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Terms, Conditions and Store Policy

Shipping

Products will be shipped from Canada. We offer worldwide shipping, but there are delays for:

Ukraine

Israel

 

We are unfortunately unable to ship to:

Gaza

Syria

Sudan/South Sudan

Crimea

Sevastopol regions of Ukraine


Shipping costs are calculated at checkout based on your location and chosen shipping method.

Please ensure your shipping address is correct at checkout. We are not responsible for orders shipped to incorrect addresses provided by the buyer. If a package is returned due to an incorrect address, additional shipping fees may apply to reship the order.

 

Legal Compliance

By purchasing from us you agree to comply with all applicable local, national, and international laws regarding the purchase, shipment, and use of our products. We are not responsible for any legal issues that arise from the importation of our products into your country.

 

Export Restrictions

  • Certain items may be restricted or prohibited from entering specific countries due to local regulations. It is the buyer’s responsibility to ensure that any purchased items comply with their country's import laws.
  • If an order is seized, delayed, or returned due to customs regulations, we are not responsible for any refunds or replacement shipments.

 

Customs & Duties

  • International buyers are responsible for any customs duties, import taxes, or fees imposed by their country's customs authorities. These charges are not included in our prices or shipping costs.
  • Customs processing may cause delays beyond our estimated delivery times.

 

Returns & Exchanges

  • All sales are final. Due to the nature of our products being preorder only, we do not accept returns or exchanges.
  • If you receive a damaged or incorrect item, please contact us within 7 days of receiving your order. Include your order number and clear photos of the issue.

 

Refunds

  • Refunds are only issued for damaged or defective orders.
  • We will be able process change of mind refunds only during the order period, 01/03/25 - 05/04/25.
  • Approved refunds will be processed back to the original payment method within 5–10 business days after confirmation.

 

Lost or Delayed Packages

  • Once your order is shipped, we are not responsible for lost or delayed packages caused by the postal service.
  • If your order has not arrived within 4 - 6 weeks, please reach out, and we will assist in locating your package.

 

Transaction currency

All payments are processed in USD. If you are purchasing from outside the US your payment provider may apply conversion rates and/or additional fees. We are not responsible for any exchange rate differences or fees charged by your bank or payment processor.

 

Privacy policy

We are committed to protecting your privacy and information, and below you will find an explanation for how we collect, use and store your information. By purchasing through the site, you agree to the below terms.

 

Information We Collect

When you visit or make a purchase through our Site, we may collect the following information:

  • Personal Information: When you place an order, we collect details such as your name, email address, shipping address, and payment information.
  • Communication Data: If you contact us via email or other methods, we may collect and store your messages.
  • Automatically Collected Data: Big Cartel may collect device and browsing information (such as IP addresses and cookies) to improve site functionality and user experience.

 

How We Use Your Information

We use the information collected for the following purposes:

  • To process and fulfill your orders, including payment processing, shipping, and customer support.
  • To communicate with you about your order or updates.
  • To comply with legal requirements and prevent fraud or security issues.

 

Sharing Your Information

We respect your privacy and do not sell or trade your personal data. However, we may share information in the following cases:

  • Third-Party Services: We use Big Cartel to host our store and Stripe/PayPal for payment processing. These providers handle your information securely.
  • Legal Compliance: If required by law or to protect our rights, we may disclose certain information.

 

We will only retain data for as long as necessary to complete your order and comply with legal obligations. If you need to change or update any of your information please contact us. We will be sending out a change of address form before shipment commences.

 

Security

  • All transactions on our Big Cartel store are processed through trusted third-party payment providers, PayPal or Stripe, which use industry-standard encryption to protect your data.
  • We do not store or have access to your credit card or payment details. All sensitive payment information is handled directly by the payment processor.

 

Fraud Prevention

  • If any suspicious activity is detected, we reserve the right to cancel or hold orders for further verification.
  • If you believe your payment information has been used fraudulently, please contact your payment provider immediately.

 

Customer Service Contact

Should you need any assistance with your order please contact us at [email protected] with your order number.



EU GPSR Exception


BKDK:Future is not subject to the GPSR and its regulations because it is a “work of art” under the relevant exception within the GPSR and because its products do not present a danger of the type the GPSR is attempting to regulate. 

The BKDK:Future team (hereafter “BKDK:Future”) is aware of the new legislation in the European Union (hereafter “EU”) called the General Product Safety Regulation (hereafter “GPSR”). The relevant legislation aims to limit the import of potentially dangerous, toxic, illegal, or otherwise suspect products. The legislation’s overarching purpose is to protect consumers within the EU, better effectuate existing regulations, and enable swift recalls for potentially dangerous products.

The legislation recognizes, however, that certain items do not fall under its purview. Specifically, the language of the GPSR recognizes an exception for “works of art”, which fall under the broader category of “antiques.”

  1. BKDK:Future is not subject to the rules and regulations within the GPSR because the project falls under the “works of art” exception, and as such, the zine and its merchandise do not constitute “consumer products.”

The GPSR describes an “antique” as a product “such as a collector’s item or work of art.” The GPSR specifies that the art must typically be created “solely for artistic purposes” and states that exempt artwork may include “unique pictures, collages… paintings and drawings…” or “unique prints and lithographs, being impressions produced in limited numbers… executed entirely by hand by the artist.” Later, it was clarified that this definition is “usually created by hand.” 

The GPSR also states that if an item is a “collector’s item” then it must typically include “items of sufficient rarity and historical or scientific interest to justify their collection or preservation.” Examples of such items may include “collections and collectors’ pieces of… historical [or scientific] interest….”

  1. BKDK:Future was created solely for artistic purposes.

BKDK:Future consists of over X artworks, X stories, and several pieces of related “merch” or merchandise. BKDK:Future’ intentions at the time of creation were to share and express excitement for our theme by creating interrelated artwork and stories. Additionally, BKDK:Future aimed to create an online creative and collaborative space for their artists and authors. The end-goal for the project is to produce a bound art and story book for people to enjoy. 

  1. BKDK:Future being a “for-profit” zine does not exclude it from being created “solely for artistic purposes” because the purpose of the zine is to be appreciated artistically. 

BKDK:Future’s primary goal in relation to sales is to “break-even,” in other words the only goal BKDK:Future sets out to meet is make enough sales to ensure that the zine is able grant every participant with “bundles” (collections of artistic works created by the zine), which includes the zine and related merchandise. In the event that BKDK:Future is successful beyond the “break-even” point, however, then BKDK:Future will make money. This money is distributed to participants as a thanks, not as a guaranteed or contractual form of payment, and can be waived by any participant at any time. The fact that the products may make money does not limit the fact that the primary goal of the entire project was to create for “solely artistic purposes” however, because the final product is meant to be enjoyed artistically. 

The zine will consist of artwork, of which the sole purpose is to admire from an artistic standpoint. The zine will also consist of written stories which BKDK:Future intends to be read and enjoyed for their artistic value. Finally, the zine will include “merch.” While several pieces of the merch may be used as multi-functional items by those that own them, the primary intention of each item is for display, admiration, and enjoyment from an artistic standpoint. Any use past this intention is not within the scope of BKDK:Future and is solely at the end user’s discretion.

BKDK:Future was created “solely for artistic purposes” because it was created for the singular purposes of admiration, display, and artistic enjoyment. 

  1. BKDK:Future is not a “consumer product” because it is a made-to-order zine, is not “mass produced” and will feature a limited run.

Although not specific, the GPSR appears to be primarily interested in regulating “mass produced” items of which the origin may be difficult to identify. The GPSR appears to indicate that serial numbers, bar codes, or batch codes may signify when an item is “mass produced” and as such is subject to its laws and regulations. The GPSR is silent in regards to items which are made to order or which feature a limited run.

BKDK:Future will host a limited run from early March 2025 to mid April 2025. Although it is impossible to say at the time of this writing how many orders the zine will achieve, it is very safe to estimate that it will receive less than 1,000. Additionally, BKDK:Future will not feature a barcode, serial numbers, or batch codes. Every zine produced will correlate to a zine purchased, with the exception of zines produced as gifts, and extra zines produced to account for natural defects (known colloquially as “B-Grades”) in the batch, which may, but are not guaranteed to, be sold in an even smaller limited run later.

BKDK:Future is not a “consumer product” as defined under the GPSR because it is not mass produced. It is not mass produced because it features a limited run, is made to order, and it will not feature barcodes, serial numbers, or batch codes.

  1. BKDK:Future is a collectible because it is a “zine” which is an item of “sufficient rarity” and “significant historical interest” to warrant preservation. 

A “zine” is a self-published, non-commercial print-work that is typically produced in small, limited batches. Zines are often defined as having a limited run of under a thousand, but many are even smaller than that. The first credited zine was published in the early 1930s by a science club in Chicago. Zines gained particular traction in the Star Trek fandom, in which a letter-writing campaign organized through zines even earned the series an additional season in 1968. Zines have been particularly popular and influential in queer and punk spaces as well, and often include the artistic expression of people outside the mainstream, straight, or “controlling” demographics of a culture. 

Zines are also considered a collector’s item and are frequently traded between creators and interested collectors. Additionally, institutions such as the British Library, Harvard University, Archive of Our Own, and the Tate Museum have created zine archives, which aim to preserve zine collections for their historical and cultural significance. Archives such Archive Of Our Own or Open Doors exist for the express purpose of archiving works of art, of which BKDK:Future falls under the interests of.

BKDK:Future is a zine because it is a collection and collaboration of related pieces of art, it is self-published, and because it features a limited run. BKDK:Future will likely become “rare” and will not be readily available for purchase or consumption after a very strict time period. Additionally, BKDK:Future is of “significant historical interest” which makes it “worthy of preservation” because it is the latest in a long chain of self-published works which features a queer angle on a mainstream section of modern media and pop culture. 

  1. BKDK:Future likely does not fall under the purview of the GPSR because it does not pose the type of reasonably foreseeable threat that the GPSR aims to regulate.

As stated previously, the GPSR aims to protect the citizens of its member-states,  enforce its own regulations, and better effectuate potential recalls by placing restrictions on the ability to import into the EU. The GPSR is likely aimed specifically at drop-shipping sites which may (and do) sell cheap, unsafe, and potentially toxic products. Of most concern are likely items such as electronics, which can contain hazardous chemicals, small parts, and which may spark fires. We will not be including our electronic items in EU orders.

Here, BKDK:Future does not pose a reasonably foreseeable threat in any of the ways which the GPSR is likely aimed at limiting. The BKDK:Future zine is a small book or publication, containing X pages, which does not feature a safety threat in any reasonably foreseeable manner. To the very best of BKDK:Future’s  knowledge based upon hours of diligent research and effort, our products do not contain cheap, unsafe, or hazardous materials. Our products are also not electronic, and are not likely to spark fires, to the best of our knowledge. 

Additionally, every copy of the zine will be inspected closely for quality assurance before being shipped out to consumers. The BKDK:Future merch will go through the same process. Although more varied, every single item will be individually inspected and graded for quality assurance before shipping begins. This is to ensure both high standards of safety, but also quality to our consumers. 

BKDK:Future does not believe that it is subject to the GPSR because it falls under an exception to the law and because it does not pose any known danger of which the GPSR aims to regulate.

In summary, BKDK:Future is of the opinion that it is not subject to the guidelines and limitations given in the GPSR because it is a “work of art” and as such, it falls under the “antiques” exception within the GPSR. Furthermore, the GPSR aims to regulate certain types of dangers which BKDK:Future does not pose, or does not pose in any reasonably foreseeable fashion.