last updated 03-18-2021
By purchasing from our shop, you acknowledge and agree to all of the following policies:
Items are Handmade
✦ The items being sold are either hand-made, or hand-assembled, and thus can have some variation or slight defect. The shop owner does inspect each item, and when appropriate (e.g. enamel pins), grade the items, but even so the highest grade of items may still have some imperfections due to the nature by which they are made.
Pin Grading Guidelines
Pins are hand-inspected and compared to others in the same design batch for quality issues. Again, these items are each made by hand and subject to some flaws being present. Please do not purchase my pins expecting immaculate perfection. I am a harsh grader, and haven't received complaints about grading, but there is simply no such thing as a 100% perfect enamel pin since it is hand made.
If you don't want the full details of this section, here's a TL;DR: A Grade Pins are the best of the lot. B Grade Pins may have some sort of minor flaw, but nothing major, and are sold at a discount.
✦ A Grade – the best of the lot, can either be flawless (lucky!) or contains some minor flaws (light scratching, dust, specs etc) that are only noticeable upon close inspection. Looks fine from an arm's length away -- this is my PRIMARY method for determining if a pin is A grade or not.
✦✦ A-/B+ Grade – for some designs I might offer a "B+" or "A-" grade -- these pins will look fine forward facing (or barring some issue that I will clearly mention in the listing description)
✦ B Grade – contains what I consider noticeable flaws. Could be large specks, deep scratches or chips immediately visible, noticeably uneven enamel, etc. Sold at slight discount.
✦ C Grade – the worst of the lot that will either not be sold or sold at a deep, deep discount if I do decide to sell it. Design is still visible and there, but there’s errors such as large chunks of missing enamel, deep chips or scratches, cracked metal, etc.
Quantity Limits and Reselling
I am an independent artist, not a wholesaler. I would prefer that my pins go to homes where they will be appreciated, but I do understand that sometimes people part with the things they collect. To discourage pin scalpers, I have implemented the following rules for my shop:
✦ No resale when my pins are still in stock, or 45 days after in-hand release, whichever is later
✦ No resale for more than 2x of what you paid
✦ Quantity limits are as follows: OE pins, 2 of each variant max*. LE pins, 1 of each variant max. If you somehow circumvent this I will refund the portion of your order that breaks the rule.
If you are found to be breaking the rules regarding resales, you will be barred from making orders at my shop.
*if you have special circumstances (e.g. buying gifts for several people), please DM me, and I can consider lifting this for you, to a reasonable extent. However, please do not lie about your "friend" or "sister" wanting a pin if you're just trying to skirt my policies -- if I catch someone doing this, I will remove this exception.
Trading
Trading is a pillar of the pin community and it is fine to trade my pins! However, to reduce the number of people buying my designs as trade fodder, I ask that you do not:
✦ Trade pins that are not yet in hand;
✦ Trade pins within 3 weeks of receiving them, given that I have in-hands drops 1-3 weeks after preorders ship.
(if you're a pin maker and want to trade with me, please reach out! :D )
Order Questions
✦ All order-related questions should be emailed to ask@stardrop.me for assistance. Do not message one of Stardrop Design’s social media accounts for order questions or assistance — they will not be answered unless submitted via email.
✦ Please include your name and order number with any inquiries. I will do my best to respond within 24 hours.
Shipping
✦ All items are shipped tracked & insured. A variety of carriers are offered at checkout, please select the one that best meets your needs.
✦ Orders will be processed and shipped as soon as is feasible, within 3-7 business days (weekdays). Depending on my workflow, you may get a notification your order has shipped with tracking number, before I am able to physically take it to the post office.
✦ Tracking numbers can sometimes take up to 72 hours to update, please be patient.
✦ If you make multiple orders within a calendar day, please contact me at ask@stardrop.me for a refund of excess shipping fees EXCEPT during drops (I will have Google forms available for this purpose so I don't have hundreds of people emailing me for the same thing). I will refund what the difference in cost is once the package has shipped. Refunds can take several days to process back to your bank.
✦ You are responsible for any fees assessed by your home country's customs or postal unit to obtain the package.
✦ Once the package is handed off to the carrier, I am no longer responsible for delays, damage, or loss. Each package will be insured with its respective carrier. Please contact me if you need assistance filing a claim with a carrier (proof of postal purchase, etc. — I cannot file the claim for you). I insure through a third-party service offered by my shipment software and can provide the information in the event of a lost or damaged package.
✦ Due to restrictions from my insurer, any packages shipped to the following countries are entirely non-refundable and cannot be insured for loss that occurs once it is imported (meaning leaves the USA): Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
Order Accuracy
I do try my best to ensure every package I have has the correct items in it, but in the event I mess up, I will do my best to make it right for you.
✦ Missing items: Please take a photo of the package, the items, and the weight of the shipment (kitchen scales are fine for weighing these things) so I can check my records to determine if the missing item was due to my error (I will replace it) or theft (my insurance will replace/refund it).
✦ Incorrect items: Please take a photo of the package and items, and send me an email to ask@stardrop.me along with your order number and a description of the issue. I will generate a prepaid return label for the incorrect items, and once the acceptance scan is processed (PLEASE have your clerk / mailperson scan the package so that there is proof of sending), I will send the correct item to you in the mail. If you wish to keep the incorrect item, you have the option of purchasing it via invoice at a discount.
Pre-Orders
✦ Pre-orders are taken before a pin/other item is sent to production to fund the creation of a design.
✦ Because of this, pre-orders are non-refundable. The only time pre-orders will be refunded is in the case of necessary pre-orders not reaching a threshold.
✦ The estimated shipment date on the shop is a ballpark estimate — the item could take longer, or it could come sooner. I will share updates on my social media channels accordingly, but by pre-ordering you agree to the understanding that manufacturing is a process subject to delays that are out of our control. Ideally everything goes according to schedule, but if 2020 has taught us anything, it can go awry sometimes.
✦ Pre-orders and in-hand items cannot be combined for shipping unless they are a part of the same drop.
Returns
Given that I am selling small-batch, limited, hand-made items I do not accept returns. All sales are final.