Returns & Refunds Policy

Please contact The Holiday Village as soon as possible if your order:

• arrives damaged;
• is faulty;
• is incorrect;
• is missing an item;
• is materially different from the product listing; or
• has another problem that affects your ability to use or enjoy the product.

We may ask for photographs, packaging images or other information so that we can investigate the issue with the creator.

Where appropriate, the seller will remedy the situation with a replacement, return, refund or another suitable resolution.

The Holiday Village is a listing platform and does not hold liability for defective, damaged or faulty products. Those products are the seller's responsibility.

Change-of-mind returns, where offered, are handled by the seller. The Holiday Village does not accept change-of-mind returns on the seller's behalf and does not hold liability for the product.

Where the seller permits a change-of-mind return, and where permitted by law and the nature of the product, eligible products may be returned within 7 days of delivery.

To qualify for a change-of-mind return, the product must generally be:

• unused;
• undamaged;
• in its original condition;
• in its original packaging where reasonably possible; and
• accompanied by proof of purchase.

The customer may be responsible for the cost of returning a change-of-mind item unless otherwise agreed with the seller.

Many products on The Holiday Village are handmade, hand-finished or produced in small batches.

Small variations in colour, shape, texture, finish, pattern or size may occur and are not necessarily considered faults where these variations are a normal characteristic of the product and were reasonably disclosed in the listing.

If a variation is substantial or the product is materially different from what was advertised, the creator handles the review and any remedy. The Holiday Village does not review or decide that issue for the seller.

Products made specifically for you may have restricted return eligibility where permitted by law.

This may include:

• personalised products;
• custom-made products;
• products made to specific measurements;
• commissioned pieces; or
• products altered at the customer's request.

These products may still qualify for a remedy if they are faulty, damaged, incorrect or otherwise covered by applicable consumer law.

Where permitted by law, certain products may not be eligible for change-of-mind returns.

These may include:

• personalised or custom-made products;
• perishable goods;
• hygiene-sensitive products once opened or used;
• digital products;
• gift cards;
• products that have been used, damaged or altered after delivery; and
• other products that cannot reasonably be resold for health, safety or customisation reasons.

Any important product-specific return restriction should be shown on the relevant listing where applicable.

If an item arrives damaged, contact must be made within 7 days of delivery.

Please keep:

• the damaged product;
• the original packaging;
• the courier packaging; and
• any labels attached to the parcel

until the issue has been reviewed.

We may ask for photographs of both the product and packaging so that we can determine whether the damage occurred before dispatch or during courier handling.

If a product is defective or does not perform as reasonably expected, the seller is responsible for the remedy. The Holiday Village does not hold liability for defective products.

Depending on the circumstances and applicable law, the seller's remedy may include:

• repair;
• replacement;
• refund; or
• another reasonable solution.

If you receive the wrong product or something is missing from your order, contact must be made within 7 days of delivery.

The seller is responsible for confirming the order details and arranging the appropriate next step. The Holiday Village does not hold liability for incorrect or incomplete orders.

You may need to pay delivery costs to return the item to the seller, depending on the seller's terms and conditions.

To request a return, contact The Holiday Village using the contact page.

Please include:

• your order number;
• the product concerned;
• the reason for the return; and
• photographs where the product is damaged, faulty or incorrect.

Please do not return a product directly to a creator without first receiving return instructions.

The seller reviews the return request, decides whether it is approved, and provides return instructions where required. The Holiday Village does not handle returns and does not have authority to approve or refuse a return on the seller's behalf.

Through the return resolution process, the seller will provide the appropriate return address if applicable.

Products sent to an incorrect address, or sent without the seller's return instructions, may delay the return or refund process.

The Holiday Village may assist with dispute resolution between a customer and a seller. That assistance does not make us the seller, give us authority over the return, or place liability for the product on the platform.

The Holiday Village never pays for return shipping. Who pays for return delivery is the seller's responsibility and is dictated by the seller's terms and conditions.

If the product is faulty, damaged or incorrect. Any cover or arrangement of return delivery costs is between you and the seller, according to the seller's terms and conditions. The marketplace does not pay those costs.

If you have changed your mind. Where a return is accepted because you have changed your mind, you may be responsible for the cost of returning the product, unless the seller's terms and conditions say otherwise.

We recommend using a tracked delivery service for customer-arranged returns.

Returned items should be packaged carefully to prevent damage in transit.

If a product is returned damaged because it was inadequately packaged by the customer, this may affect the refund available where permitted by law.

If a refund is approved while the order is still within the applicable payout SLAs, and the money is still held by the platform, the refund is processed straight to the customer using the original payment method where reasonably possible.

If the refund falls outside those SLAs, the money is no longer with The Holiday Village because it has already been paid out to the seller. In that case the refund follows a different route: the onus is on the seller to refund the customer directly.

Refund timing may depend on the payment provider or bank.

Whether a refund includes the original product price and any delivery charges is determined by the seller and applicable law. The Holiday Village does not hold liability for that refund once funds have been paid out to the seller.

A partial refund applies only where an order contains products from more than one seller, and you are returning products from a specific seller only. The rest of the order is not refunded.

In that case, the refund (if any) is limited to the products of that seller. It follows the same SLA rules as other refunds: if funds are still held within the payout SLAs, the refund may go straight to the customer; if not, the onus is on that seller.

The Holiday Village does not hold liability for the products or for the seller's refund decision.

Where possible, a replacement may be offered instead of a refund.

Because many products are handmade or produced in limited quantities, an identical replacement may not always be available.

Where the same product is unavailable, we may offer:

• a refund;
• a comparable replacement with your agreement; or
• another appropriate resolution.

The Holiday Village is a multi-creator marketplace.

If your order contains products from more than one creator, each creator's products may be fulfilled separately and may need to be returned separately.

A return relating to one creator's product does not automatically affect the rest of the order.

A courier delay does not automatically qualify an order for a refund where the parcel is still in transit.

If a parcel appears lost or delivery has been significantly delayed, the onus is on the seller to investigate. Sellers hold the courier relationships, so they are responsible for following up with the courier. The Holiday Village does not investigate courier issues on the seller's behalf.

If a parcel is confirmed lost, the seller is responsible for arranging any replacement or refund. The Holiday Village does not hold liability for courier delays or lost parcels.

If a parcel is returned because:

• the delivery was refused;
• an incorrect delivery address was provided;
• the customer could not be reached; or
• the parcel was not collected where collection was required,

additional courier charges may apply.

Where a refund is appropriate, reasonable unrecoverable delivery costs may be deducted where permitted by law.

Sellers are expected to cooperate with legitimate return, refund and replacement requests. A seller may not refuse a remedy where a customer is legally entitled to one.

The Holiday Village can only pay a refund to a customer if we still hold the funds. There are two routes:

Route 1 — within the payout SLAs. If the order is still within the applicable payout SLAs and the money has not yet been paid out to the seller, we still hold the funds. An approved refund can then be processed straight to the customer, and that amount may be deducted from the seller's pending payout.

Route 2 — after payout. If the funds have already been paid out to the seller, we no longer hold the money and cannot refund the customer from platform funds. The onus is then on the seller to refund the customer directly.

The Holiday Village never pays for return shipping. Return postage and the return address, where applicable, are the seller's responsibility and are dictated by the seller's terms and conditions.

The Holiday Village may assist customers and creators in resolving return disputes.

We may:

• review listing information;
• request photographs or other evidence;
• communicate with both parties;
• review order and courier records; and
• determine an appropriate marketplace resolution.

Our involvement in resolving a return does not change the fact that products on the marketplace are supplied by independent creators unless specifically stated otherwise.

Nothing in this Returns & Refunds Policy is intended to remove or reduce any rights available to customers under applicable South African consumer law.

Where this policy conflicts with a mandatory legal right, the applicable law will take precedence.

For return, refund or order-support queries, please contact The Holiday Village through the contact page.