Refund Policy

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This page is about the money side of things: when you are entitled to a refund, how much comes back, where it goes and how long it takes. The practical steps for sending an item back live on our Returns & Exchanges Policy, and cancellations before shipping are covered on Cancel or Change an Order. If you just want the headline: once a refund is approved, it reaches your original payment method within 7 days, we never charge restocking fees, and we pay the return postage.

Refunds at a glance

  • When you can get one: a return within 60 days of delivery for any reason, a cancellation within 24 hours of ordering, or a lost, damaged, faulty or wrong item.
  • Speed: sent to your original payment method within 7 days after approval.
  • Amount: the full price you paid for the item. Shipping was free, so there is no shipping charge to deduct or refund.
  • Deductions: none. No restocking fee, no return-postage deduction, no “personalization fee”.
  • Currency: US dollars, the currency you paid in.

1. Situations that lead to a refund

You are entitled to a refund in each of these cases. The table shows what “approved” means for each one, because the 7-day refund clock starts at approval.

When a Yay Bestie refund is approved
Situation What we need from you When it counts as approved Refund amount
Change-of-mind return within 60 days A return request, then the item back unused When the item reaches us and passes our check (within 2 business days of arrival) Full item price
Cancellation within 24 hours, before production An email with your order number When we confirm the cancellation by email Full order total
Item arrived damaged or broken Photos within 60 days of delivery When we review your photos, usually the same or next business day Full item price, or a free remake if you prefer
Faulty item (for example a lamp that will not light) Photos or a short video; sometimes the item back When we confirm the fault Full item price, or a replacement
Wrong item or our personalization error A photo of what arrived When we review the photo Full item price, or the correct item
Parcel lost by the carrier Your order number once tracking stalls 7 business days When the carrier confirms the loss, or 5 business days into the investigation Full order total, or a free resend

2. How much you get back

You get back the full price you paid for each refunded item. Because every order ships free, there is no shipping charge on your receipt to refund or to keep. We do not charge a restocking fee, we do not deduct the cost of the return label we send you, and we do not keep anything back for the personalization work, even on a change-of-mind return of a mug with a name on it.

If you return only part of an order, the refund covers the items that came back. Example: you ordered two matching keychains and one mug and return only the mug; we refund the mug’s price and the keychains stay with you. The refund matches the price shown for that item on your order confirmation, so you can check the number yourself before it arrives.

3. Where the money goes

Refunds always go back to the payment method used for the order, in US dollars. We cannot send a refund to a different card, a different account or a gift card, because that protects you if someone else ever tried to claim your refund. If your card has expired or been replaced since you ordered, your card issuer normally passes the refund to the new card automatically; if not, they can tell you how to receive it.

If you paid in a currency other than US dollars, your bank or card issuer converted the price at the time of purchase. Your refund is issued in US dollars for the same amount, and your bank converts it back at the rate of the day it lands. Exchange rates move, so the amount in your local currency can be a little higher or lower than what you originally saw. Any foreign transaction fee your bank charged is set by your bank, and we cannot refund it.

4. How long it takes

We send every approved refund within 7 days of approval, and most go out the same or the next business day. You will get an email from us when we issue it. After that, how quickly it shows on your statement is up to your bank or payment provider. Card refunds often appear within a few business days but can take up to one full statement cycle to show as a separate line. If the refund has not appeared 10 business days after our refund email, contact your bank first with the date and amount, and then write to us; we can send the transaction reference to help them trace it.

Example: you request a change-of-mind return of a ceramic ornament on January 5. We approve the request the same day and send a prepaid label. The parcel reaches us on January 14 and passes our check on January 15. Your refund is issued by January 22 at the latest, usually sooner.

5. Refunds for damaged, faulty or wrong items

When something is our fault or the carrier’s, you usually do not need to send anything back. Send photos within 60 days of delivery and tell us whether you would like a free remake or your money back. If you choose a refund, it is approved as soon as we have reviewed the photos, and the 7-day clock starts then. If we do ask for the item back, for example to check a lamp’s wiring, we send a prepaid label and your refund does not wait for the parcel to arrive.

6. Refunds when you cancel

You can cancel within 24 hours of placing your order as long as production has not started. Email us your order number; once we confirm, the full order total is refunded to your original payment method within 7 days. If your cancellation request arrives after your piece has been made, we cannot stop it, but you can still return it under our 60-day policy for a full refund with free return postage. Details are on Cancel or Change an Order.

7. Lost parcels

If tracking has not moved for 7 business days, or the parcel is 7 business days past its latest estimated date, let us know. We open a carrier investigation for you. If the carrier confirms the loss, or has not resolved it within 5 business days, you choose: a free remake and resend, or a full refund of the order. The full process is explained on Shipping & Delivery.

8. Import duties and bank fees

Parcels to Canada, Australia and New Zealand can attract import duties, taxes or handling fees charged by the destination country on arrival. Those charges are collected by the carrier or customs on behalf of that country, not by us, so we are unable to refund them. Some customs agencies allow you to reclaim duties on items you send back; your local customs agency explains how. Likewise, currency conversion and foreign transaction fees are charged by your bank under your account terms.

We do not add sales tax to orders at checkout, so there is no tax line on your Yay Bestie receipt to refund.

9. Exchanges and price differences

An exchange for a different size, colour or design of the same product is not a refund, but money can still move in either direction. If the new option costs less, for example swapping a 15 oz mug for an 11 oz one, we refund the difference to your original payment method within 7 days of approving the exchange. If the new option costs more, for example moving from a 4 inch to a 6 inch ornament, we email you a secure payment request for the difference before we start making the new piece. You can always change your mind at that point and take a full refund instead.

Swapping to a completely different product counts as a return plus a new order: the returned item is refunded in full under this policy, and the new order is paid for separately at its own price, with free shipping as always.

10. Refunds on gift orders

When a gift is returned, the refund still goes to the person who paid, on the payment method they used. That keeps your card details private and means the refund is never sent somewhere the buyer did not choose. If the recipient starts the return, we tell them that the refund will go to the original buyer, and we can let the buyer know by email if the recipient agrees. Prefer to keep it quiet? Ask for an exchange instead; the new piece ships to the recipient and no refund appears on the buyer’s statement unless the new option costs less.

11. Keeping track of a refund

Every refund produces two emails from us: one when the refund is approved, and one when we send it. The second email shows the amount, the date and the last digits of the payment method it went to. Keep it until the refund shows on your statement. If you paid with a digital wallet, the refund appears in that wallet’s activity first and then on the linked card or bank account, which can add a day or two.

Partial refunds, such as one item out of three, appear as a single line for that amount. If you returned items from the same order in two separate parcels, you may see two refund lines on different dates; each one follows the same 7-day rule from its own approval.

12. When a refund may be reduced or declined

We want this section to be short, and it is. A change-of-mind return should come back unused and complete, meaning a night light with its base and cable, or a plaque with its stand. If a change-of-mind item arrives clearly used, damaged by something other than transit, or missing parts, we will email you photos before deciding anything and talk through the options with you, such as sending the missing part back or a partial refund you agree to. We never reduce a refund without telling you first and explaining why.

We may also decline a refund request made after the 60-day window, or a claim where the evidence clearly shows the order was delivered and received as ordered. If you disagree with any decision, reply to our email and a different team member will review it.

13. Chargebacks and payment disputes

If something has gone wrong, please contact us before opening a dispute with your bank. Almost every problem can be fixed faster by email, and a dispute freezes the order while the bank reviews it, which usually delays your money rather than speeding it up. If a dispute is already open, tell us and we will send the bank the same information we would send you.

14. Questions about a refund

Write to support@yaybestie.com with your order number and we will reply within one business day. You can also use the Submit Ticket page or browse our FAQs. If you are checking on a refund we already sent, include the date of our refund email so we can find the transaction quickly.