Cancellation
& refund.

Damaged or lost shipments

If your originals arrive at us damaged due to shipping, we’ll document the damage with photos and contact you. You can choose to proceed (with the damage noted), have the tapes returned unprocessed, or cancel for a full refund of the digitization portion of your order.

If we ship your originals back to you and the carrier damages or loses them, we will assist with claims against the carrier (we ship with tracking specifically for this reason). Our liability for shipping damage is limited to the carrier’s coverage.

Tapes we can’t read

If a tape is genuinely unrecoverable (physically destroyed, magnetic surface gone, no signal at all) we refund that tape’s portion of your order automatically. We never charge for work we couldn’t perform.

Restoration work

Restoration on damaged tapes is quoted in advance and only billed after written approval. If after approval we find the restoration is not feasible, you’re charged only for the time spent attempting it (typically the first hour for assessment), with the rest refunded.

Quality concerns

If you believe your video output has a defect attributable to our process (not the source tape) contact us within 30 days of delivery. We will re-capture or re-process at no additional cost. Issues caused by the source tape itself (dropouts, color degradation, audio issues present on the original) are not eligible for re-work as they are not defects on our end. Advanced and AI services are designed to address these in many cases.

AI Enhancement and subjective quality

AI Enhancement is a special case. The quality of the output depends on two things we don’t fully control: the condition of the source video, and your personal taste in how vintage footage should look. Some viewers find the AI look noticeably improved; others find it too smooth, too polished, or inappropriate for old footage. Both reactions are valid.

Once AI processing on a clip is complete, the GPU time and operator labor have already been spent. We cannot refund completed AI Enhancement work based on subjective dissatisfaction with the output. This is why we strongly recommend sampling first. For AI added to a Digitization order, the first 3 minutes of AI Enhancement are free for exactly this purpose: mark a short clip from your dashboard, see the result, then decide whether to mark more. If you don’t like it, you’ve spent nothing and you simply stop there. Your original Digitization capture remains in your account unchanged: AI Enhancement is an additive layer, never a replacement. Standalone AI Enhancement uploads (your own files) are billed from minute one, with no free minutes built in, because there is no Digitization order to anchor them to.

We do not guarantee any specific result on any specific tape or file. AI models also keep improving over time. If today’s result doesn’t satisfy you, you can return later and re-enhance the same clip when the technology lands better for your archive and your taste.

If you believe a completed AI Enhancement has a technical defect (failed processing, corrupted output, etc.) that is separate from subjective output quality, contact us within 30 days. We will re-process at no additional cost.

Refund processing

• Refunds go to the original payment method.
• Card refunds typically appear in 5 to 10 business days.
• PayPal refunds are usually instant.
• We do not charge restocking or processing fees on refunds.

Cancellations after long delays

If we contact you about damaged tapes or restoration quotes and don’t hear back, we’ll follow up after 14 days. If 60 days pass with no response, we’ll ship the tapes back to you unprocessed and refund the remainder of your order minus return shipping.

Time limits

Refund or rework claims must be made within 60 days of order completion. After that, claims are evaluated case-by-case but not guaranteed.

Contact

To cancel an order, request a refund, or report an issue: support@savevhs.com with your order number in the subject line.