Frequently asked questions about our Vintage Sunglasses

Yes. We sell original glasses and sunglasses exclusively from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. All of our models are unworn and in mint condition. We DON’T sell new replicas - strictly according to our motto: NO Retro – 100% Vintage!

Admittedly, some exquisite vintage glasses have now become so rare that we can no longer meet the demand just with unworn models. So to ensure that we can make even more customers happy, we have recently begun including a few ‘second hand’ models in our range.

For us, ‘second hand’ means as good as new. All these glasses and sunglasses have been professionally refurbished by our master opticians and gleam like new. Often, non-specialists are not aware of the difference between ‘unworn’ and ‘as good as new’. For this reason, the descriptions of our eyewear always expressly mention if the glasses or sunglasses have had a proud owner before.

Vintage-Sunglasses is a product of the Germany-based company VSA Fashion GmbH, located in Berlin and was founded in January 2006. The firm is registered in Germany and possesses a valid European VAT-Registration (VAT code DE 264 910 436).
Up to date, Vintage-Sunglasses has the largest assortment of vintage sunglasses on the internet and cooperates with numerous dealers and boutiques from around the world.
The firm consists of a young team of 10 employees, who are bound not exclusively but also by the passion for vintage objects.

For the online merchant – that means us! – credit cards are by far one of the least secure forms of payment.

To protect ourselves from fraud, our credit card payment process always involves two steps.
In the first step, the sum to be paid is pre-authorised. This is not a charge and does not debit funds from your account. Pre-authorisation only checks that sufficient funds are available, and temporarily puts the amount to be paid on hold.
Together with our bank, we then check this is a genuine payment. Once we (and our bank) are convinced the transaction is genuine, the process moves to the second step, the actual payment (known as the ‘capture’).
Depending on the credit card supplier, as much as 24 hours may elapse between pre-authorisation and capture.

When your order has been successfully completed and paid for, your credit card statement lists two items. Both pre-authorisation (reserving the amount) and capture (the charge placed on your account) appear on your statement. However, only the capture actually charges your account for the sum listed.
This payment process with pre-authorisation and capture is also used by hotels at check in and by car hire companies. If you prefer not to use our credit card payment system, you can also pay in other ways, e.g., through Paypal or a bank transfer.

We have been operating our online shop since 2006. Unfortunately, over the years, we have been regularly confronted with cases of attempted credit card fraud.
For this reason, if there are the slightest grounds to doubt that a transaction is genuine, we cancel the pre-authorisation.

With our glasses, height, width and bow length are measured. The width is measured from the inside of the left bow to the inside of the right bow, which approximately equals the face width. The height of the glasses is measured by the height of the entire frame. PLEASE MEASURE YOUR OWN EYEGLASSES OR SUNGLASSES AND COMPARE WITH OUR MEASUREMENTS.

(The height of the glasses is a style attribute and has no influence on the fit.)

Please consider, that all models can be individually fitted to your face by a professional. The bow width and length have a certain latitude. This service is often rendered by opticians without any cost. So if you like the glasses, but they don’t fit 100%, we recommend you to contact an optician first.

International orders from outside the European Union are final cannot be returned. Orders within the EU can be returned (in flawless condition) within 14 days after reception. (See point 5 of our terms and conditions and also see our return policy)

As a German company, we are only legally obliged to accept returns from the EU.
As a gesture of goodwill, we have nevertheless received returns from all over the world in recent years. Unfortunately, we have repeatedly found that our goodwill has been shamelessly exploited. For this reason, we have now decided to no longer go beyond the legal framework. Therefore, please consider very carefully whether you really want the glasses and whether they are the right size.

Therefore, we advise in the order process – in our GTCs and FAQs under " How can I know if a model fits? How are the size measurements to be interpreted?" – checking the size carefully and making the decision to buy with this in mind.

The size specifications are part of every item description and can be checked in our FAQs (FAQ6). We also recommend every customer to contact us before making a purchase decision if there are any questions regarding the size or about vintage glasses in general.

We ship all international orders with UPS Express. It typically takes 2-5 days for delivery.

We send all of our international packages with UPS Express. As a rule, all shipments are delivered within a week.

Now and then as well as at regular intervals (e.g. holidays) a delay might occur in mail delivery. These are circumstances that cannot be influenced by us. Furthermore, it may happen that customs control holds up a sending for several days.

Therefore we send all our packages fully insured and provided with a sending number. We also have the possibility to initiate an official inquiry after 7 days. Our experience shows that usually the packages are delivered reliably. Still we apologize for any prolonged waiting period.

Here you will find shipping costs sorted by country/continent. Within Europe the shipping cost is 19,90 EUR. For shipping to Canada and USA it's 29,90 EUR. Worldwide it's 39,90 Euro.

We ship all international orders with UPS Express. You will normally receive your order within a week.

All shipments are fully insured.

Since we offer exclusively older originals (which are manufactured no longer), it is not possible to order further accessories. Our sunglasses are at least 20 years old and over time have been stored in several different locations.

As a result, it’s only too understandable that over the years some or all the accessories have been lost (pouches, cases, cleaning cloths, interchangeable lenses, certificates, etc.).
Yet this is also, at the same, an indication of the authenticity of our eyewear. It would be more than unbelievable if all these genuine vintage glasses from the 1970s to the 1990s came with a complete set of original accessories.

The same applies to the condition of many vintage glasses. Even though most of the eyewear we offer has never been worn, these glasses can sometimes still have minor traces of their former life in storage. Rather than such traces indicating defects or flaws, they add to the vintage character which is such an attraction in these glasses.
In that sense, an old vintage model in a clinically new condition is a contradiction in terms.

The scope of delivery contains exactly the accessories which are displayed on the advertising photos and item descriptions, respectively. If there is no indication of a case in the item description, the glasses will come in a case from Vintage-Sunglasses.

Yes, we deliver world-wide. We ship all international orders with UPS Express. Every shipment is registered and it’s course can be followed online, anytime. Usually, all shipments are delivered within a week.

Due to numerous cases of fraud involving PayPal, we no longer offer this payment service.

The scam: stolen credit cards are linked to a PayPal account. The legitimate credit card holder often only notices days or even weeks later that their credit card has been fraudulently charged. The credit card holder then has their bank reverse the amounts, which in turn recovers the money from PayPal.
PayPal then reverses the payments from us, as the seller protection does not apply in this case (so-called "chargeback").

For this reason, we have decided to no longer offer PayPal.

Vintage-Sunglasses is a European company and trades in the Euro currency. For our American customers, prices are also displayed in US-dollars. Since the US-dollar is linked to the Euro, our dollar prices vary, according to global currency fluctuations.

Yes, we offer visits at our office location at Rungestr. 18 in Berlin, Germany.

Please call +49 (0) 30 91441366 or write an e-mail to info@vintage-sunglasses.de in advance, in order to make an individual appointment.

Please send your inquiry to info@vintage-sunglasses.de and we will try to obtain the desired sunglasses model for you. Through our global network chances are good, that we will be successful in finding them for you. Still, we cannot make any promises, since we also rely on availability and a little luck in this matter - considering the fact that the production of our sunglasses has ceased a long time ago.

We offer these methods of payment: Credit Card and bank transfer. Details and modus operandi may be found under Payment methods.

Sorry, but no. Our sunglasses are mostly rare and unique items. The indicated amount listed at our website, equals the available stock. It is not unusual, that a sold item becomes no longer available. But please write to us anyway: There is always a chance to still get hold of a certain model.

The unworn state of our eyeglass-frames doesn’t necessarily imply that the inserted dummy lenses are scratch-free or otherwise untarnished. As the word “dummy” or “demo” indicates, those see-through lenses are inserted by the producer exclusively for protection and display purposes and must be replaced with prescription lenses consequently. Nowadays latest craze of keeping them inserted while wearing was neither intended nor foreseen by any respective manufacturer. Those lenses, therefore, are not very scratch resistant and durable in any way. Besides, dummy lenses do not provide any UV protection or impact safety and thus are not recommended to being inserted permanently.

All our vintage glasses will be dispatched from Berlin, Germany, European Union. Thus, it’s possible that you’re going to pay import duties / customs fees (according to the law of your country), when you’re placing an order from outside the EU.

Yes. For over 20 years, we have been supplying boutiques, opticians and vintage shops around the world. Our wholesale prices start at 20 items from our range of models. Since our procurement options vary, the discounts available apply to particular brands and models. To find out more, select at least 20 items from our shop and send your list to info@vintage-sunglasses.de. We will then reply with a customised offer. Please note that there are exceptions to wholesale discount. Some of our vintage sunglasses are so valuable that we are unable to offer them under wholesale conditions. Furthermore, we don't accept credit cards or Paypal for the wholesale business. Bank transfer only!

Of course. All our vintage frames are of excellent quality and are suitable for glazing. You can replace both the demo lenses of our eyewear and sun lenses with optical lenses. Each of our vintage glasses can thus be turned into sunglasses. Likewise, each of our vintage sunglasses can be used as regular prescription eyeglasses. Of course - as always in life - there are a few exceptions to the rule, feel free to contact us before buying, if you are in doubt.

No. We sell our products as seen and described. We do not manufacture optical lenses.

Yes. Back then as today CR39 UV400 glasses are employed as sun protection which equals premium optician`s quality. Some things are just not improved on. Furthermore, our product line encompasses only the most exquisite selection of quality designer models of these times. All of the manufacturers have built their reputation on quality and so have earned the rating “vintage”.

Beyond this, there are certain manufacturers of vintage sunglasses who have gained glory and fame especially because of their exceptionally high glasses quality from the 70`s through the 90`s. These are Ray-Ban, Persol Ratti and Zeiss, just to name a few. Their glasses quality remains unmatched.

For the past 20 years Vintage-Sunglasses has been the leading provider of old original designer-glasses in Germany. Probably even worldwide.

Chris Prokop (the founder) is an expert in this area. He`s been principally involved with vintage models from the 70s to the 90s for the past decade. He has visited the former production locations of Alpina, Dior, Carrera Boeing, Porsche Design, Dunhill, Persol Ratti, Playboy, etc., and has personally cooperated with vintage legend Cari Zalloni (Mr. Cazal). Consequently Vintage-Sunglasses disposes of a substantial collection of old original catalogs of various labels as well as many contacts to manufacturers, wholesale dealers, general agents and opticians, who were foremost operative during the 80s.

Daniel, the optician in the team of V-S.de, has been a passionate member of the business for the past 40 years and is an optician of the old school. His experience is invaluable.

Vintage-Sunglasses provides professional reports of expertise with regard to originality (for instance in court) and assesses the value of old models (insurances).

Accordingly, Vintage-Sunglasses can only smile benignly when questioned with regard to their competence.

So how would a fraudster react to the question: „are you a fraudster?" ;-)

Our vintage sunglasses are rare old originals from the 1970s to the 1990s – and all in an unworn condition. Tracking down these remarkable and highly sought-after designer items (usually just individual pieces) requires considerable time and dedication, as well as financial resources. Yet quite apart from that, it would be contradictory to offer something so uniquely valuable at a discount price.

The vast majority of our extensive selection of vintage glasses comprises rare individual items, and as soon as they are bought, they are out of stock. Keeping our inventory updated is an ongoing and complex task. For this reason, we do not accept reservations – not even against part payment. This policy allows every glasses lover – whether regular or new customers – the chance to acquire their own favourite pair of vintage glasses. In principle, we do not accept payment by instalments.

We send countless pairs of glasses all over the world every year and can count on one hand the few that do not reach their destination. In our experience, Deutsche Post and UPS are the most reliable logistics providers, so we have intensified our cooperation with these two companies. But the staff at UPS and Deutsche Post are also human beings, who can sometimes make mistakes. In addition, technical faults or force majeure (e.g. storms) can disrupt standard procedures and lead to errors.

For this reason, we send all our vintage glasses insured, to at least be able to compensate the financial loss. The best we can do is apologise for the emotional disappointment when a pair of vintage sunglasses – which you have been excitedly waiting for – do not arrive, although this is only a small comfort. Also for us, the loss of each single vintage pair of glasses is more than frustrating, since so much effort and history lays behind the acquisition of our unique pieces. We may, therefore, ask you to remain realistic and patient in case the unexpected should occur, as we first have to give our logistics partners the opportunity to investigate.

Further questions will be answered under info@vintage-sunglasses.de or by phone 0049 (0)30/91441366.

We apply the so-called differential taxation for our vintage glasses, so we don't have to declare VAT. This is a special feature of the German tax system, which requires specific requirements to be met. We meet these requirements and can therefore apply the differential taxation. Therefore, a VAT refund is not possible. Unfortunately, online stores always have to display a VAT rate, which is a bit confusing in our case.