Frequently Asked Questions
ARE THESE FIREARMS SAFE TO FIRE?
Edelweiss Arms specializes in antique/used/collectible firearms that have been manufactured decades ago, in some cases, over a century. Unless otherwise noted, these firearms are used and many were military or police issued. Every firearm listed on www.edelweissarms.com is thoroughly inspected for condition but are sold as collectible items only.
Except in rare occasions, we do not test fire the firearms available for sale, nor are the firearms tested for the ability to load or feed ammunition, Therefore, Edelweiss Arms cannot guarantee every firearm will feed or fire. We strongly recommend that any purchased firearms are inspected by a qualified gunsmith familiar with the firearm before attempting to fire.
Edelweiss Arms only performs a basic function test to see that the action appears to work as intended and that any safety system is functional.
If you do intend to fire a firearm purchased through Edelweiss Arms, after a qualified gunsmith has deemed your firearm safe for use, be sure to carefully select your ammunition. Take care to use not only the correct caliber ammunition, but also ammunition that is of the correct specifications with careful consideration to the era the firearm was manufactured.
Example: The Swiss Schmidt-Rubin 1889 is chambered for Swiss 7.5x53.5 (GP90); do not attempt to use 7.5x55 (GP11) ammunition with this rifle.
DO YOU REPAIR, SERVICE, OR RESTORE THE FIREARMS YOU SELL?
Edelweiss Arms does not service nor restore any of the firearms we import and sell. Firearms are sold in the condition they are received. This also means that we do not perform a deep cleaning of any of the firearms we sell. If you are purchasing a military issued firearm or other previously owned firearm, you may receive it with with some "grime", old grease, or anything that you would normally not find on a factory new and unused firearm. This is normal.
At the time of inspection, we do wipe off external surfaces of any accumulated dust to more accurately inspect the externals. and the bore is cleaned using accepted and standard cleaning methods in order to better observe the bore's condition.
HOW DOES THE GRADING SYSTEM WORK?
Finish Percentage
The finish percentage refers to the percentage of original finish remaining on the metal surfaces, as defined by Fjestad’s Blue Book of Gun Values. If the finish is refurbished or shows signs of refurbishment, it will be noted in the description.
Overall Percentage
The overall grading percentage is based on the Finish Percentage, Bore grade, and Furniture grade. It is a non-linear scale, meaning higher grades are increasingly difficult to achieve:
- 10% - Poor
- 20%, 30%, 40%, 50% - Fair
- 60%, 70%, 75% - Good
- 80%, 85%, 90% - Very Good
- 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% - Excellent
- 99% - Mint
- 100% - New In Box
The grading of the bore and stock of each firearm is defined by Edelweiss Arms using a numbering system with the following parameters:
Bore
Product descriptions may have a description of the bore if graded less than 5/5, however if there is no description, the following definitions apply:
- 5/5: Shiny bore, sharp lands and grooves, and excellent crowning.
- 4/5: Limited to light pitting in the bore, lightly worn lands and grooves, and/or minor wear to crowning.
- 3/5: Dull bore, mild to fair pitting in the bore, mildly worn lands and grooves, and/or wear to crowning.
- 2/5: Frosted bore with rounded lands and grooves, and/or worn crowning.
- 1/5: Heavily pitted bore, damaged lands and grooves and/or damaged crowning. (not recommended to fire)
Stock (Furniture)
Product descriptions will have a more in-depth description of furniture condition. In general:
- 5/5: Clean wood with near-complete to complete current finish and light to mild handling marks. Refurbishment will be noted in the description.
- 4/5: Clean wood with majority current finish with mild to heavy pressure marks, and/or a limited number of minor to light gouges.
- 3/5: Wood with large portion of finish, heavy handling wear, moderate to heavy gouging and/or chips from handling.
- 2/5: Wood with little to no finish, heavy scratching, severe gouging, chips from handling, and/or non-structural unrepaired cracks.
- 1/5: Severely worn furniture and/or structural unrepaired cracks. Furniture must be serviced before attempting to fire!
Please note that, unless otherwise noted on a product's description, the firearms that Edelweiss Arms acquires are typically military or police issued firearms, and many have been manufactured long ago, and all firearms are used unless otherwise noted. These firearms are very likely to exhibit signs of use. Our grading is performed with these considerations.
In other words: "5/5 Bore" may not necessarily translate to "Perfect, factory new condition barrel" and "5/5 Stock" may not necessarily translate to "New, armory/factory unissued condition."
While we do our best to provide an accurate written description of each item, these descriptions are not to be considered comprehensive. Please be sure to review the provided item photographs in conjunction with the written description and contact us if you require clarification.
ARE YOUR FIREARMS IMPORT MARKED / IMPORT ENGRAVED?
Per ATF, all firearms, excluding those classified as Antiques (manufactured on or before 1898), that Edelweiss Arms imports into the United States must have certain identifying information present and engraved onto the barrel, frame, or receiver, per 22 CFR 479.102. This is an unavoidable part of importing firearms. In 22 CFR 479.102, ATF provides specific and clear requirements for the import identification, including, but not limited to the model name, caliber, manufacturing country, importer name, city and state.
- Conspicuity
- Import marks cannot be readily obliterated and must be visible without any disassembly of the firearm.
- Engraving specifications
- Minimum depth 0.003" / 0.0762mm
- Minimum print size 0.0625" / 1.5875mm
All engraving is professionally performed at our facility with our laser engraver.
DO YOU USE STOCK PHOTOS?
All items listed for sale at EdelweissArms.com are photographed at our facility and is of the actual item sold in that listing unless noted in the product description.
- No stock photos are used for firearms; each firearm is individually photographed.
- Edged weapons (bayonets, daggers, swords, etc.) are individually photographed unless otherwise indicated in the product description.
- Accessories, such as cleaning kits, muzzle covers, slings, etc., may use photos that are representative of the lot or a particular "grade" if applicable and will be noted in the product description.
HOW DO I PLACE AN ORDER?
All orders must be placed through our online store. We are unable to accept orders placed by phone or email. For a step by step guide on how to place your order through Edelweiss Arms, please visit the HOW TO ORDER page.
Payment methods accepted:
- Visa, MasterCard, and American Express credit cards only.
- No money orders
- No personal checks
Payment is assessed at the time of order placement. Edelweiss Arms and parent company KRISS USA does not retain credit card information; your payment information processed directly by our credit card processing service.
WHY AM I GETTING AN ERROR DURING CHECKOUT?
WHY WAS MY ORDER DECLINED?
Please confirm that the Billing Address that you have entered matches exactly the address on file with your card issuer. In 99% of cases where an order was declined by the system or an error is experienced when attempting to check out, it's because the Billing Address entered is invalid. This causes the system to automatically decline the order.
You may see a pending charge on your statement after a declined order. This is not a charge from Edelweiss Arms, but is from the banking institution / card issuer / credit card processor. This pending charge will typically clear within 1-3 (one to three) business days. We have no control over this, so please verify your information before finalizing your order.
DO YOU COLLECT SALES TAX?
Sales tax is assessed on orders shipping to Virginia and California as we maintain a physical business presence in these states.
DO YOU OFFER A LAYAWAY PROGRAM?
Edelweiss Arms does not offer a layaway program. Payment is to be made in full with credit card at the time of purchase.
DO YOU OFFER DEALER PRICING?
Edelweiss Arms does not offer dealer pricing. However if you are an FFL dealer in California or Virginia and wish to make any tax-exempt purchases, please contact us directly for more information.
Must be able to provide current FFL documentation and a current resale certificate for California or Virginia.
DO YOU SHIP AMMUNITION TO ______?
Please refer to our Shipping Policy and Ammunition Information pages for more information.
HOW ARE ORDERS SHIPPED?
Unless otherwise indicated, orders for firearms are shipped within the 48 contiguous United States via UPS Ground (UPS expedited service for non-exempt handguns) for a flat fee of $39.00 per firearm which includes the cost of shipping, a padded or hard shell carry case, insurance, and signature upon delivery service. Due to the high cost of shipping, firearms orders shipping to Alaska or Hawaii are exempt from this flat rate and the cost is UPS' daily calculated rate.
Non-firearm orders are shipped within the United States via UPS Ground service at UPS' daily calculated rate, based on package weight, size, and destination.
If ordering a firearm along with ammunition, ammunition will ship separately from your firearm order.
WHY DOESN'T MY UPS TRACKING NUMBER WORK?
Your order was likely just processed and not yet picked up by UPS. Please allow up to 24 hours for tracking information to update.
DO YOU HAVE A SHOWROOM?
DO YOU OFFER LOCAL INSPECTION OR PICK-UP / WILL CALL?
No.
Edelweiss Arms is a division of firearms manufacturer KRISS USA, Inc. and located within a secured, ITAR controlled facility that is therefore closed to the public. We are not able to operate a public showroom. It is not possible for us to allow for customers to perform any in-person inspection of any items for sale prior to purchase nor is it possible for customers to pick up their order at our facility. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Please refer to our Shipping Policy for further shipping information.
HOW LONG IS MY ORDER PROCESSING TIME?
Orders are typically shipped within two business days of receipt of all necessary documents. For example, if you place an order for a C&R firearm on a Thursday, then provide the FFL to us on Friday, the soonest your order will ship would be by end of business the following Monday.
Please allow for additional processing time during special events such as holidays and sales.
Processing delays will be experienced if the necessary documentation for your order is not provided to us in a timely manner.
Edelweiss Arms is closed weekends and holidays; no orders are processed during this time.
WHAT DOES THE ORDER STATUS MEAN IN MY ORDER HISTORY?
- Pending Approval
- Your order was received but has not yet been reviewed and processed by our staff.
- PAYMENT ERROR
- There was an error with your payment and your order is unable to be processed.
- Awaiting FFL
- Your order contains firearms and/or ammunition and we are awaiting documentation to process your order.
- If you have not already provided this information or do not know what is needed, see our How To Order page and our Shipping Policy.
- Pending Shipment
- Your order has been processed and will be shipped.
- Shipped
- Your order has been completed. An email from our system will contain your UPS tracking number. Allow for up to 24 hours for your tracking information to update within UPS' system.
DO YOU OFFER A WARRANTY ON THESE PRODUCTS?
DO YOU ACCEPT RETURNS?
No warranty is offered unless explicitly stated in the item's product description.
Yes, authorized returns are allowed.
Please refer to our Warranty and Returns page for details.
HOW DO I CANCEL MY ORDER?
Contact us by phone or email as soon as possible.
If you elect to cancel your order before Edelweiss Arms has delivered your merchandise to the courier, a 4% administrative fee will be assessed to your refund.
A 10% restocking fee will apply to any cancellation requests made after merchandise has been delivered to the courier.
Shipping fees are non-refundable after merchandise has been delivered to the courier.
HOW DO LAWS APPLY TO EDELWEISS ARMS PRODUCTS?
Disclaimer: Edelweiss Arms and parent company KRISS USA, Inc. is not qualified to provide legal advice. This is general information and may vary from state to state. Consult a local firearms attorney for clarification. You are responsible for complying with your state and local laws before purchasing from Edelweiss Arms.
Antiques
Antiques are a special class of firearms, as defined by Chapter 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations section 478.11. Therefore, antique firearms may be purchased and delivered directly to you, without a Federal Firearms License (FFL).
Firearms manufactured in or before 1898 are classified as Antiques.
Some states may have definitions and restrictions that differ from the ATF's definition of an Antique.
Curios and Relics
Firearms automatically receive C&R status when they are fifty (50) years old.
Firearms manufactured on or after 1899 are not Antiques, and therefore are required to be delivered to an FFL.
Magazine Capacity
Antique and C&R status does not exempt the firearm from any magazine capacity restrictions imposed by your state or local government.
National Firearms Act
Antique and C&R status does not exempt the firearm from any regulations in the National Firearms Act.
I OWN A ______. COULD YOU TELL ME HOW MUCH IT'S WORTH?
Edelweiss Arms does not offer appraisal services. The firearms we import and sell are researched, inspected, and graded in-house, with direct, physical access to each item, and we do not have the resources available to remotely appraise any firearms.
I HAVE _____ AVAILABLE. DO YOU BUY ITEMS? DO YOU ACCEPT TRADES?
We thank you for your offer, but we are not purchasing any firearms nor accessories from private parties at this time. We do not offer a trade-in program.