Frequently Asked Questions

Below are answers to our most commonly asked questions. If you have one that is not answered below, please email us.

Orders

Can I cancel my order?

Due to the made-to-order and/or personalized nature of our products, we unfortunately cannot allow cancellations or returns/exchanges. All sales are final.

But what if my order is lost in the mail?

As our crates are insured, we do file claims with the USPS in the awful event that these are lost/stolen while in transit. Refunds are processed for these if and when we receive the insurance payout from the USPS. They have been timely with these in the past, and we always provide the customer with status updates on the claim.

For other items, it is the responsibility of the customer to contact the shipping carrier and filing a claim.

What if my item arrives damaged in transit?

Even with the care taken to package our products, some times they are not handled as carefully as we would hope. If your item arrives damaged, please send us an email with pictures of the damage. In this instance, we are usually able to order a replacement.

What if I received the wrong item in my order?

If it is a mistake on our part, we will order the correct item shipped to you immediately at no cost to you. If it was a mistake on the part of the customer ordering incorrectly, our no return/exchange policy applies.

What if I need to change something on my order?

All orders are processed (i.e. sent to our printer) the morning of the  following business day after the order is placed. If you notice that the wrong item/size/color/etc was ordered by mistake or the wrong shipping address was entered, send an email prior to the next business day morning, and we can make the changes. We cannot make the changes after the order has been sent to our printer.

For preorder items (i.e. new release paperbacks, crates, etc), changes can be made until the preorder period ends.

Do you ship internationally?

We are no longer shipping outside of the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand—except for books. This is due to the complexity of tax codes in other countries, and as a one-person run shop, I don’t have the capacity to comply with each country’s rules.

Crates

I hate surprises. Will you whisper to me what items are in the crate?

Due to our wanting to keep spoilers to a minimum, we only allow for hints or reveals on a case-by-case basis with the promise that the individual requesting will NOT share this information publicly on social media.

Will there ever be a past items sale?

Part of our promise to crate recipients, all of our included items are considered exclusive. This means we will never sell them apart from their crate.

What is usually included in crates?

We pride ourselves on including usable items so even if the recipient does not know or like a represented fandom, they can still use the item. Past crates have included camp mug, wearable items (such as jewelry or headbands), edible items (tea or coffee), self-care products (such as perfumes and lotions), candles, art, and bookmarks.

Other Questions

I'm looking for a small press to publish my book. Are you taking submissions?

Nope. Crab Apple Books is an independent publishing imprint for a single author, our owner, Vanessa Rasanen. We do not publish other authors' works.

I am interested in independently publishing. Do you have any advice?

Find out more about our author services here and a list of resources we recommend for services outside our scope.

How do I get my book on your store shelves?

Crab Apple Books is not a retail bookstore. We do sell signed paperbacks of those novels we publish, but we do not sell other authors' books.

Do you take requests for future collections and/or designs?

You are always welcome to email us with your suggestions; however, we cannot guarantee these will be added. These can be ordered as a custom design, but this incurs additional design fees and is subject to availability.