You, our partner, are responsible to set up a return policy that reflects your respective business and also applies best practices pertaining to return policies.
The following is only a guide to help you structure your return policy. Feel free to use the recommendations given to customize a sound return policy for your business.
Requests by buyer to return artwork
If you receive a return request from a buyer, it is recommended that the request be submitted within 7 days from when the work was delivered.
Once you receive the return request, it is recommended that the artwork be shipped within 3 day from the time the request was submitted.
Depending on what you desire for your business, you can choose whether or not to still accept a return if the timelines specified are not adhered to. For consistency in your business, we recommend that you adhere to the timelines you have set for your buyers.
What about return shipping costs?
You are responsible for deciding who will cover the cost of shipping back the artwork. Our recommendation is that the customer should be responsible for shipping costs associated with returning the artwork.
Please be aware that shipping costs can also include packaging materials, if the buyer has already disposed of the original packaging materials. If not, they can use the original packaging to ship back the artwork. You would need to include this in your return policy.
Shipping costs may also include customs, if the buyer is located outside the U.S. Be sure to take this into account as you draft your return policy.
Should a buyer have any questions about how to package the artwork, please guide them to the 'Packing and Shipping Art' section of the Sellers Guide. You are responsible for advising the buyer and answering any questions they may have. You do want your artwork to return in proper condition after all.
How to handle refunds
We recommend that you inform the buyer that any refund will be applied to the original form of payment once you receive the artwork.
We also recommend that you consider the exchange rate at the time of applying the refund, and communicate this to the buyer in your return policy.
In your policy, be sure to include any items that are not eligible for return as FINAL SALE.
Depending on what you desire for your business, you get to decide if you will accept returns for artwork that did not arrive to the buyer in damaged condition. We recommend not accepting any artwork that has been altered after purchase. For example, artwork that has been cropped, stretched etc.
What if my artwork is damaged upon return?
If your artwork arrives damaged, we recommend that you first take pictures of the artwork as well as the packaging.
You would then need to file an insurance claim with your shipping company.
NOTE:
Our policy requires all our partners to insure their artwork. We recommend that you insure each artwork for a minimum of its specific sale price. For example, if your artwork has a sale price fo $2500, you'll need to insure it for a minimum of $2500
This is not an exhaustive list of all you should consider when drafting your return policy. This is a guide based on our recommendations and best practices when it comes to handling returns for your artwork.