Refund & Return Policy

Last updated: July 30, 2026

At Smartbookdeal, we want you to be completely satisfied with every book you order from us. If something isn't right, we'll make it right. This policy explains when you can return an item, how to start a return, and how long refunds take.

1. Our 30-Day Return Window

You have 30 days from the date your order is delivered to request a return for any reason.

We accept returns both for our mistakes (damaged, defective, or wrong item) and for simple change of mind. You do not need to justify your reason.

Return requests submitted after 30 days cannot be accepted, except where required by law.

2. Free Return Shipping

Once your return is approved, we email you a prepaid return shipping label. Print it, attach it to your package, and drop it off. There is no cost to you to send the item back.

3. Condition Requirements

To be eligible for a return, the item must be:

• In the same condition you received it — unread, unmarked, and unused
• Free of writing, highlighting, dog-eared pages, cracked spines, or removed stickers
• Complete, including any CDs, access codes, inserts, slipcases, or box-set components
• In its original packaging or shrink wrap where applicable

Items that arrive back to us used, written in, or missing components may be refused or refunded at a reduced amount. We will always contact you before reducing a refund and give you the option to have the item shipped back to you at no charge.

Access codes and digital supplements: Once a single-use access code has been scratched, revealed, or activated, the value of that code is non-refundable, even if the physical book is returned in perfect condition.

4. Restocking Fee

Reason for return	Restocking fee	You receive
Damaged, defective, wrong item, or wrong edition	None	100% refund, including original shipping
Change of mind, no longer needed, ordered by mistake, duplicate order	10% of item price	90% of the item price

The 10% fee covers inspection, repackaging, and re-listing. Example: a $50 book returned because you changed your mind is refunded at $45. The same book returned because it arrived damaged is refunded at the full $50.

The restocking fee never applies to any error on our part.

5. Non-Returnable Items

The following cannot be returned or refunded:

• Digital and downloadable products, including ebooks and PDFs, once the download link has been accessed
• Activated access codes and online course keys (see Section 3)
• Clearance and final-sale items, where clearly marked as such on the product page
• Gift cards
• Items returned more than 30 days after delivery
• Items returned without an approved return request (see Section 6)

If you believe an item in one of these categories arrived damaged or defective, contact us anyway — we will still help.

6. How to Start a Return

1. Email support@smartbookdeal.com or call (760) 740-9384 within 30 days of delivery.
2. Include your order number, the title(s) you're returning, the reason for the return, and clear photos if the item is damaged, defective, or not what you ordered.
3. We respond within 1 business day with your return authorization and a prepaid return label.
4. Pack the item securely — ideally in the original box or mailer — attach the label, and drop the package off with the carrier.

Return address (use only after your return is approved):

7. Damaged, Defective, or Incorrect Items

Please inspect your order as soon as it arrives.

If your book is damaged in transit, defective from the publisher, or is the wrong title or edition, contact us with photos and we will send a replacement at no cost, or issue a full refund including all original shipping charges — your choice.

Please tell us within 7 days of delivery if you can, so we can file a carrier claim while the window is still open. This is a request, not a deadline: your full 30-day return window under Section 1 still applies to damaged and incorrect items.

You will never be asked to pay return shipping or a restocking fee on an item we got wrong.

8. Refund Processing and Timing

1. We receive your return. We notify you by email on arrival.
2. We inspect it. Inspection is completed within 2 business days of arrival.
3. We approve and issue your refund. We email you the outcome either way.
4. Your refund is issued to your original payment method within 3–5 business days of approval.
5. Your bank posts it. Card issuers and banks typically take an additional 5–10 business days to post the credit to your statement. This part is outside our control.

In practice, most customers see the credit posted 2 to 3 weeks after dropping off the return. Steps 1 through 4 are on us and are usually done within a week of your package arriving; step 5 depends on your bank.

If more than 15 business days have passed since we told you your refund was approved and you still don't see it, email support@smartbookdeal.com with your order number and we will investigate with our payment processor.

Refunds are always issued to the original payment method. We cannot refund to a different card, account, or person.

9. Original Shipping Charges

• Our error (damaged, defective, wrong item): original shipping is fully refunded.
• Change of mind: the price of the item is refunded, less the 10% restocking fee. Any shipping charge you originally paid is not refunded.
• Orders that shipped free: if a free-shipping order is returned by change of mind and the return drops the order below the free-shipping threshold, we do not retroactively charge you for the outbound shipping.

10. Exchanges

The fastest way to get the item you actually want is to request a return for a refund and place a new order for the correct item. Waiting for an exchange to process adds several days.

If you received the wrong title or edition, we do not treat it as an exchange — we ship the correct item immediately and send you a prepaid label for the incorrect one. You are not asked to wait.

11. Order Cancellations

You may cancel any order free of charge within 24 hours of placing it, provided it has not already shipped. Email support@smartbookdeal.com or call (760) 740-9384 as soon as possible, and include your order number.

If your order has already been handed to the carrier, we cannot cancel it. Refuse delivery or accept it and start a return under Section 1 — in either case we will treat it as our error and waive the restocking fee.

12. Lost, Missing, and Undelivered Packages

Package not arrived and tracking has stalled

If tracking shows no movement for 7 business days for domestic orders, contact us. We will open a claim with the carrier and either reship your order or refund you in full. You are not asked to wait for the carrier claim to resolve.

Tracking shows delivered but you don't have it

This is more common than it sounds. Please first:

• Check all doors, porches, mailboxes, garages, and lobbies
• Ask household members, neighbors, and any building or front-desk staff
• Allow 48 hours — carriers occasionally scan a parcel as delivered a day before it physically arrives

If the package still hasn't appeared after 48 hours, contact us within 14 days of the delivery scan. We will reship your order or issue a full refund. We may ask you to confirm in writing that the package was not received, and to file a report with the carrier so we can pursue the claim.

Wrong or incomplete address

If a package is returned to us as undeliverable because of an address error at checkout, we will refund the item price less the actual outbound shipping cost, or reship to a corrected address once you cover the reshipment postage.

Packages held at customs or refused

International orders returned to us because duties were unpaid or delivery was refused are refunded at the item price less all shipping and customs costs we incurred.

13. Return Refused or Reduced

If we cannot approve your return, we will tell you exactly why by email. Your options are:

• Have the item shipped back to you at no cost to you
• Accept a partial refund reflecting the item's condition
• Ask us to review the decision — reply to our email and a manager will look at it again within 2 business days

We will never dispose of a returned item without your written consent.

14. Your Legal Rights

This policy sits alongside, and does not limit, your rights under applicable law.

California residents: Smartbookdeal is located in Escondido, California. Consistent with California's retail refund-disclosure requirements, this policy is posted publicly and conspicuously on our website and linked from every checkout page.

Chargebacks: if you're unhappy with an outcome, please contact us before disputing a charge with your bank. We resolve nearly every issue directly, and it's far faster than a dispute — which typically takes 60 to 90 days.

15. Contact Us

We reply to all return and refund emails within 1 business day.

16. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The policy in effect on the date you placed your order is the policy that applies to your order. The "last updated" date at the top of this page always reflects the current version.