Frequently Asked Questions
Shipping, Returns & Exchanges
How long will it take for my order to ship out?
If your order has only read-to-order items, or minimal customization items, like diffusers, it will ship out in at most 3-5 days. If it's a custom order, please read the listing carefully as shipping times vary. Please keep in mind any custom or made-to-order potpourri takes time to cure & will ship in 3 - 5 days. We ship Monday-Friday.
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Do you offer free shipping & combined shipping?
We use USPS to ship all orders as it is the most affordable option given the nature of what we're shipping. Further, USPS is a few minutes away allowing us to ship orders quickly. That said, due to the expense of shipping such heavy items, we only offer free shipping on orders of $95 or more in the USA. Free shipping cannot be combined with other offers (with the exception of reward point discounts).
Yes, we offer combined shipping. Shipping is based on weight, so when you add items to your cart it will reflect the best shipping option for the total weight of the package.
Do you offer international shipping?
Yes. We use the eBay international shipping program as this saves time & money for both of us due to eBay's affordable shipping. Further, in the event your package is lost or damaged in transit, eBay will automatically refund you at no cost to either of us. This is one of the many reasons we choose to use their program. If eBay ships to your country, we're more than happy to create a listing for you. There is a 13% handling fee to cover the listing fees & shipping is automatically determined by eBay.
It's interesting to note that this program is not available to all eBay sellers. It's only offered to sellers who maintain a high seller rating & are within the U.S. We've been a seller on eBay for over 10 years selling anything from unwanted alternative & goth clothing to anime & manga collectibles with 200+ seller reviews & 100% positive review rating.
For more on their program visit: eBay International Shipping | eBay
Do you offer exchanges and/or returns?
We offer exchanges within 7 days of receipt of your order, same as our Etsy policy. Due to the nature of heavy & fragile artisan-made products, all shipping costs are the responsibility of the buyer. We wish we could offer free shipping, but on top of most of our items being relatively heavy to ship, all of them are made with expensive materials. We hope you can understand.
To initiate an exchange please send a message before shipping your exchange so we know to anticipate your package. Include details on the item(s) you're exchanging & why. Please provide us with tracking once shipped and secure a 'fragile' notice to your package as the item(s) need to be in new & unused condition so they can be resold. Any exchanges received in less-than-new condition will be shipped back at your expense.
Once the package is received & inspected the exchange will be processed in 2-3 business days. You will receive a coupon code equal to the value of the item(s) you wish to exchange so you can buy whatever you want as your exchange. Yes, this includes requesting a custom item.
HELP-My order has been lost/is damaged or there is something else wrong!
When you shop with Nocturnal Designs the shipping fee you've paid for automatically includes $100 insurance. So, if USPS loses your package, or it is damaged in transit you can submit a claim online here. They will process your refund in as timely a fashion as possible. Please note: claims need to be submitted within a certain number of days as listed on the USPS website.
If you receive your order & you're missing an item or an incorrect item was sent, we're more than happy to rectify the situation AT NO COST TO YOU. To date, we've never had an issue, but we're only human so please reach out before posting a review so we can rectify the situation immediately. There is no need to send back the item(s) if an incorrect item was sent. If you are missing an item, we will likely need to make said item given we specialize in small batch artisan-made items. So please allow us a few days to complete & ship your missing item(s). You will be placed on a priority list as it's our every intention for your shopping experience to be 100% magical.
~*~ Thank you for allowing Nocturnal Designs to make it right! ~*~
Brand Questions - Etsy, gift orders, custom orders & more!
Do you write custom gift messages like on your Etsy?
Yes. We handwrite whatever gift message you want & seal the note with a wax seal & a little something extra. Each listing has the option to include a gift message with your order. We will not disclose our website, business card, etc. in your gifted order so your recipient cannot look up the price of the item(s) you bought.
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Do you take custom orders?
Yes. We have listings outlining various customization options you can request for both our 100% beeswax sculpture candles & home fragrance items. Please read through the listing of your choice carefully & put as much detail as possible about what you want in the text box provided on the custom listing. We are unable to mass produce a particular design as each item is artisan-made in small batches. So, if you see something you like, please be aware it may never be reborn.
We have ample inspiration on our website and I.G. if you need help designing a custom creation, or feel free to reach out and we'll offer up suggestions! Thanks for considering working with Nocturnal Designs on a unique piece that fits your creative desires!
Why are your beeswax candles unscented by default?
Due to the nature of beeswax our sculpture candles come unscented with just the natural fragrance of 'the hive' made from 100% pure yellow beeswax (sometimes accented with sun-bleached 100% pure white beeswax). Each candle is hand-dyed & painted in eco-friendly & ethical dyes & mineral paint that do not cause interfering or unpleasant odors. We can scent our candles, but they will not throw fragrance like our coconut & beeswax candle vessels (more details below), or other natural waxes in general. Scented pure beeswax candles are always underwhelming for someone who wants to fragrance a larger space.
That said, we've worked with a lot of essential & high-quality naturally derived fragrance oils & have a lot of information about adding fragrance to your custom order candle here. For example: scents with more resinoid compounds like nag champa, Egyptian dragon & amber have a nice throw for a small space.
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Beeswax has inherent variability due to changes in the hive & seasons, therefore altering the baseline scent & characteristics of the wax.
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The porosity & density of the wax simply do not allow for a strong cold & hot throw making beeswax physically incapable of retaining more than roughly ~5% fragrance load as much of the scent evaporates during curing, & that's a rough estimate as beeswax varies season, to season, batch-to-batch. Thus, beeswax candles should be cured for a minimum of 7 days to determine what scents may work.
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Further, because beeswax burns at hotter temperatures, most essential oils & fragrance oils burn off at higher burn temperatures.
So, rather than dilute our beeswax with coconut wax or coconut oil, we choose the au natural approach as people who want a beeswax candle do not want a Frankenstein "beeswax" candle. Did you know that as long as the candle wax recipe has more than 50% beeswax in it, sellers can legally call it a "beeswax candle"? Whereas ours are 100% pure beeswax so you get all those amazing properties found in beeswax, such as the ability to purify the air! That said, we can help you determine if your beeswax candles are pure. Just DM us! Candle-making is both an art & a science that we find fascinating!
Will you offer scented candle vessels for sale? I love the scents you use in your potpourri & diffusers!
If we get enough demand we will, as shipping heavy vessels made with premium waxes, essential oils & naturally derived fragrance oils will come at a premium cost. Presently we're trying out our candle vessel fragrance & essential oils in our 'witchy goth potpourri' & 'crystal botanical imbued skull diffusers'.
To share a bit about our vessel design: they are made from 100% pure coconut & white beeswax (our own proprietary blend) with high-quality fragrance and/or essential oils (8-12% fragrance load), use wooden wicks & have creative features your little dark heart will jump for joy over. Remember 'hot throw' is different than 'cold throw'. When you smell our potpourri, that is the cold throw you can similarly expect from one of our vessels. A hot throw allows for the full scent profile to develop as each note (top, middle & base) evaporates at different rates & temperatures.
That said, please consider mentioning what you like or dislike about the scents we have to offer in a review! We want to sell scented candle vessels where our customers are actively involved in the scent selection process as we want you spending your money on scents you know you will die for (maybe not literally because that will reduce our sales & cause some sort of legal issue)! Feel free to make scent suggestions as well! We do listen!
Why is pricing cheaper here than other places, like Etsy?
Fees. Simple as that. Each platform has different fees. So pricing varies per platform. If you prefer to shop on Etsy, our shop link is here.
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Along those lines, why do you cross-list?
We cross-list for a few reasons. Foremost, convenience, as most consumers want the convenience of shopping online whenever & wherever they want. While we're new to online marketing we're trying our best to move everything online so more people can access our brand. We sell very niche items like what you find here, and more such as vintage manga & anime collectibles, as well as alternative & goth clothing here. Additionally, we find selling online is less stressful than in-person selling, which comes with a plethora of sensory challenges. As such, we are slowly transitioning entirely online with the capacity for taking limited quantities of local custom orders.
Why do you reuse shipping materials & why don't you print out packing slips?
The creator of Nocturnal Designs holds two environmental degrees, one in environmental studies & another in the environmental & sustainability sciences. As such, we are committed to a business model that is sustainable, ethical & promotes environmental conservation by doing everything we can to reduce, reuse & recycle. Further, reusing perfectly good packaging minimizes costs so we can offer our artisan products at a more affordable price point.
That said, we reuse quality shipping materials like compostable and dissolvable starch peanuts, honey-comb paper & sturdy boxes. Each order is packaged with great care to ensure it arrives in pristine condition & is a fun unboxing experience for you. We include a hand-written care card that way the receiver knows the suggested burn time per session to achieve an attractive candle shell and/or how to use & reuse the item in general. Recyclable and/or biodegradable packing materials are used whenever possible to cushion your order & prevent damage. Further, we affix a fragile notice on your package.
Now, imagine printing a slip for every order & the costs of new shipping materials. No business is giving shipping materials away for free as it's expensive.
To put things into clear perspective, most orders with new and/or branded shipping materials have the following 'costs' to your wallet & the planet:
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Care card or instructions on 'how to use' your new purchase.
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Box or bubble mailer.
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Address stickers/label maker expenses.
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Packing materials to cushion your order.
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Shipping tape.
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Printer, printer ink & printer paper.
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A 'thank you' card or some other advertisement.
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Branded 'freebies' that most consumers do not want as they are impractical like business cards & branded logo stickers.
This doesn't even take into account the 'cost' associated with transporting your order to you. We ship from upstate NY by the way. I guess what we're saying is, we care about the planet & hope you do too!
~*~ It goes without saying that we appreciate your support! If you want to support us even more, please consider 'liking' & 'sharing' our Instagram & shops! ~*~
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Legal Disclaimer
Nocturnal Designs by Broken Rebirth focuses on crafting dark aesthetic eco-conscious pieces that can be reused as decor & can aid in spiritual work & spell work while encouraging appreciation for the darker side of beauty. Some products are intended as aids in a ritual or spiritual work. All information stated throughout the shop is for informational purposes only and should never be substituted for professional medical advice. Although Nocturnal Designs stands behind the quality of our products, we are required to state that spiritual products are sold as curios. In no event shall Nocturnal Designs, be liable for any direct, indirect, punitive, incidental, or special consequential damages, to property or life, whatsoever arising out of or connected with the use or misuse of our products.
~*~ Remember--it takes more energy to be unkind vs. neutral, so if you have nothing positive to contribute to the Universe, then simply be neutral. You can learn a lot from simply observing and existing. Nestled upon this same vine, we hate being confrontational, or negative but if you steal our brand name, branding, logo, catchphrases, images, listings, etc. we will take legal action. You see this happen to artists all the time & it's heartbreaking to see their hard work stolen! Do not steal, we pour our heart & soul into everything we do.