Shipping policy

Effective Date: September 13, 2026

This Shipping Policy applies to orders placed directly with Hat Theory.

Please review this Policy carefully before placing an order. Our merchandise is seasonal Halloween merchandise, and delivery estimates should be considered when deciding whether to purchase.

1. Where We Ship

Hat Theory currently ships only to eligible United States delivery addresses made available through checkout.

We do not currently offer general international customer shipping.

Availability to a particular address is determined at checkout.

2. Fulfillment Location

Hat Theory sources and commissions its merchandise from manufacturers abroad.

Our inventory is stored and orders are fulfilled through our fulfillment partner, NextSmartShip, from its China warehousing network.

NextSmartShip provides warehousing, fulfillment, and shipping services to Hat Theory. Your purchase is from Hat Theory, not NextSmartShip.

3. Orders Placed Before October 1, 2026

Orders placed before October 1, 2026 are advance orders, or preorders, even if the purchase button on our website appears as a standard purchase button.

Full payment is collected when the order is placed.

Fulfillment of these orders is scheduled to begin on or after October 1, 2026.

October 1 is the scheduled beginning of fulfillment and shipment. It is not a promised delivery date.

If we become unable to ship an order within a shipping timeframe we have represented to you, Hat Theory will provide any delay notice, cancellation opportunity, refund, or other remedy required by applicable law.

4. Processing Time

Beginning October 1, 2026, orders generally enter fulfillment and ship within approximately 1–2 business days after being placed.

Orders placed on weekends, holidays, or non-working days begin processing on an applicable working day.

Processing time is separate from carrier transit time.

Additional processing time may occasionally be required because of payment review, address issues, inventory exceptions, operational disruptions, carrier restrictions, or circumstances outside our reasonable control.

5. Standard Shipping

Hat Theory currently offers one shipping service:

Standard Shipping — Estimated 5–12 Business Days

For eligible individual-item orders, Standard Shipping costs $5.99.

The qualifying Hat + Outfit costume bundle receives free Standard Shipping.

Free bundle shipping does not constitute expedited or upgraded service. The bundle uses the same Standard Shipping service offered on orders for which the $5.99 shipping charge applies.

The shipping charge shown at checkout controls in the event of a discrepancy.

6. Delivery Estimates

The estimated 5–12 business day Standard Shipping period is a carrier transit estimate beginning after the order has been processed and shipped.

It does not include preorder waiting time or ordinary order-processing time.

Delivery estimates are not guaranteed delivery dates.

Unless Hat Theory expressly agrees otherwise in writing, we do not guarantee delivery by any particular party, trip, event, celebration, or personal deadline, including Halloween.

Weather, transportation disruptions, customs processing, carrier capacity, governmental action, holidays, natural disasters, and other circumstances outside our reasonable control may affect delivery.

Nothing in this section limits a cancellation, refund, or other remedy that applicable law requires because of a failure to ship within an applicable promised shipment period.

7. Tracking

Tracking information will generally be provided through the email address associated with your order once shipment information becomes available.

Tracking information may take time to update after a shipping label is created or when a shipment transfers between international and domestic carriers.

Customers are responsible for monitoring the tracking information associated with their orders.

8. DDP Shipping and Import Charges

Our designated Standard Shipping service is shipped on a Delivery Duty Paid (“DDP”) basis.

Applicable import duties and customs charges associated with the designated DDP shipment are handled through Hat Theory and its logistics providers.

Customers should not ordinarily be separately charged customs duties upon delivery.

If a carrier unexpectedly requests payment of import duties for a Hat Theory order, contact help@thehattheory.combefore making payment whenever reasonably possible.

9. Shipping Address Responsibility

Customers are responsible for entering a complete and accurate shipping address at checkout.

Please carefully review:

recipient name;
street address;
apartment, suite, or unit number;
city;
state;
ZIP code; and
any other requested delivery information.

If Hat Theory ships an order to the exact address supplied by the customer, Hat Theory is not responsible for loss, delay, failed delivery, or misdelivery caused by an incorrect, incomplete, inaccessible, or otherwise invalid customer-provided address, except where applicable law requires otherwise.

We cannot guarantee that an address can be corrected once fulfillment has begun.

10. Order Changes

We do not directly modify merchandise selections on submitted orders.

If you need to change the merchandise in an order, the original order must first be successfully canceled while cancellation remains available. You may then place a new order containing the correct merchandise.

Because Hat Theory uses an automated fulfillment workflow with NextSmartShip, submitting a cancellation request does not guarantee that an order can still be stopped.

Please review our Purchase Options Cancellation Policy for complete cancellation terms.

11. Order Cancellations

Preorders

Orders placed before October 1, 2026 are subject to our separate Purchase Options Cancellation Policy.

For the 2026 Halloween season, eligible preorders may ordinarily be canceled through:

September 29, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.

Beginning September 30, 2026, preorder merchandise is considered committed to our upcoming automated fulfillment process and is not ordinarily eligible for voluntary cancellation.

Orders Placed On or After October 1

For orders placed on or after October 1, customers may contact us immediately to request cancellation before fulfillment begins.

Because orders may be transmitted automatically to NextSmartShip, cancellation is not guaranteed until Hat Theory confirms that the order has successfully been canceled.

Once fulfillment has begun, the order cannot be canceled through our ordinary cancellation process.

To request cancellation, email:

help@thehattheory.com

Include your order number.

Cancellation before fulfillment is different from returning merchandise after shipment. Hat Theory merchandise is final sale after shipment except for approved claims and remedies required by applicable law.

Nothing in this section limits cancellation, refund, or delay rights required by applicable law.

12. Lost Packages

A package believed to be lost in transit may require investigation by the applicable carrier, NextSmartShip, and Hat Theory before a refund or replacement decision can be made.

Carrier investigations may take time and can be outside Hat Theory's direct control.

Customers may be required to provide reasonable cooperation, confirmations, statements, or other information necessary for the applicable carrier or fulfillment provider to investigate the shipment.

A shipment is not necessarily considered lost merely because tracking has temporarily stopped updating or delivery is delayed.

If a carrier or our fulfillment provider confirms that a shipment is lost, Hat Theory will provide the appropriate remedy under our Return & Refund Policy and applicable law.

13. Packages Marked Delivered

If tracking indicates that a shipment has been delivered but you cannot locate it, promptly:

inspect the delivery location and surrounding property;
check with household members;
check with neighbors, building management, reception, mailrooms, or others who may have accepted the package;
verify that the shipping address on the order is correct; and
contact the applicable last-mile carrier where appropriate.

If the package remains missing, contact:

help@thehattheory.com

We may investigate the shipment and request carrier documentation, proof of delivery, or other information reasonably necessary to evaluate the claim.

A tracking status marked “Delivered” does not automatically entitle the customer to a refund.

Likewise, we will not rely solely on a delivery scan where reliable evidence establishes that the shipment was lost or delivered to an incorrect location.

14. Incorrect or Incomplete Customer Addresses

Where an order is shipped to the exact address supplied by the customer and delivery fails because that address was:

incorrect;
incomplete;
missing an apartment, suite, or unit number;
inaccessible;
nonexistent; or
otherwise unsuitable for delivery,

the customer may be responsible, to the extent permitted by law, for actual resulting costs.

These may include:

address-correction charges;
redelivery charges;
return-to-sender charges;
return transportation costs;
carrier charges; and
warehouse handling expenses.

Where a refund is otherwise required or approved, applicable customer-caused shipping expenses may be deducted to the extent permitted by law.

15. Refused or Unclaimed Deliveries

Refusing a package does not constitute an authorized cancellation or return.

Do not refuse delivery unless Hat Theory has given you prior written authorization to do so.

Where a customer voluntarily refuses, rejects, abandons, or fails to claim a deliverable shipment without prior written authorization from Hat Theory, the customer may be responsible, to the extent permitted by law, for:

actual return freight charges;
return-to-sender charges;
additional carrier charges;
warehouse or return-processing charges;
storage or holding fees actually assessed;
demurrage actually assessed, where applicable;
redelivery expenses; and
a 20% restocking fee based on the merchandise purchase price.

These amounts may be deducted from any refund that Hat Theory is otherwise legally required or chooses to provide.

The 20% restocking fee does not apply where Hat Theory instructs a customer to return merchandise because of an approved defect, damage claim, incorrect item, or fulfillment error.

We will not charge fictitious or speculative transportation, storage, demurrage, or warehouse fees. Pass-through charges represent costs actually assessed or incurred in connection with the shipment.

16. Customer-Caused Delivery Failure

Subject to applicable law, Hat Theory is not responsible for delivery failures resulting from:

an inaccurate customer-provided address;
an incomplete address;
unauthorized refusal of a valid shipment;
failure to claim a shipment;
failure to provide information requested by the carrier;
inability of the carrier to access the delivery location;
customer-requested carrier changes; or
other circumstances attributable to the recipient.

17. Seasonal Merchandise and Delivery Timing

Hat Theory sells specialty seasonal Halloween merchandise.

Customers are responsible for considering the processing and estimated transit times disclosed in this Policy before ordering.

The fact that merchandise is no longer needed because Halloween has passed, a party or event was canceled, plans changed, or a customer's intended use date passed does not by itself create a right to a refund.

This does not apply where Hat Theory failed to meet a legal shipping obligation or where applicable law otherwise requires a remedy.