About Us and
F.A.Q.s
My name is Scott Kraska. As a Dealer and Collector in the Militaria
marketplace, I feel it is important that clients know the attitudes
and opinions of whom they buy from. I will NEVER sell an object,
whose authenticity I am uncomfortable with. Bottom line. No excuses
or exceptions. My items also carry a 100% Authenticity Guarantee.
Rather than work harder to get more material, many dealers opt for
questionable materials that are easy to obtain. If the person you are
buying from will not give you my guarantee, you should not be
shopping with them.
I have been buying and selling Militaria for over
35 years. My
clients are collectors, veterans, museums and people just like
you. Collecting militaria is a matter of patience. Not jumping at
things- but waiting for authentic items to bubble out of the attics
and basements of America, and emerge into the marketplace. Remember,
"If it looks too good to be true", it is!". Know whom you are dealing
with and ask a LOT of questions. You are investing hard earned
money- do it wisely.
The bulk of the items I will be presenting will be from the
1898-1971 time frame. US items will dominate the catalog, but the
souvenirs of these soldiers and the various countries and armies
they were exposed to will be shown through their "bring backs" and
souvenirs.
Items will be added to this site weekly, so check
back often. We will update this site every Wednesday at 8PM Eastern
Standard Time. You
can purchase items, on a first-come, first-served basis, through
phone or email. Confirm the availability of
your item before attempting to pay for it with Paypal, to save fees.
Items will be held for five days following a phone call, or
acknowledged email. If they are not paid from within the agreed time
they will be put back in inventory.
We accept payment
via Check, Money Order, Credit Card (Mastercard or Visa) or Paypal.
Our Paypal account is
scottkraska@comcast.net
Items usually ship within 48 hours of Payment, via Money
Order or Paypal. Personal Checks will be held until they clear.
(usually 48 hours).
Per Paypal requirement we must state that we do not sell any items of items of Cuban,
Sudanese, North Korean or Iranian origin. We don't do this anyway,
but we want them to be happy!
All items will be shipped USPS Priority Mail with Delivery
Confirmation. See shipping for detailed
information.
Frequently Asked Questions-
1. "Do you accept Credit
Cards?" We do through Paypal. In an effort
to keep prices down we accept Paypal, Checks and Money Orders.
2. "Do you accept trades?" We work very hard to find items of interest for the web site. So
items you want to "Get rid of" are probably not what we are going to
be looking for. There are exceptions, but we would rather sell our
items for cash, and take that money and seek out targeted items.
3. "Will you take "Want
Lists?" Sorry, we used to, but it is just too
complicated to maintain 1000+ want lists and is unfair to the bulk of
our customers. We have adopted a policy similar to our buddies at AGM,
so 99.9% of the time we put items on the web site to give
everyone an equal opportunity.
4. "Why can't you ship my item
for your cost of postage!!!" Well... if we didn't have
to buy packaging, hire people to wrap and pack the item, label it
and apply customs or Delivery Confirmation docs, drive to the Post
Office and wait in line to ship it ..we probably could. This is a
business. We sell items for 10-20% less than most dealers and we
need to cover our expenses. Our shipping is fair. We ship almost
everything Priority Mail with delivery confirmation. This means
minimum shipping is $8. Not our choice!! So if you buy a 8 X 10
photo for $20 and want it shipped in a plain envelope for 50
Cents the answer is "No". We will make some exceptions for certain
rugged items, but we have been on the receiving end of many mangled
items and will not skimp on packaging. So far we have delivered
almost 100%
of our packages damage free!!!
5. "I want my item shipped via
UPS, can you do that" Unless your item
exceeds size and weight of USPS we will not ship UPS. We like the
care that USPS takes, most of the time. Believe it or not if things
are packaged correctly and securely they are great to work with.
6. "Can you deliver and item
to a show for me?" Usually that is fine
provided the item is paid in full, before we
leave for the show. If we can't do because of space
limitation, or it gets left
behind, we will ship it when we get back.
7. "Do you do Lay-Aways?"
With 50% down, we will hold an item for 14 days. Sorry, but we run a
tight ship and work on small margins and really can't do more than
that.
8. "Will you call me
when you get a (Fill in Blank) in?" Sorry
unless the item is in excess of $4000 we will probably not call
anyone. We will put it on the site and everyone will have a shot at
it.
9. "You say, you give a
lifetime guarantee on all items. What do you mean by that? What we mean is that we will describe
items to the best of our ability, in an accurate fashion. What we
describe and what you order will be 100% authentic. We don't
place time limits on authenticity. It is either right or its not
right. No inspection period, lifetime guarantee. NOTE: Reasons like-
"It doesn't fit me", "I already had one", "I just found a cheaper
one at a flea market", "My Wife doesn't like it", and my all time
favorite- "I saw the 15 photographs, but I was hoping it would be in
better condition than the photos showed", don't pass the
muster. So please don't ask.
10. "What is your return
policy?" We will accept a return if the item is
not in the condition we described. A tiny pinhole we missed
is not a valid reason. We will also accept a return if we make an
error in identifying something. If your car broke down, or your wife
is angry that you bought something from us, sorry that is your
problem. :)
11. "What is your hold
policy?" When a customer calls to place an item on hold,
they are telling us that they will be
purchasing an item. They have 5 days to get payment to us,
after which, the items go back up for sale. By doing this you are assured
that you will get the item, and this will prevent others from
purchasing it. This is not for you to "think about it" or offer a
trade. It is an intent to purchase. Don't be mad at us if someone
else scoops up your unpaid items, because you "forgot" to mail the
payment.
Payment times can be
adjusted if necessary. We will occasionally make exceptions if specific
arrangements are made ahead of time. These arrangements will include
a TBD deposit of 30-50% which is NON_REFUNDABLE after 14 days.
Also, on a new update
night, in the flurry of rapid sales... i.e. the first 12 hours, we
sometimes get as many as 10 requests for a particular item, If
your email telling us you will "take it" is followed by questions
about what size it is, where it came from, is a button loose, what
color is the inside of the pocket. what contractor made it, date on
the label, will we accept a lower offer etc.. We do NOT accept
that as an intent to purchase.
After the first days
business is logged in, and we have confirmed the days sales, we will
go back and review these questions. If the item has not been placed
on hold by someone who is making a purchase, you will then get your
questions answered.
12. "What size
is it?" Please don't ask. We sell items of historic and intrinsic value.
These items represent men and women who have given tremendous person
sacrifice for their country. Many of these items are 50-100 years
old and thread and fabric has aged and become more delicate. Unless
otherwise stated the sizes will be typical for the period. This
means for clothing approx size 38 and headgear approx size 7. The
mannequins and heads we use accommodate these sizes. If something is
smaller or much larger we will make a note of it. If no size
reference is made assume these measurements to be implied. We do not
sell Halloween costumes, "Living History" supplies or any other wearables. We are not tailors and don't have the time to try to fit
you to a garment. Sorry about this, but we have measured clothing in
the past and the success ratio is about 1 sale for every 15
requests.
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