Refunds and returns
Every piece here is an original, stitched by hand over many hours. I want it to end up with someone who genuinely wants it — so if a work arrives and it isn’t right, tell me and we’ll sort it out.
This policy forms part of our [Terms of Use](https://butchstitch.com/terms-of-use/).
Last updated: August 2026
The short version
Original artworks | Returnable within [14] days of delivery, unused and undamaged
Frames | Returnable within [14] days of delivery, unused and in original packaging
Commissions | Final sale — deposits non-refundable once work begins
Damaged or lost in transit | Report within [7] days — replacement or full refund
Return shipping | Yours for change of mind, ours if the fault is ours
Changed your mind
You have [14] days from delivery to request a return on a ready-made original or a frame.
The work needs to come back in the condition it arrived in — unhung, unaltered, undamaged, and repacked in the original materials. Please keep the packaging until you’re sure you’re keeping the piece. It’s built specifically to protect stitched work in transit, and a piece returned in a substitute box is a piece likely to arrive damaged.
Once the work is back with me and checked, I’ll refund the purchase price to your original payment method within [5–10] business days. How quickly it appears on your statement is up to your bank.
Return shipping is yours to arrange and pay for on a change-of-mind return, and the parcel is your responsibility until it reaches me. Given what these pieces are worth, please use a tracked and insured service. If a returned work goes missing or arrives damaged in transit, I can only refund what I actually receive back — so insure it for the full purchase price.
If something arrives damaged
Tell me within [7] days of delivery at [EMAIL], and send photographs of:
– the artwork,
– the packaging inside and out, and
– the shipping label.
I need the packaging photos to make a carrier claim, so please don’t throw the box away until the claim is settled.
If a piece arrives damaged, you choose: a full refund including original shipping, or — where a comparable work exists — an exchange. Because these are one-of-a-kind originals, a like-for-like replacement usually isn’t possible, so a refund is the normal outcome. I’ll cover return shipping if the work needs to come back.
If your order doesn't arrive
If tracking shows delivered but nothing reached you, check with your neighbours and your building first, then contact me. If a parcel is genuinely lost in transit, I’ll open a claim with the carrier and either refund you in full or, for frames, send a replacement.
If a parcel is returned to me because the address was wrong or nobody was available to receive it, I’ll refund the purchase price less the original shipping cost, or reship at your expense — your call.
What can't be returned
Commissioned work. A commission is stitched to your brief and can’t be resold. Deposits are non-refundable once stitching has begun, and the balance is non-refundable on completion. If you’re commissioning something, we’ll agree the design in writing before a single stitch goes in — that’s the stage to raise concerns, and I’d much rather have that conversation early.
Works altered after delivery. Once a piece has been reframed, mounted, trimmed, or otherwise modified, it can’t come back.
Sale or clearance items, where a listing says so explicitly.
Customs duties and import taxes on international orders. These are charged by your country, not by me, and I can’t refund them. Some countries will refund duties directly on a returned import — that’s between you and them.
The colour question
Screens lie about thread colour. Every monitor, phone, and room light renders it differently, and there’s a limit to what photography can promise about a physical object made of dyed cotton.
I photograph work as accurately as I can and I’m happy to send extra images or a short video before you buy — just ask. But a colour that reads differently in your space than it did on your screen is a change-of-mind return, not a fault, so return shipping is yours in that situation.
The same goes for the small irregularities inherent to hand-stitching. Slight variation in tension, spacing, and thread is the nature of the work rather than a defect.
Cancelling before dispatch
If you cancel before a piece ships, I’ll refund you in full, no questions. Email me as soon as you can — once it’s with the carrier it becomes a return rather than a cancellation.
Starting a return
Email [EMAIL] with your order number and a sentence about what’s wrong. Please wait for me to confirm before sending anything back — I’ll give you the return address and check the timing works.
Unannounced returns are a problem for a one-person operation. If a parcel turns up while I’m away, it can sit unattended, and I can’t be responsible for work that arrives without warning.
Your legal rights9. Returns and refunds
Nothing in this policy affects rights you have under the *Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act* (British Columbia), the *Sale of Goods Act*, or other consumer protection law that can’t be waived by agreement.
[IF SELLING TO THE EU/UK: If you’re buying from the European Union or the United Kingdom, you have a statutory right to cancel within 14 days of receiving your order without giving a reason, and to a refund including standard outbound shipping, within 14 days of my receiving the work back. This doesn’t apply to commissioned work made to your specifications. These rights sit alongside everything above, and where they’re more generous, they win.]
Questions
If you’re weighing up a piece and want more photographs, dimensions, or detail shots before you commit, ask. It’s a better use of both our time than a return.
**Butch Stitch**
[EMAIL]
[Contact page](https://butchstitch.com/contact-me/)