AVAILABILITY: All items are available on a first-come, first-served basis. All of our new inventory goes directly to the catalog. Since we do not pre-sell items or maintain ‘want lists’, you are guaranteed a ‘fighting chance’ to get the items that you want.
CONDITION: We sell items used by soldiers who were participants in historic events. Mint or unissued items will be noted as such, all others will show expected normal service wear. Items are compared with like items of the same age and construction for our condition notations: I = Excellent, II = Very Good, III = Fair.
GUARANTEE: All items are 100% guaranteed to be as described for identification and originality. If we make a mistake, you are covered. You can buy with confidence.
ORDERING: Select the items that you wish to purchase by catalog number. You can call in that order in by telephone at 800-AEF-1918 or 573-243-1785; or send it by email from the AGM website. If you call after hours, you can leave your order on our answering machine with your name and telephone number. Items will be sold in the order that requests are received, and we will contact you if your selection(s) were available. Please do not reserve items that you do not actually intend to purchase – it creates problems for us and is unfair to your fellow collectors. Each individual item should be ordered on its own merit and not contingent upon whether or not you are successful obtaining other items. Ordered items are reserved for you for ten days. Should payment not be received or other arrangements made within that time, the item will become available to other buyers.
OFFICE HOURS: Our business hours are 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (U.S. Central Time) If we are away from the phones, please leave a message on the machine and we will return your call as soon as possible. After the first week or so of a catalog, we can be away from the phones for days at a time, so the best way to communicate is almost always by email - especially if you wish to speak with the owner (me) personally. I spend most of my time on the road going to shows, on buying trips, etc. Yes - far more time in the truck than in the office. So email, and we will get your inquiry forwarded on to the best person to answer your question.
PAYMENT: We accept Personal Checks, Money Orders, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover Cards. Credit cards are accepted at no additional charge to you. Credit card charges may appear on your bill as "Museum Resources International." or "Advance Guard Militaria" depending on which account is used. Regular payments and Lay-away deposits are due ten days from your order.
PAYPAL: We are happy accept (with no additional charge to you) PayPal payments made to payments@advanceguardmilitaria.com. Do not send PayPal payments to any other AGM email address, as this may cause your payment to be missed and your order delayed.
LAY-AWAY: We’re all collectors ourselves, and know what it is like to stretch the budget for a new purchase. As such, we are pleased to offer a free lay-away plan: 30% deposit, and the balance paid off within 30 days of the order. When circumstances warrant special arrangements, we are glad to work with you so that you won’t miss the item that you want. Please make note of the rules for Lay-Away:
*MINIMUM ORDER FOR LAY-AWAY IS $100.00
*The deposit is due in the normal 10-day payment window. If no deposit is received in 10 days, the item is not on lay-away and is sold to the next customer who asks for it.
*All Lay-Aways must be settled in no more than 3 payments. This includes the deposit. (It is just too much of a hassle to keep track of bi-weekly $30 payments on a $1000 order.)
*Lay-away orders carry no return or exchange privilege
*Delinquent accounts are subject to forfeit of payments made.
SHIPPING: SEE CHART ON THIS PAGE. We have the normal rate for most packages, a “Feather Rate” for expensive but very light items (collar discs, etc.), and an “Anvil Rate” for heavy / awkward / fragile items that cost more. We ship by UPS Ground and U.S Postal Service. If you have a preference, please be sure to tell us when you order. Unless you want your package delivered by the Post Office, be sure to include your street address. We begin shipping orders as soon as payments are received, but we process many orders, so allow two to three weeks for delivery. Orders paid by check ship ten business days after the check is received and deposited, so please factor this in when calculating the anticipated arrival of your parcel. Packages shipping by UPS also go out faster than Post Office packages. If ‘driver release’ packages are a problem for you, UPS offers a signature required delivery feature that is available for an extra $2.00 per package. Order Item G200 to purchase this service.
RETURNS: We are human and make mistakes just like everyone else. If an item is not as described, you are covered. We require that you call and obtain a return authorization number, though, because often a question about an item can be easily answered or conflicting information resolved. Unauthorized returns are not accepted. Also, we do not ever guarantee original historic uniforms, hats, and equipment to fit. If you are wearing the stuff, hey.. everybody has their fetish, I guess. However, whether an item fits is none of our concern and we will not accept returns for reason of size (or durability). Any alteration to an item voids all return privileges. Refunds are for the original purchase price. Postage is not refunded. Inappropriate returns (i.e. I discovered I already had one, my wife is mad at me, etc.) may be accepted solely at our discretion for store credit only, with an appropriate restocking fee. Unauthorized or fraudulent credit card or PayPal ’chargebacks’ will be assessed an administrative fee of 20% or $250, whichever is higher.
PERSONAL DELIVERIES: We occasionally make show deliveries of items that are too large, bulky or fragile to be delivered by conventional means. (cannons, aircraft propellers, glass display cases, etc.) All other orders MUST be shipped from our warehouse. This is to ensure that all of our customers receive their orders in a timely and efficient manner; and to ensure the maintenance of our sanity while trying to leave on time for a show. Sorry guys, no more show deliveries of ANYTHING. I don’t care if it IS a cannon. We’ll slap a label on it and ship it. All orders must be paid for through normal channels and shipped. The Show deliveries and the nonsense surrounding them are a headache that we have officially eliminated as of March 2009. Absolutely no exceptions whatsoever.
PRIVACY POLICY: We do not trade or share customer information including emails, phone numbers, addresses, etc. Your information is secure at AGM. If you ask a question that would be better answered by someone else, we will specifically ask for your permission before forwarding your inquiry to a third party.
PHOTOS & DESCRIPTIONS: Remain the intellectual poperty of AGM, and we reserve the right to use them for future projects. No photo or description may be copied, used, or reproduced elsewhere without our permission.