?
Will I Get A Tracking Number?
Where Are You Located?
Do You Ship to Non-North American Addresses?
What Payment Options Do You Have? Is Your Store Secure?
Can I Place a Phone Order?
Can I Get a Discount?

QUESTION: Are Your Swords Full Tang?

Short answer - absolutely! We ONLY offer fully functional, battle ready REAL swords. ALL the swords we offer are real tang, made from a variety of carbon steels and properly tempered. We simply refuse to sell stainless steel decorative wallhangers - while many of the swords we sell are quite beautiful in their own right and can be used decoratively, each one is 100% fully functional.

This, and our commitment to servicing the sword community with the best prices and customer service possible, is what truly separates the SBG sword store from other sword sellers.

QUESTION: Are Your Swords Tempered?

Absolutely! We do not sell wallhangers of any kind, so every sword we sell has been tempered and hardened to be 100% functional. While not all swords are tempered the same way (for example, Japanese swords are often tempered so that the edge is harder than the spine), they are ALL tempered - so nothing to worry about there, that is for sure..

QUESTION:Are Your Swords Sharp? If so, how sharp?

ALL of the swords we sell are sharpened. The actual level of sharpness will vary depending on the type of sword and its intended targets but most are paper cutting sharp. Essentially the default edge is as sharp as it should be for the type of sword in question - too sharp and its possible to damage the edge cutting anything but the lightest targets.

QUESTION: What is Your Return Policy?

Quite simply, we stand behind every product we sell.

So if you are not absolutely pleased with your purchase return it to us within 30 days in the original packaging and original condition via insured parcel post or UPS and we will give you your choice of an exchange or refund (excluding shipping fees).

You must contact us via email sales@sword-buyers-guide.com or simply reply to your original order confirmation email, but a Return Authorization Number MUST be provided to you prior to returning any item.

Returned products must be in unused, as-new condition with original packaging and materials. A 10% re-stocking fee will be applied towards your refund unless the item is deemed to be DOA or defective in some way.

Please allow up to 14 days for processing of returns.

NOTE ON CUSTOM ORDERS: Please note that unless otherwise specified, custom sword orders CANNOT be cancelled, even if it takes longer than initially quoted (due to the very nature of a custom made product, delays can and do occur despite best efforts - so please allow some extra time for the unexpected). Likewise, custom sword orders cannot be returned for refund as easily as an off the shelf item and was made to order to your personal tastes. If you have a problem with a custom order we will go out of our way to make it right (such as remaking or repairing the item).

What Kind of Guarantees Do You Offer?

First off, we guarantee all our products to be brand new and fully as described.

With regards to warranties we have two main policies, the first is "manufacturers warranty PLUS" and our LIFETIME Blade Breakage Policy as below:

We guarantee if you keep it well oiled and maintained, the blade of any sword sold from the SBG sword store will hold up to a LIFETIME of reasonable usage without breakage. If it breaks during the course of reasonable and intended usage we will replace it with either the same (or if unavailable, a similar) model completely free of charge. If you abuse it, like try to cut down a tree, attempt to replicate the destructive testing vids on you tube or otherwise use it in any way outside of traditional cutting techniques, we will do our best to help but the warranty is void. This warranty applies to the original purchaser (proof of purchase required) and remains in effect for as long as SBG is around to honor it.

What Happens After I Place My Order?

Shortly after you have placed your order you will receive an automatically generated 5 digit order confirmation number. Should a product be out of stock, we'll notify you of the delay immediately. If that happens (not likely, we spend a lot of time keeping our stock reports accurate), we will ask if you prefer to cancel your order, place it on back order or change to another product.

All of our products ship from our network of North American warehouses and where they ship from depends on the product ordered - for example, Ronin Katana swords are shipped from the Ronin Katana warehouse in Texas, SBG brand swords are shipped from my agents US based warehouse, etc.

Wherever possible we list the usual estimated shipping lead time on the actual product page however as a rule most in stock swords ship within 1-2 business days (excluding weekends and public holidays).

SPECIAL NOTE FOR PRE-ORDERS: As we process all payments via the store with third party payment processors such as paypal, the money is automatically deducted from your account. So in essence, if you place a pre-order you will be charged the moment you place the order, not when the item comes in.

Will I Get A Tracking Number?

As a general rule, a tracking number is provided within 1 business day of the sword shipping, though if the shipping location is very close to the warehouse it may arrive AHEAD of the tracking number. If you have not received a tracking number after the stated shipping/lead time is exceeded by a couple of business days or more please first check your spam folder (as unfortunately shipping notification emails are sometimes flagged as spam) and if no email can be found, contact us and we will look into it for you to find out why the tracking number was not received.

The only exception is Cheness Cutlery - tracking numbers are not automatically supplied but a shipment notification with an ETA is provided once shipped.

Where Are You Located?

We don't actually have a physical bricks and mortal showroom location at this point, but rather we are a purely online business, shipping from a large network of warehouses (both our own and manufacturer direct) all across North America.

Wherever possible, the point of shipping is provided either in the product description or in the general brand information on each manufacturers page in the store. Unfortunately the warehouses currently have no showrooms and are not open to visits from members of the general public.

Otherwise, if you want to check which warehouse will ship to your location, simply drop us a line and we will let you know!

Do You Ship to Non-North American Addresses?

Now that is no longer such an easy question to answer.

In this last few years, carriers have become increasingly strict about shipping swords to the point where once we could ship almost anything anywhere, we are now almost entirely limited to shipping within the USA (and a few swords can still go to Canada)..

All hope is not lost however - click here for the current situation on our page about international orders.

What Payment Options Do You Have? Is Your Store Secure?

At the SBG Sword Store we emphasize security and ease of use we process all payments via PayPal. PayPal uses the highest level of encryption and is set up so that we do not need to store (and cannot even see or have access to) your personal credit card information.

Please note that at this stage we are unable to process checks or money orders. Our apologies for any inconvenience.

Can I Place a Phone Order?

Unfortunately we are not set up like a mail order business with "operators standing by" and cannot process orders over the phone as to be able to offer this kind of service would greatly increase our operating costs, and is part of the reason why we are able to offer you swords at such good prices.

Can I Get a Discount?

Actually, you already ARE getting a discount..

By shipping manufacturer direct and avoiding having a call center, we are able to operate on relatively low costs, and we pass the savings on to you directly. We are not in this business to make a ton of money, but as sword collectors ourselves, only interested in making enough to support our main informational website, forum and the sword community in general.

As such, our business model differs from most other sword selling sites out there, so the listed prices you see are as low as they can possibly be.