Last modified: April 5, 2010

When you order and purchase any tangible merchandise from PhotoGuide Japan, you must agree to the following:

Order Acceptance Policy

The customer can cancel his/her order partially or completely anytime before sending payment. The customer can cancel the order automatically by not remitting payment within 2 weeks after submitting the order.

PhotoGuide Japan reserves the right to reject any orders from any customer for any reason. Orders for items banned or illegal in the customer’s (or designated recipient’s) country will not be shipped. Payment will not be requested nor accepted for any orders rejected by PhotoGuide Japan.

If necessary, PhotoGuide Japan shall contact the customer country’s embassy or consulate in Japan to confirm whether or not an item is banned or illegal in the customer’s country. PhotoGuide Japan does not and will never knowingly sell illegal, stolen, or harmful goods. PhotoGuide Japan also cannot be held liable for any items confiscated by customs officials in the customer’s country.

Pricing Policy

Although the prices listed in the catalog are always current, they are subject to change without notice. Such changes will always be reflected in the catalog before they take effect.

Any price quote PhotoGuide Japan gives to the customer is non-negotiable and will remain valid for 2 weeks (in the case of auctions, until the auction ends or until we are outbid). After 2 weeks, the price quote may change.

If payment is not remitted within this time, the price quote and the order will be canceled automatically except in the case when the customer gives PhotoGuide Japan advance notice about a delay in payment or if PhotoGuide Japan agrees to delayed payment (normally for trusted customers placing bids at auctions through ProxyShop). Nothing will be shipped to the customer until confirmation of payment is received.

Bartering, trading, etc., instead of currency payment will not be accepted.

Payment Acceptance Policy

The payment options are PayPal, credit card, money order, cashier’s check, cash, wire transfer, and bank transfer. Personal checks will not be accepted. Payment from outside Japan must be in US dollars. Money orders and cashier’s checks must be drawn on a US bank or US post office. Payment shall be made to Philbert H. Ono or to our authorized agent in accordance with the payment instructions given to the customer. Payment from within Japan may be in yen transferred to PhotoGuide Japan’s Japanese bank account.

Orders for any items containing nudity (fine-art nudes, etc.) must be paid with PayPal or a credit card. This is to ensure that such materials are not sold to minors. If the adult customer does not have a credit card, he or she must send payment together with a photocopy of a valid ID showing the customer’s name, address, and birthdate. (Orders for items containing nudity will not be accepted from customers in countries where such items are banned.)

Although sending a large amount of cash is not recommended, it will be accepted if it arrives safely. Any cash, money order, or check lost or stolen before reaching PhotoGuide Japan’s private (and secure) mailbox will be the customer’s loss, not PhotoGuide Japan’s. Using registered mail is recommended. All payments will be acknowledged by e-mail upon receipt.

Order Fulfillment Policy

PhotoGuide Japan shall fulfill the customer’s order as soon as possible after confirming or receiving payment. It shall notify the customer of the approximate date when the order will be shipped (in part or in whole). If there is a foreseeable or abnormal delay in shipping the order, PhotoGuide Japan shall notify the customer as soon as possible. If PhotoGuide Japan cannot ship an order within 3 months after receiving payment, the customer will be notified and will have the option to receive a full refund (usually in US$ cash) for the unfulfilled order or to have the amount credited to a future order.

Most the items can be shipped within 21 days. However, an item can be sold out or discontinued by our supplier at any time. In such a case, the customer will be notified and will have the following options: 1. Receive a full refund for the unfulfilled order. 2. Have the amount credited to a future order. 3. Order an alternate item and pay any extra amount required or receive a partial refund if the alternate item has a different price from original item ordered.

Special shipping requests (priority air mail, EMS Express Mail Service, etc.) as specified on the order form will be accepted whenever possible. The additional cost will be included in the price quote.

Everything PhotoGuide Japan ships will be packed and sealed well enough to withstand normal handling and transit. However, PhotoGuide Japan cannot be held liable for any product damage incurred by the postal or courier service during shipment. PhotoGuide Japan also cannot be held liable for any items lost in the mail or stolen before reaching the customer. In the case of EMS shipping, the item is insured up to 20,000 yen.

The customer must bear any customs or import duties that apply in his/her country.

Returns & Refund Policy

Since we sell only quality items, customer satisfaction with the merchandise is virtually assured. However, there is no money-back guarantee. Once payment is made to PhotoGuide Japan or its authorized agent, the sale will be final. Product returns and refund requests will be accepted only in the following cases:

• PhotoGuide Japan shipped the wrong item due to its error. In this (highly unlikely) case, PhotoGuide Japan shall pay for the return shipping cost. PhotoGuide Japan shall also refund the applicable amount or ship the correct item by priority air mail (at no extra cost), whichever the customer prefers.
• PhotoGuide Japan shipped an item that has a defect incurred during the item’s manufacture (not including any damage incurred during delivery). The same action described above for a wrong item shipped shall be taken.
• The item the customer ordered is no longer available or PhotoGuide Japan cannot ship it within 2 months after it received payment for it. In such a case, PhotoGuide Japan shall give the customer a full refund for the item or credit the amount for a future purchase.
• The customer mistakenly overpaid for his/her order. If the customer remits payment exceeding the required amount (such as submitting the same credit card payment form twice), PhotoGuide Japan will ask the customer whether the extra money is a bonus (which will be gratefully accepted) or a mistake. If it’s a mistake, PhotoGuide Japan shall refund the extra money after deducting a surcharge or it will be credited to the customer’s next purchase, whichever he/she prefers.
• In the case of proxy bidding for auctions in Japan, a full refund will be given if the auction was lost.

Other Policies

These above terms and conditions are subject to change at anytime. Any major policy changes will be stated at the top of this section.

Non-compliance with any of the above policies may be permitted upon the mutual consent of PhotoGuide Japan and the customer.

Any item of contention not covered by the above “Terms and Conditions” is to be resolved amicably through the mutual consent and agreement of PhotoGuide Japan and the customer.

Privacy guaranteed: The ordering and purchasing information, and all other personal information you provide for your order will never be sold, rented, or revealed to any party not involved in processing your order. Complete confidentiality will be maintained. See our Privacy Policy here.

Banned items not shipped: We do not knowingly ship any merchandise to a country where it is banned.

No porno, etc.: PhotoGuide Japan does not and will never knowingly promote or sell pornographic materials, child pornography and nudes, and illegal, stolen, or harmful goods.

Licensed to sell: PhotoGuide Japan is licensed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Public Safety Commission (i.e., the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department) to be a commercial dealer of second-hand merchandise. Second-hand merchandise can be anything which has been purchased once at the retail level, whether or not it has been actually used or opened. PhotoGuide Japan’s Second-Hand Merchandise Dealer’s Permit No. is 307729803587

*For any questions about the above policies, Contact Us.