Refund and Returns Policy
Last updated: September 18, 2026
30 days from delivery, any title on the site, $0 restocking, and a prepaid label whenever the fault is ours. Everything below is that sentence unpacked: 7 things that can go wrong with a book order, and for each 1 the same 3 lines, what you do, what we do, and what happens to your money.
You have 30 days from delivery, and every title can come back
The clock. 30 days, counted from the USPS delivery scan. No shelf is excluded.
You: keep the book as it arrived, spine unbroken, pages clean, no writing, no highlighting, dust jacket present if the book came with a jacket. Spiral-bound and workbook titles follow the same rule, so an unfilled workbook comes back and a filled workbook does not.
We: check the copy when the dock scans it in, and if it comes back looking read on the couch for 3 weeks we say so by email, with a photo, before deciding anything.
Your money: the book price, on the clock in the last section. Read the first chapter at the kitchen table if you like. Then decide.
You start with 1 email, and you get a return number, the address and a swap if you want one
The route. Every return starts with 1 message, by email or through the message form, and the returns address travels back with the return number, never on this page, because it is the distribution partner's dock and not the Decatur office.
You: email [email protected], or send the form, with the order number and why it is coming back; then pack the book, write the return number on the slip, and post it to the dock.
We: send the return number and the dock address within 1 business day, and ship a swap the moment the returned book is scanned in, with any price difference refunded or charged.
Your money: decided by the reason, which is the only reason we ask for it; the next section says who pays the postage. A parcel posted without a return number, or posted to 1015 Sneed Rd, has no order it can be tied to, and the Decatur office has no way to receive stock.
You pay the return postage when you changed your mind; we pay when the fault is ours
The dividing line. When the book is exactly what you ordered and it arrived in good shape, the return trip is on you; when it is not, it is on us. Label included.
You: changed your mind, ordered twice or bought the wrong format. You post the book at your cost.
We: send a prepaid USPS label by email for a printing fault, transit damage, a wrong title, a copy that is not what the listing said, or a parcel lost by USPS; the lost parcel needs nothing posted at all.
Your money: the book price comes back in every case; the $4.99 you paid to receive it comes back only when the fault was ours, and stays paid when you changed your mind.
You report transit damage or a printing fault within 7 days, with 2 photos
The deadline. 7 days from the delivery scan.
You: send 1 photo of the fault or damage and 1 photo of the mailer it came in, and keep the packaging until we have replied, because USPS claims need it. Post the book back only if we ask; a crushed corner or a missing signature usually needs no return.
We: send a fresh copy, or refund the price and the shipping, within 5 to 7 business days of the photos. Printing faults are the publisher's, missing pages and upside-down signatures included, and we take them back all the same.
Your money: the full price plus the $4.99, or a replacement at no charge. You pick. Keep the box.
You received a book that is not the one on your packing slip
The wrong title. Tell us within 7 days of delivery, with a photo of the cover and the slip.
You: choose between the right title shipped at no charge and a full refund with shipping, and keep the wrong book until the prepaid label arrives.
We: ship the right book before the wrong one reaches the dock, and email the prepaid label for the wrong one. A pick error at the partner is rare. It is entirely ours to fix.
Your money: nothing to pay. Nothing to wait for. You never pay to send a wrong book back.
You received the right title, and it is not what the listing said
The right title, the wrong copy. A different edition, format or page count from what the product page shows, or a described feature that is missing. Not covered: a cover design the publisher changed between printings, or a recipe or pattern you did not like.
You: tell us within 7 days of delivery, with a photo of the page that lists the ISBN.
We: correct the listing. Same week. Then we offer you 2 ways out. Publishers reissue covers without notice, so the listing shows the ISBN and the format, and those 2 are what we stand behind.
Your money: keep the book with a partial refund we agree on, or send it back on a prepaid label for a full refund with shipping.
You see "delivered" with nothing at the door, or the parcel comes back to us
4 things can happen to a parcel after it leaves. Only 1 is on you: the mistyped address.
You: when the scan says delivered and no parcel came, ask the neighbors and look in the mail room, because USPS marks parcels delivered at the building, not the apartment, then write within 48 hours. Tracking that has not moved: write after 5 business days of silence.
We: open a USPS trace or inquiry, which takes about 5 business days, and on a confirmed loss send a fresh copy or return every cent, your choice.
Your money: a parcel refused at the door gets the book price back once the partner scans it in, but not the $4.99; a parcel returned as undeliverable because the checkout address was wrong is treated the same as refused, and a corrected reshipment costs $4.99 again; an undeliverable parcel with a correct address is reshipped at no charge or refunded in full. Even the mistyped address only costs a second $4.99.
You get the money back in 3 to 5 business days, with $0 restocking
The refund clock. 3 to 5 business days after the partner scans the return in, or after we confirm a case that needs no return; then your bank adds 3 to 10 business days to show it, and that part is theirs, not ours.
You: cancel within 12 hours of the confirmation email for every cent back; past that point the partner has it, and it travels under the 30-day rule. If 10 business days pass after our refund email with nothing on your statement, forward it to the desk below.
We: send the money back to the same card or PayPal account you used, email you the day it moves, and chase Stripe or PayPal if it stalls. We do not hold refunds for a second inspection, and we do not issue store credit unless you ask for it.
Your money: restocking fee $0. Every return. No exceptions.
The bookseller
Ainekay is the trading name of KENNETH COLBAUGH LLC, a limited liability company formed in Tennessee.
Employer ID: 99-4178666
Registered office: 1015 Sneed Rd, Decatur, TN 37322, United States
Email address: [email protected]
Telephone: +1 (615) 809-1356
Message form: ainekay.com/pages/contact
Open: Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM Central Time
You hear back: within 1 business day, from a person