Terms of service

Terms of Service

Last updated: September 6, 2026

Welcome to The Ugly Duckling

Welcome to The Ugly Duckling, where we believe that even forgotten treasures deserve the chance to be beautiful again.

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your use of The Ugly Duckling website, online store, products, content, features, and services (collectively, the “Services”).

Throughout these Terms, “The Ugly Duckling,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to The Ugly Duckling. “You” and “your” refer to customers, visitors, and other users of our Services.

Our online store is powered by Shopify, which provides the e-commerce platform that enables us to offer our products and Services to you.

By accessing our website, browsing our store, placing an order, purchasing a product, downloading a digital product, or otherwise using our Services, you agree to these Terms and our applicable store policies.

Please read these Terms carefully before using our Services.

Where Even the Forgotten Can Be Beautiful.™

1. Our Products & One-of-a-Kind Finds

The Ugly Duckling is a curated boutique thrift store offering merchandise that may include new, new-with-tags, new old stock, vintage, antique, gently used, pre-loved, repurposed, collectible, discontinued, handmade, or one-of-a-kind items.

Because many of our treasures have lived a life before reaching our shop, reasonable signs of age, previous use, wear, patina, fading, variations, imperfections, repairs, or other characteristics may be present.

These characteristics are often part of the item's history and charm and are not necessarily defects.

We make reasonable efforts to photograph and describe our products accurately and to disclose known significant imperfections.

Please Look Before Your Treasure Leaves the Nest

Before purchasing, please carefully review:

All photographs
Product descriptions
Measurements and dimensions
Size information
Condition descriptions
Materials, when known
Disclosed flaws, wear, damage, repairs, or imperfections
Shipping or local-pickup requirements

Colors and appearances may vary somewhat because of lighting, photography, monitors, screens, and device settings.

Measurements are provided as a helpful reference and may be approximate, particularly for vintage and pre-loved merchandise.

If you have questions about an item, please contact us before purchasing.

2. All Sales Are Final

Because many of our items are unique, vintage, pre-loved, discontinued, collectible, or limited in quantity:

ALL SALES ARE FINAL.

Unless otherwise required by applicable law, The Ugly Duckling does not accept returns, exchanges, or cancellations after a purchase has been completed.

We do not provide returns or refunds for reasons including:

Change of mind or buyer's remorse
Fit or sizing
Color or style preference
An item not fitting a customer's space
Normal characteristics of vintage or pre-loved merchandise
Age, wear, or imperfections disclosed in the listing
Failure to review measurements, dimensions, photographs, condition, or product descriptions before purchasing

Please purchase thoughtfully and review the complete listing before checking out.

Once a treasure leaves the nest, the sale is final.

This policy does not limit any consumer right or remedy that cannot lawfully be waived.

California requires retailers with certain limited or no-refund policies to clearly disclose those policies. Accordingly, our ALL SALES FINAL policy is also provided in our Return and Refund Policy and may be displayed elsewhere in our store and checkout experience.

3. Wrong, Materially Misrepresented, or Shipping-Damaged Items

Although all sales are final, we want customers to receive what they actually purchased.

If you receive the wrong item, believe an item is materially different from how it was represented in the listing, or receive an item that appears to have been damaged during shipping, please contact us promptly.

For shipping damage, please retain:

The item
Original shipping box or container
Original packing materials
Shipping label
Any other packaging

We may request photographs or other information reasonably necessary to evaluate the issue or assist with a carrier claim.

Any remedy will be determined based on the circumstances, our applicable policies, carrier requirements, and applicable law.

4. Vintage, Antique, Collectible & Pre-Loved Merchandise

Unless expressly stated otherwise, The Ugly Duckling does not guarantee the age, provenance, historical significance, authenticity, attribution, manufacturer, artist, collectible value, investment value, or future resale value of vintage, antique, collectible, or pre-loved merchandise.

Any description of an item's age, era, origin, maker, style, or history is based on information reasonably available to us at the time of listing.

We encourage collectors purchasing particularly valuable items to conduct their own research before purchasing.

5. Clothing, Shoes & Accessories

Sizing can vary significantly by manufacturer, era, country, and garment.

Vintage sizing in particular may differ substantially from modern sizing.

When measurements are provided, customers should compare those measurements with an item they already own rather than relying solely on the size printed on a manufacturer's label.

A difference in fit is not grounds for a return or exchange under our All Sales Final policy, except where otherwise required by applicable law.

6. Furniture & Large Finds

Certain furniture, décor, and oversized merchandise may be designated Local Pickup Only.

Customers are responsible for reviewing the dimensions of an item and determining whether it will fit through doors, hallways, stairways, elevators, vehicles, and its intended location before purchasing.

Customers picking up large merchandise are responsible for arriving with an appropriately sized vehicle and any necessary assistance, blankets, straps, tie-downs, or other equipment needed to transport the item safely unless we expressly agree otherwise.

The Ugly Duckling is not responsible for an item's failure to fit in a customer's vehicle, home, doorway, room, or intended space when accurate or approximate dimensions were provided before purchase.

7. Local Pickup

When local pickup is offered, customers should wait until they receive a Ready for Pickup notification before arriving.

Pickup is by appointment only.

Pickup instructions will be provided as appropriate for the order.

Customers may be asked to provide their order confirmation and reasonable identification or verification before merchandise is released.

An order will not be considered picked up until it has been released to the customer or the customer's authorized pickup person.

8. Digital Products & Downloads

The Ugly Duckling may offer digital products, including ebooks, workbooks, guides, printables, sourcing cards, templates, or other downloadable materials.

Unless expressly stated otherwise, purchasing a digital product grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license for your personal use only.

Digital products may not be reproduced, resold, redistributed, uploaded, shared publicly, sublicensed, repackaged, or commercially exploited without our prior written permission.

Because digital products can generally be accessed or downloaded immediately, digital-product purchases are final and non-refundable, except as required by applicable law.

If you experience a legitimate technical problem accessing a purchased digital product, please contact us so we can attempt to assist you.

9. Product Availability

Many Ugly Duckling treasures are one of a kind.

Placing an item in your shopping cart does not necessarily reserve it. An item may remain available to other customers until checkout and payment are successfully completed.

We reserve the right to limit quantities, discontinue products, correct inventory errors, or cancel an order if merchandise is unavailable.

If we cancel an order after payment because the merchandise is unavailable, we will refund the amount paid for the canceled item or order.

10. Prices & Payments

Prices are displayed in the currency indicated by our store and are subject to change without notice before purchase.

Applicable taxes, shipping charges, and other disclosed charges may be added during checkout.

By providing payment information, you represent that you are authorized to use the selected payment method and authorize the applicable charges associated with your purchase.

Payments may be processed through Shopify Payments or other third-party payment providers made available through our store.

11. Orders

We reserve the right, as permitted by law, to refuse, limit, or cancel an order when reasonably necessary, including because of:

Suspected fraud or unauthorized transactions; pricing or inventory errors; product availability; violation of these Terms; payment problems; shipping restrictions; or other legitimate business, security, or legal reasons.

If we cancel a paid order and no merchandise is provided, we will issue an appropriate refund for the canceled portion.

12. Shipping & Delivery

Shipping availability, charges, carriers, and estimated delivery information will be provided through our website or checkout when applicable.

Processing and delivery estimates are estimates rather than guaranteed delivery dates, unless we expressly state otherwise.

After an order has been transferred to a shipping carrier, circumstances outside our reasonable control may affect delivery.

Customers are responsible for providing a complete and accurate shipping address.

Please review our Shipping Policy for additional shipping, delivery, packaging, and local-pickup information.

Shopify advises merchants to make fulfillment and delivery timelines clear to customers before a purchase is completed.

13. Accuracy of Information

We make reasonable efforts to ensure that product descriptions, prices, photographs, measurements, availability, and other information on our website are accurate.

However, occasional typographical, pricing, inventory, measurement, or other errors may occur.

We reserve the right to correct errors and update information as permitted by law.

Nothing in these Terms permits The Ugly Duckling to engage in false, deceptive, or misleading advertising or limits rights that cannot legally be waived.

14. Customer Accounts

If you create an account with our store, you are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality and security of your login information.

You are responsible for providing accurate and current account information.

Please notify us if you believe your account has been accessed or used without authorization.

15. Acceptable Use

You may not use our website or Services for unlawful, fraudulent, abusive, or malicious purposes.

You may not attempt to interfere with the security or operation of our Services, introduce malicious code, gain unauthorized access to systems or accounts, scrape or misuse content in violation of applicable law, impersonate another person, or use our Services in a manner that violates applicable laws or the rights of others.

We reserve the right to restrict access to our Services when reasonably necessary to protect our customers, business, systems, or legal rights.

16. Intellectual Property

Unless otherwise indicated, The Ugly Duckling's original website content—including our original photographs, written descriptions, graphics, branding, digital products, logos, designs, and other original materials—is owned by or licensed to The Ugly Duckling and is protected by applicable intellectual-property laws.

The Ugly Duckling, our branding, and “Where Even the Forgotten Can Be Beautiful.™” may not be used in a manner that falsely suggests sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement.

You may not reproduce, distribute, sell, commercially exploit, or create unauthorized derivative works from our protected content except as permitted by law or with our written permission.

Third-party trademarks and product names remain the property of their respective owners.

17. Third-Party Services & Shopify

Our store is powered by Shopify and may use third-party providers for payments, shipping, analytics, communications, social media, and other business functions.

Your use of certain third-party services may also be subject to those providers' respective terms and privacy policies.

The inclusion of a third-party service or link does not necessarily constitute our endorsement of that third party.

18. Privacy

Your submission of personal information through our Services is governed by our Privacy Policy.

Please review our Privacy Policy for information regarding how personal information may be collected, used, processed, retained, and disclosed and the privacy choices or rights that may be available to you.

19. Disclaimer of Warranties

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, our Services and merchandise are provided subject to the descriptions, conditions, and disclosures stated in the applicable product listing and our store policies.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits warranties, consumer protections, or other rights that cannot legally be excluded or limited.

Because much of our merchandise is vintage, antique, pre-loved, or one of a kind, customers should carefully review each item's individual condition description before purchasing.

20. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, The Ugly Duckling will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of the Services or products purchased through the Services.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability where doing so would be prohibited by applicable law.

21. Indemnification

To the extent permitted by applicable law, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless The Ugly Duckling from third-party claims, losses, liabilities, and reasonable expenses arising from your unlawful use of the Services, your violation of these Terms, or your infringement of another person's rights.

22. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is determined to be unlawful, invalid, or unenforceable, that provision will be enforced to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law or severed as necessary, without affecting the validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions.

23. No Waiver

Our failure to enforce a provision of these Terms on one occasion does not constitute a waiver of that provision or our right to enforce it in the future.

24. Governing Law

These Terms and your use of our Services are governed by applicable laws of the State of California and applicable federal law, without depriving consumers of any protections that cannot legally be waived.

Nothing in these Terms is intended to prevent a consumer from exercising rights or remedies available under applicable law.

25. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms periodically to reflect changes to our Services, business practices, or applicable legal or regulatory requirements.

The current version will be posted on our website with an updated “Last updated” date.

Changes will apply prospectively as required by applicable law.

26. Contact Us

Questions about these Terms or an order may be directed to:

The Ugly Duckling
Email: lily@theuglyduckling.store
Website: theuglyduckling.store

Thank you for shopping thoughtfully, supporting secondhand treasures, and helping us give beautiful things another chapter.