First-Year Money-Back Guarantee

Jump to section

01 — Our promiseA clear promise of authenticity

MIKUN warrants that every Eligible Piece is authentic. If a Valid Claim establishes that your Piece is not authentic, we will provide the refund described in section 8.

For this guarantee, a Piece is “not authentic” when reliable evidence shows that it was not made by the maker named on its Certificate, or that its maker, model or identity was materially misrepresented. We use accepted authentication methods appropriate to the Piece.

A repair, restoration or replacement component does not automatically make a Piece inauthentic. However, an undisclosed non-authentic component may do so if it materially changes the Piece’s represented identity or origin. Your separate rights relating to description, condition, repairs or alterations remain unchanged.

This guarantee is included with every Eligible Piece at no extra cost and cannot be purchased separately. It is additional to your rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993, the Fair Trading Act 1986 and any other applicable law.

02 — How long it lastsOne year from the Issue Date

The guarantee starts on the Issue Date and ends at 11:59 p.m. New Zealand time on the first anniversary of that date.

To make a claim on time, email info@mikun.com before the Guarantee Period ends and tell us about your authenticity concern. You may provide supporting material later within a reasonable time, and we may continue assessing a timely claim after the period has ended.

If a failure in MIKUN’s email or claim system prevents us receiving your notice, we will treat it as on time if you can reasonably show that you first sent it before the deadline and resend it promptly after discovering the failure.

The end of this guarantee does not shorten any legal time limit or affect rights that may continue after the first year.

03 — Who and what is coveredThe Piece, its record and its owner

The Piece must:

have been sold by MIKUN;
be linked to a valid Certificate or verifiable MIKUN certificate number;
match the identifying details in MIKUN’s registered record; and
be made available for physical inspection if we reasonably request it.

A claim may be made by the original purchaser, a gift recipient or a lawful later owner. We may ask for reasonable evidence of lawful possession and, where reasonably available, how ownership was transferred.

The Certificate belongs to the Piece and may move with it when ownership changes. A transfer does not restart or extend the Guarantee Period. A missing paper or digital Certificate will not, by itself, defeat a claim if MIKUN can verify the registered record.

Only one payment may be made under this guarantee for each Piece. A later owner receives no greater rights under the guarantee than the original purchaser. These limits do not restrict any rights that the law does not allow us to exclude.

04 — What the guarantee coversAuthenticity concerns only

This guarantee covers authenticity only. It is not a general return, exchange, quality, condition, durability, value or change-of-mind promise.

You may still have separate rights under consumer law if a Piece is faulty, misdescribed, unsafe, not of acceptable quality or otherwise fails a legal guarantee.

05 — What is not coveredClear limits to the commercial guarantee

This guarantee does not cover:

change of mind, buyer’s remorse, preference, fit, colour, size, style or suitability;
wear, ageing, patina, odour, colour transfer, storage effects, accidental damage or deterioration after delivery;
condition, flaws, repairs, restorations, alterations, replacement parts or signs of prior use that were disclosed before purchase or do not affect authenticity;
loss, theft, destruction, disposal or an inability to present the Piece for assessment;
an authenticity concern caused only by an alteration, repair, component substitution or interference after MIKUN delivered the Piece;
identifying marks, serial details, microchips, labels or other authentication features removed, obscured or materially altered after delivery, but only where that change materially prevents reliable identification or assessment;
a substituted item, an item that does not match MIKUN’s registered record, or information the claimant knows is false or materially misleading; or
insurance, storage, travel, appraisal, financing, currency-conversion, loss-of-use, loss-of-value or other indirect costs, unless the law requires otherwise.

An exclusion applies only to this commercial guarantee and only where it is relevant to the claim. It does not exclude any liability or remedy that cannot lawfully be excluded.

06 — How to make a claimStart with one email

Email info@mikun.com with the subject line “First-Year Money-Back Guarantee Claim”. Please include the information you have from this list:

Your MIKUN certificate number, full name and contact details.
Proof of purchase, gift or lawful transfer, where reasonably available.
A clear explanation of your authenticity concern and when it arose.
Current photographs of the Piece, including relevant markings and identifying details.
Any written assessment you rely on, including the assessor’s name, qualifications, method and contact details, where available.

We will acknowledge your claim within five working days or, if that is not possible, as soon as reasonably practicable.

Missing information will not automatically invalidate your claim. We may ask for further details reasonably needed to confirm eligibility or authenticity, or arrange secure delivery or an in-person inspection. Please do not send the Piece until MIKUN gives you written return instructions.

07 — How we assess a claimA fair, evidence-led review

We will assess your claim within a reasonable time, taking account of its complexity, specialist availability and the safe transport of the Piece. We will tell you if we expect a material delay.

MIKUN may inspect the Piece and obtain opinions from suitably qualified authentication specialists or technology providers independent of the disputed sale. We consider all reliable evidence, including contrary evidence you provide, on the balance of probabilities. No single tool, database result or opinion is automatically conclusive.

If qualified opinions materially conflict, we will explain why one is preferred or obtain a further independent opinion before completing our internal review. You may obtain a qualified contrary opinion at your initial cost. If it materially contributes to an accepted claim, MIKUN will reimburse its reasonable cost.

Please take reasonable care of the Piece, preserve its identifying features and cooperate with reasonable inspection requests. MIKUN pays its assessment costs unless a claimant knowingly provides a substituted item or materially false evidence. Any cost sought in that situation must reflect reasonable, evidenced loss and applicable law.

We will give you the outcome and a clear explanation in writing. If your claim is declined, you may request one internal review within 20 working days and provide relevant new evidence. Where reasonably practicable, a different decision-maker will conduct that review.

08 — What we will refundThe money-back remedy

If an accepted claim establishes that the Piece is not authentic, MIKUN will refund:

the Original Purchase Price;
any delivery charge paid directly to MIKUN for that Piece; and
reasonable standard return shipping when you follow our written instructions.

The refund is made after the Piece is returned in accordance with those instructions, unless the law requires a greater remedy.

For a discounted or bundled purchase, we may use the item price shown on the invoice. If no item price is shown, we may make a reasonable allocation of the total amount paid. The guarantee does not reimburse duties, taxes or third-party charges that MIKUN did not receive, unless required by law.

We will ordinarily refund the original payment method. If that is unavailable, we may use another verified method after reasonable identity, authority and fraud-prevention checks. We will not issue cash to an unverified person.

If you have already received and kept money for the same loss through a chargeback, payment dispute, insurer, marketplace, court, tribunal or another person, we will deduct that amount so the same loss is not refunded twice.

Risk in the Piece passes to MIKUN when MIKUN or its nominated carrier takes possession under our return instructions. Until then, please take reasonable care of it. MIKUN is not responsible under this guarantee for a return sent without authorisation or against those instructions, except where the law requires otherwise.

When the refund is paid in full, ownership of the Piece transfers to MIKUN and its Certificate is cancelled. If the claimant does not have good title, MIKUN may withhold payment while ownership is reasonably investigated. A refunded Piece must not be retained, sold or represented as covered by an active MIKUN Certificate.

09 — Your consumer rightsThis guarantee is additional

For goods ordinarily bought for personal, domestic or household use in New Zealand, the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 may provide guarantees including acceptable quality, fitness for purpose and correspondence with description. It may also provide rights to repair, replacement, refund or other remedies when those guarantees are not met.

MIKUN does not exclude, restrict or modify those rights where doing so would be unlawful. You may have a remedy under law even if your claim does not meet these commercial guarantee terms or is made after the Guarantee Period. These terms do not impose a shorter notice period, a higher evidential burden or a narrower remedy on a statutory claim.

If goods are acquired in trade for business purposes, any lawful agreement to contract out must be in writing, between parties in trade, and fair and reasonable. These terms do not themselves contract out of the Consumer Guarantees Act.

10 — Privacy and recordsThe record belongs to the Piece — not the owner

MIKUN may collect and use personal information reasonably necessary to register the Piece, verify its Certificate, administer a claim, prevent fraud, maintain provenance and meet legal obligations. We handle personal information under the Privacy Act 2020 and our current privacy policy.

The public certificate record is associated with the Piece. It will not display the purchaser’s name, email address, delivery address, order number or payment information.

We may share information with authentication, logistics, payment, technology, legal or regulatory providers where reasonably necessary. We use reasonable safeguards, limit access and retention to what is reasonably required, and require service providers to protect the information.

Where personal information is disclosed outside New Zealand, we will take the steps required by Information Privacy Principle 12, including ensuring comparable safeguards or obtaining informed authorisation where applicable.

To ask for access to or correction of your personal information, email info@mikun.com. We retain non-public transaction, claim and authentication records only for as long as reasonably required for legal compliance, fraud prevention, dispute resolution and the integrity of the Piece’s history.

11 — Questions, complaints and disputesA clear path to resolution

Email questions, complaints or review requests to info@mikun.com. We will acknowledge a complaint and try to resolve it directly within a reasonable time.

If the matter is not resolved, you may use any available court, tribunal, payment-provider or regulatory process. These terms do not require private arbitration, limit access to the Disputes Tribunal or courts, or prevent a complaint to Consumer Protection, the Commerce Commission or the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.

12 — General termsThe formal record

MIKUN may pause an assessment while reasonably necessary information is outstanding or fraud is reasonably suspected. Before declining a claim for non-cooperation, we will explain what is needed and allow a reasonable opportunity to respond.
If any provision is unenforceable, it will be read down or removed only to the minimum extent necessary. The remaining provisions will continue.
A delay by MIKUN in exercising a right is not a waiver of that right.
These terms, the Certificate and MIKUN’s registered record form the commercial guarantee. If they conflict, these terms govern the guarantee. No document overrides law that cannot be excluded.
New Zealand law governs these terms. New Zealand courts have non-exclusive jurisdiction, subject to any mandatory consumer forum or right.
MIKUN may update these terms for Certificates issued after an update. The version in force on the Issue Date continues to apply to an existing Certificate unless a later version is more favourable to the claimant or a change is required by law.
The right to a refund cannot be transferred separately from ownership of the Piece. An assignment made to manufacture, duplicate or speculate on a claim has no effect under this guarantee.

13 — Key wordsWhat defined terms mean

Certificate: the MIKUN Certificate of Authenticity issued for the Piece.
Eligible Piece: a Piece that meets section 3 and is not excluded from the relevant claim under section 5.
Guarantee Period: the one-year period described in section 2.
Issue Date: the issue date shown on the Certificate or, if that date is demonstrably incorrect, the date in MIKUN’s contemporaneous transaction record.
MIKUN, we, our or us: the MIKUN business entity identified on the customer’s tax invoice or order confirmation.
Piece: the specific luxury item identified in the Certificate and MIKUN’s registered record.
Original Purchase Price: the cash-equivalent amount paid to MIKUN for the Piece after discounts and credits and before deduction of payment-processing or finance-provider fees. It excludes delivery charges, duties, taxes and other third-party charges, subject to section 8 and applicable law.
Valid Claim: a claim made within the Guarantee Period by an eligible claimant for an Eligible Piece that, following the fair assessment in section 7, establishes that the Piece is not authentic.