Terms of service

Last updated 18 August 2026

These terms apply to everything you buy from The Runestone Vault. Please read them before you order — by placing an order you agree to them.

1. Who we are

The Runestone Vault is a trading name of Jack Mackay, a sole trader.

  • Address: 7 Myrtle Close, Gloucester, GL4 6YP, United Kingdom
  • Email: hello@runestone-vault.co.uk

We are not registered for VAT, so our prices contain no VAT and we cannot issue a VAT invoice.

If you need to contact us about anything in these terms, email is the fastest way and we answer everything.

2. These terms

We may change these terms from time to time. The terms that apply to your order are the ones published on this page at the moment you placed it, so it is worth saving a copy with your order confirmation.

Nothing in these terms affects your legal rights as a consumer. Where a term here conflicts with your statutory rights, your statutory rights win.

3. How a contract is made between us

  1. Placing an order is an offer to buy, not a completed purchase.
  2. We will send an order acknowledgement by email. This confirms we have received your order. It is not acceptance.
  3. A contract exists between us only when we email you to confirm the item has been dispatched, and it covers only the items named in that dispatch confirmation.

We work this way for a reason worth being open about. We sell single cards of which we usually hold exactly one copy, and we also sell on other marketplaces. Occasionally a card sells in two places at once. Forming the contract on dispatch means that when it happens, we can refund you immediately and in full rather than leaving you waiting on something that no longer exists.

4. If we cannot fulfil your order

If an item is unavailable after you have ordered it, we will tell you as soon as we know and refund that item in full, to your original payment method, without you having to ask. We will not substitute a different item, a different condition, or store credit unless you ask us to.

If only part of your order is affected, we will dispatch the rest and refund the missing item, including a fair share of any delivery charge you paid.

We may also decline an order if the item was listed at an obviously incorrect price, if we cannot take payment, or if we reasonably believe the order is fraudulent.

5. Prices and payment

  • Prices are in pounds sterling and are the prices shown on the product page at the time you order.
  • Prices do not include delivery, which is calculated at checkout and shown to you before you pay. See our delivery policy.
  • We take payment at the point you place your order. If we then cannot fulfil it, clause 4 applies.
  • Card payments are processed by Shopify Payments. We never see or store your full card details.

We try hard to price everything correctly, but we are one person listing thousands of individual cards. If we spot a pricing error before dispatch we will contact you with the correct price and you can confirm the order or cancel it for a full refund. We will never simply charge you a higher price.

6. What you are buying: descriptions, photographs and condition

Trading cards are second-hand goods and their condition varies. We describe it as accurately as we can and it forms part of what you are buying.

  1. Every single card is given a condition using the definitions on our conditions page. The condition shown on the product page is part of the description of the item.
  2. Photographs of single cards are photographs of the actual card you will receive, unless the product page says otherwise.
  3. Photographs of sealed product, plushies and accessories may be manufacturer or supplier images. The item you receive will match the product named on the page.
  4. Colours vary between screens. Foiling, holo patterns and print texture in particular are very hard to photograph faithfully. Slight differences in appearance between the photograph and the card are not a fault.
  5. Sealed product is sold sealed and we do not open it. We cannot tell you what is inside a sealed pack, box or bundle, and the contents are determined by the manufacturer at random. You are buying the sealed product, not any particular card that might be in it.

If an item arrives and it is not as described, that is a fault and clause 9 applies.

7. Availability of stock

Everything on the website is stock we physically hold. We do not take orders for items we have not got. Because stock is managed by hand across more than one sales channel, clause 4 exists for the rare occasion when that goes wrong.

8. Delivery

Delivery times, prices and services are set out in our delivery policy, which forms part of these terms.

Risk in the goods passes to you when they are delivered to the address you gave us. If you gave us an incorrect or incomplete address, we cannot be responsible for goods that go astray as a result, though we will always help you chase them.

If nobody is available and the item is returned to us undelivered, we will contact you to arrange redelivery. A second delivery charge may apply.

9. If something is wrong with what you received

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 the goods we sell you must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. For second-hand trading cards, "satisfactory quality" is judged against the condition we gave the card, not against a mint card.

If an item is faulty, damaged in transit or not as described:

  • Within 30 days you have the short-term right to reject it for a full refund, including the delivery you paid.
  • After 30 days and within six months we will offer a repair or replacement, and if that is not possible, a refund.
  • We pay the return postage on anything faulty or misdescribed. Never pay to return a fault — email us and we will cover it.

Please email hello@runestone-vault.co.uk with your order number and a photograph before returning anything, so we can sort it quickly and tell you the cheapest way to send it.

Damage in the post is our problem, not yours. Everything we send is tracked. If it arrives damaged, tell us and we will put it right.

10. Your right to change your mind

You have a legal right to cancel most online orders within 14 days, for any reason, including sealed product. This is set out in full in our returns and cancellations policy, which forms part of these terms.

11. Age

We do not knowingly sell to children. If you are under 18, please ask a parent or guardian to place the order.

Some products, including plush toys, carry manufacturer age markings. Where a product is marked as unsuitable for children under three, we show that on the product page. Please read it.

12. Our responsibility to you

We are responsible for loss or damage you suffer that is a foreseeable result of us breaking these terms or failing to use reasonable care and skill. We are not responsible for loss or damage that is not foreseeable.

We do not exclude or limit our liability in any way where it would be unlawful to do so. That includes liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, and for breach of your legal rights in relation to the goods.

We only supply goods for private and domestic use. We do not sell cards as an investment and we make no representation about future value. Card prices move, often sharply, and we are not responsible for the value of anything you buy from us changing after you buy it.

13. Things outside our control

We are not responsible for delays or failures caused by events outside our reasonable control, including postal strikes and severe weather. If one happens we will contact you and either agree a new delivery date or refund you. If a delay becomes substantial you can cancel and we will refund you in full.

14. Your information

We handle your personal data as described in our privacy notice.

15. Complaints

Email hello@runestone-vault.co.uk with your order number and what has gone wrong. We aim to reply within two working days and to resolve things without fuss. We are one person, so you are always speaking to the owner.

If we cannot resolve a complaint between us, you can raise it through the Citizens Advice consumer service, or through your card provider if you paid by card.

16. General

  • We may transfer these terms to someone else if the business is sold. If we do, we will tell you and it will not affect your rights.
  • If a court finds part of these terms unlawful, the rest continues to apply.
  • If we do not insist on something immediately, that does not stop us doing so later.
  • These terms are governed by English law and you can bring court proceedings in the courts of England and Wales. If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland you can also bring proceedings in your own country's courts.