All products that are not pure new are clearly marked as such and can only be found in corresponding subcategories. So you can always be sure that we handle returns carefully. A well-stocked B-grade category is a good indication for a customer that the manufacturer or dealer is working properly.
A personal comment on this as the owner of GERMANUS Today, a core problem in online trading is that revocations may be considered as new goods at the will of the legislature. No customer wants to receive used goods. I myself am a cyclist. Absolute care should be taken when purchasing material online, as e.g. saddles are often driven for a 200km test and then returned. For safety-critical parts, you have to choose the dealer well to be sure. A good criterion in this selection is "2nd choice categories”. Is there a stock of 2nd choice grade quality products you know that there is usually well sorted.
From the point of view, we separate all such products into 2nd choice B-grade subcategories per product group. Who accepts small signs of use, gets there a bargain price. Conversely, anyone else can be sure that we are scrupulously checking.
Special offer here means that this is not a regular product manufactured by us. But we sometimes buy large stocks of 3rd parts products and sell them to our customers at a price advantage. We mark such products as special items.
All returns are examined personally by us. I take the example of a wooden humidor cabinet. Of course, this cabinet would not be disposed of by us, but refurbished. However, this takes so much time that, based on the customer, only an exchange in the sense of the guarantee would make sense. After a while the product would be declared accordingly and then resold at a discounted price.
As a brand and company, we draw part of our positive reputation from the sustainable use of our products. Our cigarette cases, for example, can be used for many years thanks to spare parts. A worn closure or rubber strap does not mean the end of the product. We give away more badly damaged things that are no longer suitable for sale according to our quality standards.
With this, we managed to get by practically without disposal from the start. The amount of waste produced has remained astonishingly low to this day. In addition to ethical considerations, this was primarily due to economic considerations. Processes that produce a lot of waste are more complex to handle. It was therefore practical for us to keep the amount of waste as low as possible.
All our GERMANUS lighters are looked after extremely courteously. If you ever have a problem with one of our lighters, contact us. We are happy to help and as a rule the service is free of charge for you.
Almost all problems can be solved. Most defects can be repaired of our service ladies. If the lighter cannot be fixed or replaced, because the product is no longer produced: For tougher cases, we have an "enthusiast" at hand, who enjoys miniature mechanics.
The service is free of charge for you (as a rule). Of course, any service is free of charge for you within the warranty anyway.
For third-party products or if you have a lighter that you particularly like to hang on we recommend the following alternative:
It is a lighter enthusiast. The services of the PL Center are external. The costs are there, however, according to information that customers gave back to us in an affordable price range. So far, we only received satisfied feedback from customers
Please don’t use leather care products with our pouches. If you need to remove something from one of our leather products, please use a mild special leather treatment product for the purpose.
We received a question of a customer, who treated one of our products with a saddle soap and he wondered, why the colour changed.
Of course the colour changed. This product was an alkaline soap that can be used, exactly as he mentioned, for saddles and similar leather items that have a totally different treatment (very hard leather quality for heavy use). This soap makes the colour disappear that is the reason that had that affect even to the zipper. These kinds of products are not allowed to be used on our pouches and our leather products in general.
Generally saying, leather items like our pouches cannot be cleaned just maintained. Imagine a leather bag or expensive leather shoes, how can you clean them? Once they got a spot, the spot cannot be removed from the leather. The only thing you can do, is from time to time to pass a cream over them in order to look brighter or to make disappear a superficial scratch. Dirt is also very difficult to remove.
If you actually need to remove something from our leather products, please use a special treatment product. We recommend this:
Important: Some of the used leathers in our products will provide their final look during usage. Like you may know from wild leather, the surface will change in an organic way like only leather does. This is no problem, but the proof of real authentic leather that was used to manufacture the product. It's a very desired effect, in order to deliver the individual look after several months. The leather is an animal skin that grows in one direction just like human skin and hairs do. You can remove those signs to a high degree by simply kneading the leather in the growth direction.
There are several simple solutions to countering the smell of leather that is personally perceived as too strong. The methods are sorted by gentleness descending. Please start with a gentle method.
1.) Airing
The airing of the leather piece in the fresh air is the simplest and best solution to deal with distinctive smelling leather fragrances that you personally perceive as too strong. Please be sure to let the leather air out at room temperature. The leather should not be cold, damp or even wet. (This would increase the smell unintentionally.)
2.) Wrapping in newsprint
For this purpose, wrap the piece of leather firmly in a newspaper for a few days and then store this bundle in a cardboard box. The paper will absorb odors
3.) Grease with leather fat
If this is not enough, use a high quality leather fat to reduce the odor or change. The fat acts as an insulating layer and seals the pores of the leather, so that the scent molecules are more likely to remain bound in the leather.
4.) Neutralization with baking soda
Leather odor can be neutralized as with vinegar with soda (baking soda). Comparable to the application with vinegar also Natron is suitable for the neutralization of leather odor. Please cover the piece of leather completely with the powder and seal it overnight in a plastic bag. The leather must then of course be cleaned and greased again. (Point 3)
5.) Neutralization with vinegar as impregnation
For this, mix in equal parts (a transparent) vinegar with water and rub the piece of leather with it. Important: Please test necessarily before the effect of the mixture on the leather. Spots or discoloration could otherwise be the unwanted consequence. After this form of impregnation, the leather must be greased again. (Point 3.)
6.) Detergent for leather
Leather detergent can be used as a last resort, if all other measures did not bring the desired success. Please pay attention to the instructions of the leather detergent. Important: Use only special leather detergents to wash leather goods. Drying must be slow. Drying in the sun or on the heater would make the leather brittle. Again, the leather must be re-greased. (Point 5)
Welche Werte sind optimal für die Zigarrenlagerung? Zigarren bedürfen einer gewissen Feuchtigkeit und Temperatur. Aber welche Lagerbedingungen sind am besten geeignet?
Immer wieder erhalten wir die Frage, welche Lagerungsbedingungen denn nun die besten seien für eine glückliche gesunde Zigarre. Man lese so viel im Internet, dass die widersprüchlichen Ansichten mehr verwirrend als hilfreich seien.
Bitte beachten Sie hierzu zuerst, dass (fast) kein Experte die Feuchtigkeit genau genug misst, um die oft propagierten exakt 70% zu erreichen. Siehe hierzu bitte unseren Artikel zum Thema Feuchtemessung. Es gibt im Bereich der Lagerung von Zigarren in Humidoren zu vielen Themen mehrere begründete Meinungen. Vieles, das man liest, ist aber rein dem Bereich des Mythos zuzuordnen, der sich leider im Netz heutzutage leider leicht verbreitet. Der erste Mythos, den wir wie oben geschehen widerlegen, ist die Suche nach den exakten 70% Luftfeuchtigkeit. Tatsächlich eignen sich nach Versuchen und der persönlichen Erfahrung vieler Zigarrenraucher eher 60% viel besser für die Langzeit Lagerung (agen) von Zigarren. Die Feuchtigkeit beim Verzehr richtet sich nach persönlicher Vorliebe sowie der Zigarre an sich. Das Spektrum reicht von 60% -> 75%. Dasselbe wie für die Feuchtigkeit gilt für die Temperatur. Die gemessene Feuchtigkeit ist eine relative Größe: Feuchtigkeit / Temperatur. Die relative Luftfeuchtigkeit passt sich der Temperatur mit den geeigneten Mitteln an. Allerdings sollte man sich vor stark schwankenden Temperaturen in jedem Fall hüten. Im schlimmsten Fall reißen die Deckblätter durch den plötzlichen Abfall und Zunahme der Luftfeuchtigkeit. Sonnige Plätze oder Plätze etwa an Heizungen oder Kaminen sind denkbar schlecht für die Zigarrenlagerung geeignet. Siehe hierzu bitte auch: Licht und Zigarren Abstrakt: Klinische Genauigkeit hat keiner im Humidor. Diese ist auch unnötig. Problematisch ist es aber, das Messintervall an die Obergrenze des sinnvollen zu legen. Ein Messfehler 62% => 67% ist kein Problem. Ein Messfehler 72% => 77% ist schon suboptimal. Was ist nun die ideale Luftfeuchtigkeit? Das hängt wie oben beschrieben von verschiedenen Faktoren ab. Aber 62-66% sind wunderbare Werte, die keine Probleme machen und auch einmal einen Fehler verzeihen. Wer einmal in Urlaub fährt, den Humidor bei schon 74% mit zusätzlichen Befeuchtern vollpackt ("Die Zigarren sollen ja nicht dursten."), das Ensemble ins Fenster stellt ("Tabak ist eine Pflanze und Pflanzen brauchen Licht."), der dürfte je nach Witterung einen Misserfolg erleben, wenn er nach 4 Wochen zurückkommt. Wer den Humidor normal befeuchtet, 68% hat, aus versehen den Vorhang offen lässt und leider vergisst, den Befeuchter nachzufüllen, wird den Humidor vielleicht mit 60% wiederfinden, wenn er zurückkommt. Es ist kein Problem und kein Schaden entstanden. Dieser Artikel beschäftigt sich mit der meist unbegründeten Angst vor Mumifizierung von Zigarren. Daher die Bitte: Viel hilft im Zweifel wenig. Und bitte machen Sie sich nicht verrückt durch eine Verwissenschaftlichung der Zigarrenlagerung. :) Ich persönlich lagere Ware zum Rauchen bei ca. 74%, die eigentliche Lagerung erfolgt aber bei eher 65%. 60% sind auch noch OK. Es gibt Meinungen, die in die Richtung gehen, dass eine geringere Luftfeuchtigkeit langfristig besser als eine hohe sei. Ich vermute, dass die Öle in der Zigarre leicht flüchtig werden, wenn der Feuchtegrad zu hoch ist. Daher ist es bei längeren Lagerungen tatsächlich eher sinnvoll, die 70% eher zu unterschreiten.Ich persönlich meine, den Eindruck mit eigenem Gaumen bestätigen zu können.
We exclusively use natural substances and materials for our inlays. These don’t demand for a special treatment. To keep the latex flexible and intact for a long period of time, we recommend to treat it with a corresponding treatment product. We recommend Ballistol Universal Oil for that very purpose. Please apply a thin layer of Ballistol Univeral Oil to the latex surface and expose it to air for at least 24 hours then. In this way you will have a long living inlay, which remains flexible.
Thanks for your question.
It gets difficult at the temperature. (I strongly advise against using converted Vienna air-conditioning cabinets. In principle, these are refrigerators with a humidifier. I would advise against them with cigars, even more so with films because of the possible evaporation. See the FAQ)
Our beads are actually ideal for this. These are also used in archiving, for example.
https://www.german.us/en/68-germanus-beads
An alternative would be Boveda:
https://www.german.us/en/76-boveda
You could combine this with a refrigerator.
I would be cautious in general. 13-20°C is also relatively good all year round in a basement and in a food-safe food storage container (Lock & Lock).
All the best,
Philipp Pietsch
Owner GERMANUS / Owner & Operator GERMANUS