Returns, Refunds & Cancellation

Effective 2026-07-27

Effective date: 2026-07-27 · Version 1.1

Platform operator: Crater Ink Studios LLC, operating the Why Stationery marketplace, 4934 Swamp Rd, Felton, PA 17322, USA. Applies to: all orders placed on Why Stationery. Governing law: Pennsylvania. Currency / region: US Dollars; US delivery only.

1. How Why Stationery works

Why Stationery is a marketplace. Items are made and sold by independent shops ("sellers") who set up on the platform; when you place an order you are buying from that seller, not from Why Stationery. Crater Ink Studios LLC operates the marketplace and is the merchant of record for payment — your card is charged through us — and we mediate disputes and provide the buyer protections described in this policy. The seller is responsible for making and fulfilling your order; we are responsible for running the marketplace, processing payment, and helping resolve problems between you and a seller.

Your rights depend on which kind of item you bought, shown on every listing before you pay:

Personalized / custom items — made to your specification (names, dates, text, uploaded artwork, or an approved proof). Because they are made for you, they follow the custom-order rules in Sections 3–5.
Wholesale (bulk) orders — a quantity of pieces (at or above the listing's stated minimum) bought at the listing's volume pricing, typically by shops and businesses. These follow the wholesale rules in Section 3A.
Standard (non-personalized) items — sold as shown. These follow the standard-return rule in Section 2.

2. Standard (non-personalized) items

You may request a return of an unused standard item within 30 days of delivery. Return shipping is the buyer's responsibility unless the item arrived damaged or was not what was ordered. Once the seller receives the item in resalable condition, the item price is refunded to your original payment method. Original shipping charges are non-refundable except where the return is due to the seller's error.

3. Personalized / custom items — how payment and cancellation work

Charged in full at checkout. Custom orders are paid in full when you place them.
Before any work begins — full refund. If you cancel before the seller has sent a proof or any message about your order, you receive a full refund.
After work begins, before shipping — a design fee may be withheld. Once the seller sends the first proof or first message in your order thread, a non-refundable design fee applies if you then cancel before the item ships. The design fee is the greater of 20% of the order total or $6, and never exceeds the order total. It compensates the seller for the design, proofing, and revision work already performed. The seller may withhold less, or nothing, at their discretion. Where a fee is withheld, your refund equals the order total minus the design fee.

A note on small orders. Because the fee is the greater of 20% or $6, on a low-priced order the $6 minimum can equal most or all of the item price — for example, on a $7 personalized order the design fee is $6, leaving a $1 refund. The fee never exceeds the order total, and a seller may always choose to withhold less. Cancel before any work begins (Section 3.2) to receive a full refund with no fee.
After shipping — final sale. Personalized items that have shipped cannot be returned or refunded, because they cannot be resold. See Section 5 for the exceptions that always apply.

You agree to these terms at checkout: before you can pay for a personalized order, you confirm that you understand the design fee and the final-sale rule, and that you have reviewed your personalization (spelling, names, dates, and layout) as shown in your preview. The item is printed exactly as you approved it, so please check your proof carefully — we cannot refund errors that were present in the version you approved.

3A. Wholesale (bulk) orders — production-based cancellation

Wholesale orders work differently from single personalized items, because the seller's work is the print run itself, not one-off design work. The design-fee model in Section 3.3 does not apply to wholesale orders. Instead:

Charged in full at checkout. Wholesale orders are paid in full when placed.
Fully refundable until production starts. You may cancel for a full refund at any time before the seller starts your print run — even after proofs or messages have been exchanged.
Non-refundable once production starts. When the seller begins your run, the order becomes non-refundable: the pieces are custom-printed for you in quantity and cannot be resold. Your order page shows when production has begun. A seller may still refund some or all of a post-production cancellation as a courtesy, at their discretion, but is not required to.
After shipping — final sale, exactly as Section 3.4, and the exceptions in Section 5 (damaged, defective, wrong, or lost orders) always apply to wholesale orders too.

You agree to these terms at checkout: before paying for a wholesale order, you confirm that you understand it is fully refundable only until production begins.

4. How to request a cancellation or change

Request it from your order page as early as possible. Your request goes to the seller, who will respond with one of: a full refund, a refund minus the design fee (custom items) or minus the production charge (wholesale orders in production, Section 3A), a partial refund (keeping less than the full fee or charge), or — only if the item is already in production or has shipped — a decline with an explanation. If the seller does not respond to a pre-shipping cancellation request within 5 business days, contact Why Stationery and we will cancel the order for a full refund.

5. When you are always protected

Regardless of the rules above, you are entitled to a remedy — repair, replacement, or refund — if:

the item arrived damaged, defective, or materially different from the approved proof or the listing; or
the seller made an error in producing or fulfilling your order.

Report a problem within 7 days of delivery with a photo where relevant. If you and the seller cannot resolve it, Why Stationery will mediate and, where warranted, refund you under our buyer protection. Nothing in this policy limits any right you have under applicable US federal or Pennsylvania consumer-protection law, and nothing here waives your right to dispute a charge with your card issuer.

How a post-delivery claim moves. When you report a post-delivery problem — an item that never arrived, or one that is damaged, defective, or materially not as described — the seller has 5 business days to respond with a resolution (replacement, repair, or refund) or a reasoned explanation. If the seller does not respond within that window, or if you and the seller are still at an impasse after 10 business days from your first report, you may escalate the claim to Why Stationery, and we will review the order record and decide a fair outcome under this policy. We aim to reach a decision within 10 business days of escalation.

6. Refund timing and method

Approved refunds are issued to your original payment method. Depending on your bank or card issuer, it may take several business days to appear. Payment-processing fees on the original transaction are not refundable to the buyer and are not part of the refunded amount.

7. Chargebacks

If you believe a charge is wrong, please contact us first — most issues are resolved faster directly than through a card dispute. We keep a record of each order (your approved proof, the order thread, and your checkout acknowledgments) and may provide it to your card issuer or ours in response to a dispute.

No double recovery. You may seek a refund through Why Stationery or dispute the charge with your card issuer, but you may not collect twice for the same order. If we (or the seller) have already refunded you for an order and you also win a card chargeback for the same amount, the refund and the chargeback cover the same loss, and we may recover the duplicated amount from you. This does not waive or limit any chargeback right you have under the Fair Credit Billing Act or your card agreement — it only prevents being paid twice for one problem.

8. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy. The version that applied when you placed your order — recorded at checkout — is the one that governs that order.

9. Contact

Questions about a return, refund, cancellation, or this policy — or to escalate a claim under Section 5:

Crater Ink Studios LLC — Why Stationery 4934 Swamp Rd, Felton, PA 17322, USA Email: hello@craterinkstudios.com