Arrival Guarantee & Returns

Botshop builds accredited AI-robotics platforms that are meant to be opened, wired, coded, and pushed. That is the whole point. It also means electronics can be damaged in ways that are invisible the moment they happen — wrong voltage, a cable on the wrong pin, a confident experiment that almost worked.

So here is the deal we can stand behind with complete confidence: if something is wrong when it reaches you — dead on arrival, damaged in transit, or not what you ordered — we will put it right. Replacement or exchange, no drama.

Once the unit has arrived working, with no shipping damage, and you have started building, we do not offer refunds or post-use hardware swaps. Not because we do not care — because we cannot fairly tell the difference between a fault that left our bench and one that happened on yours. We would rather spend that energy helping you move forward.

This is our warranty in practice. It covers the handover from us to you:

• Dead on arrival — the product does not power on or perform its documented out-of-box functions when assembled and used exactly as described in the manual.
• Transit damage — visible physical damage to the product or packaging caused during shipping.
• Missing or incorrect items — a verifiable packing error against your order confirmation.

Notify us within five business days of delivery with your order reference, photos of the unit and packaging, and a short description of the issue. We will arrange repair, replacement, or exchange at no charge once we confirm an arrival or transit fault.

For bulk and institutional shipments, the receiving party should inspect cartons on delivery and report damage or quantity discrepancies within the same five-day window.

If the product arrived working and undamaged, we do not provide refunds, returns for change of mind, or replacement hardware after you have started using or modifying the kit. That includes situations where:

• Incorrect wiring, reversed polarity, or power outside the rated specifications damaged a board or module.
• Cables or connectors were attached to the wrong pins or ports.
• Firmware was flashed, solder was applied, or hardware was modified outside our documented guidance.
• A component was stressed through experimentation — even if the device still appears to work when returned, and fails later.
• Third-party Add-Ons, sensors, or code caused damage or unpredictable behaviour.

We are not saying you should not tinker. We encourage it — that is Confident Play. We are saying that once creativity enters the picture, a traditional “send it back and we will decide” warranty stops being honest. Microcontrollers do not leave a tidy paper trail.

When a board comes back, it may boot, pass basic tests, and look fine — while a pin, regulator, or trace has already been weakened by an earlier mistake. The failure might show up in your classroom a week later, not in our test rig today.

That is not us being difficult. It is the nature of open, extensible electronics. We would rather be upfront about it than run a warranty programme that quietly assumes you are at fault. You deserve clarity before you plug anything in.

Limited hardware warranty does not mean limited support. Every Botshop product ships with knowledge out-of-the-box:

• Full documentation, wiring diagrams, and rated voltage or current limits — read these first; they are the cheapest insurance you will ever buy.
• Code libraries, MCP servers, and learning paths to get you from unboxing to a working project.
• Direct support for arrival issues and good-faith troubleshooting when something stops working — we will help you diagnose before you order spare parts.
• Training and community resources through partners such as Rebel Glitch, where available.

If a specific module is clearly faulty on arrival, we replace it under the out-of-box guarantee. If a module fails after you have been building, we can often help you identify the part and supply a replacement at standard spare-part pricing — that is usually faster than a returns debate anyway.

Products bought from Rebel Glitch or other authorised resellers follow the same out-of-box guarantee principles. Contact the place of purchase first for arrival issues; they will coordinate with us where needed. Their store policies may apply to additional consumer rights.

Email sales@botshop.co.za with “Arrival issue” in the subject line and include:

1. Product name, order or invoice reference, and delivery date.
2. Photos of the product, packaging, and any visible damage.
3. What you expected versus what happened — for DOA claims, confirm you followed the getting-started steps in the manual.

Do not return goods without a return authorisation reference. For confirmed arrival or transit faults within South Africa, we cover return shipping for replacement units.

Nothing in this policy reduces your mandatory rights under South African consumer protection law where they apply — for example, in qualifying direct consumer purchases. Institutional and business-to-business orders are generally subject to these terms and any written agreement on your quote or purchase order.

Arrival issues and support: sales@botshop.co.za. We typically respond within one business day. If you are stuck mid-build, say so — “I think I let the magic smoke out” is a perfectly acceptable opening line.