Refund policy

We're proud to have 10 years of experience creating high-quality custom apparel and thousands of 5-star customer reviews — but we know mistakes can happen. This policy explains exactly what we can accept back, how to start a claim, and when you'll see your money.

The short version: because every item is printed or decorated to your order, custom products are final sale. If we made a mistake — a defect, a misprint, damage, or the wrong item — tell us within 15 days of delivery and we'll fix it at no cost to you.

1. Returns we accept

Contact us within 15 days of delivery if your order arrives:

• Defective — holes, stains, broken stitching, peeling or cracking print, or a blank garment with a manufacturing fault.
• Damaged in transit — the product or packaging arrived crushed, torn, or wet.
• Misprinted — the print does not match the artwork you approved (wrong placement, wrong size, wrong ink color, missing element).
• Wrong item — a different product, color, or size than what your order confirmation shows.
• Short-shipped — fewer pieces than you ordered.

In these cases we cover everything: we send you a prepaid return label and you choose a free reprint, a replacement, or a full refund. You will never pay return shipping for our error.

2. Returns we cannot accept

Custom-decorated goods cannot be resold, so the following are final sale and are not eligible for return, exchange, or refund:

• Any garment or product printed, embroidered, or decorated with your artwork — including orders placed through our online designer.
• All DTF transfers, gang sheets, and DTF-by-size products.
• Change-of-mind returns, ordering the wrong size or color, or ordering the wrong quantity.
• Artwork errors in the file you supplied and approved — misspellings, low-resolution images, wrong color values, or wrong dimensions.
• Items returned to us without an approved return authorization, or returned more than 15 days after delivery.
• Items that have been worn, washed, altered, or pressed (for transfers, this means any sheet that has been applied to a garment).
• Free samples and promotional items.

Please double-check your size chart, quantity, and proof before you approve your order — production starts as soon as you approve.

3. How to start a return

1. Contact us within 15 days of delivery using our contact form, by email, or by phone. Include your order number and a short description of the problem.
2. Send photos. For defects, damage, or misprints we need clear photos of the item and, where relevant, the shipping box. This lets us resolve most claims without you shipping anything back.
3. Wait for your return authorization. A member of our team responds within one business day. If a physical return is needed, we email you a prepaid return label with instructions.
4. Ship it back within 7 days of receiving your label, in the original packaging where possible.

Do not ship anything back before you have a return authorization. Unauthorized returns cannot be processed or refunded, and we are not able to send them back to you.

4. Refunds

Once your claim is approved — or once we receive and inspect a returned item — we issue your refund within 3–5 business days to your original payment method. We cannot refund to a different card, account, or as store credit unless you ask us to.

After we issue the refund, your bank or card provider typically takes another 5–10 business days for it to appear on your statement. That part is outside our control. If more than 10 business days have passed since we confirmed your refund and you still don't see it, contact your bank first, then get in touch with us.

Notes on what is refunded:

• Where the error is ours, we refund the full amount you paid, including any shipping charges.
• Where only part of an order is affected, we refund only the affected items.
• Rush, express, and expedited shipping charges are not refundable once an order has shipped on time, even if the carrier is late.

5. Replacements and reprints

For most defect and misprint claims a reprint is faster than a refund. Approved replacements are moved to the front of the production queue and ship at no charge. If you need the replacement by a specific date, tell us when you open the claim and we'll confirm whether we can meet it before we start.

6. Order changes and cancellations

Contact us as soon as possible if you need to change or cancel an order. We can usually change or cancel it at no charge before production begins — typically within a few hours of your order, or before you approve your proof.

Once printing or decoration has started, the order can no longer be canceled or changed, because the materials are already committed to your design.

7. Packages damaged or lost in transit

If your package arrives damaged, or tracking shows it as delivered but you don't have it, contact us within 7 days of the expected delivery date with your order number and photos where applicable. We open a claim with the carrier and make it right — either by reprinting your order or refunding it in full.

We can't take responsibility for packages delayed or lost because of an incorrect or incomplete shipping address, so please double-check your address at checkout. See our Shipping Policy for delivery estimates and carrier details.

8. Color, size, and print variation

A small amount of variation is normal in custom decoration and is not considered a defect:

• Color — screens display color differently from printed ink and dyed fabric. Print colors may shift slightly from what you saw on your monitor, and garment dye lots can vary between batches.
• Print placement — we allow a tolerance of up to 1″ from the specified placement.
• Garment sizing — measurements follow each manufacturer's published size chart and can vary by roughly half an inch. Please check the size chart on the product page before ordering; we can't accept returns for fit.

If a variation is clearly outside these tolerances, it counts as a defect and section 1 applies. When in doubt, send us a photo and we'll tell you.

9. Contact us for help

Our customer care team is available 7 days a week and answers within one business day:

• Phone — +1 (678) 845-6864
• Email — hello@tidalcolors.com
• Live chat — use the chat button at the bottom of any page
• Contact form — tidalcolors.com/pages/contact

This policy applies to orders shipped within the United States and does not limit any rights you may have under applicable state or federal law.