ancientsculpturegallery web store FAQ section

We accept international orders and we ship worldwide. We have already shipped our products to hundreds of customers on all continents. We have shipped our products to customers from almost every European country, Canada, Mexico, much of South America, to as far as Egypt, South Africa, India, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. How much is International Shipping? Please contact us for an international shipping quote prior to placing an order. PLEASE MAKE SURE TO LET US KNOW YOUR CITY AND POSTAL CODE IN YOUR COUNTRY and we can calculate the most accurate shipping cost for your order. Customs Duties, Local Taxes and Brokerage Fees For shipments to countries outside United States, applicable customs duties, local taxes and brokerage fees associated with the order may or may not be the responsibility of the receiver at the time of delivery. Please check with your local customs office for more information regarding these possible charges. Payment For our International customers the shipping and handling charge vary from country to country. Because of this extreme variance the shopping cart does not calculate the shipping charges for countries outside USA and its default is $0.00. If you live outside USA, let us know when you want to place your order and we will calculate the shipping cost to your country and email it to you. If acceptable to you, you can then pay with credit card, PayPal, or bank transfer: (1) If paying with credit card, simply go to the shopping cart and place your order. Once we receive your order on our side, we will bill your credit card the exact shipping charge we have quoted you, along with the price of your item. (2) If you are paying with PayPal you can send us a PayPal payment including the price and shipping charge to our business account [email protected] (3) If you are paying with Bank Transfer simply wire us the payment including the price and shipping charge via your bank Smaller Items Smaller items can usually be shipped via US Postal Service (USPS). USPS is the most economical way to ship internationally from USA to any country in the world. USPS Priority Mail can be delivered in 1-3 weeks to the international location. If you need your item sent faster Express Mail, we can certainly also give you a quote for this service, however, please note that it would be more expensive. When requesting your shipping quote please let us know which shipping service you prefer. Larger Items Larger and heavier items can not be shipped via economical USPS services. They can be sent via UPS, FedEx, Ocean Freight, or Air Freight. Depending on the size and weight of the item, it is more expensive to ship over-size and over-weight package internationally. & Multiple Orders Multiple orders can be combined to save on shipping charges. Let us know which items you are interested to order and we can provide you with an accurate combined international shipping quote.

What happens if I receive a damaged item? We insure all of our shipments and are very careful about how our items are packaged and shipped. We do not want the item to break in transit! The merchandise is bubble-wrapped and securely boxed in order to ensure safe transit. If in an unlikely event you receive a damaged item, please contact us and we will make arrangements with you for the return and replacement of the damaged item. You must contact us the same day so that we can file a damage claim with the shipper. Credit will not be issued unless you notify us the same day you received the shipment. Please note that you will need to present a proof of the damage – emailing us pictures is acceptable. Please also save the box and packing materials for the shipper to inspect. Shipping insurance is void otherwise. We will not be responsible for damaged merchandise not in its original packaging. Can I return the item I purchased? Yes. Please contact us first prior to returning your item - we take our relationship with our customers very seriously as you can see from our feedback, and if you are not satisfied with an item, you may exchange it for another item or receive a refund. Item can generally be returned within 7 days, provided it is returned undamaged in original condition and packaging. Shipping and handling charges, duties, and brokerage fees, are not refundable. Buyer pays for return shipping charges and all items must be returned insured. Refund will not be issued unless we receive the item in its original condition. We reserve the right to reject the return of merchandise which has been returned damaged due to inadequate packing. Please see the return policy specified in each product’s description as it varies from product line to product line. Custom made items are not returnable.

Made of hardened marble dust (cast marble). Our cast marble sculptures are EXACT REPRODUCTIONS IN CAST MARBLE IN THE SAME SIZE AND DIMENSIONS as the great museum original masterpieces now housed by several prominent world museums. All are casts faith, reproduced from molds created on the original classical works now in the museum. Every mold is made by a 1 on 1 direct contact with the original object and therefore it guarantees the highest possible authenticity of the reproduction (see some examples of our finished products). These annexed galleries of cast molds make our collection exclusive and unique in the world, as no permission will ever be granted by the competent authorities to subject historical masterpieces to this process of reproduction again. These are collector items that can not be found anywhere else in the world. We do not import products (as most sculpture shops do) made of inexpensive plaster that give cheep and kitsch look and feel to the product as soon it is touched and lifted like a feather. Our museum sculptures are NOT made of resin or plastic. They are made of cast marble, which is extremely heavy and strong, having a real ancient feel. An ancient patina finishing gives it an additional historical value (you can choose not to have patina applied and keep it all white if you like). The statue can be displayed both inside and out, it is weatherproofed.

Made of cast stone. Cast stone is a type of gypsum cement whose properties are much different from plaster of paris which is what most sculpture shops use. Unlike plaster, which is soft, light and weak, cast stone is hard, heavy and strong. Cast stone feels like, and is heavy like a real stone would be, which can be experienced as soon you try to lift it. The finish on our cast stone sculptures is generally Antique Stone finish. We do not use paint color as brushing technique on our products, but are aging them with a rusting technique. Naturally, because each piece is hand finished, there will be slight variations in the resulting antique finish. Thus no two products are identical and each piece we produce is unique in itself. All our products are hand-finished in Antique Stone finish; however, if you prefer other finish, let us know. Custom finishes, such as gold, silver, bronze, antique bronze, antique silver, and antique gold, are available on many of our products. Please email or telephone your requirements and we will be happy to give you an answer.

We generally ship within a week when handling and packaging is completed. We ship our products via US Postal Service, UPS, DHL, FedEx or freight carrier (truck). Products which are heavier then 50 pounds or over-sized in dimensions are shipped with Freight because USPS can not accept them. Large delicate items are placed on horizontal skids to ensure safe transportation. Once shipped transportation takes about a week. We ship worldwide but the displayed shipping cost applies to continental USA and Canada only. Please contact us to obtain shipping cost quote if you are not ordering from USA.