Questions we are often asked.

We accept credit card, bank transfer, PayPal and payment in person at our gallery. Card payments are charged at order confirmation. Bank transfer can be selected at checkout. PayPal can also be selected at checkout, and you can pay from your PayPal balance, a linked bank account, or a card; PayPal fees are borne by us and nothing is added to your total. Payment in person applies when you collect the work at our Hachioji gallery. Works marked “Inquire” are settled individually after a consultation.

Yes — you can complete the purchase online. Works at 300,000 yen or above are sent within Japan by specialist fine-art transport with insurance, and the shipping charge for your region is confirmed at checkout. Individual arrangements apply to works marked “Inquire”. Shipping outside Japan is as set out under “Shipping” in our Purchase Guide. Please contact us with any question.

The COA is a document certifying the work as genuine. It bears the artist, title, series, date of issue, specimen data and serial number, and is delivered with an engraved serial and a wax seal. The seal is applied in two places: on the certificate, and on the opening of the specimen case. It is issued by HERCULES LABO Co., Ltd. The COA accompanies our specimen art; it is not issued for a bare specimen, which carries no applied art. See “About the COA” for more.

A specimen artwork is hand-painted, one beetle at a time, upon a Hercules beetle specimen. It is delivered with its Certificate of Authenticity (COA), engraved serial, wax seal and dedicated case. A bare specimen is kept as it is, with no art applied. It comes with no certificate, no wax seal and no dedicated case; the specimen itself is carefully packed and delivered. Both are given a unique serial, so the public record for that serial can be viewed on our COA Lookup. Both are one of a kind, so neither is returnable for change of mind. (Customers in the EU and the UK have a 14-day right to cancel; see our Returns & Refund Policy.)

As every artwork and every bare specimen is one of a kind, we do not accept returns for change of mind. If a piece arrives damaged through an accident in transit, both specimen artworks and bare specimens are covered: contact us within 7 days of arrival with photographs of the outer packaging and of the damage. A defect present from the outset (non-conformity) is handled separately from transport damage — notify us within a reasonable period from when you become aware of it. See “Returns & Refunds” for details. If you live in a European Union member state or in the United Kingdom, you have a separate 14-day right to cancel — see Section 4 of our Returns & Refund Policy.

Yes. Alongside specimens and specimen art, HERCULES LABO Co., Ltd. also handles live Hercules beetles. We sell them on our other site, insect.herculeslabo.com, which is written in Japanese. It is a separate part of the same company, so prices, delivery and guarantees are set out on each site in its own terms.

Bare specimens and specimen artworks can both be delivered overseas. We deliver to the 27 countries and regions listed under “Shipping destinations” in our Legal Notice; a country or region not on that list cannot be selected at checkout. Works priced under 300,000 yen can be bought online from overseas as they are. For works priced at 300,000 yen or above, checkout cannot be completed for an overseas address; those works are sent by specialist fine-art transport and we provide an individual quotation that includes shipping. Shipping charges outside Japan are as set out under “Shipping” in our Purchase Guide. Import VAT, customs duties and clearance fees are the customer’s responsibility under the destination country’s rules (DDU). We send you an estimated landed cost for your country before dispatch and ship only after you confirm it. See “Import VAT & Duties” below for a country-by-country reference.

Works we have ready ship after payment is confirmed, once carefully packed. Pieces involving preparation or bespoke commissions vary by scope. In every case we share an estimated timeline before dispatch. If your timing is pressing, let us know.

We never kill for art. We use beetles that died in our care, beetles that died in transit and were returned to us, beetles that had already died when they reached us, and beetles we acquire as specimens. Honoured and given a second life as art, they carry the culture of Hercules to the next generation. For a specimen artwork, the Certificate of Authenticity records the source beetle’s origin (captive-bred, wild-origin or unknown) and how it came to be used. See “Ethics” for more.

Yes. You can see the works in person at our store with its café in Hachioji, Tokyo, which opened on Thursday, 13 August 2026 and is now open. Hours are 10:00–19:00, closed Wednesdays. Works may also be collected, and paid for, at the gallery. If you would like to discuss a purchase in advance, contact us via “Contact & Reserve.”