Refund & cancellation policy

Captain Roam is a trade name of DIBC LLC, an Ohio limited liability company. This policy covers custom trip guides and Full Field Guides, as a PDF, a printed book, or both. Contact: [email protected]. It should be read with our Terms of service. If anything in this policy conflicts with your rights under the law where you live, the law wins (see "Your legal rights" below).

We currently accept orders from customers in the United States only.

The short version: Full refund if you cancel before we start. If you cancel after we start, we keep a fair share for the work already done (never more than half the guide price) and always refund the $35 rush fee. After delivery, we fix your guide with a revision; if it's substantially wrong, you choose a remake or a full refund. Damaged, defective or lost printed books are reprinted or refunded.

Sending the order form does not create a charge. You can walk away at any time before you pay (PDF only) or approve your quote (printed book or Both).

"Business days" means Monday to Friday, excluding US federal holidays, on US Eastern Time.

Before we start work

If you cancel after you pay or approve your quote, but before we start work on your guide, we refund you in full: the guide price, any rush fee, and any print fee and shipping you have already paid.

Work starts when the Captain begins research and writing, after you pay (PDF only) or after you approve your quote (printed book or Both). We'll send you a short email when work on your guide starts, so you always know where you stand. If you want to cancel, email us as soon as you can. If we haven't started, you get a full refund.

After work has started, before delivery

If you cancel after work has started but before we deliver your guide, we keep a fair share of the guide price for the work already done, never more than 50%, and refund the rest, plus any print fee and shipping that has not yet been spent. The $35 rush fee is always refunded if you cancel.

Once your guide is delivered

Each guide includes one round of revisions, sent within 14 days of delivery, back to you in 2 business days. After delivery, we fix problems with a revision rather than a refund, where the law allows.

If the guide is substantially wrong (for example the wrong destination, or it doesn't follow the dates or brief you gave us), email us within 30 days of delivery. We will remake it or refund you in full, whichever you prefer.

A change of mind, a change of dates or destination, or preferring a different style after delivery is handled with your included revision, not a refund. A new destination or new dates is a new guide.

Printed books

We currently ship printed books within the United States only.

• If your printed book arrives damaged or defective, email us within 30 days of delivery with photos. We will reprint and reship it at no charge, or refund the print fee and shipping, whichever you prefer. You don't need to send the damaged book back.
• If a book is lost in transit or never arrives, we reprint and reship or refund the print fee and shipping. If tracking hasn't updated for 20 business days, or the book hasn't arrived 20 business days after the estimated delivery date, email us and we'll treat it as lost.
• If you cancel a print order before we send it to our printer, we refund the print fee and shipping in full. The guide-price rules above still apply.
• Once we have sent your book to our printer, the print fee and shipping are not refundable except for damage, defects, loss in transit, a delay we tell you about (see below), or if we cancel the order.
• Shipping time is separate from the 5-business-day turnaround and is not a reason for a refund on its own, unless the book is lost or never arrives, or we can't ship it by the date we gave you.
• If your book is going to be late: we give you an estimated ship date with your quote. If we can't ship by then, we'll email you before that date with a new date and the choice to wait or cancel for a full refund of the print fee and shipping. If we can't give you a new date, you can cancel any time before it ships.
• Wrong address: please check your shipping address on the quote. If a book is returned because the address you gave was wrong or incomplete, we'll reship it at cost once you confirm the right address.

Rush

Rush (48 hours, +$35) is offered for Weekend and Week trip guides only, and covers the guide only, not printing or shipping. The 48 hours start when you pay. If we miss the 48-hour rush, we refund the $35 rush fee. You keep your order, and the guide is still due under the standard 5-business-day turnaround, unless you also cancel under the rules above. If you cancel, the $35 rush fee is always refunded.

If we can't do your destination, or we miss the turnaround

If we don't think we can do your destination well, we tell you within 1 business day and refund you in full.

If we miss the 5-business-day turnaround, you can cancel for a full refund, or wait and keep your order.

How to ask, and how refunds are paid

Email [email protected]. Include your name, the email you ordered with, and what you'd like us to do. Everything happens in writing, by email.

We reply within 1 business day. Approved refunds go back to the original payment method. We send them within 5 business days of approving them. Your bank or card issuer may take a few more days to show it.

Payment disputes

If something's wrong with a charge, please email us first. We can usually fix it faster than a bank dispute, and we'll never make you jump through hoops for a refund you're owed. This doesn't limit your right to dispute a charge with your card issuer or bank.

What this policy doesn't cover

We don't book, sell or resell travel. Cancellations, changes or refunds for flights, hotels, tours, restaurants or any other travel you book are between you and that provider. If your trip is cancelled or changed after we've started or delivered your guide, the rules above still apply. Just ask and we'll see what we can do with your revision.

Published guidebooks (Captain Roam's ready-made guidebooks, when available) are covered by separate return rules shown on the guidebook page. Guidebooks bought through another store (for example Kindle or Apple Books) follow that store's refund rules.

Your legal rights

This policy does not take away any rights you have under applicable law. Nothing here limits your right to dispute a charge with your bank.