Return Policy

At VanLite, we want you to love your candles! But, we also want to take responsibility for the occasional duds that can happen. Please see our policies below for our protocol. 

Before you request a return / exchange / replacement / refund:

• Double-check our candle care card: did you follow instructions for thorough candle care before using your candle? Did you trim the wick to 1/4-1/8th inch before lighting? Did you allow the candle to burn for 4 hours on the first light? Did you allow it to create a full melt pool across the top on the first burn? Did you keep the candle away from drafts, fans, and open windows, so as to not extinguish itself? If not - have you tried our foil wrap tunneling tip to correct the melt pool? Please reference the original instructions we provide, before assuming a candle is defective. It could simply be user error. (We say that with love.)

Third Party Sale / Wholesalers: 

• If you purchased an item through a separate retailer or consignment shop we work with (such as Hometown Collective, Vintiques, or The Watershed), check your return policy with their store, first.
  
  
• If one of our retailers reroutes you directly to us, please email us at vanlitecandles@gmail.com and let us know:
  - your issue
  - photographic evidence (when applicable)
  - at which store you made your purchase
  We will make it right.
  
  
• We are not responsible for damages from our third parties. Once items are stocked on a store's shelf, any damages must be handled through the retailer.
  
  
• If your third party purchase is defective, you can bypass the store and come straight to us. We will make it right. Please email and send photos for a replacement. (See below for details.)

Defective or damaged items:

• Please inspect your order as soon as you receive it and contact us immediately if the item is defective, damaged, or wrong so that we can evaluate the issue and make it right.
  
  
• Damaged, defective, missing, or incorrect candles will be replaced free of charge, no questions asked.
  
  
• Replacement is the first offer, or a coupon code for a future order. Refunds will only be issued if specified.
  
  
• A photograph must accompany any request for a replacement.

Returns & Replacements:

• See above for 'damaged or defective items' coverage.
  
  
• No returns are necessary. Anything we send by mistake that you did not order is yours to keep. (We will still send the correct item (at no re-charge) and cover the shipping cost.)
  
  
• If something is defective with your product, we will ask you to choose one of the following, in this order:
  1. a replacement,
  2. a personalized store credit code, or
  3. a refund to your account.
  
  
• If something is wrong, contact us at vanlitecandles@gmail.com (as opposed to social media or DMs, please). This way, all of our team members (all two of us) can have access to the complaint.

Exchanges / Change-of-Mind policy:

• If you selected an item as a gift and quickly realize that you made a mistake (aka, you momentarily forgot that Aunt Karen is allergic to bergamot - whoops!) we will do our best to accommodate your exchange. These circumstances are easier to address in person/locally - so if we need to deal with shipping, we request that you consider keeping the current candle for yourself or a friend, and just purchase a new one (one that Aunt Karen is not allergic to, this time).
  
  
• We are not able to accommodate change-of-mind (aka disliking a fragrance after you receive an item that you selected) or if someone does not like the fragrance of the gift you got them from our company.
  
  
• However, if a customer insists on exchanging one candle for another, we will accept these only under the following conditions:
  1. the item must be unused and/or unburned or otherwise undamaged.
  2. the customer will pay for shipping on the returned item.
  3. the customer will also cover shipping fees for the replacement candle.
  4. customer will not have to pay for the replacement candle itself, unless there is a cost differentiation where the replacement candle is listed at a higher cost.
  5. customer accepts that no funds will be reimbursed in this scenario, even if the new item costs less than the original item.