Authenticity & Condition

Everything we sell is new, sourced through official Korean retail channels. We do not sell used copies and we do not grade items. We never break an intact seal, not even to inspect a book. This page explains exactly what our labels mean, so you know what is guaranteed before you buy.

The seal is the value

For a collector, an intact factory shrink-wrap can be a defining part of an item's condition and value. A book whose seal has been broken is no longer the same collectible, even if it is otherwise pristine. This is why we never open a sealed item, and why our returns policy treats a broken seal as a substantial diminution in value (see Shipping & Returns).

What “First Print” means, by product type

Limited editions and box sets. These are tied to the first print run by nature: a single run, never reprinted.

Single volumes (sealed). The printing run, and its number, are stated on a Korean book's colophon (판권지), a page inside the book. On a factory-sealed copy it is physically impossible to check the colophon without destroying the seal, and with it, sometimes, the collectible value. So we do not check it, and we will not pretend otherwise. What “First Print” means on a sealed single volume is that we bought it at or around the Korean release through official retail channels while the first printing was on sale, or on the first-print information the retailer states for that item. It then stays sealed in our stock.

In other words, we are trusting our supplier, and we would rather say so than imply a certainty we do not have. We do not leave that risk with you. If a sealed single volume turns out not to be a first print, we refund or replace it and we cover the return. Since neither of us can see through the wrap, we ask for the evidence collectors use everywhere: one uncut unboxing video, from the still-sealed parcel through to the colophon. Then we settle it.

First-print bonus items

Where a Korean first printing ships with bonus items (photo cards, postcards, obi strips…), they are listed on the product page under “What's included”. If a product page lists no inclusions, none are promised.

If a bonus we listed is missing from your copy, tell us. Publishers do occasionally short a print run, and that is not something we can see through a sealed wrap, but it is still ours to put right: we sold you the item as described. It is handled exactly like a first-print claim, evidence included. Checking whether a bonus is inside means opening the seal, so a returned item can only show what is in it now, never what was in it when it left us. We therefore ask for the same uncut unboxing video, from the still-sealed parcel through to the goods. With it, we replace the item or refund it in full, return at our cost, and no seal deduction applies: opening it is what proved the claim. We do not try to price a missing card separately: nobody can, and haggling over what a photocard is worth would be a worse experience for you than taking the item back.

Our evidence practices

We keep the supplier listing reference for every item we source, and we film each parcel before dispatch: the sealed item, the packing, the label and the weight, in one continuous take. These measures protect honest customers: they let us settle a dispute on facts rather than on impressions.

Condition on arrival

Every order is packed for the journey, with a protection kit matched to what is inside it. Separately from our packing, minor manufacturing variances that predate the seal, such as light corner wear under the wrap or factory creasing, are inherent to sealed products: they were there before the book was wrapped, and no seller who keeps the seal intact can inspect them away. If your parcel arrives damaged, see Shipping & Returns : we will make it right.

Items sold as imperfect

Transit is not always kind. A slipcase can arrive dented, or a factory seal can arrive already torn. We neither discard those items nor quietly sell them as perfect: they are listed separately, marked Imperfect and priced lower. The defect is written out above the buy button, and photographed in the product gallery alongside the usual pictures, so you see it before you decide.

Where a seal arrived torn, we leave it exactly as it is: we do not open it further, and we do not unwrap the book to inspect it. The tear is photographed as it stands, so you can judge it for yourself rather than take our word for it. The book itself remains an original first print, sourced the same way as everything else.