Returns & Refund Policy

01General Policy (Artworks / Specimen Art / Bare Specimens)

• Our artworks (specimen art) and our bare specimens are all one-of-a-kind, and are not returnable, exchangeable or cancellable for customer convenience. (This includes subjective differences in impression, size feel or color. Please review the description, photographs and dimensions carefully before purchasing.)
• The above is stated as our return policy under the Act on Specified Commercial Transactions. Where such a policy is clearly stated, the statutory return right (Article 15-3 — the 8-day right that arises where no return policy is displayed) does not apply. The same return policy is also shown on the final confirmation screen at checkout.
• This section applies to all customers except those covered by Section 4. If you live in a European Union member state or in the United Kingdom, you have instead the 14-day right to cancel set out in Section 4.

02Exception: Transport Damage

• Notwithstanding the above, where a work arrives damaged through an accident in transit, it is covered.
• Notice period: contact info@herculeslabo.com within 7 days of arrival, with photographs of the outer packaging and of the damage.
• Remedy: depending on the circumstances, repair, remaking, or a refund (full or partial) (a one-of-a-kind piece may not be reshippable), subject to the scope of the transport insurance.
• Excluded: damage arising from handling or storage after you receive the work, aging, and variation inherent in natural materials and handwork.

03Exception: Non-Conformity (Defects / Hidden Faults)

• Where an item is defective from the outset and materially differs from the order (non-conformity), we remedy it in accordance with law — by repair, replacement, refund, or otherwise.
• Notice period (separate from transport damage): non-conformity, including latent defects that may only become apparent later, differs in nature from transport damage, which is apparent on arrival (§2). Accordingly, for non-conformity it is sufficient to notify us within a reasonable period from when you become aware of the non-conformity (the notice period in §2 applies to transport damage only, not to non-conformity). Notify us as in §2, with photographs of the item and the defect.
• Because a latent defect may not be noticeable immediately on arrival, we do not fix a single short notice period for it.

04Right to Cancel for Customers in the EU and the UK (14 Days)

If you live in a European Union member state or in the United Kingdom, consumer law gives you the right to cancel set out below. This section applies in place of Section 1.

• 14-day right to cancel: you may cancel the contract of sale without giving any reason within 14 days. The period runs from the day after the day on which you, or a person other than the carrier indicated by you, take physical possession of the work.
• Telling us: send a clear statement of your decision to cancel to info@herculeslabo.com. You may use the model form below, but you do not have to. It is enough that you send your statement before the 14-day period has expired.
• Returning the work: send the work back within 14 days of the day you tell us that you cancel.
  Return address: HERCULES LABO Co., Ltd., 2-31-7 Kuboyama-cho, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo, Japan.
  The deadline is met if you send the work back before the 14 days have expired.
• Cost of return: you bear the direct cost of returning the work.
  Based on the cost of the international delivery to you (JPY 19,000), we estimate the cost of return at a maximum of approximately JPY 25,000. The actual amount varies with your country and the carrier.
  We will advise you individually on how to send the work back once you have told us that you cancel.
• Refund: we will refund the price of the work together with the standard cost of the original delivery within 14 days of the day we receive your cancellation.
  We will, however, withhold the refund until we have received the work back, or until you supply evidence of having sent it back (for example the carrier's dispatch receipt), whichever is the earlier.
  If you chose a delivery method more expensive than the least expensive standard delivery we offer, the difference is not refunded.
  We refund using the same means of payment you used, and we charge you no fee for the refund.
  Any diminished value under the next paragraph is deducted from the refund.
• Diminished value: if the value of the work is reduced because you handled it beyond what is necessary to establish its nature, characteristics and functioning — that is, beyond the sort of handling that would reasonably be allowed in a gallery — we deduct that reduction from your refund, and you pay us the balance if the reduction exceeds the refund.
  Each work is one of a kind and cannot be sold as new once handling has left a trace. The reduction includes the cost of cleaning or restoration and the objectively justified loss we incur because the work can no longer be sold as new.
• This section does not limit your rights under Section 2 (transport damage) or Section 3 (goods not as described).
• Import VAT, customs duties and clearance fees are treated as set out in Section 5. We do not receive those amounts, so they are not refunded by us. We will provide the documents you need to reclaim them from the customs authority in your country.
• Works to which this right does not apply: a work made to order on your own specifications (dimensions, species, composition, the wording of the plaque and the like) is not prefabricated and is produced on the basis of your individual instructions. The 14-day right to cancel does not apply to such works.
  Works and specimens that we have already made and hold in stock are covered by this right.

Model cancellation form

To cancel, copy the text below as it is, fill in the blanks and send it to info@herculeslabo.com. You are not obliged to use this form.

To: HERCULES LABO Co., Ltd., 2-31-7 Kuboyama-cho, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo, Japan / info@herculeslabo.com
I/We hereby give notice that I/We cancel / withdraw from my/our contract of sale of the following goods.
Ordered on: ____ / ____ / ________
Received on: ____ / ____ / ________
Title of the work / order number: ________________________
Name of consumer: ________________________
Address of consumer: ________________________
Signature of consumer (only if this form is notified on paper): ____________________
Date: ____ / ____ / ________

05International Charges & Duties (DDU)

• International shipments are DDU (buyer-borne) as a rule. Import VAT, customs duties and clearance fees are charged to you, the importer, in the destination country. These charges are not refundable (they do not form part of the price and shipping we receive).
• We share an estimated landed cost for your country before we ship, and ship only after you confirm. After your confirmation, refusing or failing to take delivery does not waive these import charges and is not refundable. Costs of return or disposal arising from refusal may be charged to you.
• Where clearance is impossible (distinguished from your refusal of delivery): where, rather than your refusing delivery, import is not permitted under the destination country’s rules and the parcel cannot clear customs and is returned or destroyed, the following applies. We endeavour to confirm importability before shipping. Where clearance nonetheless proves impossible, we refund the price you have paid — if we recover the returned work in good condition — after deducting the actual costs we bore (outbound and return shipping, clearance, return or disposal, and the like). Where the work cannot be recovered or is destroyed, we advise individually whether a refund is possible. Import charges (VAT, duties, etc.) are not refundable.
• Fine art is exempt from customs duty in many countries, but that exemption presupposes falling within each country’s customs definition of “works of art”, and whether specimen-based decorative art so qualifies is not yet settled. Where it does qualify, import VAT still applies (e.g. UK 5%, France 5.5%, Italy 5%, Germany 7%*); where it does not, standard rates may apply (e.g. Germany 19%, UK 20%). *Rates and classifications may change; we re-check the current classification and rate before shipping.

06Refund Method & Timing

• Refunds are made, as a rule, by the same means as the original payment.
  Card payments are refunded to the card used; bank transfers are refunded to the account you designate.
  PayPal payments are refunded to the PayPal account used.
  Payment in person is refunded by transfer to the account you designate.
  Transfer fees on refunds are borne by us.
• Refunds are made within a reasonable period after we confirm the grounds, including the payment provider’s processing time.

07Contact

For returns, refunds or the guarantee, contact info@herculeslabo.com, use our contact form, or reach us on our official LINE account. Please also review our Legal Notice and Terms of Service.

This policy forms part of our Legal Notice under the Act on Specified Commercial Transactions. The notice period for transport damage is within 7 days of arrival.

Effective date: 22 July 2026 / Last revised: 23 August 2026