FAQs
Please see below our Frequently Asked Questions. If after reading our FAQ section your query is still unanswered, feel free to contact us at info@samandsonder.com. For order related issues, please contact us at support@samandsonder.com.
Payment Options
We accept payments via VISA, MasterCard, American Express (AMEX), JCB, GooglePay, ApplePay and PayPal.
All Things Shipping
Do you ship worldwide?
At this time we are only accepting orders from Barbados, Canada, Japan and the U.S.A, but hope to expand on this list in the future.
Processing & Shipping Times
Processing time is the time between when an order is received and when it is ready to be shipped. We currently have a processing time of 2-3 days. There is an average shipping time of 5-10 days; however shipping times naturally can vary due to a variety of factors including, but not limited to, distance, weather conditions, and customs-related delays. Please see the below table for shipping times and delivery service areas by country, as provided by Yamato's and USPS' website. Domestic orders will be fulfilled via Japan Post.
* We have been informed by previous customers that packages sent via Yamato are handled by UPS upon reaching Barbados, however, Sam & Sonder. is not aware of the courier partners Yamato has in each country. It is possible that upon arrival in the destination country, the customer may be required to collect their order from a nearby post office or similar facility. We cannot guarantee that a customer's order will be delivered directly to their door. Customers can always track their order using the tracking number provided (via email) after checkout.
Shipping Times
|
Country |
Shipping Times |
Delivery Service Areas |
|
Barbados |
7-14 days |
Bridgetown, Barbados |
|
Canada |
5-7 days |
Abbotsford, Barrie, Burnaby, Calgary, Campbell River, Drummondville, Edmonton, Fort Mcmurray, Grande Prairie, Halifax, Hamilton, Kamloops, Kelowna, Kingston, Kitchener, Lethbridge, London, Markham, Medicine Hat, Moncton, New Brunswick, Montreal, Montreal-Anjou, Nanaimo, North Bay, Ottawa, Peterborough, Prince George, Red Deer, Regina, Richmond, Rimouski, Saint John, Saskatoon, Sherbrooke, St Catharines, St. John's, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Trois-Rivieres, Vancouver , Victoria, Windsor, Ontario, Winnipeg |
|
Japan (Japan Post) |
1-4 days |
All 47 Prefectures |
|
The U.S.A |
5-7 days |
Abilene, Allentown, Anchorage, Atlanta, Augusta, Aurora, Austin, Baxter, Beaver, Birmingham, Bismarck, Bloomington-Normal, Boca Raton, Boston, Bridgeton, Cape Girardeau, Casper, Cedar Rapids, Charlotte, Cincinnati Hub, Columbus - West, Coppell, Covington, Dayton, Des Moines, Dodge City, Dothan, East Billings, East Wenatchee, East Windsor, Easton, El Paso, Elizabeth, Erlanger, Eureka, Farminton, Fort Dodge, Fort Myers, Franklin, Fremont, Grand Rapids, Greensboro, Greenville, Greenville, Gulfport, Harahan, Harlingen, Harrisburg, Herron, Honolulu, Houston, Idaho Falls, Inwood, Irvine, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Key West, Laredo, Las Vegas, Latham, Lexington, Linthicum Heights, Little Rock, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Louisville, Lynchburg Madison, Medford, Melville, Memphis, Miami - Tamiami, Middleburg Heights, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Morrisville, Nashville, New York, North Charleston, Northeast Indianapolis, Norwalk, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Ontario, Orlando - Herndon, Paducah, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Richmond, Rifle, Rochester - Monroe, Romulus, Sacramento - Mather, Saint George, San Antonio, San Francisco, Savannah, Scottsbluff, Seattle, Silver Pt, Smyrna, South San Diego, Sparks, Springdale, Stockton, Tampa - East, Texarkana, Tucson, Tulsa, Van Nuys, Washington - Ronald Reagan National, West Hartford, West Philadelphia, West Valley City, Wichita, Wilmington, Woodside, Yuma |
Shipping Costs
We currently offer Free Standard Shipping within Japan. For all other territories, shipping costs are automatically calculated based on your location & selected courier. Orders of $75USD or more are automatically eligible for Free Shipping to the listed delivery service areas.
* Please note that shipping & handling is separate from customs & duties. Sam & Sonder does not collect taxes on orders (to Barbados) and so customs and/or duties fees may also be incurred depending on the customs regulations for that specific country/state.
Exchanges, Refunds, Return Policy & Order Cancellations
At this time Sam & Sonder is unable to process cancellations if the order has been fulfilled (order has been handed over to the courier.)
If upon completing an order, a customer needs to change details such as the shipping address, billing information, etc, please contact us at support@samandsoder.com with the appropriate subject title, e.g ‘Incorrect Address’, as soon as possible. If your email is received before the processing of the order is complete, we will try to facilitate this change. Please note Sam & Sonder cannot guarantee modifications can be made, but will try to assist where possible. After the order processing has been completed we cannot guarantee further assistance as the package would then be in the care of the courier.
Reasons For Return
Buyer’s Remorse: We are unable to issue refunds or accept Buyers Remorse returns at this time.
Damaged/Mispackaged Products: Naturally, we try to provide only the best experience for our customers, but human error can occur. In the event of mispackaged products or damage as a result of poor or insufficient packaging measures, we will work with our courier, to review & fulfill replacement requests with the same product as initially purchased. Please contact us at support@samandsonder.com BEFORE returning the order so that we can attempt to streamline this process.
In your correspondence please be sure to include the subject titled ‘Damaged/Mispackaged Product’, your order details (order number, etc), a brief summary of the issue, as well as photos of the product since we may require a photo be submitted with your problem report to begin a reshipment. It is always best to include photos with your initial problem report to avoid delays. Claims deemed an error on Sam & Sonder’s part are covered at our expense and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused. Please note that in the event of damage, claims (WITH PHOTOS) must be made within 3 days of the date the order was delivered, to be considered eligible for free reshipment.
Returned or Unclaimed Orders:
Please note; parcels cannot be shipped to a post office (P.O.) box, hotel or similar lodging facilities, exhibitions nor event venues.
The estimated delivery date has passed but my order hasn’t been delivered.
If the shipment was returned it is possible that an inaccurate or invalid address was entered. If the provided address is considered insufficient by the courier, the shipment may be returned to the courier's local facilities or a nearby post office. In the event a parcel is returned to our Japan facility the customer will be liable for reshipment costs once an updated address has been confirmed, so please take a moment to review the entered shipping information before completing your order to ensure a seamless experience. Any unclaimed returns to our Japan facility are re-entered as inventory after 4 weeks.
If you suspect your package has been lost in transit, please submit a claim to support@samandsonder.com with the subject titled ‘Lost In Transit’ no later than 2 weeks after the estimated delivery date and we will try to assist further. Please note that Sam & Sonder is able to contact Yamato, but if the parcel has arrived in the destination country, the customer may be required to contact the local courier of that country regarding the parcel's location.
The tracking says my order was delivered but I don't have it.
There may be cases where the delivery was made, but the package was left in an obscured location at the customer's address. Customers should reach out to the courier and inquire if any additional details were left by the delivery person. For example: “Left under porch swing" or "Left at side entrance". Alternatively, if residences in your area are not numbered, you may inquire with your neighbours.
Sam & Sonder fulfils our orders via Yamato, USPS (international), & Japan Post (domestic) and thereby has limited control over the actual shipping process. If the tracking indicates an order was delivered, it is the customer’s responsibility to file any claim of a misplaced parcel with the local shipping courier's company. Unfortunately we are unable to issue refunds/resend products under such circumstances.
Redistribution & Resale policies: Can I reproduce or resell Sam & Sonder products as my own?
No. With the exception of wholesale arrangements, items purchased from Sam & Sonder are intended for personal use only and are not to be reproduced, repackaged nor resold.
Do you practice eco-friendly shipping methods? How are orders packaged/shipped?
We are very aware of the current environmental climate and try to do our part where we can to limit our negative contributions to the decline of our planet. We've opted to use vellum wrapping paper, and kraft paper envelopes in place of cellophane plastic bags and plastic sleeves. Our mindfulness cards do come prepackaged with shrink wrap from the manufacturer for the purpose of protecting them during transit, however when presented with the option of plastic or paper to bind the cards in our Mindfulness Card Collection, we chose to go with the paper option.
We've gone a step further by implementing our 'Bee Kind' initiative where every purchase from our Bee Kind Collection contributes to the 20% of monthly profits that we then donate to our two bee conservation organizations of choice. You can read more about that here.
In addition to the aforementioned practices we've also partnered with Shopify on the Planet app where we pledge a percentage of each sale to go towards decreasing our carbon footprint. You can read more about that here.
As you can see, the environment & sustainability is very important to us and we urge you to help us in our efforts by combining orders (with friends,etc.) where applicable, as well as reusing or recycling our products vessels and shipping packing.