A Brighton seagull in a Hawaiian shirt, wearing yellow sunglasses, a hat, and with one finger to its beak, standing behind a return counter with a sign that says 'RETURNS'.

Hello, Steven here…

Now, you probably already know this – but for anyone who skipped the About Brighton Spores bit, here's the headline: I'm passionate about magic mushroom spores and Brighton Spores is a one-man shop from beak to tail feather. I do the packing, the posting, the emailing and the head-scratching, all of it, me. So please keep that in mind when you're placing an order (I would like to thank you, from the bottom of my little seagull heart, for backing an independent business). There's no faceless Amazon returns department here – it’s just me and my chips.

Right. On to the serious stuff.

Cancellations & Refunds

There are three types of cancellation:

1.    Cancelling before you've paid

2.    Cancelling after you've paid but before it's shipped

3.    Cancelling after it's shipped

Let's take them in order –

1. Cancelling before you've paid

Easy, breezy. Just… don't pay. If you've got bits in your cart and you've had a change of heart, either clear them out or leave them be. Leave them, and you might get a cheeky little reminder that they're sitting there lonely – but you're under no obligation to pay a penny. Nothing gets processed until payment lands, so no payment means no order. Simple as that.

2. Cancelling after you've paid (but before it's shipped)

Here it's all about timing. If you decide to pull out after hitting confirm, drop me an email as fast as your wings will carry you. As mentioned in Shipping, I try to stay on top of every order so nobody's left disappointed – which means the sooner you tell me, the better, before things get tangled.

The easiest route is to reply straight to your order confirmation, since that's already got all your details on it. Can't find it? Reach me through the Contact page or email me directly at steven@brightonspores.com, and pop in:

  • Your order number (or just what you ordered, if that's easier)

  • Where you'd like the refund sent — the bank account you paid from, or a crypto address in the same currency you sent over

One favour: make the subject line clear — something like "CANCELLATION – order #1234" so it doesn't slip past me in the flock of emails. Bonus points if it's catchy too, but clarity first, comedy second.

Then I'll cancel it, refund you, and fire over a confirmation. Sorted.

3. Cancelling after it's shipped

This is where it gets a touch more complicated. Once your parcel's out the door, I can't exactly swoop down and prise it off the postie — and the clock has well and truly started ticking on anything perishable, syringes especially. So, here's how it shakes out, depending on what's in the box –

If you ordered a syringe and want to cancel after the shipping notice — I'm sorry, but there's genuinely nothing I can do here. No return, no refund. Syringes are a perishable product: the moment they're on their way, they're deteriorating on a clock, and I can't take back something I can't sell on. So please, order your syringes carefully — this is the one to be sure about before you click confirm.

If you ordered a print or swab and want to cancel after the shipping notice — you've got one option: send me an email and let me know what the problem is. From there we can work together to resolve the issue. Something to keep in mind: every print and swab goes through a proper sterilisation process before it's packed, so every return gets inspected – and it lives or dies by one rule: the seal must be intact. Inner and outer packaging, everything in its original wrapping, seals unbroken, nothing damaged. No sneaky peek before you send it back, I'm afraid – because the second that seal's gone, I've no way of knowing its state. And anything that puts contamination in question voids the return and the refund.

I know that can be frustrating, and I don't say it to be difficult. But flip it round — how would you feel opening something a stranger had already handled and posted back? I want everything that leaves here to be spot-on, so if a return's viability is in any doubt, I must turn it down. That's me protecting you as a continued customer and the customers that come after you.

And for the rule-sticklers — yes, the UK has a statutory "right to return." But it comes with specific exclusions, and two of them land right at my door: perishable goods (where there's no automatic legal right to a refund at all) and goods sealed for hygiene reasons (where you lose the right to a refund the moment they're unsealed). That law is a beauty for a TV, a washing machine, or a pair of runners. For spores? Not so much.

Other Situations

Something doesn't seem quite right? Contact me straight away and let me know – and as they say, a photo is worth a thousand words, so add a photo to make things crystal clear. Once I know what I'm dealing with, we'll figure out the next step together – and if it turns out something isn’t quite right, I'll do my best to put it right, as it should be.

Turned up noticeably damaged? Snap a quick photo and get in touch right away. Don't leave it till tomorrow or next week — the longer the gap, the more awkward the conversation gets for both of us. Tell me early, and it's an easy fix.

Got your package, watched a few videos, followed the blogs, and… nothing's happening? Microscopy's a rewarding hobby, but it does ask for patience and a bit of perseverance. Believe me, I've had my share of nights up on the railings scratching my head — so hang in there, don't give up. Reach out and I'll be as helpful as I possibly can. One thing to keep in mind: I keep to the straight and narrow. I don't wander down the shadowy paths, and if you come to me with questions that are a bit questionable — or stray outside what's legal here in the UK — please don't take it personally when I politely tell you I can't help. It's not you, it's the law, and I'd rather keep my feathers clean.

Thanks for reading this far, and thanks again for supporting the little guy.

— Steven