Frequently
Asked Questions
What does Kult Of Athena mean?
Athena was the ancient Greek Goddess of wisdom and battle. Compared
to Ares the god of war, she represented battle with intelligence and
wisdom behind it, not just war for war's sake. A "Kult"
or "Cult" was the name given to a God's followers. It did
not have the negative connotation people seem to think of now. So
Kult Of Athena is basically followers of Athena. An appropriate name
for a company that sells swords. Besides it just sounds a lot better
then GetSwords.com.
Do
you really worship Athena?
No, it's just a name.
Where are you located?
1485 Davis Rd
Unit A
Elgin, IL 60123
USA.
That's about
40 miles from Chicago.
Do
you have a retail store?
Not at this time.
What
are your hours?
You can order online 24 hours a day 7 days a week. If you need to
call us, our phone support is generally available Monday through Friday
from 10:00AM-6:00PM, Central Standard time. However we are currently
closed weekends.
Can I pick up my order?
Yes we can hold your order for pick up. Please mention this in the
special instructions at the time of check out. We'll wave your shipping
charges. However, please wait for us to contact you and let you know
that your order is ready before coming out to get it. We'd hate you
to travel a long way if your order is not ready.
Why are your prices so cheap?
We actually have had quite a few people ask us this. Put simply, we
just work on a smaller mark-up then many dealers. We work hard to
keep our prices low, and try to sell items for what we think they
should sell for, not as much as we could possibly get.
I've seen the same items selling for hundreds
of dollars more somewhere else. Are your items the same? What's the
catch?
We sell the exact same name brand products as other dealers. There
is no catch. We all get them from the same places. All of our products
are brand new, not rejects or factory 2nds (except in our blow outs
section). You could pay a lot more for these exact same items elsewhere.
But, don't be fooled, there is absolutely no difference in the product
you will receive. As a matter of fact, because we quality check our
products before shipping, there is a good chance the products you'll
receive from us will actually be BETTER then from other places charging
more. We know from experience, that most places do not even bother
looking at the items they sell you. They just order them in and ship
them out, loose, broken, rusty or whatever. It takes a lot of time
to quality check shipments, and most dealers do not want to be bothered
with it.
Is ordering online safe?
Absolutely. Millions of secure credit card transactions occur on the
internet without a problem. When you place an order on our site, your
information is encrypted and stored on a remote server. We must then
login through a secure and password protected connection to retrieve
it. When you actually think about it ordering through a secure internet
connection is safer than using your phone. When you give your credit
card number out over the phone, that conversation is bounced through
the open air off of satellites and back to earth in an unencrypted
form. Anyone with the right scanning hardware can listen in. Most
people will give their credit card to the waiter at a restaurant with
out a question, and all he has to to is write down the number to steal
it. When you order from us, we are the only ones who can see your
information, no one else. What many people don't understand is that
when they hear about internet credit card fraud, it is usually directed
at the merchants not the customers. In other words, people placing
internet orders with stolen credit card numbers. These numbers are
obtained in various ways, but not from people ordering from a secure
website. The bottom line: Ordering from our secure shopping
cart system is absolutely safe.
What
currency are your prices in?
We are a US based company and work exclusively in US dollars. If you
are ordering by credit card from another country, the credit card
company will take care of the exchange automatically.
How
does a pre-order work?
If you order something marked as a pre-order, that simply means we
are taking advance orders for an item that has not yet been released.
Usually in cases like this, it will be a very sought after or limited
edition item. Placing a pre-order will secure your spot in line. If
you select to pay by credit card, your card will not be charged a
cent until the item is ready to ship. We only accept pre-orders up
the the quantities of product we know we are going to get. These items
are already on order with the manufacturers. We do not place our orders
after the fact like some places. When dealing with limited editions
this is very important. What this means to you is that if we take
your order, you WILL get it. If combining multiple pre-orders and/or
in stock items in one order, keep in mind that all items will ship
as they become available. In this case your shipping cost will be
more then listed due to the multiple shipments.
How do you ship?
We normally ship via UPS Ground. We will also use US Priority
mail for smaller packages and P.O. Boxes. International orders are
shipped by US Airmail, Global Express, or FedEx whichever works out
best for that order. All orders are insured when shipped. A tracking
number will be emailed to you when available. Please note that tracking
is not available with international air mail, our most cost effective
international shipping solution.
Do you offer express shipping?
Yes we can ship your order express. It is not offered as an option
in the shopping cart because the cost is very dependent on the weight
of the package and the destination. Also express shipping of a large
sword can be surprisingly expensive. If you need to have your order
shipped express, you should call us for the cost.
How much is shipping to....?
You can determine shipping for most orders directly from our site.
Simply place the items you are interested in into your shopping cart
and select your shipping location. The cart will currently calculate
shipping for the US, Canada & Europe. For other locations, if
you would like us to provide you with a shipping quote, please send
us an email with your address and the items you are interested in.
What does"Battle Ready" mean?
Swords marked as "Battle Ready" are made to a higher standard
than your average display weapons. The blades are usually made of
carbon steel, as opposed to the more brittle stainless steel and feature
longer and stronger tangs. In general "Battle Ready" swords
are functional weapons that will live up to some usage. However, "Battle
Ready" does not mean indestructible. Any sword can be
broken. Use common sense with your sword. A sword being listed
as "Battle Ready" does not constitute a guarantee that it
will withstand any abuse you can throw at it. Battle ready swords
are generally designed to cut and should not be used for blade to
blade combat, see below.
What does"Stage Combat" mean?
Swords listed as "Stage Combat" are specifically designed
for combat reenactment, stage and film fights, and other activities
where they will be hit edge to edge together. Using a sword in this
capacity is very different than how a sword would have been used historically,
and as a result the sword must be made differently. Stage combat swords
feature extra strong tangs and thick blades with thick edges. Stage
combat swords will generally weigh more than a "Battle Ready"
equivalent and are not made to be sharpened.
Swords listed as "Stage Combat" will hold up to a fair amount
of usage, but will wear out with time. No sword is indestructible,
and "Stage Combat" swords are no exception.
Is this sword "full tang?"
Many people love to ask this question with out really understanding
what it means. This literally means that the blade tang(the part that
extends into the handle) is the full width of the grip. Swords made
this way are very rare, though we do have a few. Even historically
swords were not made like this, the tangs were made thinner to allow
for the grip to be built around them. What you probably want to know
is if a tang is functional. A true full width tang is not necessary
or in some cases even desirable in a functional weapon. Many dealers
use this term incorrectly to describe a "full length" tang,
adding to the confusion. The items we have that are marked as "battle
ready" all include large thick tangs that are forged as one with
the blade, just as the originals were. Because it is more difficult
and there for expensive to make a sword this way, it is usually only
done on battle ready, functional weapons. Decorator swords including
most movie replicas are made with "rat tail" tangs where
the tang is welded to the blade.
Why do you list the same sword more
than once with different prices?
Some swords are available in different versions from different manufacturers.
Sometimes you will see two or more swords that look the same but have
very different prices. Usually the cheaper ones are just that, cheaper
versions of the same sword. Also you will occasionally see an official
movie replica and a cheaper look-a-like. The licensed replicas are
the true collectibles. The look-a-likes offer an option for people
who want the style of the originals, but can't or don't want to pay
for the real thing.
How
come you don't list everything you can get like other places do?
We have a different philosophy than most "Sword Sites".
We never wanted to be one of those places that list thousands of items
but do not really stock any of them. As consumers, we always found
this practice to be misleading, frustrating and a bit dishonest. These
types of sites "imply " that they have the items you want
when in fact they will need to order them in after the fact. Only
on the internet could a business get away with selling items they
do not have. Would you shop at store where you could only see pictures
of the items you want, and then wait while they order them in after
you've already paid? Neither would we. We have access to literally
hundreds of thousands of items, but we have chosen to limit what we
sell on our website to specifically selected items. All of the items
we sell have been handled and inspected by us, selected for value
and a good quality to price ratio. Nearly everything we list, we keep
physically in stock. Operating a list based pseudo-"store"
like most sword sites, has inherent problems for the customer. In
addition to the increased wait times, there is a lack of product familiarity
not having the items on hand. Let's face it they've never seen half
the items they'll try to sell you, they just got them off of a supplier's
list. There is also the increased incidents of back ordered items.
Not having the items and not knowing if their suppliers have them,
results in frequent surprise back orders. We see these sites listing
items that have been long discontinued, not because they still have
them, but because they've never tried to order them. We do not believe
in subjecting our customers to this type of frustration. The fact
remains, that we can get most items you will see on other sites, usually
faster and cheaper than them, so if there is something specific you
are looking for, please let us know.
Do you make all of these swords?
No. We are not a manufacturer, we are a retailer. We offer products
made by many different manufacturers from many different countries.
Can
you make me a custom sword?
No. See above.
Do
you have a print catalog?
Not at this time. Our product line is changing constantly. Printing
and reprinting catalogs is simply not cost effective. We prefer to
save that cost and pass the savings on to you. Our website is our
catalog. We may print some catalogs in the future.
Do you sell wholesale to dealers?
Not at this time.
Can
you get me an item I've seen somewhere else but is not listed on your
website?
Probably. We have access to literally thousands of items not listed
on our website. If you can provide us with information on it, we will
let you know if we can get it. We can usually get you a better price
as well.
Do you offer price matching?
Yes please see here.
Can I get a special discount?
You are getting a discount. We do not like gimmicks. We do
not believe in posting inflated prices on our site so that we can
pretend to lower them for people under certain circumstances. We work
very hard to offer the lowest pricing possible. We believe in giving
our bottom line price to everyone, all of the time. We want our customers
to know they are getting a good price and not have to worry that it
could have been lower if they waited for a special sale, joined a
certain club or used the secret handshake. By nature, having a "special"
price for certain groups, people, or situations means that everyone
else is excluded from that offer. We believe in equality for our customers,
so everyone gets VIP pricing. Please stop asking for additional discounts,
we do not have that kind of profit available. We don't think we should
have to raise prices by 20% just so we can lower them back to make
some people feel like they are getting a special deal. It is
far better for everyone that we dispense with the gimmicks and just
offer low prices.