Returns, Refunds and Shipping

1. Scope and the role of Fold

This policy sets out the circumstances in which a buyer may submit a claim in respect of a work purchased through the marketplace operated by Fold Laboratories, LLC ("Fold"), the periods within which a claim must be submitted, and the manner in which claims are handled.

Works are sold by the gallery or artist who listed them, and the contract of sale is between the buyer and the seller. Fold operates the marketplace and is not a party to that contract.

This policy does not confer a right to a refund, return, exchange, or other remedy. It confers the right to submit a claim for review. Claims are assessed individually on the evidence available, and the outcome of any claim is determined by Fold in its discretion, or as between the buyer and the seller. Fold makes no representation that any particular claim will result in a refund or return.

The buyer pays Fold, which takes the payment through its payment processor, Stripe, and pays the seller their share. Every refund under this policy is issued by Fold, and the seller repays Fold what the sale paid them, as Section 14 sets out.

2. Claim periods

Claims must be submitted in writing to studioassistant@foldlaboratories.com. Fold does not operate an automated returns facility; each claim is reviewed individually.

Commencement of the inspection period. Fold operates no carrier integration and receives no confirmation of delivery. Sellers record when and how they sent a work, but not when it arrived, so Fold does not know the date on which a work is delivered. The 72-hour period under Section 5 therefore commences on the buyer's notification to Fold of receipt. Where no such notification has been given, the period has not commenced, subject in all cases to the outer limit of 60 days from the order.

Buyers are advised to photograph the packaging before opening and the work before unpacking, and to record any visible damage to the outer packaging on any delivery documentation.

Claims submitted outside the applicable period will not be considered.

3. Cancellation before dispatch

A buyer may cancel an order at any time before the seller has dispatched the work, by written notice to Fold. Where an order is cancelled under this Section, Fold will refund the price, tax, and any delivery charge.

An approval that is not completed does not constitute a cancellation. Approval places a hold of 180 seconds; where the purchase is not completed within that period the hold lapses, the object returns to the market, and no sale has occurred.

Fold or the seller may cancel an order affected by a manifest pricing or description error, or where the work is no longer available. In such cases the buyer receives a full refund and neither party has any further liability.

4. Purchases completed by an agent

Where a purchase is completed by an AI agent, Fold records the approval, signed by Fold and bound to the line items and totals presented at the time of approval, together with the identity of the agent that transmitted it.

That record establishes that an approval was made, the agent by which it was made, and the particulars presented at that time. It does not establish whether the approval was given by the buyer personally or whether the agent acted beyond the authority conferred on it.

Where a buyer states that a purchase was not authorised, and does so within 72 hours of the order confirmation, Fold will review the claim and may cancel the order and refund it. In assessing such a claim Fold will have regard to the approval record, the conduct of the agent, and any information provided by the buyer. A report does not by itself cancel the purchase: the sale stands unless Fold cancels it.

The order confirmation is the email Fold sends to the address the buyer gave at checkout. Where no email address was given, it is the confirmation the buyer's agent receives when the purchase completes.

Where an agent acted within authority conferred on it by the buyer, including authority conferred in advance by reference to parameters, the purchase stands and the buyer's recourse is limited to Sections 5 to 8.

Nothing in this Section limits a buyer's rights under the rules of their card issuer or under applicable law.

5. Condition, description, and damage on arrival

A buyer may submit a claim within the period specified in Section 2 where a work:

• differs materially from its listing in condition, dimensions, medium, edition, date, or provenance;
• is not the work purchased; or
• was damaged at the time it reached the buyer.

A claim under this Section must be accompanied by photographs and a description of the matter complained of. Where Fold determines that a claim is substantiated, the seller will be required to accept return of the work and to bear the cost of return, and Fold will refund the price, tax, and the original delivery charge.

Inherent variation in original works — including surface texture, brushwork, variation in natural materials, and differences in colour between a photographic reproduction and the work itself — does not constitute a material discrepancy for the purposes of this Section. Undisclosed defects in condition are not excluded by this paragraph.

6. Non-delivery

Where a work has not been received within the period indicated by the seller, the buyer may submit a claim. Fold will refer the matter to the seller, together with the seller's own record of sending the work where they made one, and where non-delivery is established Fold will refund the price, tax, and delivery charge.

Because Fold does not receive delivery confirmation, no fixed period runs from delivery for the purposes of this Section. A claim must be submitted within 90 days of the order.

7. Counterfeit works and failure of title

A buyer may submit a claim within 12 months of the order where a work is asserted to be counterfeit, forged, or materially misattributed, or where it is asserted that the seller did not own the work or was not entitled to sell it.

Notice must be given by the earlier of 30 days from the buyer receiving information giving rise to the question, or the expiry of the 12-month period.

A claim under this Section must be supported by credible evidence, ordinarily a written opinion from a recognised authority on the artist, the artist's estate or foundation, the compiler of the catalogue raisonné, or a comparably qualified expert; or, in the case of a title claim, documentation of the competing claim. The cost of obtaining such evidence is borne by the buyer. Fold may obtain its own opinion and may require a further opinion where opinions conflict.

Where Fold determines that a claim under this Section is substantiated, the seller is obliged under the Seller Agreement to accept return of the work and to bear reasonable return shipping, and Fold will refund the purchase price, tax, and delivery charge.

This Section applies only to the original buyer and is not transferable. The work must be capable of return in the condition in which it was delivered and free of any lien or claim arising since delivery. This Section does not apply where the listing disclosed the relevant uncertainty, including by describing a work as "attributed to", "circle of", "after", or "school of"; where the claim rests solely upon a change of scholarly opinion; or in respect of any change in condition occurring after delivery.

8. Returns at the seller's discretion

Works sold through the marketplace are generally unique, and the cost of returning them is significant. Returns sought otherwise than on a ground set out in Sections 5 to 7 are accordingly at the seller's discretion.

Where a seller agrees to accept such a return, the buyer bears the cost of return, and the work must be returned in the condition in which it was delivered and in its original packaging. The cost will be notified to the buyer before the return is arranged.

9. Shipping and transit risk

Insurance is not included. Delivery charges quoted at checkout are in respect of carriage only. Fold does not provide, arrange, or pay for transit insurance, and does not ship, pack, handle, or store works.

Common carriers apply default liability limits to artwork which are frequently substantially below its value, and such limits should not be relied upon. Where a work arrives damaged, the buyer's remedy is under Section 5, and it does not depend upon whether any carrier cover was in place.

The seller selects one of four delivery methods — white glove, freight, packed parcel, or seller packed — and sets the delivery charge. Both are disclosed to the buyer before approval. Fold relays each unchanged and takes no part of the charge.

Damage present on arrival is dealt with under Section 5 and must be reported within the period specified in Section 2.

The buyer is responsible for providing an accurate delivery address and for arranging access. Costs arising from failed delivery, redelivery, or storage are borne by the buyer.

10. Return of works

A work must not be returned before the return has been agreed. Works returned without agreement may be refused.

Return arrangements are made through Fold. Fold settles the arrangements with the seller and notifies the buyer of the address to which the work is to be returned, the method to be used, and who bears the cost. Buyers should not contact the seller directly.

A work must be returned in the condition in which it was delivered and, where possible, in its original packaging. Fold issues the refund once the seller has received and examined the work.

11. Refunds

Refunds are issued by Fold, in full, to the original payment method. Partial refunds are not offered.

Where a claim is resolved in favour of a refund, Fold will issue it within 5 business days of the resolution or, where a work is returned, of the seller's receipt and examination of it. The period thereafter required for the refund to reach the buyer is determined by the buyer's bank or card issuer and is ordinarily 5 to 10 business days.

A refund does not restore a work to the market. Once an object is sold it is permanently removed from availability, and a refunded sale does not return it to the catalogue. A seller wishing to offer the object again must create a new listing, which carries its own provenance record.

Where a payment is taken but the work had already sold to another buyer in the same moment, the payment is refunded immediately and automatically. Where a payment is taken and the sale cannot be recorded for any other reason, a person at Fold resolves it, by recording the sale or by refunding the payment.

Rarely, a card issuer refuses a refund after it has been issued, and our payment processor then accepts no second refund on that payment. Where that happens, Fold will contact the buyer and repay them by another means, unless the buyer and Fold agree that the sale should stand.

Payments and refunds are processed by Stripe on Fold's account.

12. Seller obligations and escalation

Under the Seller Agreement, sellers are required to respond to any claim referred to them by Fold within 3 business days, to accept returns in the circumstances contemplated by this policy, and to repay what a refunded sale paid them.

Where a seller fails to do so, the buyer should notify Fold. Such failure constitutes a material breach of the Seller Agreement and is grounds for suspension or removal from the marketplace. Fold will pursue the matter with the seller.

A refund due to a buyer under this policy is issued by Fold whether or not the seller has yet repaid it. A buyer's rights against the seller are unaffected by this policy, as is the buyer's right to dispute a charge with their card issuer.

13. Statutory rights

Nothing in this policy limits any right a buyer has under applicable consumer protection law, or the right to dispute a charge with a card issuer under its rules. Where any such right conflicts with this policy, that right prevails.

Where a buyer disputes a charge with their card issuer, Fold answers the dispute, with its own records of the sale and the seller's record of sending the work. A dispute with a card issuer is not a claim under this policy and does not extend the periods in Section 2.

14. Provisions applicable to sellers

Fold issues every refund and answers every payment dispute. When a sale is refunded, or a dispute over it is lost, Fold reverses the transfer of that sale to the seller and returns its own fee, so that the seller gives back what the sale paid them.

Where a refund is issued, Fold's fee is refunded with it, sales tax included. The seller does not bear Fold's commission in respect of a refunded sale.

Stripe's processing fees are not returned on a refund, and Fold bears them. A refund or a lost dispute can leave the seller's Stripe balance negative; the Seller Agreement sets out how that is recovered.

The seller's obligations in respect of claims, returns, refunds, dispatch records, payment disputes, and response times are set out in the Seller Agreement.

15. Contact

studioassistant@foldlaboratories.com Fold Laboratories, LLC · Denver, Colorado, United States