At Living Culture, we want your shopping experience to be straightforward and stress-free. If you need to return a product—whether because it is faulty, damaged on arrival, incorrect, or eligible for a change-of-mind return—we've made the process simple and trackable through our online returns portal.

Nothing in this policy limits your rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 or other applicable New Zealand consumer law.

How to Start a Return

1. Submit a Return Request

Log in to your Living Culture account (or create an account if you don't already have one) and complete a return request through our online returns portal: livingculture.dearreturns.com

Please provide the information requested, including photos where applicable, to help us assess and process your return as quickly as possible.

2. Return Authorisation

Once we've reviewed your request, we'll confirm the next steps. If a return is required, you can download and print the RMA form from the portal.

Please place the RMA form inside the package with the returned item.

3. Returning the Product

If return shipping is your responsibility, you can send the package using your preferred courier. We recommend using a tracked service. The return process will only start once we have the item in our possession.

If Living Culture is responsible for return shipping, we'll provide a prepaid return label or arrange collection where appropriate. Please follow the return instructions we provide.

If you encounter any issues with the returns portal or setting up your account, our support team is available to help at support@livingculture.co.nz.

Faulty or Misdescribed Items

If something isn't right with your purchase, please let us know so we can assess the issue and provide an appropriate solution.

If an item is faulty, defective, or not as described, we'll provide a remedy in accordance with our obligations under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 where it applies.

Depending on the nature and seriousness of the issue, this may include a repair, replacement, refund, or another appropriate remedy.

Please contact us as soon as reasonably possible after discovering an issue and provide:

• Your order details
• A brief description of the problem
• Clear photos or video of the issue where possible

Where an issue is apparent when the product is delivered, we ask that you notify us within 7 days where possible. This requested timeframe helps us investigate and resolve issues promptly but does not limit any rights you may have under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993.

Where Living Culture is responsible for return shipping under applicable consumer law, we'll provide a prepaid return label, arrange collection, or reimburse reasonable return costs as appropriate.

Incorrect Items Sent

If we've sent you the wrong product, we're sorry for the inconvenience.

Please notify us as soon as possible, preferably within 7 days of delivery, and provide a photo of the item received.

Please keep the item in its original condition and retain the original packaging where reasonably possible.

We'll arrange return of the incorrect item at no cost to you and organise the correct product as soon as reasonably possible.

Change of Mind

We understand that sometimes purchases don't work out as expected. A change of mind includes deciding to cancel or return an order for personal reasons—for example, ordering the wrong item, changing your preference, or no longer needing the product.

Our change-of-mind policy is a voluntary benefit offered by Living Culture and is separate from your rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993.

Custom, Pre-Order & Special-Order Products

Change-of-mind cancellations or returns are not available for:

• Custom-made, custom-sized, custom-coloured, modified, or otherwise personalised products
• Pre-order or special-order products that Living Culture has ordered specifically for you

Once Living Culture has placed the order with our supplier or production has commenced, these products cannot be cancelled or returned for change of mind.

Any specific deposit, cancellation, or payment terms agreed as part of a custom, pre-order, or special order will also continue to apply.

If Your Eligible Order Hasn't Entered Fulfilment

Contact us as soon as possible.

If your order is eligible for change-of-mind cancellation and has not yet been picked, packed, or booked for dispatch, we'll cancel it and issue store credit for the product purchase price.

No restocking fee will apply at this stage.

If Your Eligible Order Has Been Picked, Packed, Booked for Dispatch or Dispatched

Once an order has been picked, packed, booked for dispatch, or dispatched (including where a tracking number has been issued), Living Culture has incurred costs in preparing and processing the order.

Eligible products may still be cancelled or returned for change of mind within 7 working days of delivery, subject to the following:

• A 10% restocking fee will be deducted from the product purchase price
• Original delivery and shipping charges are non-refundable and will not be included in the store credit
• If freight has already been booked, any freight or courier charges that cannot reasonably be cancelled or recovered are non-refundable
• If the product has been dispatched, return shipping is at the customer’s expense
• The product must be in "as new" and resalable condition
• All original packaging, accessories, swing tags, labels, manuals, and other included items must be returned with the product

If an order is cancelled after it has been prepared for dispatch but before it leaves our premises, we'll stop the shipment where reasonably possible. The 10% restocking fee and any unrecoverable freight costs will still apply.

If the product has already been dispatched, it must be returned to Living Culture before the change-of-mind return can be completed and store credit issued.

Please do not write on, attach labels directly to, or otherwise damage the product's original packaging. Products must be appropriately packaged for return transit to protect both the item and its original packaging.

Living Culture may decline a change-of-mind return where the product or its packaging is damaged, incomplete, used, assembled, installed, altered, or otherwise not in resalable condition.

Store Credit

Approved change-of-mind returns are provided as Living Culture store credit.

Where the 10% restocking fee applies, store credit will be calculated from the product purchase price, less the 10% restocking fee and any other non-refundable charges outlined above.

Original delivery and shipping charges are not included when calculating the product purchase price for store credit.

Consumer Guarantees Act

The change-of-mind conditions in this section—including the 10% restocking fee, store-credit-only remedy, return timeframe, product condition requirements, and exclusion of shipping costs—apply only where you are returning or cancelling an order because you have changed your mind.

They do not apply where a product is faulty, damaged, misdescribed, incorrectly supplied, or where you are otherwise entitled to a remedy under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 or other applicable New Zealand law.

Nothing in this Change of Mind policy limits or excludes any rights or remedies you may have under applicable consumer law.

Damaged on Arrival

If your order arrives damaged, please contact us as soon as possible.

To help us investigate freight damage and resolve the issue promptly, we ask that you notify us within 5 days of delivery where possible.

Please provide:

• Photos clearly showing the damage to the product
• Photos of the packaging, including any visible damage to the box or wrapping
• Your order details

Please retain the original packaging while we assess the issue, as it may be required for the courier investigation.

Where appropriate, we'll arrange collection of the damaged product and provide a repair, replacement, refund, or other remedy in accordance with your rights under applicable consumer law.

The requested 5-day notification period helps us investigate courier damage promptly but does not limit your rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993.

Missing Items

If something appears to be missing from your order, please contact us within 5 working days of delivery where possible.

We'll check our packing and dispatch records and, if an item was omitted from your order, arrange for it to be supplied.

Some orders may arrive in multiple boxes, which may be marked "Part 1 of 2", "Part 2 of 2", etc. Products may also be dispatched separately, particularly where an item is on backorder.

Please check your order, packaging, and tracking information carefully before reporting an item as missing.

Delayed or Undelivered Orders

If your order hasn't arrived when expected, first check the tracking information provided in your dispatch email.

If there has been no tracking update or your parcel is more than 7 working days overdue, please contact us so we can investigate.

If tracking shows your order as "delivered" but you cannot locate it, please contact us promptly. We'll investigate the delivery with the courier, which may take up to 2 working days.

Responsibility for any lost, damaged, or incorrectly delivered parcel will be assessed based on the circumstances of the delivery and your rights under applicable New Zealand law.

Where available, you may choose a "signature required" delivery option for additional delivery security.

Warranty Support

Some Living Culture products are supplied with an additional manufacturer's or Living Culture warranty. The applicable warranty period and any product-specific warranty conditions will be shown on the product listing or accompanying warranty documentation.

If your product develops a fault, please submit a return or warranty request through our online portal and provide details of the issue, including photos or video where possible.

Depending on the nature of the issue, we may ask you to return the product or make it available for inspection.

Returned products may be inspected and tested to determine the nature and cause of the fault. Where possible, please allow approximately 3–4 working days after we receive the product for initial testing or assessment. More complex repairs or assessments may take longer, and we'll keep you informed where this occurs.

Where a fault is covered by an applicable warranty or the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993, we'll provide the appropriate remedy and cover or reimburse return and delivery costs where required.

Warranty Exclusions

Additional manufacturer or Living Culture warranty coverage may not apply where damage or failure has been caused by:

• Misuse, abuse, neglect, or accidental damage
• Failure to follow installation, operating, care, or maintenance instructions
• Unauthorised alterations, modifications, or repairs
• Normal wear and tear where this is excluded by the applicable warranty
•  Other exclusions specifically stated in the product's warranty terms

These warranty exclusions do not limit any rights or remedies that cannot lawfully be excluded under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993.

If a product returned as faulty is assessed and no fault is found, we may ask you to cover reasonable return or redelivery costs where permitted by law. We'll advise you before any such cost is charged.

Price Protection

If an eligible product you purchase is advertised by Living Culture at a lower price within:

• 7 days of your order date; or
• 7 days from the date the goods become available to you

we'll provide the difference as Living Culture store credit.

Price Protection does not apply to:

• Clearance products
• Bundle offers
• Gift card promotions
• Trade purchases

Eligibility is based on the applicable Price Protection period and is not extended or altered by when you choose to pay for or collect your order.

Payments & Refunds

Once a refund has been approved, please allow approximately 5–7 working days for Living Culture to process it. Your bank or payment provider may take additional time for the funds to become available after we have processed the refund.

The method used to process your refund will depend on how the original purchase was made:

• Online card payments: Where possible, refunds will be processed back to the card or payment method used for the original online transaction.
• In-store EFTPOS or card payments: Our in-store payment terminals do not permit refunds to be processed through the terminal. Approved refunds will instead be paid by bank transfer to your nominated New Zealand bank account.
• Bank transfer payments: Refunds will generally be made by bank transfer.
• Other payment methods: Where another payment method was used, we'll advise you of the appropriate refund process.

For security and fraud-prevention purposes, Living Culture may request reasonable information to verify the purchaser's identity, payment details, and/or nominated bank account before processing a refund.

Where a refund is required under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993, it will be provided as a monetary refund and will not be substituted with store credit unless you agree otherwise.

This section does not apply to voluntary change-of-mind returns, which are provided as Living Culture store credit in accordance with our Change of Mind policy above.

Consumer Rights

This policy is intended to operate alongside, and does not limit, your rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993, the Fair Trading Act 1986, or other applicable New Zealand law.

Where the Consumer Guarantees Act applies, your statutory rights apply regardless of any voluntary return period, warranty period, reporting timeframe, or other condition stated in this policy.

The Consumer Guarantees Act does not apply to goods acquired for resale or for use in a manufacturing process.

Business Purchases

Where goods or services are purchased from Living Culture in trade for business purposes, Living Culture contracts out of the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 to the extent permitted by law, where this is agreed in writing and it is fair and reasonable for the parties to be bound by that exclusion.

Where the Consumer Guarantees Act has been validly contracted out of, the purchaser's rights in relation to faults, repairs, replacements, refunds, and other remedies will be governed by the applicable Living Culture warranty, the terms of sale, and any other rights available under New Zealand law.

If there is any inconsistency between this policy and a right or remedy that cannot legally be excluded, the applicable law will prevail.