Returns & Refunds

Every PortableMind drive ships with the firmware, the interface, and several gigabytes of AI models already written to it. When you open the package, you have received the software. That is the entire product, and it cannot be returned any more than an unsealed copy of boxed software can.

This is the standard rule for software and other sealed media, and it is recognized in consumer law for exactly this reason. See section 13 if you are in the EU or the UK.

The 30 day window runs from the date the carrier records delivery. Your return needs to be postmarked inside it, not received inside it.

Because opening the package ends the return right, we would much rather you find out beforehand that a machine is not up to it. Three free ways to check, none of which require buying anything:

• Run the compatibility checker, which tells you how your RAM and OS will handle it.
• Try the live browser demo, which runs a model on your actual computer.
• Read the system requirements, or email us with your machine’s specs and we will tell you honestly whether it is worth it.

If you tell us your specs before ordering and we say it will work, and then it does not work on that machine, we will make it right even if the seal is broken. That promise is only as good as the specs you give us, so be accurate.

1. Email team@portablemind.io with “Return” in the subject line, within the 30 day window.
2. Include the email address you ordered with, plus your Stripe receipt number or the session_id from your confirmation page URL.
3. Tell us whether the package is unopened, and why you are returning it. A photo of the sealed package speeds this up.
4. We reply with a return authorization and the address to send it to. Do not ship anything back before you have that, because unauthorized returns can go missing and we cannot refund what we cannot identify.
5. Pack it so it survives the trip, ship it with tracking, and send us the tracking number.

We inspect returns on arrival to confirm the seal is intact, then issue the refund. Inspection is a check for eligibility, not a judgment call we use to avoid refunding you.

Original shipping charges are refunded only when the return is our fault. Where we pay, we send you a prepaid label rather than asking you to pay and claim it back. Until a returned parcel reaches us it is your responsibility, so use tracking.

• Refunds go back to the original payment method. We cannot send them anywhere else, which is a Stripe and card-network rule rather than our preference.
• We process the refund within 3 business days of accepting the return. Your bank then takes 5 to 10 business days to post it.
• You are refunded the full purchase price of the returned item, plus sales tax charged on it.
• Where a referral or promotional discount was applied, we refund what you actually paid.
• We do not charge restocking fees.

A defective unit is covered whether or not you opened it. Our 30 day limited warranty covers defects in materials and workmanship, and firmware that does not substantially perform as described on a machine that meets the published requirements.

Email us with your order details and a description of what is happening. Most faults turn out to be fixable in a couple of messages, and we would rather get you working than process paperwork. Where it is genuinely defective we repair, replace, or refund it at our option, and we pay the postage both ways.

If a parcel arrives visibly damaged, photograph the packaging before you open it and email us within 7 days of delivery. Photos of the outer box are what carriers require for a claim, and they are hard to recreate later.

• If tracking has not moved for 7 business days, email us and we will open a carrier trace.
• If tracking says delivered and you do not have it, check with your household and neighbors first, then email us within 14 days of the delivery scan so we can file a claim while the carrier still accepts one.
• If we shipped you the wrong item, keep it until we tell you otherwise and we will send the right one at our cost.
• Parcels returned to us as undeliverable because of an incorrect address are reshipped once you pay the reshipping cost, or refunded minus the original postage.

Email us as soon as you can. Anything still in the queue is cancelled and refunded in full, immediately and without argument. Units are prepared to order, so the sooner you write the more likely we catch it. Once it is with the carrier the return rules above take over.

Digital products deliver a key by email, which you use to set up hardware you already own. There is nothing to ship back, so the rule is about whether the key has been used:

• Key not yet used to set up a drive: full refund, any time, just ask.
• Key already used: refunds are at our discretion, and we exercise it generously where the product plainly could not work on your machine.
• Bought on a Mac by mistake where the product requires Windows: full refund, always, used or not.

Orders shipped outside the United States and Canada are final sale. Return postage from overseas routinely costs more than the product, and customs paperwork on a returning parcel is unreliable, so we do not accept change-of-mind returns on them.

What does still apply internationally: a defective unit is covered under the 30 day warranty, a parcel damaged in transit is covered, and a parcel that never arrives is covered. Email us and we will sort out a replacement or a carrier claim. Duties and VAT you already paid to your own government are not refundable by us, and you may be able to reclaim them directly from your customs authority.

See Shipping for destinations, rates, and duty responsibility.

• Any unit whose factory seal has been broken, unless it is defective.
• Units returned after the 30 day window has closed.
• Units that are physically damaged, modified, reformatted, or missing parts, where the damage was not present on arrival.
• Units bought from anyone other than us. Counterfeits are a real problem for this product, and we can only stand behind what we sold. See buyer beware if you are unsure.
• Free items, including the field guide and prompt packs given away at no cost.
• Change-of-mind returns on international orders.

If you are a consumer in the EU or the UK you normally have 14 days to withdraw from a distance purchase. That right does not apply to sealed software that has been unsealed after delivery. This is set out in Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU, Article 16(i) and, in the UK, Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, regulation 28(1)(b). PortableMind is sealed software on a drive, so an unopened unit is returnable and an opened one is not.

Your other statutory rights are untouched. Goods must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose, and as described. If they are not, you are entitled to a remedy regardless of anything on this page, and our 30 day warranty sits on top of those rights rather than replacing them.

Note that we ship internationally on a delivered-duty-unpaid basis and international orders are final sale for change of mind, as explained in section 11.