Refund policy

Last updated: September 14, 2026

The short version

Every Paws Meows item is personalized and made to order from the photograph you upload and the options you approve. Because of that:

  • We do not accept returns or exchanges.
  • We do not refund for change of mind, preference, or a result you approved before paying.
  • We do replace or refund an item that arrives damaged, arrives defective, or does not match your order — reported within 30 days of delivery, with photographs. You do not send anything back.
  • Likeness Guarantee: if the printed portrait does not recognisably resemble your pet, we reprint it once, free — and refund you if the reprint misses too. Nothing to send back. See Section 2.

This is why we show you a free preview before you pay. The preview is your opportunity to decide.

1. Personalized goods are exempt from returns

Your portrait is produced individually, from your photograph, in the style and size you selected. It cannot be restocked, resold or used for another customer. Under United States law, personalized and custom-made goods are not subject to a general right of return, and we do not offer one.

We do not accept returns, exchanges or refunds in the following situations:

  • you changed your mind about the purchase;
  • you no longer like the style, color, crop or framing you selected;
  • the finished portrait does not look the way you hoped it would, where it matches the preview you approved at checkout — this is a matter of preference, and is different from the print not resembling your pet at all, which is covered by the Likeness Guarantee in Section 2;
  • you uploaded the wrong photograph, or a photograph of poor quality, and the result reflects that;
  • you entered a name, date or other personalization text incorrectly;
  • you ordered the wrong size, product or quantity;
  • printed color, brightness or texture differs from how the item appeared on your screen (see Section 5);
  • the item arrived later than you expected but within the timeframe set out in our Shipping Policy;
  • the recipient of a gift does not like it.

2. When we do replace or refund

We will replace the item free of charge, or refund you in full if a replacement is not possible, in each of the following cases:

Damaged in transit. The item arrives creased, torn, cracked, dented, bent or otherwise physically damaged, or the packaging arrives visibly damaged and the contents are affected.

Manufacturing or printing defect. Ink streaks, banding, smudging, misregistration, a misaligned or off-center print, a crooked or improperly stretched canvas frame, loose stretcher bars, a defective hanging fixture, or a material flaw in the substrate.

Wrong item. You received a different style, size, product, or another customer's order.

Our error in personalization. The name, date or text printed on the item differs from what you submitted — that is, we made the mistake, not you.

Likeness — our Likeness Guarantee. The printed portrait does not recognisably resemble the pet in the photograph you uploaded. We reprint it once, free of charge, at our cost. If the reprint still does not resemble your pet, we refund you in full. This is a goodwill remedy we grant voluntarily, not a right of return: you keep the print, you send nothing back, and it does not apply where the finished item matches the preview you approved at checkout and you simply prefer a different result. One free reprint per order.

Never delivered. The carrier confirms the parcel as lost, or tracking shows no movement for 10 consecutive business days after the parcel entered the carrier network. See Section 6 for parcels marked delivered.

3. How to make a claim

Email hey@pawsmeows.com within 30 days of the delivery date with:

  1. your order number;
  2. a short description of the problem;
  3. photographs: one showing the whole item, one close-up of the issue, and — for transit damage — one of the outer packaging as it arrived.

Photographs are required. We cannot approve a damage or defect claim without them.

Please keep the item and its packaging until your claim is closed.

You do not need to ship anything back to us. We do not ask you to return a personalized item.

4. What happens next

We review claims and respond within one business day, Monday through Saturday.

If your claim is approved, you choose:

  • a free replacement, produced from the same approved artwork and shipped at our cost; or
  • a full refund, including any shipping you paid, if you prefer not to receive a replacement or if we cannot produce one.

We issue refunds to the original payment method. Refunds are processed within one business day of approval. Depending on your bank or card issuer, the money typically appears within 5 to 10 business days, and in any event within one billing cycle.

A replacement is produced and shipped on the same timeline as a new order. See our Shipping Policy.

If a claim is declined, we tell you why in writing.

5. Color, texture and size variation are not defects

Screens emit light; prints reflect it. No screen matches a printed surface exactly, and no two screens match each other. Differences in color, brightness, contrast, saturation and surface texture between your device and the printed item are inherent to printing and are not grounds for replacement or refund.

The same applies to normal variation between individual pieces: canvas is stretched by hand, so a small variation in wrap and edge position occurs. Finished dimensions may vary by up to approximately one quarter inch from the nominal size.

We will of course replace an item where the printing is genuinely defective, as described in Section 2.

6. Parcels marked delivered

If tracking shows the parcel as delivered but you do not have it, please:

  1. check with everyone at the address, and with neighbors;
  2. look at porches, side and back doors, mailrooms, garages and parcel lockers;
  3. wait 48 hours — carriers sometimes scan a parcel as delivered before it arrives;
  4. contact the carrier with the tracking number and file a report.

If the parcel does not turn up, email us. Once a carrier has confirmed delivery to the address you supplied, the parcel is at your risk and we are not obliged to replace it. In practice we review these cases individually and will often replace a first occurrence as a gesture of goodwill. That is a decision we make case by case and not a right you can rely on.

We are not responsible for parcels delivered to an incorrect address that you entered.

7. Canceling an order

Production of a personalized item begins quickly, in most cases within 24 hours of your order.

You may cancel only if you contact us before production of your item begins. Email hey@pawsmeows.com with your order number and "CANCEL" in the subject line, as soon as possible after ordering. If your item has not entered production, we cancel it and refund you in full.

Once production has begun, an order cannot be canceled and is not refundable.

If you need to correct a shipping address, contact us immediately. We can update an address before the parcel ships; we cannot reroute it afterwards.

8. Refused or undeliverable parcels

If a parcel is refused at delivery, or is returned to us as undeliverable because the address was incomplete or incorrect, we will contact you. You may have it reshipped at your cost. Because the item is personalized and cannot be resold, a refused or undeliverable parcel is not refundable.

9. Order errors on our side

If we ship you the wrong item, we will always make it right under Section 2 at no cost to you, and you may keep or dispose of the incorrect item as you prefer — we will not ask you to return it.

10. Chargebacks

If something is wrong with your order, please contact us first. We resolve nearly every claim within one business day. Opening a chargeback before contacting us slows the resolution down for both of us and can lock the order while the dispute is open.

11. Your legal rights

Nothing in this policy limits any right you have under applicable federal or state consumer protection law that cannot be limited by agreement.

12. Contact

Paws Meows
Königsallee 2b
40221 Düsseldorf
hey@pawsmeows.com

Email answered within one business day, Monday through Saturday.