COVID-19 Update information is available on the COVID-19 updates page at the link provided and under FAQs in the Main Menu (top of every page).
FULFILLMENT
PatentWear is pleased to have partnered with a top-notch new printer to produce all of our customers’ orders on demand, and ship them to the address you specify on your order.
PatentWear orders are shipped from one of two locations in the USA—either California or North Carolina (and from within Europe for some European delivery addresses, and from within Australia for some products delivered there)—depending on destination, the product ordered, and packaging required. Some products might be shipped separately. For example, unframed prints are shipped in super-durable tubes, and since a mug would obviously not fit, these two items would be shipped separately. Each item shipped may have different delivery times.
You select the shipping method you would like at order check-out from the options available for your delivery address. See Delivery Times, below, to determine the best choice for your needs and/or budget.
Your order may have a billing address that is different from the shipping address, but our system allows only one shipping address per order: please plan accordingly. When your order is shipped, tracking information is available to you by accessing your My Account page.
Please be sure that your ship-to address is entered correctly on your order. If your package is returned as undeliverable due to incorrect address details, additional shipping charges will apply in order to re-ship the package(s) and orders cannot be re-shipped until the return is received!
If an item in your delivered order is defective or not as ordered, please contact us within 30 days of the order’s original shipping date via the form on our Contact Us page for return authorization after explaining the issue (the sooner the better!). We cannot accept claims after 30 days from the shipping date. Returns due to damage or errors without prior authorization from PatentWear will be disposed of with no further action. Please be sure to contact us before returning any defective or damaged items so that the claims process can be as smooth and painless as possible for all! Returns for exchanges may simply be returned as per instructions, below, under Returns & Exchanges.
INTERNATIONAL ORDERS ONLY
Customs Fees: Shipments outside of the USA may incur customs fees, depending on destination country. Any duty, customs, or import charges that your order incurs are not collected by PatentWear, and must be paid at the recipient’s end to the appropriate government department as required by that country. The fee may vary depending on your order value, country limits, and other factors. You are responsible for these fees—they are not collected or applied from the fulfillment/shipment end.
If your country does not appear as a choice during check-out, we’re sorry, but shipping to that location is currently unavailable. We may still be able to accommodate if you contact us and explain your order’s intended destination (See the COVID-19 Update page for other country restrictions).
We cannot ship to some countries because of legal restrictions or shipping carrier limitations. The list of restricted countries may change depending on world events, but for now, we don’t ship to the destinations listed on the COVid-19 Update page.
ESTIMATED DELIVERY TIMES
[PLEASE NOTE: During the global COVID-19 pandemic, some shipping times have increased significantly, and some country destinations have been completely eliminated (temporarily). See details on the COVID-19 Update page. We thank you for your patience and understanding!]
PatentWear products are custom-produced and created on demand especially for you only when your order is placed. Please allow extra time for deliveries during peak holiday seasons. It takes about 2-7 business days to create apparel products (t-shirts, etc.) and 2-5 business days for non-apparel (prints, mugs, etc.) products. Add the shipping times to these fulfillment estimates to get a final delivery date estimate. Speed and price depends on product type and destination. 98% of all orders are shipped within 5 business days. More than half of our orders are shipped within 3 business days or less. For deliveries outside of the USA, please allow extra time for your country’s processing through Customs (which can take anywhere from 1 to 10 days, depending upon the country!).
SHIPPING
We’ve recently changed our shipping system to match our printer’s—the one who, on PatentWear’s behalf, ultimately fulfills your order on demand. Instead of having to choose a particular carrier and method from a sometimes confusing array, your choices are now combined into the options and delivery times listed below. All shipping estimates should be added to the fulfillment times to get an idea of the final arrival date estimated for your order.
- Standard (after fulfillment, 3-4 business days in the US, 5-20 business days internationally, 3-6 days in Canada)
- Standard with CO2 offsetting (after fulfillment, 3-4 business days in the US and 5-20 business days internationally, 3-6 days in Canada)
- *Standard DDP (Delivery Duty Paid—Canada only) (after fulfillment, 3-6 business days in Canada)
- **Economy (after fulfillment, 5-8 business days in the US, 6-12 days in Canada, 5-10 days internationally)
- **No rush (10-20 business days internationally)
*Profit from this shipping option will go to Native and be used to fund projects that reduce carbon emissions. By choosing this option for your order, you will offset all emissions associated with blank product manufacturing, fulfillment, shipping, and expected product care.
**Note that Economy and No Rush shipping options may not have tracking available. If you choose an option without tracking, we will not be responsible for any lost shipments (although deliveries are sometimes delayed beyond our control, we’ve never lost one yet!). Standard options will always have tracking.
Based on an extensive collection of data, the most suitable and reliable carrier for your shipment will be automatically selected, accounting for both the shipping method you choose, and the final delivery address. You can choose the shipping method that suits you best in terms of time and price. The cost differences between methods are immediately apparent.
Please keep in mind that not all methods will always appear for all orders. Only the methods available for the particular address entered will appear at checkout. All shipping estimates should be ADDED to fulfillment times listed.
Returns and Exchanges
If you are considering the return or exchange of an item from your PatentWear order, please read the information on this page!
USA ORDERS
We want you to love your PatentWear stuff, but, if an item fails to meet your expectations, you may return or exchange any unworn, unwashed or defective merchandise within 30 days of its original shipping date for an exchange per details, below, or, a refund (U.S. orders only) issued to the original payment method only.
If a received item is defective or incorrect on our part, please contact us within 30 days of the order’s original shipping date via the form on our Contact Us page for return authorization after explaining the issue (the sooner the better!). Defective/incorrect returns without prior authorization from PatentWear will be disposed of with no further action. Please be sure to contact us before returning any defective or damaged items so that the claims process can be as smooth and painless as possible for all!
Refunds are only issued when we receive your return. The fastest way to exchange an item is to immediately place a new order. Because PatentWear products are only produced when an order is received for them, all exchanges are processed as new orders. Refunds are only issued for the returned item’s original-order value to the original payment method used, which will eventually balance against the new charge, excluding shipping charges incurred, when your bank posts the credit to your account.
We highly recommend that your return shipment be insured and/or trackable: we are unable to issue refunds for merchandise we have not received and which is not trackable. In order to receive a refund, returned merchandise must be in new condition, must not have been washed, and must be free of stains and any odors such as smoke, cooking oils, animal fluids, perfumes, deodorants, etc. A good standard to consider when sending us a return is to ask yourself this question: would the item be acceptable to YOU if you received it as a new, full-priced product? If not, then it is not returnable!
Refunds are issued to the payment method used for the original order only. Although we issue refunds immediately upon receipt of your return, please allow anywhere from 5-20 days for the refunded amount to appear on your credit/debit card statement, depending upon your bank’s system and statement cycle.
We cannot accept physical forms of payment, such as checks, money orders or cash: do not include them with your return. Please note that shipping charges are only refunded if the return is due to our fault (defective, damaged, or our error). Exchanges for different sizes, designs, styles, or colors incur the regular shipping charge as selected for each U.S. delivery address, and are considered “new orders.”
Gift Returns: If your received gift WAS ORIGINALLY PURCHASED FROM OUR ONLINE PatentWear.com STORE (see the Purchases from our vendors section below for gifts purchased elsewhere)—you may return it for an exchange, but additional shipping charges and any greater difference in product value will be invoiced separately via the email you provide. Once the invoice is paid via the link provided with the invoice, the exchange order will be processed as a new order. Refunds can only be issued to the original purchaser’s payment method. This process protects you, the customer, from anyone else (including us!) gaining access to any of our customers’ credit card information—all of the information is processed through a secure payment gateway. We are no longer able to manually enter credit card information for either refunds or exchange orders.
- If you require a product that is of lesser value than one you are returning, the difference in price, excluding shipping costs, will be refunded to the original form of payment only.
- If you require a product of greater value than one you are returning, the additional shipping charges and any greater difference in product value will be invoiced separately via the email address you provide. Once the invoice is paid via the link provided with the invoice, the exchange order will then be processed as a new order.
- If a problem with your gifted item is our fault (defective, damaged, or incorrect item sent), please contact us directly via the form on our Contact Us page within 10 days of delivery and let us know before returning any items: we may be able to expedite a replacement for you.
Purchases from our vendors: PatentWear provides its designs and products to a variety of other storefront and event vendors, such as museum stores, fly-ins, rallies, fairs, etc. In some cases, the designs include the vendor’s logo. If your purchase was made through one of our vendors, and not through this online store (even if there is no vendor logo!), it must be returned to the original vendor for a refund or exchange as per the vendor’s policy. We cannot process returns and exchanges for purchases that were made through our vendors, dealers, or other online stores—refunds are only issued to the original form of payment on orders originally placed through our online store (with an order number and date provided).
Wrong Address: If you provide an address that is considered insufficient or invalid by the courier, the shipment will be returned to our fulfillment partner. You will be liable for reshipment costs once we have confirmed an updated address with you. The package will be disposed of without further action if we do not hear from you within 30 days of the original shipment date.
Unclaimed: Shipments that go unclaimed are returned to our fulfillment partner. You will be liable for the cost of any reshipment. However, we must hear from you within 30 days of the original shipment date. After 30 days, the package will be disposed of without further action and reshipment will not be possible.
Returned/Refused by Customer: You must contact us before returning or refusing a shipment at point of delivery. If a package is refused at its destination, it is returned to our fulfillment partner (not us!), and will be disposed of without further action. If we hear from you within 30 days of the original shipment, it may be possible to re-ship the item at your expense. Since every order is custom produced as it is received, we cannot refund orders for reasons such as buyer’s remorse or customers’ ordering mistakes (size, etc.), or missed event deadlines (our estimated fulfillment and delivery times are clearly spelled out on this page—please plan accordingly).
For any size or color exchanges, a new order would need to be placed, and the original item returned to us directly (address below), as per instructions and policy stated on this page (unworn, unwashed, and without any odors such as smoke, etc.). A refund would be issued once we receive the original item returned, which would eventually offset charges for the exchange/new order placed, excluding shipping charges incurred.
INTERNATIONAL ORDERS (Outside the USA)
All international sales are final. Sorry, but, we do not accept returns for exchange from international customers or addresses. If you need a different size, color, or design from what you have already ordered and received, you will need to place a new order.
However, if an item that was delivered to an international address (outside the USA) is defective or incorrect, please contact us within 30 days of the order’s original shipping date via the form on our Contact Us page for return authorization. International defective/incorrect returns without prior authorization from PatentWear will be disposed of without any further action. Please be sure to contact us before returning any defective or damaged items from locations outside of the USA!
INFO WE REQUIRE to PROCESS RETURNS
We have provided a Returns and Exchanges Form available to download for your convenience. You can type directly into this handy downloadable (and fillable-form) PDF version and then print it (requires the free download Adobe Reader software), or, print a blank copy and manually fill in the necessary information. Be sure to then enclose your completed form with your insured and/or trackable return. In lieu of a form, you may simply include the following information with your return:
- Original Order number and/or Date
- Original Order Purchaser (billing) and Ship To name (if different from billing)
- Address
- Phone
- Item returned
- Reason for return
Please send returns for exchanges to:
PATENTWEAR RETURNS
5109 Jessie Street, #2018
Mariposa, CA 95338-2018
USA
