Shipping & Returns
Dispatch and delivery
Processing time
Most orders are made to order and are usually dispatched within 1–3 working days. At especially busy times, including the Christmas period, dispatch may take 3–5 working days. The current dispatch estimate is shown on product and basket pages before you pay.
Personalised star maps have an additional proofing step. Their dispatch window begins after you approve the digital proof.
UK website orders
- Standard delivery charge: Free
- Carrier: Usually Royal Mail 48 for UK-printed cards; tracked Evri 48 for square and A5 packs of 10 and wall art. A5 single cards ship from Guernsey by post
- Coverage: All UK addresses, including Highlands and Islands
Website checkout currently accepts UK delivery addresses only. Product pages, your basket and checkout show estimated arrival windows where production and delivery timings are known for the selected option. These include printing time as well as delivery time. They are calculated when you view the page, using working days and excluding weekends and UK bank holidays. Orders placed after midday may need an additional working day.
Allow around 2–5 working days after dispatch for UK-printed cards and packs, usually sent by Royal Mail 48. Orders consisting only of square/A5 packs of 10 usually travel by tracked Evri 48, with an allowance of 2–3 working days after dispatch. Ten-packs combined with other cards use the service shown for the whole basket. “48” describes the delivery service, not a promise of arrival within 48 hours of ordering. A basket of ten individual cards is different from a pack of ten of one design.
A5 single cards are printed in Guernsey and sent by post. Allow 3–5 working days after dispatch for these cards, clothing, wall-art prints and personalised star maps. Wall art usually travels by tracked Evri 48. The dispatch email confirms the actual carrier and service used.
Mixed orders may arrive in separate deliveries. Remote addresses, busy periods and carrier disruption can take longer. Unless a delivery date is explicitly guaranteed, estimates are not guaranteed arrival dates. Personalised star maps begin production after proof approval; the preparation period is in addition to the postal transit estimate.
When tracking is available, it will be included in your dispatch email. Some Royal Mail services only update after delivery.
Express delivery and the £50 upgrade
Eligible card-only baskets receive a free Express delivery upgrade at £50 or more after mix-and-match pricing and discount codes. Standard UK delivery remains free below £50. For eligible baskets below the threshold, you can choose a paid Express upgrade; the basket shows the exact additional price before you pay.
Express means faster tracked delivery after printing, rather than next-day arrival from ordering or a promise of faster production. Allow the displayed printing period plus around 1–2 working days after dispatch. The arrival range shown for each option includes both stages and excludes weekends and UK bank holidays. Public holidays in any UK nation are excluded from these pre-address estimates, so some deliveries may arrive earlier.
Express is available for supported UK-printed square and 5×7 cards, and for orders consisting only of square/A5 ten-packs. An A5 ten-pack combined with other card types uses our Guernsey postal route and does not qualify for Express. Other Guernsey A5 postal cards, wall art and unknown-service items also do not qualify. A basket containing an unsupported item uses standard delivery; its value does not unlock Express for the whole basket. Your basket shows current eligibility and recalculates the option when items or discounts change.
The selected option, extra charge (if any), and estimated arrival are repeated at checkout and in your order confirmation. An estimate is not a guaranteed arrival date. Mixed supported card orders can arrive in separate shipments.
International Etsy orders
International ordering is currently available through our Etsy shop at these delivery rates:
- United States: £2.95. Products are printed in the US and delivered by USPS, avoiding international air freight and import duty on those orders.
- Australia: £3.95. The fulfilment partner and carrier are confirmed in the dispatch email.
- Netherlands and other EU destinations: £12.00. Orders are normally delivered by DHL or Deutsche Post.
Etsy displays the applicable delivery charge and any marketplace-collected taxes before payment. Customers are responsible for any local tax or import charge not collected at checkout.
Delays and incorrect addresses
Public holidays, severe weather, industrial action and carrier disruption can extend delivery times. If an order is delayed, email [email protected] and we will investigate.
Please check the delivery address before paying. Contact us immediately if it is wrong; once an order has entered production or been dispatched, we may not be able to change it.
Returns and cancellations
Change-of-mind returns
For eligible non-personalised goods, contact us within 30 days of delivery. The item must be unused, in its original condition and, where possible, in its original packaging. After telling us you wish to return an item, please send it back within 14 days.
Personalised or custom-made goods cannot be returned because you have changed your mind. This does not affect your rights if an item is faulty, damaged, not as described or produced incorrectly.
Faulty, damaged or incorrect items
Submit the return request form promptly with your order number and a description of the problem. We will ask you to reply to the acknowledgement email with photographs and arrange an appropriate replacement, refund or return at no additional cost where the item is faulty, damaged or not as described.
Return postage and refunds
For a change-of-mind return, you are responsible for return postage. Please obtain proof of postage; for higher-value goods, consider a tracked service. If an item is faulty, damaged or incorrect, we will cover reasonable return costs or provide another return method.
Refunds due are made to the original payment method. Where required by your statutory cancellation rights, the refund includes the original standard delivery charge. We process refunds within 14 days of receiving the returned goods or evidence that they have been sent back, as applicable.
Cancelling before dispatch
Contact us as soon as possible if you need to cancel or amend an order. Because products enter production quickly, we cannot guarantee changes once production has begun. Statutory rights are not affected.
How to start a return
Use the return request form before posting anything. Submitting the form records the date you notified us and, after your paid order and ordering email address are matched, creates a return reference.
For a change-of-mind return, the designated return address is sent privately to the email address attached to the order. For a damaged, faulty or incorrect item, please do not post it immediately: we will first ask for photographs and arrange the appropriate replacement, refund or return instructions.
The return reference is used only to identify and route your request. It does not make your statutory cancellation or consumer rights dependent on our permission.
Business contact
The Purple Cauldron
London
W1A 6US
United Kingdom
Email: [email protected]
Business correspondence address — letters only. It cannot receive customer returns. Use the return request form to receive the designated return address privately.
This policy is in addition to, and does not limit, your statutory consumer rights.