Returns & Warranty

What happened? Pick your situation:

• 🔄I changed my mind
• ☕Something's off with my coffee
• ⚙️My machine or gear is faulty
• 📦I received the wrong item
• 🚚Lost or damaged in transit
• 📭You couldn't supply my item
• 🏷️Sale & clearance items
• 🛠️Repairs & servicing

Changed your mind? 30 days, no drama

30 days from delivery on unused gear. What comes back to you depends on condition:

What counts as “used”? A machine that's had water through it, a grinder with beans in it, worn apparel, opened consumables — any of these and the item is used, and change-of-mind returns are off the table. We can't resell gear that's entered service as new, so this line is hard and we don't make exceptions. (A faulty item is a completely different story — faults are always covered, used or not: see the faulty section.)

This applies to coffee machines and grinders too — sealed ones come back at full value; there's no special exclusion any more.

Return postage: request the return from your account and we'll email you a tracked label at our commercial eParcel rates — usually cheaper than the post office, and we both see the parcel the whole way home. The label cost comes off your refund or credit; or use your own tracked service if you prefer.

Not eligible for change of mind: coffee (it's perishable and roasted for you — see below), clearance-marked items, gift cards, special orders, and international orders. Faults in all of these are always covered.

Something's off with your coffee?

We roast whole bean to order and print the roast date on every bag — so let's split “off” into its two very different meanings:

Our fault — we replace or refund, simple

• Beans arrived stale relative to the roast date on the bag
• Wrong coffee or wrong roast sent (not what you ordered)
• Defective bag or seal, or anything that shouldn't be in there

Email hello@centralcoastcoffee.com.au with a photo of the bag and roast date within a few days of delivery and we'll make it right. Nothing needs posting back — coffee never travels twice.

Taste is a journey — talk to us before you write it off

• Drinking it too fresh is the #1 “problem” we see. Fresh-roasted beans need to rest — most of our coffees hit peak flavour between day 7 and day 27 after roast. If it tastes flat or sharp in week one, that's the roast still degassing, not a fault.
• Oily beans on dark roasts are a feature, not a flaw — darker roasts (into second crack) push oils to the surface after a couple of weeks. That heavier body is what cuts through milk.
• Not loving a coffee? Tell us how you're brewing (method, grind, water, dose) and we'll help you dial it in — we drink everything we sell. We often keep roast samples and can cup your batch side-by-side to check it.

We don't refund coffee for taste preference (that's the adventure of single origins), but we'd genuinely rather coach you to a great cup than have you quietly unhappy — and if we cup your batch and something's wrong with it, that's our-fault territory and we'll replace it.

Machine or gear faulty?

First: give your order a once-over within 72 hours of delivery if you can and tell us fast — it makes carrier claims much easier. Couldn't unbox straight away? Just say so. Your Consumer Law rights are never affected by this timeframe.

Quick checks first (10–15 minutes, not an obstacle course). Email us photos/video and we'll run a few checks together — for machines this solves most issues on the spot (it's usually setup, water or scale). Rather skip it? Send the item in for bench assessment instead.

If it needs to come back, you choose:

Machines & grinders

We repair and warranty every machine we sell — that's the point of buying from a local roaster instead of a grey importer. Depending on the fault we'll fix it in-house, through our authorised service partners, or through the distributor — and when the manufacturer needs to be involved, we lodge the claim and CC you into the thread so their techs talk to you directly while we stay on it and own the outcome. Minor fault = we'll repair or replace; major failure = refund or replacement, your call.

Straight answers on the fine print

• A confirmed fault never costs you the return — label, RTS or reimbursement.
• Faulty refunds are always full refunds to your original payment, including original shipping.
• No fault found / damage from misuse (scale neglect, wrong water, drops)? A $40 assessment fee plus return freight applies — the quick checks first usually save everyone this.
• Used it for months before the fault appeared? Still covered — that's what durability means.

Wrong item in the box? Our mistake — our cost

Photo of what arrived, then choose:

• Advanced exchange: reorder now, we refund the wrong item + your costs when it lands (RTS trick = free).
• Return first: label from us, correct item ships on arrival.
• Keep it: sometimes we'll offer a discount to keep the wrong item rather than post it twice.

Missing item? Photos of parcel + contents and we resend; small items under $25 (in multi-item orders) may be refunded instead — postage would cost more than the item.

Lost or damaged in transit

Full process on Shipping & Delivery: we lodge and chase the carrier daily, resend or refund (your choice) at 14 days, stat dec over $100, tampered parcels remedied on photos + stat dec without waiting for the carrier's verdict.

We couldn't supply your item

If something can't be located at packing or was oversold, you'll get an email with your options same-day — you pick:

Multi-item orders

1. Ship the rest + store credit for the missing item
2. Ship the rest + refund the missing item
3. Swap for something else
4. Wait for the backorder (with ETA)
5. Cancel for store credit (recommended if you'll reorder — we don't get our merchant fees back on refunds)
6. Cancel for a full refund

Single-item orders

1. Wait for the backorder
2. Cancel for store credit
3. Cancel for a full refund

We can't split shipments, and when the miss is ours, a full refund is always on the table — no fees.

Pre-orders & special orders

ETAs shown on the product page and stamped on your order. You cancel before dispatch: full store credit, or refund minus 3% processing. Our ETA slips: we tell you first and offer a full refund, no fees. Special-order items (brought in just for you) can't be cancelled once ordered with the supplier — we'll always tell you before that happens.

Sale & clearance items

Items marked Clearance / Final Sale on the product page are excluded from change-of-mind — that's how they got that price. Faults are always covered in full, and any specific flaw (ex-demo scratch etc.) is disclosed on the listing before you buy.

A note on packaging: we sometimes open boxes to photograph products, verify contents, or check dimensions for customers — those items are brand new and unused. An opened outer box alone doesn't mean a machine isn't new.

Machine repairs & servicing

Out-of-warranty repairs and servicing for machines and grinders (in-house + authorised partners):

• $40 assessment, credited against the repair if you proceed
• Written quote approved before any work starts
• Freight both ways is yours on out-of-warranty jobs (or drop in — we're at Somersby)
• Warranty repairs are always free — see the faulty section
• Repaired items uncollected after 3 months' written notice may be disposed of under the NSW Uncollected Goods Act

The boring-but-important bits

• Proof of purchase for all returns (order number, email or bank statement is fine).
• Refunds land in 2–5 business days once approved; store credit is instant.
• Chargebacks: talk to us before disputing a charge — we fix almost everything within a business day.
• We reply within 1 business day or less (Mon–Fri Sydney time), occasionally longer in sale periods or when waiting on suppliers.