Refund policy

Last updated: September 20, 2026

Returns, Store Credit & Refunds

Bad Lion is a small business. Returns do not disappear into a warehouse or become somebody else’s problem. They affect the materials, packing, shipping, payment fees, and human time behind every order.

Nothing is free. Someone pays. Our job is to be clear about where the cost sits rather than hiding it in inflated prices.

That does not mean we are inflexible. It means we are honest about what a return costs, and we ask you to be thoughtful before buying and truthful if something goes wrong.

If we made a mistake, sent the wrong item, or something arrived damaged or defective, tell us. We will look at what happened and work to make it right.

If nothing is wrong with the order and you simply decide it is not for you, you may request a return under the conditions below. Those returns are ordinarily issued as store credit rather than refunded to the original payment method.

How Returns Work

Return requests must be submitted within 14 calendar days after delivery.

To qualify for a return:

The item must be unused, unopened, and in its original condition.
The original packaging and included components must be present and intact.
The item must not be marked final sale or identified as non-returnable.
The return must be requested and approved before it is sent back.
You must provide the order number and any information reasonably needed to review the request.

Opening, using, altering, washing, burning, applying, assembling, damaging, or removing identifying information from an item may make it ineligible for return.

Approval to send something back does not guarantee store credit or a refund. Returned items are inspected after they arrive. Eligibility is based on the item we receive, not only on the description or photographs submitted with the request.

Please do not send anything back without approval. An unapproved return may be refused and is not automatically eligible for store credit, replacement, or refund.

Starting a Return

We use the customer account because it keeps the order, dates, request, instructions, and resolution together in one place. It protects both of us from confusion about what was requested or agreed to.

If you checked out without an account, cannot access your account, require assistance using the system, or encounter a technical problem, contact support@thebadlion.com. We will verify the order and help create the necessary return record.

A message sent through social media, a product review, a comment, or an unrelated email thread does not count as a return request.

If the request is approved, we will send return instructions. Please wait for those instructions before mailing the package. An approved return must be shipped within seven calendar days after approval unless we agree to another deadline.

If the request is denied, we will explain why. If you believe relevant information was overlooked, reply to the decision or contact customer support for another review.

Return Shipping

If you return an item because you changed your mind, you are responsible for getting it back to us. We do not provide a prepaid return label, and the original shipping charge is not refunded.

Please use a trackable shipping method and package the item carefully. Until the return is delivered to us, it remains your responsibility. We cannot issue store credit for a return that never arrives.

If we sent the wrong item or confirm that the product arrived damaged or defective, we will provide a prepaid return label or specific return-shipping instructions when a return is necessary.

Do not ship the item back before receiving those instructions. Shipping costs incurred without our prior approval, including expedited or premium services, may not be reimbursed.

When We Receive a Return

For mutual protection, we video-record return packages as they are opened. The recording documents the condition of the package, what it contains, and the condition in which the item was received.

This is not meant to make an honest return feel adversarial. It gives both of us a clear record if a package is damaged in transit, arrives incomplete, or does not contain what either side expected. Recordings may be used to review the return, respond to a payment dispute, or investigate suspected fraud.

We then inspect the item against the return request. If everything is as described and the return qualifies, we will issue the applicable store credit or refund.

We aim to inspect returns within five business days after receipt and to issue approved store credit or refunds within three additional business days. Banks and payment providers may require additional time to display a refund.

If the item is opened, used, altered, incomplete, damaged after delivery, substituted, or materially different from what was described, we may reduce or deny the return value. We will explain the reason rather than rejecting it without context.

If a return is denied after inspection, you will have 14 calendar days after notice to arrange and pay for the item to be shipped back to you. If no arrangements are made within that period, the item will be considered abandoned and may be donated or disposed of.

Store Credit and Refunds

When nothing is wrong with an order and you simply decide it is not for you, an approved return is usually issued as store credit.

Nothing about sending an order out and bringing it back is free. By the time it reaches you, real costs have already been incurred in preparing, packing, processing, and shipping it. A return creates another round of handling and shipping, and the item may not always be returned to saleable inventory.

Store credit lets you keep the eligible value of your return without forcing those costs into higher prices for everyone. It is issued through your customer account, does not expire, and may be used toward eligible products.

If we sent the wrong item, the product arrived damaged or defective, we could not fulfill the order as promised, an order was canceled before it became irreversible, or a refund is otherwise required, the resolution may include a refund to the original payment method.

Original shipping charges are not refunded when you return an order because you changed your mind. If the return results from a confirmed problem with the product or order, we will determine the appropriate handling of shipping costs as part of the resolution.

Promotions and Returns

Promotions are based on the order you place and the items you keep.

If a return causes the remaining order to fall below a promotional requirement, the order will be recalculated without that promotion. Any store credit or refund will be based on the recalculated order, not the item’s full or original price.

This includes:

Quantity and bundle pricing
Buy-one-get-one offers
Order-value discounts
Free or discounted items
Free or reduced shipping tied to a purchase threshold
Any other promotion requiring a particular product, quantity, or order total

For example, if three items qualified for a lower price and one is returned, the two items kept will be recalculated at the price that applies to two. The return value is whatever remains after that adjustment.

If a promotion included a free item, that item must also be returned unused and in eligible condition. If it is kept, its stated promotional value may be deducted from the return value.

A return cannot be used to keep the benefit of a promotion whose requirements are no longer met.

Final Sale and Non-Returnable Items

Some items cannot be returned because they cannot safely or reasonably be placed back into saleable inventory.

These include:

Items clearly marked final sale before purchase
Digital products and downloadable goods once delivered or accessed
Personalized products and items made to your specifications
One-of-one or custom artwork
Custom scent blends
Opened or used candles, fragrance products, personal-care products, lip treatments, body-care products, and fragrance oils
Gift cards and store credit
Any item that cannot be resold for health, hygiene, safety, or authenticity reasons after it has been opened

A standard product is not automatically final sale simply because it was prepared after the order was placed. If an item is non-returnable for another reason, we will say so clearly before you buy it.

Final sale does not mean that anything goes. If a final-sale item arrives damaged, defective, materially different from what was ordered, or incorrect because of our mistake, contact us. We will review the problem and determine the appropriate resolution.

Changing your mind, disliking a scent after opening it, or deciding that an item does not suit your preferences does not make a final-sale item defective. But “final sale” will never be used to excuse an actual product or order problem.

Damaged, Defective, Missing, or Incorrect Orders

If something genuinely went wrong, tell us. We do not treat a damaged product, defective item, missing item, or something we sent incorrectly as a change-of-mind return.

Please report visible damage, missing contents, or an incorrect item within seven calendar days after delivery. Include the order number, a description of the problem, and clear photographs of:

The item
The shipping package
Any visible damage
The shipping label
The contents as they arrived

Keep the item and all packaging until we complete the review. We may need additional photographs, a short video, or the return of the item before reaching a decision.

Depending on what happened and what is available, we may repair the item, replace it, provide store credit, or refund the appropriate amount to the original payment method. We will choose the remedy that reasonably fits the problem.

The seven-day reporting period helps us investigate visible delivery and order problems while the evidence is still available. It does not eliminate rights that cannot lawfully be limited, and it does not prevent you from contacting us about a defect that could not reasonably have been discovered within seven days.

If your package was lost, stolen, or damaged during shipment, see our Route Shipping Protection Policy for available protection, claim instructions, and filing deadlines.

Route Shipping Protection applies to qualifying shipping events. It does not replace Bad Lion’s responsibility for an incorrect item, missing contents caused before shipment, a product defect, or another problem with the order itself.

If you are unsure which policy applies, contact us.

Honest Returns and Claims

Most people are honest. This section exists because return and claim abuse is real, and its cost does not disappear.

Do not return a different item, remove components, send back an item that has been used while describing it as unopened, intentionally damage an item, submit duplicate claims, falsely report non-delivery, alter tracking information, or materially misrepresent what happened.

We document what we send and what comes back. A return or claim involving deliberate misrepresentation may be denied. We may also restrict future purchases or returns and provide relevant records when responding to a payment dispute or investigating suspected fraud.

An honest mistake is not fraud. If you selected the wrong reason, forgot to include something, or realize that part of your request was inaccurate, tell us. Straightforward communication usually gives us more options.

Chargebacks and Payment Disputes

If something went wrong, contact us before opening a chargeback or payment dispute. We take legitimate problems seriously and would rather investigate and resolve them directly.

A chargeback is not a substitute for following the return process, avoiding an applicable return condition, or obtaining a refund that is not otherwise available under this policy.

When a dispute is opened, the payment provider takes control of the review. While that process is active, we may be unable to issue a separate refund, store credit, or replacement for the disputed transaction.

We respond to payment disputes with the available order, communication, tracking, delivery, account, claim, and return records. Knowingly submitting false information to obtain both the product and the payment may constitute fraud.

Nothing in this section prevents you from exercising a legitimate right to dispute an unauthorized transaction, billing error, or unresolved problem.

Product Variation

Slight variations in color, texture, finish, placement, or scent may occur between individual products or batches. Those differences are not automatically defects.

Variation is not a blanket excuse. It does not include contamination, unsafe conditions, breakage, material nonconformity, an incorrect product, undisclosed damage, or failure during ordinary use.

If you are unsure whether something is ordinary variation or a product problem, contact us and let us look at it.

Your Legal Rights

Nothing in this policy limits a right or remedy that cannot lawfully be limited. Where applicable law requires a different result, we will follow that law.