Terms & Conditions

The following Conditions of Sale, as amended by any published or posted notices or verbal announcements during the sale, constitute the entire terms and conditions on which property listed in our catalog, offered directly via email, or on our retail website, or otherwise offered for sale or sold by Craig Gottlieb Militaria, Inc.

1.    As used herein, the term “bid price” means the price at which a lot is successfully closed, at the end of an auction cycle. The term “purchase price” means the aggregate of (a) the bid price, (b) any PREMIUM retained by us (there is currently no buyer premium), and (c) unless the purchaser is exempt by law from the payment thereof, any California sale tax.  Use tax in your state is the responsibility of the buyer.

2.    At auction close, the highest bidder shall have purchased the offered lot in accordance and subject to compliance with all of the conditions set forth herein and will pay the purchase price in full or such part as we may require for all lots purchased. No lot may be transferred.  Any person placing a bid as agent on behalf of another (whether or not such person has disclosed that fact or the identity of the principal) may be jointly and severally liable with the principal under any contract resulting from the acceptance of a bid.

Unless otherwise agreed, payment is due and payable within five (5) business days following the auction sale. Whenever the purchaser pays only a part of the total purchase price for one or more lots purchased, we may apply such payments, in our sole discretion, to the lot or lots we choose. Payment will not be deemed made in full until we have collected good funds for all amounts due. 

Payment for purchases may be made by check, PayPal, credit card, or wire transfer.  Specific fees apply - please see invoice for details. A processing fee will be assessed on any returned checks.  Cash is not accepted as a means of payment.

The purchaser grants us a security interest in the property, and we may retain as collateral security for the purchaser’s obligations to us, any property and all monies held or received by us for the account of the purchaser, in our possession. We retain all rights of a secured party under the California Commercial Code. If the foregoing conditions or any other applicable conditions herein are not complied with, in addition to other remedies available to us and the consignor by law, including without limitation, the right to hold the purchaser liable for the purchase price, we at our option may either (a) cancel the sale, retaining as liquidated damages all payments made by the purchaser or (b) resell the property, either publicly or privately, and in such event the purchaser shall be liable for the payment of any deficiency plus all costs and expenses of both sales, our commission at our standard rates, all other charges due hereunder, attorneys’ fees, expenses and incidental damages. In addition, where two or more amounts are owed in respect of different transactions by the purchaser to us, we reserve the right to apply any monies paid in respect of a transaction to discharge any amount owed by the purchaser. If all fees, commissions, premiums, bid price and other sums due to us from the purchaser are not paid promptly as provided in these Conditions of Sale, we reserve the right to impose a finance charge equal to 1.5% per month on all amounts due to us beginning on the 31st day following the sale until payment is received, in addition to other remedies available to us by law.

3. We reserve the right to withdraw any property and to divide and combine lots at any time before such property’s auction. Unless otherwise announced by the auctioneer at the time of sale, all bids are per lot as numbered in the catalog and no lots shall be divided or combined for sale.

4. We reserve the right to reject a bid from any bidder. In the event of any dispute between bidders, or in the event the auctioneer doubts the validity of any bid, the auctioneer shall have sole and final discretion either to determine the successful bidder or to re-offer and resell the article in dispute. If any dispute arises after the sale, our sales records shall be conclusive in all respects. 

5. If we are prevented by fire, theft or any other reason whatsoever from delivering any property to the purchaser or a sale otherwise cannot be completed, our liability shall be limited to the sum actually paid therefor by the purchaser and shall in no event include any compensatory, incidental or consequential damages. 

6. There are no reserves.  There is a 5 minute automated extension for any lot that receives a bid within 5 minutes of the scheduled hammer time.

7. All items purchased through our auction format are guaranteed per the terms of our lifetime guarantee.  You will receive a Certificate of Authenticity for each item purchased.  This document must be retained for all guarantee issues.

8. The copyright in the text of the online catalog and the photographs, digital images and illustrations of lots in the catalog belong to Craig Gottlieb Militaria. You will not reproduce or permit anyone else to reproduce such text, photographs, digital images or illustrations without our prior written consent. 

10. These Conditions of Sale shall bind the successors and assigns of all bidders and purchasers and inure to the benefit of our successors and assigns. No waiver, amendment or modification of the terms hereof (other than posted notices or oral announcements during the sale) shall bind us unless specifically stated in writing and signed by us. If any part of these Conditions of Sale is for any reason invalid or unenforceable, the rest shall remain valid and enforceable. 

11. These Conditions of Sale and the purchaser’s and our respective rights and obligations hereunder are governed by the laws of the State of California. By bidding at an auction, each purchaser and bidder agrees to be bound by these Conditions of Sale. Any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this agreement, or the breach, termination or validity thereof, brought by or against Craig Gottlieb Militaria (but not including claims brought against the consignor by the purchaser of lots consigned hereunder) shall be resolved by the procedures set forth below.

12. All winning lots are shipped via USPS Priority or Express Mail, unless specific instructions have been provided by the buyer.  All items shipped are not insured against damage and theft unless requested by the buyer.  We will ship worldwide at your request, but we are not responsible for laws and customs procedures in your country.  To avoid theft, we ship all packages with a low stated value, unless otherwise requested.  Customs duties, and any possible delays, seizure, forfeiture, or fines resulting from specific laws in your country are the buyer's responsibility.

Mediation and Arbitration Procedures

(a) Within 30 days of written notice that there is a dispute, the parties or their authorized and empowered representatives shall meet by telephone and/or in person to mediate their differences. If the parties agree, a mutually acceptable mediator shall be selected and the parties will equally share such mediator’s fees. The mediator shall be a retired judge or an attorney familiar with commercial law and trained in or qualified by experience in handling mediations. Any communications made during the mediation process shall not be admissible in any subsequent arbitration, mediation or judicial proceeding. All proceedings and any resolutions thereof shall be confidential, and the terms governing arbitration set forth in paragraph (c) below shall govern. 

(b) If mediation does not resolve all disputes between the parties, or in any event no longer than 60 days after receipt of the written notice of dispute referred to above, the parties shall submit the dispute for binding arbitration before a single neutral arbitrator. Such arbitrator shall be a retired judge or an attorney familiar with commercial law and trained in or qualified by experience in handling arbitrations. Such arbitrator shall make all appropriate disclosures required by law. The arbitrator shall be drawn from a panel of a national arbitration service agreed to by the parties, and shall be selected as follows: (i) If the national arbitration service has specific rules or procedures, those rules or procedures shall be followed; (ii) If the national arbitration service does not have rules or procedures for the selection of an arbitrator, the arbitrator shall be an individual jointly agreed to by the parties. If the parties cannot agree on a national arbitration service, the arbitration shall be conducted by the American Arbitration Association, and the arbitrator shall be selected in accordance with the Rules of the American Arbitration Association. The arbitrator’s award shall be in writing and shall set forth findings of fact and legal conclusions.

(c) Unless otherwise agreed to by the parties or provided by the published rules of the national arbitration service:(i) the arbitration shall occur within 60 days following the selection of the arbitrator; (ii) the arbitration shall be conducted in the designated location, as follows: The arbitration shall take place in the city of San Diego, California; and (iii) discovery and the procedure for the arbitration shall be as follows:

(A) All arbitration proceedings shall be confidential;
(B) The parties shall submit written briefs to the arbitrator no later than 15 days before the arbitration commences; 
(C) Discovery, if any, shall be limited as follows: (I) Requests for no more than 10 categories of documents, to be provided to the requesting party within 14 days of written request therefor; (II) No more than two (2) depositions per party, provided however, the deposition(s) are to be completed within one (1) day; (III) Compliance with the above shall be enforced by the arbitrator in accordance with California law; (D) Each party shall have no longer than eight (8) hours to present its position. The entire hearing before the arbitrator shall not take longer than three (3) consecutive days; (E) The award shall be made in writing no more than 30 days following the end of the proceeding. Judgment upon the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered by any court having jurisdiction thereof.  To the fullest extent permitted by law, and except as required by applicable arbitration rules, each party shall bear its own attorneys’ fees and costs in connection with the proceedings and shall share equally the fees and expenses of the arbitrator.