World of Ukes

Returns Policy

The first thing to note here is that I’ve resisted publishing an official returns policy for many years as when you purchase from World of Ukes, you’re dealing with just one person, me (Matt). So, since 2016 I’ve able to manage any issues amicably on a one to one basis with customers and have never had a problem. However, over time more and more people have asked what the returns policy is, so I’ve now published one.

The problem I have with it is that if you write it down it looks a bit officious. You write down terms and conditions and it starts to look like… well, a list of terms and conditions! But I want to reiterate that the service at World of Ukes is personal, and I will do whatever I can to sort out any issues. If you take a look at my reviews, hopefully you’ll see that I am not one to hide behind terms and conditions and can always work with you on a one to one basis to resolve anything that might arise.

Faults

All products are covered by a 12 month warranty. If there’s ever a problem, just get in touch and I’ll work with you to resolve it. I will pay for return shipping if the problem requires it. Outside that 12 month warranty, you can still get in contact and I’ll advise if there’s anything I can do to help.

Obviously this needs to be a genuine fault and not as a result of misuse or damage once you have the instrument / item. Items like strings, if they break for example, aren’t covered with a warranty.

Online Purchases - General

In cases where there’s no fault or defect, I will refer to this going foward as ‘no fault return’. So that’s when you decide against something that you’ve purchased and want to cancel the order and send it back, even though there’s nothing wrong with it.

The first thing to understand no-fault return is that I understand there are situations where this can arise. I do my best to describe things and give opinions to help you choose, but I know that now and then, something might be ordered that doesn’t quite work for you, although there’s nothing wrong with it. From my perspective, being able to order online has opened up the products I sell across the world - so if now and then, something doesn’t work out, just let me know. I won’t jump for joy at the news but I also understand that it happens and it’s not a difficult thing to discuss me with either!

You can return it yourself (please let me know first) for a full refund*, or I can arrange for it to come back to me for a refund minus the cost of sending it back. You’ll notice a little asterisk there! When you order I am charged a small percentage fee by the card processing company, or PayPal. When you contact me to discuss a no fault return, I will let you know how much that small fee is, so that I can hold that back from the refund. It’s annoying! Before the pandemic if you issued a refund, the card company also refunded the fee - but during Covid19, banks changed their policies to keep this money no matter what. Banks eh… they always find a way to make money!

Online Purchases - UK

If you want to return an item you can do so within 14 days of ordering for a refund, which is your right. This applies to anything that’s faulty and no-fault returns.

Online Purchases - EU

Brexit has not made no fault returns easy! I pay your tax and duty if I send a ukulele to an EU country, and once that’s paid, I can’t get it back. So I can’t accept a no fault return for a refund from the EU. I can discuss the possibility of swapping it for something else (as I wouldn’t have to pay tax on the replacement item). It’s best to discuss this in advance and we’ll see what we can work out together.

Online Purchases - Other Countries

If you want to carry out a no-fault return, let me know as this may well be possible. I will ask to keep the original shipping cost that I incurred in this instance. I can let you know / provide proof of this amount when you get in touch.

Customisations

If you want a no fault return of an item that has a strap button fitted at your request I can still do that may keep back up to £10 of the refund for a single strap button or £20 of the refund for two buttons, and 10% of the refund for a pickup fitting. This is to allow me to advertise and move the stock on quickly as it’ll no longer be ‘standard’ - and I won’t be able to simply add it back to my inventory.

So there you go… even though I’ve tried to be nice (as I AM nice) it still doesn’t sound great! The main thing to do is get in touch. I have listed here the WORST CASE SCENARIOS. In many cases I might be able to work something out with you. It’s always just best to get in contact and we’ll see what we can do.