Subscription & renewal terms

The auto-renewal offer

When you subscribe, you agree that we will charge the payment method you provide at each renewal, at the price and frequency shown at checkout, until you cancel. Before you pay, the checkout page shows the plan, the amount of each charge, how often you’ll be charged, your first renewal date and how to cancel, and asks you to agree to these terms. After you subscribe, we email you a confirmation with the same details and a link to cancel.

Plans and prices

• Fresh Ink replaces one pre-loved book in each box with a brand-new release for an extra $12 per box. It’s available on plans with two or more books. With Fresh Ink, the Stray Stack is $37 per box ($399 a year for monthly boxes).
• Annual plans are paid once a year and cost 10% less than paying per box, rounded down to the dollar.
• Prices are in US dollars and include shipping to any US address USPS delivers to. Sales tax is extra where it applies.
• Your first charge may be lower if you use a promotional code, a friend’s referral or account credit. Renewals are charged at the full plan price unless an offer says otherwise.

When you’re charged

• We charge you when you subscribe. That payment covers your first box, which ships within 3 business days.
• Your plan then renews on the same day of the month as your start date, every month or every other month depending on your plan. If you joined on the 29th, 30th or 31st, shorter months renew on their last day, and later months go back to your usual day.
• Each renewal pays for the box created that day. Boxes are matched within 1 business day and ship within 3 business days of the renewal date.
• Your next renewal date, and the schedule of upcoming boxes, are always shown in your account.

Changing your plan

• You can change the number of books, how often boxes arrive, Fresh Ink and per-box or annual billing from your account.
• Plan changes take effect from your next renewal. We don’t charge or refund partial amounts for the current period.
• Changes to your reading preferences, readers and shipping address apply to any box that hasn’t been matched yet. Once a box has been matched or packed, we can’t change what’s inside, but you can still update the address until it ships.

Skipping and pausing

• Skip: you can skip any upcoming box in your schedule before its renewal date. You won’t be charged for a skipped box and nothing ships. You can un-skip it before the date.
• Pause: you can pause for 1, 2 or 3 months. Renewals that fall during the pause are skipped, and your plan restarts automatically on the first renewal date after the pause ends. You can resume early at any time.
• On annual plans, skipping or pausing moves the boxes you’ve paid for later; it doesn’t reduce how many you receive.

Cancelling

• Cancel online at any time: go to Account → Plan & billing → Cancel plan, then confirm. That’s it. You can also email [support email] and we’ll cancel for you, but you never have to.
• We may offer you a skip or a pause before you confirm, and ask an optional question about why you’re leaving. The cancel button is always shown alongside, and you can cancel without answering.
• Cancellation stops all future renewals and charges immediately. Any box you’ve already paid for, including the rest of a prepaid annual plan, will still ship unless you ask us to refund it under Refunds.
• We email you a confirmation of your cancellation and the date your plan ends.
• Changed your mind? You can reactivate from your account before your plan ends, or start a new plan any time after.

Annual plans

• Annual plans are charged once, up front, for a year of boxes: 12 boxes on a monthly schedule or 6 on an every-other-month schedule.
• Annual plans renew automatically for another year at the then-current annual price unless you cancel before the renewal date.
• We email you between 15 and 45 days before each annual renewal (we aim for 30) with the renewal date, the amount and how to cancel.

Reminders we send

• A confirmation email when you subscribe, with your plan, price, renewal frequency and how to cancel.
• For monthly and every-other-month plans, a reminder about 3 days before each renewal, so you can skip or change your box. You can turn these off in your notification settings.
• For annual plans, a renewal notice 15 to 45 days before each annual renewal. This one can’t be turned off.
• A receipt for every charge and an email when each box ships.

Price changes

We may change our prices, for example when postage rates rise. We will email you at least 30 days before a new price applies to your plan, stating the new price and when it starts. The new price applies from your first renewal after the notice period. If you don’t want to continue at the new price, you can cancel before then.

Failed payments

If a renewal payment fails, we email you and try again up to three more times over the following week. Your box is held until payment succeeds. You can update your card from your account at any time. If payment still fails after the final attempt, we cancel the subscription, and no further charges are attempted.

Refunds

• Before matching: if you ask us for a refund before a paid box has been matched (usually within 1 business day of the charge), we cancel that box and refund it in full. Email [support email] or use the contact form.
• Annual plans: after you cancel, you can ask us to refund any boxes that haven’t been matched yet. We refund each unmatched box at the annual per-box price you paid. [Confirm this policy before launch.]
• Charged in error: if we charged you for a skipped box, during a pause, or after you cancelled, we refund it in full.
• Delivered boxes: books are pre-loved and matched to you, so we don’t take them back for a refund. Damaged, missing and duplicate books are handled under our Shipping & Returns policy, and the Bad Match Guarantee covers books that just aren’t for you.
• Refunds go back to your original payment method and usually appear within 5 to 10 business days. Credits applied to a charge are returned as credit.
• Nothing here limits any refund rights you have under the law where you live.

Bad Match Guarantee

If you rate a book from one of your boxes one tail-wag within 30 days of its box being delivered, we add $3 of credit to your account automatically. This applies once per box. The credit comes off your future charges, and every rating helps us match you better.

Add-ons

Add-ons such as a bonus stray ($6), a riso bookmark trio ($5), tea for two ($8) or a book sleeve ($16) ride along in your next box and are charged with your next renewal. You can remove them before that renewal. Because USPS Media Mail only carries books, a box with non-book add-ons travels by USPS Ground Advantage instead. That’s included in the add-on price.

Gift subscriptions

• Gift subscriptions are paid in full at purchase: 3, 6 or 12 boxes of 1 or 3 books. Prices for 3 books: $75 for 3 boxes, $142 for 6, $270 for 12. For 1 book: $42, $79 and $151.
• Gifts never renew automatically and we never charge the recipient. When the last gift box ships, the recipient can choose to start their own plan; nothing happens unless they do.
• Recipients can skip or pause gift boxes; the remaining boxes simply move later.
• The purchaser can cancel an unredeemed gift for a full refund.

Taxes

Where the law requires it, we add sales tax to your charges based on your shipping address. The tax amount is shown at checkout and on every receipt. If tax rates change, the tax on future renewals changes with them.

Questions about your subscription? Email [support email] or use the contact form. These terms form part of our Terms of Service.