Deposits, Cancellations and Refunds

A deposit is the first instalment of the order price, payable on order confirmation. It is not a booking fee held by Open Dock, once an order confirmation is accepted and a deposit is paid, we use it to place and hold your position with the supplier, and, where relevant, to pay for tooling, materials or a production slot.

The order confirmation states the deposit amount and the remaining milestone payments, typically a balance before dispatch, and any interim payments tied to production stages for larger orders.

Funds become committed once we place a purchase order with the supplier, pay a supplier deposit, commission tooling, or book freight or inspection services on your behalf. From that point, those specific costs are generally outside our control to recover, because they have already been paid to a third party for work done or reserved capacity.

We place supplier orders promptly after your deposit clears so that lead times start running in your favour. If you need a window to cancel before that happens, tell us in writing before you pay the deposit and we will confirm the cut-off in writing.

If you cancel after paying a deposit but before we have placed the order with the supplier or committed any cost, we refund the deposit in full, less any third-party costs already incurred on your behalf (for example, expedited sample fees) and any Open Dock work completed at your request, such as specification development.

Once we have placed the order with the supplier, cancellation is subject to what the supplier will release. We will approach the supplier promptly to seek the best recoverable outcome, but tooling costs, materials already purchased, and any supplier cancellation fee are typically not recoverable, and will be deducted from any refund. We pass through what the supplier actually returns; we do not guarantee a supplier will agree to cancel.

Once cutting, moulding, printing or assembly has started, most suppliers will not refund materials or labour committed to the run in progress. In this case a refund is limited to any balance payments not yet due and any amount the supplier agrees to release for unstarted quantities. We will tell you plainly, based on what the supplier confirms, what portion (if any) is recoverable before you decide whether to proceed with cancellation.

Where a pre-shipment inspection finds the goods fail the agreed standard and we and you decide not to dispatch, we work with the supplier to have the lot reworked, replaced or credited. If the supplier will not remedy the failure, any amount recovered from the supplier is refunded to you, less costs already incurred for freight booking, inspection or handling that cannot themselves be recovered.

Freight and inspection fees already paid to third parties for that shipment are generally not refundable, because they relate to a service already performed (the inspection itself) or a booking already made.

If a supplier fails to deliver, becomes insolvent, or otherwise breaches the purchase order, we will pursue the remedies available under our contract with the supplier on your behalf, including replacement, credit or refund. Any amount recovered is passed through to you. Open Dock's own fee for the sourcing and management service already performed up to that point is not automatically refunded, since that work was completed as agreed, but we will discuss this with you where a supplier failure was foreseeable and we did not flag it.

• Amount paid by you, minus
• Costs already committed to the supplier that are not recoverable (materials, tooling, production run in progress),
• Freight, inspection or customs costs already incurred with a third party for that consignment,
• Open Dock's fee for work already performed up to the point of cancellation, where applicable under the order confirmation.

We will provide an itemised breakdown of any deduction on request before a refund is finalised.

We aim to confirm the outcome of a refund request within 10 business days of receiving it, though supplier negotiation can take longer for cancellations after production has begun. Approved refunds are paid to the account or card used for the original payment within 10 business days of the outcome being confirmed.

Email info@opendock.com.au with your order reference, the reason for the request, and the outcome you are seeking. We will confirm receipt and the next step, including any information we need from the supplier before we can respond.

Nothing in this policy limits any right or remedy you have under the Australian Consumer Law that cannot be excluded.