Refund & Cancellation Policy

1. Because Every Piece Is Unique

Most artwork on The Art Sutra is a one-of-a-kind, original piece. Our cancellation and refund policy reflects that — it is different from a typical retail return policy, and is designed to be fair to both Artists and Collectors.

2. Before Payment Is Completed

When you purchase a piece, or the artist accepts your offer, it is reserved for you for a limited window while payment is completed. If payment is not completed within that window, the reservation expires automatically and the piece becomes available again — no charge is made.

3. After Payment Is Completed

Once payment is confirmed, the sale is final and the order proceeds to shipping coordination. Because each piece is unique, we do not offer returns for change of mind after payment is confirmed.

4. Offers Are Binding

Placing an offer is a binding commitment to purchase if the artist accepts it. An accepted offer cannot be withdrawn or cancelled.

5. If Something Arrives Wrong

You have seven days from delivery to tell us if there is something wrong with what arrived. There are three reasons we accept, and they are the whole list:

• It arrived damaged. Photograph the work, the crate and the packaging, and keep all of it until the claim is closed — a claim against the courier cannot be pursued without it.
• It is not the work you bought. A different piece arrived from the one on your order.
• It is not the size you bought. The dimensions differ from the ones listed.

Start it from the order itself, on your orders page — it asks for the reason, what happened, and the photographs in one go. Photographs are required: every one of these three is a claim about a physical object we have not seen, and we cannot take it to a courier without them.

6. Authenticity Disputes

If you believe a delivered piece materially differs from its listed description or provided authenticity documentation, contact us within 14 days of delivery. Verified authenticity disputes are eligible for a full refund of the price of the work, subject to return of the piece in its original condition.

7. How a Return Works, And What Is Never Refunded

We do not accept returns for a change of mind. Every piece here is one-of-a-kind, chosen deliberately, and it is not stock. A return is considered only for one of the three reasons in section 5, or a verified authenticity or description dispute under section 6.

What happens once you ask: a member of our team reviews what you sent, and answers within three business days either way. If it is approved, we arrange and pay for the collection — please have the work packed in the crate it arrived in. Once it reaches us and we have looked at it, your refund is issued to the card or account you paid with, and your bank usually shows it within five to seven working days.

Never send a piece back before we have agreed to it. A work returned without that agreement cannot be accepted or refunded, and it will not be insured on the way.

Where a return is approved under section 5, the fault is ours or the carrier’s and not yours, so the refund includes the freight you paid and we bear the cost of collection. Damage caused after delivery is not eligible, and we will tell you plainly if that is what the photographs show. Shipping charges are not refundable where a sale is unwound for any other reason.

8. High-Value, Manually Settled Orders

For orders settled through our manual, verified bank transfer process, cancellation before payment confirmation is free. Once payment is confirmed by our operations team, the standard policy above applies.

9. Fees Are Non-Refundable

Platform commission and any plan or promotional fees paid by Artists are non-refundable once a sale is completed or a paid plan period has begun.

10. How to Request a Refund

For anything that arrived wrong, start from the order on your orders page — it asks for everything we need in one go and you can watch the request move. For anything else, email support@theartsutra.com with your order number and details. We aim to acknowledge every request within 3 business days. Acknowledging a request is not the same as accepting it; where a claim needs expert assessment we will tell you how long that will take.