Terms of service
Terms of Service
These terms apply when you buy from us, sell to us, or ask us to work on your cards. Please read the services section carefully — it sets out what we can and can't promise.
1. Who We Are
Hamilton Collectibles Ltd • Company Number: NI742600
Trading Address: 8a High Street, Lurgan, BT66 8AW, Northern Ireland
VAT Registration: 526 8502 82 • Registered Office: Companies House
Buying & Store Operations
2. Orders
An order is an offer to buy. A contract exists once we email to confirm dispatch, not when you check out.
We can decline an order for reasons including stock unavailability, pricing errors, or suspected fraud. If payment has already been taken, it will be refunded in full. Where a price is obviously wrong, we are not obliged to honour it — we will contact you to give you the choice of paying the correct price or cancelling.
3. Prices and VAT
Prices to consumers include VAT where applicable.
Second-hand cards (including raw singles and graded slabs) are generally sold under the VAT margin scheme for second-hand goods. VAT is accounted for on our margin, so no VAT is shown separately on these items and none can be reclaimed. Sealed products and accessories are standard-rated and come with a full VAT invoice.
4. Condition and Descriptions
Every raw card is examined by hand and graded conservatively. Where two grades are arguable, we list the lower one.
Condition grading is a professional judgement, not a mathematical measurement, and reasonable people sometimes disagree. If you think we've called one wrong, return it and we'll make it right.
Photographs of single cards show the exact item you will receive. Sealed products and accessory listings may utilize stock imagery.
5. Restored Cards We Sell
Where a card we sell has had any restoration work carried out on it by us or by anyone else to our knowledge, this is stated clearly on the listing and on the physical display tag in the shop. We will never knowingly sell a restored card as untouched, regardless of how it came into our possession.
6. Card Services (Assessment, Restoration & Screening)
6.1 What We Are: We are not a grading company and we are not affiliated with any grading company. We do not submit cards to graders on your behalf. What we provide is assessment, restoration, and preparation before you submit a card yourself.
6.2 Assessment Comes First: Every card is assessed before we accept it for further work. You'll receive our findings and a fixed quote in writing. No work begins until you have agreed to that quote in writing. If our assessment is that the work isn't worth doing, we'll say so — you pay the assessment fee and nothing else.
6.3 How We Work (Cold Restoration Only): We add nothing to a card and we remove nothing from it. We do not cut or trim. We do not recolour or apply ink. We do not use adhesives, fillers, or coatings. We will not carry out any process that would definitively mark a card as altered, whatever result it might achieve. We use cold restoration methods only — safe, natural techniques worked patiently, using nothing the card did not arrive with.
6.4 No Guarantee of Grade
We cannot and do not guarantee any grading outcome. Any grade we predict is a professional opinion, not a promise.
Grading is a subjective human judgement. Standards vary between grading companies, and they vary between individual graders within the same company on different days. Cards in genuinely pristine condition are sometimes returned flagged as altered without any work ever having been carried out on them. This is a known characteristic of the grading process and is outside our control.
Accordingly, we accept no liability for:
- A card not achieving the grade range we assessed
- A card being flagged as altered, restored, or otherwise refused a numerical grade
- Any change in a card's value arising from a grading outcome
- Fees paid to third-party grading companies, which are not ours to refund
You accept these risks when you instruct us. If a grading outcome would be financially significant to you, please factor that in before submitting.
6.5 Restoration Disclosure: Restoration cannot be undone. A restored card will usually not receive a numerical grade and may be recorded as altered by a grading company. Every card we restore is returned with a written report and before-and-after photographs. If you later sell the card, you must disclose the work. Selling a restored card as untouched may be unlawful, and our report exists so you can make that disclosure easily.
6.6 Item Liability & Storage Limits: We log and photograph every card on arrival. Our liability for loss or damage to your card while in our possession is limited to the lower of its fair market value at the time you sent it, or £500, unless you declare a higher value in writing before sending and we confirm in writing that we accept it. Please declare high-value cards — we would far rather know. We are not liable for loss or damage occurring in transit; always use a tracked and insured service.
6.7 Cancelling a Service: Remotely instructed services carry a 14-day cancellation window. If you request us to start work within that period, you agree that once the service is fully performed your right to cancel ends. If cancelled partway through, you pay for work completed up to that point. Assessment fees are non-refundable once performed.
6.8 Timescales: Timescales are estimates. Restoration is done patiently because rushing paper causes damage. We will notify you as soon as we know a job will run over.
6.9 Unclaimed Cards: If a card remains unclaimed and we cannot reach you after six months and three attempts, we reserve the right to sell it to recover unpaid fees and storage costs, returning any surplus to you.
6a. Records, Verification & Substitution
We photograph and record every item dispatched (including slab certification numbers) and retain those records for six years.
When an item is returned, it is verified against these records. If the returned item does not match what we supplied, our obligation to refund does not arise. In that event, we will retain the item, report the matter to law enforcement and payment providers, and provide our complete evidence files to both. Attempting to obtain a refund by returning a substituted or altered item is fraud, and we treat it as such.
Selling, Trading & Consignment
7. Selling and Trading With Us
Any offer we make online is an estimate until we examine cards in person. If items do not match photos or descriptions, offers will be revised, and you are free to decline and have them returned.
By selling, you confirm cards are legally yours without third-party claims. Trade credit has no cash value, cannot be exchanged for cash, and does not expire.
8. Consignment
Consigned cards remain your property until sold. Our commission rate is agreed upon in writing before listing.
Either party can terminate consignment agreements with reasonable notice, upon which unsold items will be returned to you.
Legal Framework & Dispute Resolution
9. Our Liability Generally
We are liable for loss you suffer that is a foreseeable result of us breaking these terms or failing to use reasonable care and skill. We are not liable for business losses (loss of profit, business interruption, or lost business opportunities).
We do not limit liability where prohibited by law, including death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, consumer statutory rights breaches, or defective products under the Consumer Protection Act 1987.
10. Events Outside Our Control
We are not liable for delays or failures caused by events beyond our reasonable control. If an event occurs, we will notify you and either extend timescales or offer a cancellation and refund for unperformed work.
11. Changes to Terms & 12. Law & Disputes
The version of terms applying to your order is the one published when your instruction or order was placed.
These terms are governed by the law of Northern Ireland, and disputes fall to the courts of Northern Ireland (or your local UK/Irish court if resident elsewhere).
If an issue arises, please contact us first — most matters are resolved in a single conversation. Statutory rights remain unaffected.