Policies

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POLICIES

All art and all images on this website (and in my shop, and on my social media pages) are copyright of Fruit-Bat-Phoenix unless otherwise noted. You are absolutely welcome to share these images with a description naming Fruit-Bat-Phoenix as the artist/creator of the work! However, distributing my images without crediting me, selling my images, using my images to sell anything, and/or copying my work is intellectual property theft and/or plagiarism and/or simply unkind - not cool.

Using my art / images for AI image generation of any kind is, was, and always will be NOT OK, full stop. If you find any of my work in an AI database, it was put there without my consent.

By purchasing my work, you gain ownership of the physical item itself. Copyright remains with me, Calyn McLeod, aka Fruit-Bat-Phoenix. The design is my intellectual property.

Any exceptions to the above rule will be explicitly noted in writing. (For instance, if I create a commissioned work based on a detailed character design that a customer has created and provided to me, it will be made clear that the design remains their intellectual property, both in communications with that customer and in descriptions on my website. Fanart will be treated similarly.)

Fruit-Bat-Phoenix is run by a single human being. I will do my best to reply to communications in a timely manner, but sometimes it may take several days.

I am an artist, not a big corporation. I do not do sales or free shipping, and I will NEVER pay for web ads/social media ads.

I reserve the right to refuse a sale to anyone for any reason. In practice, this just means if I have observed you stealing my or other artists' IP, or being extremely disrespectful to me or others, I will not sell to you.

Payments for commissions and items on payment plans may be done via a listing in my shop or a paypal invoice.

I will package items in re-used shipping materials whenever possible. It’s the least I can do for the planet.

I will use insurance and tracking whenever possible. I will otherwise use the cheapest shipping option available. Most US packages will arrive within a few days regardless of the method chosen. International shipments vary widely in how long it takes. If you would like expedited shipping and/or signature confirmation, contact me beforehand with your request.

International shipping costs for any item under $400 are very reasonable (typically less than $25 USD); however, the rules are different for higher value items. (I do not make the rules, unfortunately. The world would be a better place if I were queen.) Please be prepared for shipping costs between ~ $30-$60+ USD for international parcels.

I am not responsible for customs fees, delays, etc, that occur after I have shipped the doll, and I will not falsify value nor mark international packages as gifts. Nor am I responsible for packages lost due to you providing me with incorrect address information, or theft off of your doorstep. If a package seems to be lost, contact me and I will do my very best to sort it out with the postal insurance - when they refund me I will refund you!

(For non-commission items - see Commissions for details on paying for custom items).

To reserve an item, please email me at calyn@fruitbatphoenix.com. We will discuss the details of the payment plan, and I will put the item on hold for you. The first payment must be made within 2 days of reserving.

Payment plans can be made with up to 4 payments and may span up to 4 months. The first payment must be at least 25% of the total cost (excluding shipping) and that 25% is non-refundable.

All payments don’t have to be the same amount - you could give me, say 50% and then 20% and then 30%. I just want no more than 4 payments per item.

I understand that things happen and you may wish to adjust the payment schedule. Usually I can oblige - just communicate with me about the issue and we should be able to work something out. These policies are here so I can point to them should something go really wrong; in reality I am quite chill.

If for whatever reason you decide to cancel before the payment plan is complete, and you communicate to me that this is the case, I will refund 50% of the payments that you have made beyond the down payment. If you ghost me for more than 1 month, I will assume that you have abandoned the payment plan, and you forfeit the refund, even if you contact me again after that month has passed. (By “ghost” I mean that you are not responding to emails, not paying me, and/or generally being unresponsive).

If for whatever reason you find the purchased item unsatisfactory, and wish to make a return, you must email me within 10 days of receiving the item to describe the issue before mailing the item back to me. Send your return request to calyn@fruitbatphoenix.com.

Returns will be refunded as follows, minus original shipping cost, and any third party fees that the third party does not refund to me*. Refunds will be issued upon my receipt of the item in its original condition. No refund will be given if the item is damaged, dirty, smells funky, or is missing any part. You are responsible for shipping the return item back to me.

Returns for premade items purchased via a payment plan will be treated as a payment plan cancellation: I will refund 50% of the price beyond the nonrefundable 25% down payment. (See the Payment Plan/Layaway section above)

Returns for commissioned / made to order items will be accepted at my discretion. Typically they will follow the commission cancellation policy: I will refund 25% of the price beyond the 25% non-refundable down payment. (See the Commissions page) However, if the design is a specific personal character or otherwise not easily resold, a refund will not be given.

*For example, if Paypal or another payment processing entity charges me a flat and/or percentage fee on the transaction, and does not return the fee to me upon the return processing, I will not return that fee amount to you.

The only information I have about customers is what they provide me in our communications. This website will not track you. I will not sell your data. However, I can't speak for third party platforms on which we may interact, like Instagram or Facebook. Use those at your own risk :)

In the description text for commissions in my gallery pages, I sometimes like to include a bit about the particulars of that commission - something like "my customer said they liked the color green, so I made them a green dragon." I will not identify a customer by name without them stating clearly, in writing, that that is ok with them. I will use they/them pronouns if I am not sure what the customer’s pronouns are. If you are commissioning something from me and have any requests or questions about this, please let me know.

In the Reviews page on this website, I will only post reviews with the permission of the customer, and identify them by whatever name or initials they want. (If you provide me a review, I will ask you how you want to be identified.)