What will it cost to ship to my destination?
If you are signed in, the shipping cost should be shown automatically. If you are not signed in you can click on the "Calculate" option to get the cost for the particular item.
If you purchase multiple items, Ebay will calculate the discounted shipping cost. The combined shipping cost is a function of the size and weight of the shipment and will be more than the cost for a single item but significantly less than the sum of the individual shipping costs.
All of the shipping cost quotations are for US Domestic shipment. We are not equipped to ship outside of the United States.
I would like to bid on multiple items. How do I the get combined shipping discount?
Wait until the auctions of interest are completed then use the Ebay "Checkout" option.
Ebay will automatically calculate the combined shipping cost. If the actual shipping cost is less than the amount calculated by Ebay, we will refund the difference to your PayPal account.
If you prefer, you can use the Ebay "Request Total" option and we will send you a consolidated invoice with the shipping calculated manually.
Do you have a retail outlet in Houston ?
Unfortunately we do not have a retail outlet or facilities for local pickup in the Houston, Texas area. Our transactions are all by mail or UPS.
Are the photos shown in the description of the mission patch included in the purchase?
The photos shown in the description are for background information on the patch and mission. They are not included with the purchase of the patch.
There are a number of Ebay sellers who offer prints of NASA photos such as the crew photo for space shuttle missions.
Most NASA Photos are available to the public in high resolution from at the NASA web site http://spaceflight.nasa.gov. These digital photos can be downloaded and printed or sent to one of the many digitial printing services available on-line and in retail stores.
What is the size of this patch? Is it the official size?
The size of the patch should be shown in the description. If it is not, please contact us and we will correct the oversight.
Since the time of Project Apollo (circa 1968), the official size of mission patches has been the 4 inch diameter format. Because the patch designs vary in shape, modern shuttle patches may have dimensions ranging from 5.5 inches to 3.5 inchs. For example the oval shapes are typically 5.25 inches by 3.5 inches. Commemorative patches, i.e. non-official NASA patches, may have much larger dimensions. The exception are the Mercury and Gemini patches which are typically 3 inches in diameter as was the custom during that time priod (pre-1968).
Most of the modern patches (Apollo, Space Shuttle, ISS) are also available in a 3 inch diameter format which is referred to by collectors as the souviner size. For more details on the history of space mission patches, see the informative on-line reference History of Patches by Eugene Dorr.
I notice many variatons in detail for the old Apollo patches...are the ones you are offering authentic to the way the originals were in the fine detail?
The patches we offer are made by AB Emblems (NASA Contractor for Mission patches) and are made to the NASA specifications. The 4 inch format patches accurately represent the NASA design while the smaller 3 inch format are frequently too small to incorporate all the detail of the Apollo, Space Shuttle, or ISS designs.
I have compared modern day Apollo patches with the NASA photographs from the Apollo missions in the late 60's and early 70's and confirmed that they accurately represent the mission emblems.
Serious collectors should carefully evaluate any patches that are offered as "flown" patches. A flown patch is one that was actually carried on a mission into space. On current space shuttle flights, the crew frequently carries some mission patches with them. Normally these are given to close family, friends, or co-workers. It is possible but unlikely that an authentic "flown" patch will be available in the open market. Flown patches from the Apollo era are extremely rare and sell for very large sums. For more detail on collecting space patches, see the informative on-line reference History of Patches by Eugene Dorr.
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