Shipping policy
ORDER PROCESSING TIME
Order processing time is separate from shipping time and is not included in any delivery estimate.
- Order preparation time: up to three business days
- Packing days: Monday, Wednesday and Friday
- Packing cut-off: 1:00 pm AEST
Orders received after the relevant cut-off will be prepared on the next scheduled packing day.
The creation of a shipping label or tracking number does not mean an order has been dispatched. Delivery timeframes begin only after the completed parcel has been collected and scanned into the Australia Post network.
While DMDC aims to prepare orders on its scheduled packing days, these dates are not guaranteed. Extreme weather, natural disasters, emergencies, public holidays, scheduled closures or other circumstances outside DMDC’s control may delay processing until the next available opportunity.
Products requiring additional production or decoration time are not covered by the standard three-business-day processing timeframe.
COMBINING SEPARATE ORDERS
Please carefully review your cart before completing checkout.
DMDC does not combine separate orders. If multiple orders are placed and shipping is paid on each order, each order will be processed and shipped separately. Shipping charges paid across separate orders will not be refunded.
If you wish to add an item after checkout, you have two options:
- Email DMDC to request an amendment to your existing order. Approved amendments incur a $15 amendment fee, plus the cost of any additional products or shipping required.
- Place a new order. The new order will incur its own shipping charge and will be processed and shipped separately.
Placing a second order does not authorise DMDC to combine it with an earlier order.
ORDER AMENDMENTS AFTER CHECKOUT
Please review all products, sizes, colours, quantities and delivery details before completing checkout.
Any customer-requested change made after checkout that requires action from DMDC staff is considered an order amendment. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Changing a costume size, colour or style
- Adding, removing or replacing a product
- Changing quantities
- Swapping one item for another
- Updating a delivery address or other order details
Amendments may only be requested before dispatch. Approval is not guaranteed and remains subject to stock availability and the order’s processing status.
A $15 amendment fee applies to every approved amendment request. This fee covers the additional administration required to reopen and review the order, confirm stock, update inventory and payment records, and revise packing or shipping information.
Any additional product or shipping costs must also be paid before the amendment is completed.
If the customer does not wish to pay the amendment fee, the original order will remain unchanged. Alternatively, the customer may place a separate order with a separate shipping charge.
Once an order has been dispatched, it cannot be amended.
The amendment fee does not apply where DMDC is correcting its own error or where a customer is exercising a right available under the Australian Consumer Law.
ORDER CANCELLATIONS
Cancellation requests must be submitted by email before the order has been dispatched.
A $15 cancellation fee applies when a customer requests:
- Cancellation of an entire order; or
- Cancellation of an individual Barely There or Fully Dazzled costume.
The fee applies once per cancellation request and will be deducted from the refund.
A complete order may be cancelled before dispatch.
An individual Barely There or Fully Dazzled costume may also be cancelled before dispatch, including where decoration has already commenced.
If an order contains multiple decorated costumes and the entire order is cancelled, only one $15 cancellation fee applies. An additional cancellation fee will not be charged for each costume.
Requests to remove other individual products without cancelling the entire order are treated as order amendments and are subject to the $15 amendment fee.
Once an order has been dispatched, it cannot be cancelled.
The cancellation fee does not apply where DMDC cancels an order because it cannot be supplied, where DMDC is correcting its own error, or where the customer is entitled to a remedy under the Australian Consumer Law.
SHIPPING FEES AND DELIVERY DELAYS
Shipping charges, including Express Post charges, are non-refundable for change-of-mind cancellations, returns, exchanges, customer address errors, failure to collect or delays occurring within the carrier’s network.
Express Post applies only to Australia Post’s transit service after dispatch. It does not provide express order processing, priority production or guaranteed delivery by a particular date.
Carrier delivery estimates are not guarantees. Transit delays, customs processing, weather events, peak periods and periods without tracking updates do not automatically mean a parcel is lost.
A parcel must be investigated and officially declared lost by the relevant carrier before DMDC can review the available refund or replacement options.
Nothing in this section limits rights or remedies available under the Australian Consumer Law.
POTENTIAL SHIPPING FEE ADJUSTMENTS
Shipping rates displayed at checkout are calculated using the information available when the order is placed.
Additional shipping charges may apply to any domestic or international order where:
- The order requires a larger parcel
- The parcel exceeds the size or weight covered by the shipping amount paid
- The selected service cannot be used for the completed parcel
- The carrier’s actual charge exceeds the amount collected at checkout
For international orders, an additional shipping charge may also apply where the completed parcel exceeds 1 kg.
DMDC will calculate the outstanding difference and email the customer an invoice. The additional shipping amount must be paid before the order can be dispatched.
If payment is not received within 10 business days, DMDC may cancel the order and issue a refund in accordance with the Order Cancellations section.
UNITED STATES IMPORT COST RECOVERY SURCHARGE
Orders shipped to the United States are subject to tariffs, duties and processing charges imposed under current US import requirements. These charges are outside DMDC’s control and cannot be waived or avoided.
A mandatory 32% US Import Cost Recovery Surcharge currently applies to the merchandise subtotal of all physical orders shipping to a US address.
Because duties and processing costs vary between different products, the surcharge is an averaged commercial charge and may not equal the exact government charges assessed on each individual product or shipment.
Where the actual import charges exceed the 32% surcharge collected, DMDC absorbs the additional cost. DMDC does not profit from the surcharge.
Australia Post works with Zonos to process applicable import charges on US-bound parcels. Zonos calculates the relevant charges, collects payment from DMDC and remits the funds to the relevant US authorities. Customers do not need to create a Zonos account, pay Zonos separately or contact Zonos directly.
The surcharge:
- Applies to all physical orders shipped to a US address
- Is calculated on the merchandise subtotal
- Cannot be waived, reduced, discounted or removed
- May increase or decrease as US import requirements and DMDC’s costs change
- Is based on the rate displayed when the order is placed
DMDC may update the surcharge without issuing a separate notification each time the rate changes.
Incorrect or missing surcharge amounts
If the surcharge is not applied at checkout, or an insufficient amount is charged (less than 32%), DMDC reserves the right to correct the surcharge and email the customer an invoice for the outstanding difference.
The full applicable surcharge must be paid before the order can be dispatched.
If payment is not received within 10 business days, DMDC may cancel the order and issue a refund in accordance with its cancellation policy.
Customers should contact DMDC by email only where the surcharge charged at checkout is more than 32% of the merchandise subtotal, so the amount can be reviewed.
Refunds of the surcharge
If an order is cancelled before dispatch and the applicable import charges have not been paid or remitted, the surcharge will be included in the eligible refund, less any applicable cancellation fee.
Once DMDC has paid or remitted the applicable import charges, the surcharge is non-refundable. The creation of a shipping label alone does not necessarily mean that the charges have been paid or that the order has been dispatched.