Return policy

Every patch is made to your artwork and your specification. It has no value to anyone else and we cannot resell it, so custom patches are not returnable and not refundable, except where we caused a defect, as defined on this page. If we got it wrong, we fix it.

The short version

• No returns for change of mind, wrong quantity ordered, or an outcome you did not picture.
• Defects are covered, and "defect" means the closed list below and nothing else.
• The remedy is a remake. A refund only where a remake is not possible.
• Nothing comes back to us without an RMA number from us first.

If we made a mistake

If your patches show a defect from the list below, we will remake the affected units at no cost to you. That is the remedy.

Tell us within CLAIM WINDOW of delivery. Claims made after that window has closed cannot be accepted, because by then we can no longer tell a manufacturing fault from handling, application, or wear.

What counts as a defect

This list is exhaustive. If your problem is not on it, it is not a defect under this policy.

• Loose, missing, skipped, or unravelling stitching.
• A merrowed or heat-cut border that frays or separates in normal use.
• Backing that is missing, or is not the backing you ordered.
• Wrong patch type, wrong finished size beyond our stated tolerance, or wrong shape compared with your order.
• Quantity short by more than the over/under-run tolerance in our terms.
• Thread or PVC colour that does not match the colours confirmed to you in a Free Design Approval.
• Delamination, cracking, or bleeding of a PVC patch on arrival.

What does not count

These are excluded. Each of them is either a normal characteristic of custom manufacturing or something that happened outside our control.

• Variation in thread shade, between runs or against your screen. Screens are not calibrated to thread charts and we match to the nearest available colour.
• Minor size variance within the tolerance stated in our terms.
• Over-runs or under-runs within the tolerance stated in our terms.
• Errors in the artwork you supplied: spelling, wording, layout, colours, dimensions, orientation, placement, or resolution.
• Anything you signed off in a Free Design Approval. Approval closes the question.
• Simplification of fine detail, small text, gradients, or thin lines. Thread and moulded rubber cannot hold everything a screen can.
• Normal wear, fading, or damage from use.
• Improper application: heat pressing, ironing, sewing, or gluing outside the instructions supplied with your order.
• Laundering damage, and dye migration from the garment the patch was applied to.
• Being unhappy with how a patch turned out when it matches the artwork you submitted. A correctly produced patch is not defective because it did not look how you imagined.

Orders placed without a Free Design Approval

The Free Design Approval is free and it is offered at checkout on every order. If you request it, we review your artwork and email you to confirm it can be produced as specified before anything is manufactured.

If you do not request it, we produce your order exactly as submitted. We have no liability for anything that was wrong in your submission and we will not remake or refund an order on that basis. That is the trade-off for skipping a check that costs you nothing.

How to make a claim

Email sales@squadoutfitters.com within the claim window with:

• Your design code or order ID.
• Clear photographs of the defect, in daylight, showing the whole patch and a close-up of the fault.
• A photograph of the shipping carton and its label, with the packaging kept until the claim is settled.
• The number of units affected.

Photographs are mandatory. We cannot assess a claim without them, and we cannot diagnose a production fault, or stop it recurring, from a description alone.

If we approve the claim we issue an RMA number. Do not send anything back before you have one: unauthorised returns are refused, and we are not responsible for goods returned without an RMA. We may ask you to return the affected units, at our cost, before we remake.

Remakes and refunds

The default remedy for an approved claim is a remake of the affected units. A refund is offered only at our discretion, and only where a remake is not possible.

Where a refund is given, it never exceeds the amount you actually paid for the affected units, and it never includes shipping. We do not pay compensation beyond that. See the limitation of liability in our terms.

Approved refunds go back to the original payment method through Stripe and typically appear within 5–10 business days, depending on your bank.

Damaged in transit

Title and risk of loss pass to you when the carrier takes possession of your parcel. Damage that happens in transit is a carrier claim, not a manufacturing defect.

If the parcel arrives damaged, keep all the packaging and photograph it before opening if you can. Send us the photographs and we will file and chase the carrier claim on your behalf. What the carrier pays out is what is recoverable.

Lost parcels

Shipping is tracked. If tracking stops updating for LOST PARCEL WINDOW, contact us and we will open a trace with the carrier. If the trace confirms the parcel is lost, we remake the order.

Refused and undeliverable parcels

If a parcel is refused, goes uncollected, or cannot be delivered because the address on the order was wrong or incomplete, the cost of return and reshipping is yours. If you ask us not to reship, we refund the value of the goods less shipping and any carrier charges we incurred.

Questions

If you are unsure whether something is covered, email sales@squadoutfitters.com with photographs before the claim window closes. Asking early costs nothing and keeps your claim open.