Last updated: 28 September 2026 · Draft for legal review
This policy explains when you can cancel, what we refund and how quickly. It is part of our terms of service. With buy-for-me, we buy from Korean stores as your agent, so once an item has been bought, the store's return policy decides what can go back. Nothing in this policy limits your statutory rights as a consumer.
1. At a glance
| Situation | What we refund | When |
|---|---|---|
| You cancel before we place the store order | Everything you paid for that order | Within 3 business days of your cancellation |
| Your quote expires before you pay | Nothing is charged. Ask us for a new quote. | — |
| An item is sold out or unavailable after you've paid | That item's price, its share of our fees, and any shipping you prepaid for it | Within 3 business days of our confirming it's unavailable |
| You were charged twice or by mistake | The duplicate or mistaken amount, in full | Within 3 business days of our finding it or your report |
| The store price rises before we buy | We ask you first. If you decline, that item is refunded in full. | Within 3 business days of your decision |
| An item arrives at our warehouse wrong or damaged | We ask the store to exchange or refund it. You get the store's refund in full, with no return handling fee from us. | Within 3 business days of the store refunding us |
| You change your mind after we've bought | What the store refunds, minus Korean return shipping and our return handling fee | Within 3 business days of the store refunding us |
| Pay once: actual shipping costs less than the estimate | The difference | When your box is packed |
| Pay once: actual shipping costs more than the estimate | Up to 10% more: we absorb it. Over 10%: we ask you before charging. | — |
| US shipment: prepaid duties are more than the actual bill | The difference | Within 3 business days of receiving the customs bill |
| Shipment lost or damaged in transit | Compensation up to your method's included cover, plus any extra cover you bought | Within 3 business days of the claim being settled |
| Customs seizure or refused delivery | Generally nothing (see section 7) | — |
| Storage fees and abandoned parcels | Not refundable (see section 8) | — |
2. How refunds are paid
- To your original payment method. Refunds go back through PayPal to the account or card you paid with. We can't send them anywhere else.
- At the rate you paid. We charge in US dollars, so we refund in US dollars, using the same exchange rate as your original payment. A partial refund is the same share of the dollar amount you paid. For example, if you paid $100 for a ₩130,000 order and we refund ₩13,000, you get $10 back, whatever the exchange rate is on the day of the refund.
- No deductions for payment costs. We don't take payment processing costs out of refunds.
- Timing. We issue refunds within 3 business days of a refund becoming due. PayPal and your bank then usually take 5–10 days to show it.
You don't need to ask for refunds of unavailable items, pay-once shipping differences or US duty differences. We make them automatically and e-mail you.
3. Cancelling a buy-for-me order
Before we buy. You can cancel free of charge until we place the store order, in your account or by opening a support ticket. We refund everything you paid for that order. Once we've placed the order, we can't always cancel it with the store.
After we buy. What can be returned depends on the store's return policy. Korean online stores generally accept change-of-mind returns within 7 days of delivery. For buy-for-me, delivery means delivery to our warehouse, so tell us quickly. If the store accepts the return, you pay:
- the Korean return shipping charged by the store; and
- our return handling fee, listed on the pricing page.
Our service fee isn't refunded once the purchase has been made. Stores may refuse returns of opened cosmetics and hygiene products, made-to-order or personalised items, sale items, and anything marked non-returnable, so check before you order if you're unsure.
After international shipping. Returning an item to a Korean store from abroad is rarely practical. It's only possible if the store agrees, and you pay shipping back to Korea and any duties. Contact us before sending anything back.
4. Problems found at our warehouse
We check every item or parcel when it arrives and photograph it. If something is wrong, damaged or missing, we let you know before anything is shipped.
Buy-for-me. We placed the order, so we take it up with the store for you and ask for an exchange or refund. We don't charge a return handling fee when the store is at fault, and stores normally pay return shipping in that case. If the store refuses, we'll explain your options, such as keeping the item or returning it at your cost.
Ship-for-me. The order is between you and the store, but our arrival photos can support your claim. If you ask, we can send the parcel back to the store. The store's return shipping and our return handling fee apply unless the store covers them.
If you spot a problem in the arrival photos, open a support ticket before you ship. Once a parcel leaves our warehouse, it's much harder to resolve with the store.
5. Shipping estimates and duties
Pay once. If you paid for shipping together with a buy-for-me order, we charged an estimate. When your box is packed and weighed:
- if the actual cost is lower, we refund the difference automatically;
- if it's up to 10% higher, we cover the extra;
- if it's more than 10% higher, we ask you before charging the difference.
US prepaid duties. For US shipments, we prepay import duties at checkout at an estimated rate, shown as a separate line. Once US Customs bills the actual amount, we refund any difference to your original payment method. This can take several weeks after delivery.
6. Loss or damage in transit
Once a shipment is handed to the carrier, compensation for loss or damage depends on the shipping method, plus any extra cover you bought:
| Method | Included compensation |
|---|---|
| EMS and EMS Premium | up to ₩700,000 |
| Courier services (e.g. FedEx, HDK Economy USA) | the amount shown at checkout |
| K-Packet, air parcel, sea parcel | limited or none |
Extra cover costs 2% of the declared value (minimum ₩2,000) and is added when you ship. Compensation is based on the declared value, so accurate customs values matter.
How to claim.
- Report the problem within 14 days of delivery, or for a missing shipment, within 14 days of the latest estimated delivery date.
- Open a support ticket with your shipment number and photos of the outer box, the label, the packing inside and the damaged items.
- Keep the box and all packing until the claim is settled. Carriers may ask to inspect it.
We file the claim with the carrier and pay you what the carrier or the extra cover pays. Carriers set their own claim rules and decide claims themselves. If the loss or damage was caused by our packing negligence, we compensate you ourselves.
7. Customs seizures, refused and returned shipments
- If customs seizes, destroys or refuses a shipment, or you refuse or don't collect it, we don't refund our fees, shipping or duties, unless we caused the problem (for example, by making a mistake on the customs form).
- If the shipment comes back to Korea, you pay the return shipping and any charges the carrier bills us. We then hold it under our normal storage rules, and you can reship it (new shipping charges apply) or ask us to dispose of it.
- For US shipments, if duties we prepaid were never charged by US Customs, we refund them. If they were charged, we refund only what US Customs refunds to us.
8. Storage and abandoned parcels
Storage is free for 60 days per parcel. After that, it costs ₩500 per parcel per day, or ₩1,000 for parcels over 5 kg, up to ₩30,000 per parcel. Storage fees aren't refundable.
A parcel left for 150 days, after we have sent you at least three e-mail reminders, is treated as abandoned. You give up ownership of it, and we may sell, donate or destroy it. Abandoned parcels aren't refunded, and any sale proceeds go towards unpaid storage and disposal costs.
9. What we don't refund
Unless we made a mistake, or this policy or the law says otherwise, we don't refund:
- service fees for store orders we have already placed;
- packing & handling and optional services already performed;
- shipping for a shipment that has been dispatched;
- duties and taxes charged by customs, other than the US prepaid duty differences above;
- storage fees.
10. Chargebacks
Please contact us before disputing a payment with PayPal or your card issuer. We can usually fix problems faster. If you file a chargeback for a service we've already provided, we may suspend your account until the dispute is resolved.
11. How to ask for a refund
Open a support ticket, or e-mail support@hotdealskorea.com, with:
- your request, parcel or shipment number;
- what happened and what you'd like us to do;
- photos, if the problem is about an item's condition.
We reply within one business day (Mon–Fri, 09:00–18:00 KST). If you're not happy with our answer, see "Governing law and disputes" in our terms of service.