Cancelling and refunds

You can change your mind while your item is still in the UK. Once the shipment leaves, we cannot get it back.

The deadline is the shipment, not the delivery. Tell us at least 2 working days before the shipment leaves the UK, and within 28 days of us buying the item. Your order page shows the exact date.

Why the window is earlier than you might expect

Your item reaches our UK address within a few days. By sea it then waits for the next monthly sailing and spends 6 to 7 weeks crossing. By air it leaves within days. So by the time you are holding it in Harare, the shop's own return window has long closed. The only point at which a return is genuinely possible is while the goods are still sitting with us in the UK, which is also the whole time you have been waiting. Tell us before it leaves and we can act. After that we cannot.

Whether it can go back at all is the shop's decision

We are buying from ordinary UK retailers on your behalf, so their returns policy is the one that applies. Plenty of things are not returnable anywhere: fragrance, sealed cosmetics, pierced earrings and underwear are the common ones, and some shops refuse opened items of any kind.

Check the shop's returns policy before you order. You chose the shop and the product, and their policy is on their own site. We do not assess it for you, and we cannot make a shop take something back that it will not accept.

What comes off your refund

Line	What happens
The product	Refunded, at whatever the shop gives back
The shop's restocking or return fee	Deducted, if the shop charges one
Our handling charge	Deducted, 5% of the item with a £6.00 minimum
Our 20% fee	Not refunded. The buying, checking and handling were already done
Zimbabwe shipping	Refunded in full if nothing is left to ship. If other items are still going, your parcel is simply lighter and you get that difference back when it is weighed

The handling charge is not a penalty. Returning something means packing it, getting it to a drop-off or a courier, and following the refund through with the shop, which is why there is a floor rather than a flat percentage.

A worked example

You cancel a £104.00 item, it is the only thing on your order, and the shop takes it back without a fee.

Product, refunded by the shop£104.00
Our handling, 5% with a £6.00 minimum-£6.00
Zimbabwe shipping, since nothing now ships£22.50
Back to you£120.50

If something is wrong rather than unwanted

That is not a cancellation and this page does not apply. If the shop sends the wrong item, the wrong shade or a damaged one, we photograph it at check-in, hold it before it ships and take it up with the retailer. You are not out of pocket for our mistake or theirs. If a problem only becomes visible after collection in Harare, tell us and we will take it as far as the retailer will let us, but be aware that our leverage months after the shop sold it is limited.

Nothing is bought until you approve a quote. The cheapest cancellation is the one before we spend anything, and up to that point there is no charge of any kind.

Questions

Can I cancel after I have paid?

Yes, while the goods are still in the UK. Tell us at least 2 working days before the shipment leaves and within 28 days of us buying it. After the shipment leaves the UK we cannot take anything back.

Can I return it once I have collected it in Harare?

No. By sea the crossing alone takes 6 to 7 weeks, so the shop's return window has closed well before you receive it. If the item is faulty or not what we were asked to buy, that is a different matter and you should tell us.

Is perfume returnable?

Usually not, anywhere. Fragrance and sealed cosmetics are commonly excluded from returns by the shops themselves. Check the policy of the shop you are ordering from before you send us the link.

What do you charge to cancel something?

5% of the item with a £6.00 minimum, plus anything the shop keeps as a return fee. Our 20% fee is not refunded because the work was already done.

Do I get the Zimbabwe shipping back?

If nothing is left on your order, yes, in full. If other items are still shipping, your parcel is just lighter, and that saving comes back to you when it is weighed.