Return Policy.

1. What this policy covers

This policy applies to physical goods bought from Rescue Goods at rescuenetworkmn.org — stickers, tees, the Shasta Stuffie, and anything else our team packs and ships from Buffalo, Minnesota. We ship within the United States.

Rescue Network is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN 84-3274038), and merchandise sales are commercial transactions, not tax-deductible donations. Because they’re purchases, they come with the consumer protections you’d expect from any shop — which is exactly what this page spells out.

Separate rules apply to apparel from our print shop, donations and membership, and adopted animals. Each has its own section below.

2. Your return window

You have 30 days from the day your order is delivered to request a return, a replacement, or an exchange. We date the window from the carrier’s delivery scan, and we’re not clock-watchers about it — if your package sat at a neighbor’s house or you were traveling, tell us and we’ll work with you.

To come back for a refund, an item needs to be unused, unworn, unwashed, and in its original condition, with any tags or backing still attached. Items that arrive damaged or defective are the exception — see the next section.

3. Damaged, defective, or wrong items

If something shows up broken, misprinted, flawed, or just isn’t what you ordered, that’s our problem to solve, not yours. Email [email protected] with your order number and a photo, and we’ll do whichever you prefer:

• Ship a replacement at no cost to you, or
• Refund you in full.

In most of these cases we won’t ask you to mail the item back — a photo is enough. If we do need it returned (rare, and usually so we can show a supplier what went wrong), we’ll email you a prepaid shipping label. You will never pay postage to correct our mistake.

4. Changed your mind

You don’t need a reason. Wrong color, wrong vibe, ordered two by accident, the design didn’t land the way it did on screen — all fine. Return any unused item within 30 days and we’ll refund the purchase price.

For change-of-mind returns, you cover the return postage. That’s the one place we ask for help: shipping to you is already free on every order, and every dollar of postage we don’t spend is a dollar that goes toward a vet bill instead.

5. Exchanges

Yes, we do exchanges. The usual case is a tee in the wrong size.

Email us within 30 days of delivery, tell us the size you actually want, and mail the original back unworn and unwashed with tags attached. Once it arrives, we ship the replacement — we cover the postage on the outbound replacement, you cover the postage sending the original back.

If the size you want has sold out by the time your return reaches us, we’ll email you and refund the purchase instead. Exchanges are limited to the same product in a different size or color; to swap for a different item altogether, return the first one and place a new order.

6. What we can’t take back

A short list, and none of it should be a surprise:

• Used, worn, or washed items — unless they were defective when they arrived
• Personalized or custom-engraved items, including engraved pet ID tags, since they can’t be resold
• Free items, such as a free pet ID tag or a thank-you gift included with a donation
• Donations and membership dues — see section 11
• Event tickets and fundraiser registrations, which follow the terms listed with each event
• Requests made more than 30 days after delivery — though it never hurts to ask

Anything you return that doesn’t meet these conditions may be sent back to you, or refunded in part. We’ll always email you before we do either.

7. How to start a return

There’s no portal, no RMA number, and no form to wrestle with. Just email us.

Please don’t send anything back before emailing us — unannounced packages are easy to lose track of at a volunteer-run shipping table, and we want your refund to actually reach you.

8. Refunds

Once your return arrives and we’ve had a look at it, we issue your refund within 5 business days. For photo-only claims on damaged or wrong items, we refund as soon as we’ve confirmed the problem — usually the same day we reply.

Refunds go back to the original payment method. How quickly the money reappears is up to your bank or card issuer, but it’s typically 5 to 10 business days after we send it. We can’t refund to a different card, or send cash or a check instead.

• Our error (damaged, defective, wrong item): full refund of everything you paid.
• Change of mind: refund of the item price. The postage you paid to mail it back isn’t reimbursed.
• Partial order returned: we refund the returned items and leave the rest of the order as-is.

If you’d rather your refund stay with the animals, say the word and we’ll convert it into a donation and send you a tax receipt instead. Entirely your call — we’ll never do this unless you ask.

9. Return shipping

Shipping to you is free on every order. Coming back, who pays depends on why:

• We pay when the item is damaged, defective, or not what you ordered. We’ll email a prepaid label if we need it back at all.
• You pay when you’ve changed your mind or are exchanging for a different size. Any carrier works; the cheapest option is fine.

Until a returned package reaches us, it’s still your shipment — so hang onto your tracking number. For anything valuable, tracked postage is worth the couple of dollars.

Our return address is PO Box 511, Buffalo, MN 55313, but please email us before shipping so we know to watch for it.

10. Apparel from our print shop

Tees, hoodies, and hats ordered from our online merchandise store are printed to order and shipped by our print partner, not from our shipping table. Those orders follow the print shop’s own terms, and because each piece is made specifically for you, they generally can’t be returned simply because you changed your mind.

Misprints, defects, and wrong-item shipments are always made right. Email [email protected] with a photo and your order details and we’ll take it up with the printer on your behalf — you shouldn’t have to chase down a vendor you never chose.

11. Donations & membership

Donations, membership dues, and sponsorships are gifts rather than purchases, so they aren’t returnable. We do refund a donation where there’s been a genuine processing error, a duplicate charge, or an unauthorized transaction — contact us right away and we’ll sort it out.

Recurring gifts can be cancelled or changed at any time by emailing [email protected]. Changes take effect from the next billing cycle. Full details live in our Terms of Use.

12. Adopted animals

An animal is never a return. But adoptions don’t always work out, and when one doesn’t, we’d far rather hear from you than have you struggle alone.

Your adoption contract asks that the animal come back to Rescue Network rather than being rehomed, sold, or surrendered to a shelter — that promise is how we keep our word to every animal we place. If you’ve reached that point, email [email protected] and our team responds within 48 hours.

Before it comes to that, though, reach out anyway. Behavior support, a trainer referral, and a little breathing room have saved a lot of placements that felt hopeless on a Tuesday night. Start at our contact page, or read the 3-3-3 rule if your new animal is still settling in.

The adoption contract, not this policy, governs the adoption relationship.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we’ll change the “Last updated” date at the top of this page. The policy in effect on the date you placed your order is the one that applies to it.

14. Contact us