Terms and Conditions
1. Who you're dealing with
In short: One maker, small batches, New Zealand.
Nook Mini is made and run by me, a sole trader based in Whangārei, New Zealand. Every nook is designed, built, wired, tested, and packed by hand in my home workshop, in small batches of around 20. When you order, you're not talking to a customer service department — you're talking to the person who built your nook. Email: info@nookmini.com
2. The product (and why no two are identical)
In short: Handcrafted means unique. Tiny variations are part of it — they're not defects.
Nook Mini (Wand'O'Lane and any other model to come) makes handcrafted miniatures, not machine-made products. Wood grain differs, paint settles its own way, tiny details land a fraction of a millimetre from where they landed on the last one. That's not a flaw — that's the whole point. If you ever find two identical Nook Minis, please let me know, because it would be a first. So: small variations in colour, texture, finish, and detail placement are normal and are not covered as defects. What is covered: anything that genuinely doesn't work or is genuinely broken (see Warranty, chapter 8). Also worth knowing: a Nook Mini contains small, delicate, decorative parts. It's a display piece, not a toy — please keep it away from small children, curious pets, and anyone who thinks miniature furniture is finger food.
3. Quality control
In short: Nothing ships without passing inspection.
Every single nook goes through a full quality check before it's packed — structure, lighting, electronics, decor, and AR alignment. Only when it passes does it get its QC sticker and a place in a shipping box. If it doesn't pass, it doesn't leave.
4. The AR app ("the Gateway")
In short: The app is a free companion. The nook is a complete artwork with or without it.
Each Nook Mini comes with access to a free companion AR app that reveals the characters living inside your nook. To use it, you'll need a reasonably recent smartphone or tablet with a camera (compatibility details are on the product page). A few honest notes: * The app is provided free with your nook. I maintain it and intend to keep it running for the long haul. * Technology moves — I can't guarantee compatibility with every future phone, operating system, or update that hasn't been invented yet. If a platform change ever affects the app, I'll do my genuine best to adapt. * The nook itself is a finished, illuminated, handcrafted piece. The app opens the gate; the world inside exists either way.
5. Orders, prices & payment
In short: Prices, currency, regional terms and available payment methods are shown before you pay. Prices include shipping.
* Prices are shown at checkout and include international tracked shipping (yes, really — see chapter 7). Nook Mini may offer different purchase options according to the delivery destination because customs and tax treatment differs between countries. The delivery country entered at checkout is the final authority for determining the applicable regional purchase option and import treatment. If a purchase option intended for another delivery region is selected, I may contact you to correct the order or cancel and fully refund it before dispatch. Where currency conversion is offered, the final currency and amount payable are displayed before payment. Any foreign-exchange or international transaction fee charged independently by your bank or card provider is not charged by Nook Mini. Payments are processed securely by the payment methods displayed at checkout. I do not receive or store your full card details. Where an instalment or buy-now-pay-later service is offered, that service is provided under the payment provider's own terms and availability rules. An order is confirmed when you receive your order confirmation. In the unlikely event of a genuine pricing, stock or regional-configuration error, I will contact you before dispatch.
6. Pre-orders
In short: Small batches take time. You'll always know where your nook is in the queue — and you can cancel free anytime before it ships.
Because each batch is around 20 units and made by hand, some orders are taken as pre-orders: * The product page shows an estimated dispatch window. It's an honest estimate, not a marketing trick — handcraft doesn't always cooperate with calendars. * If your dispatch window changes by more than a week, I'll email you personally. * You can cancel a pre-order at any time before it ships, for any reason, for a full refund. No forms, no guilt — just email me. * Payment is taken at the time of order (this is what reserves your nook in the batch).
7. Shipping, customs & import charges
In short: All Nook Mini orders ship from New Zealand with tracked shipping included. Whether import charges are also included depends on the delivery country and is stated before purchase.
All Nook Mini orders ship from New Zealand. Tracked shipping is included in the product price for the destinations currently served. “Shipping included” refers to the cost of transporting the parcel from New Zealand to its destination. Whether import taxes, duties and customs-clearance charges are also included depends on the delivery destination. United States — DDP US orders are sent Delivered Duty Paid (DDP). Applicable import duties, taxes and normal customs-clearance charges are paid by Nook Mini through the shipping provider and are included in the applicable US purchase price. The recipient may still be required to provide information reasonably requested by the carrier or customs authority to complete clearance. If a carrier unexpectedly asks a US customer to pay an import duty or tax on a DDP order, please contact info@nookmini.com before paying so I can investigate it. European Union and United Kingdom — DAP EU and UK orders are normally sent Delivered at Place (DAP). International shipping is included, but import VAT, applicable customs duties and any destination-country customs or carrier clearance/handling charges are not included in the Nook Mini purchase price. These amounts are assessed locally and are the recipient's responsibility. New Zealand Orders delivered within New Zealand do not pass through international customs and therefore do not incur import charges. Australia and other enabled destinations The applicable tax/import treatment is shown with the purchase information for the destination concerned. Customs laws and tax rates can change. Where a shipment is DAP, Nook Mini cannot control the amount assessed by a foreign customs authority or carrier. If a DAP shipment is refused or abandoned because the recipient does not pay required import charges or complete reasonable customs formalities, any return shipping, customs or carrier charges incurred as a result may be deducted from the refund to the extent permitted by applicable law.
8. If it arrives damaged (my responsibility)
In short: If the courier breaks it, that's my problem to fix. Tell me within 7 days, with photos.
Despite serious packaging, couriers occasionally treat "FRAGILE" as a personal challenge. If your nook arrives damaged: 1. Email me within 7 days of delivery at info@nookmini.com with photos of the damage and the packaging (the box photos matter for the insurance claim). 2. Keep all the packaging until we've sorted it out. 3. I'll make it right — repair, replacement parts, a replacement nook, or a refund, depending on the damage. You will not be out of pocket for transit damage. 4. The insurance claim with the courier is my job, not yours. You'll never be asked to fight a courier company on my behalf. And if it goes missing entirely: if your tracking goes quiet for more than 10 days, email me. I'll open an investigation with the courier, and if the nook is genuinely lost, you get a replacement or a full refund — your choice. Same rule as damage: the courier conversation is mine, not yours.
9. 12-month Nook Mini warranty
In short: 12 months on lighting, electronics and structural workmanship. This voluntary warranty is in addition to any consumer rights the law gives you.
Every Nook Mini comes with a 12-month warranty from the date of delivery, covering: * The lighting and electronics * Structural workmanship (things that shouldn't come loose, coming loose on their own) If something's wrong, email me first — many issues can be solved with a spare part or a quick guided fix, which beats sending a parcel across the planet in both directions. Not covered: * Accidental damage, drops, spills, enthusiastic pets, or "I just wanted to see what would happen" * Normal wear, or the handcrafted variations described in chapter 2 * Transit damage (that's chapter 8 — handled separately, and better) * Modifications or repairs done by anyone other than me About the back panel: the back of each nook is held by four tiny screws, and there is genuinely nothing user-serviceable behind it. Each nook also has a discreet little way of letting me know if that panel has ever been opened — think of it as the nook keeping a diary. If the diary says the panel came off, the warranty quietly retires. If you're curious about how your nook works, ask me! I love talking about it, and it's much cheaper than a voided warranty :) If a repair genuinely requires the nook to travel back to New Zealand, email me first with photos or a short video — that's how we confirm it's a warranty fault before any parcels start moving. For genuine warranty faults, I cover the shipping both ways. If inspection at the workshop shows the damage actually came from an accident, misuse, unreported transit damage, or the back-panel diary having stories to tell, it isn't a warranty case — I'll send you a quote for the repair and the return shipping before doing anything, and nothing happens without your OK.
10. Returns & refunds (change of mind)
In short: 14 days to change your mind. Email me first, you cover return shipping, and the nook comes home in the condition it left. Refund within 7 working days of it passing inspection.
I want you to love your nook. If you truly don't: - You have 14 days from delivery to email me at info@nookmini.com and tell me you'd like to return it. No reason needed — "changed my mind" is a complete sentence. - Email before you post. I'll confirm the return address and give you a return reference. Parcels that turn up unannounced take longer to process and sometimes get stuck at customs with nobody expecting them. - Once I've confirmed, you have 14 days to send it back. - The nook must come back unused, complete, undamaged and in its original packaging — as new, exactly as it left the workshop. That packaging is engineered for the journey, so please reuse it. - Return shipping is at your cost. Use a tracked and insured service: the nook remains your responsibility until it's back in my hands. - When it arrives I inspect it. If it's in resaleable condition, I refund the full purchase price to your original payment method within 7 working days. - If a returned product has been handled beyond what is reasonably necessary to inspect it, any lawful reduction in refund will be explained and documented. - If it arrives damaged, incomplete, used or altered, it isn't resaleable and a full refund isn't possible — I'll send you photos and we'll talk about what is. Nothing gets decided without you seeing what I'm seeing. - After 14 days, change-of-mind returns close — but the warranty (chapter 9) has your back for a full year. If you're in the EU or the UK: you have the same 14 days from delivery to withdraw from your purchase, and your statutory rights sit on top of everything above. In your case I'll issue the refund no later than 14 days after the nook reaches me or after you send me proof of postage, whichever comes first, and that refund includes the standard outbound shipping you paid. Return postage is still yours. If the nook comes back visibly used beyond what you'd need to look it over, I may reduce the refund to reflect the loss in value — I'll always show you why. One honest request: email me before starting a return. International shipping on a nook is genuinely expensive in both directions, and a surprising number of concerns — a light that seems off, a detail question, an AR hiccup — can be fixed in one email. Fixing beats shipping, every time. (Faulty or damaged-in-transit nooks are never treated as "change of mind" — those are fully on me. See chapters 8 and 9.)
11. If something's not right — talk to me first
In short: One email usually fixes it. I'd rather solve your problem than read about it.
If anything about your nook or your order disappoints you, please email me at info@nookmini.com before anything else. You'll be talking directly to the person who built your nook, and I take real pride in making things right — quickly, and like a human. Public reviews are important and you're of course free to write whatever reflects your experience. I'd simply love the chance to earn a good one first.
12. Intellectual property
In short: The nook is yours. The designs are mine.
When you buy a Nook Mini, the physical piece is entirely yours. The designs, characters, the AR app, the Nook Mini name, and all related creative work remain my intellectual property and can't be copied, reproduced, or used commercially without written permission. Photographing your nook and sharing it everywhere, however, is warmly encouraged.
13. The legal frame
In short: Mandatory consumer rights always come first. New Zealand law governs these terms where local mandatory law does not require otherwise.
Nothing in these terms excludes, restricts or limits any consumer right that cannot lawfully be excluded in the country applicable to your purchase. Where mandatory local consumer law gives you greater protection than these terms, that law prevails. Subject to those mandatory rights, these terms are governed by the laws of New Zealand. I may update these terms from time to time. The version displayed on the website at the time of your order applies to that order unless the law requires otherwise.