Shipping policy

Last updated: October 7, 2026

Every book from The Lives We Keep is created from personal stories and memories. This policy explains how approval, printing, shipping, and delivery work.

For shipping questions, contact hello@theliveswekeep.com.

1. Shipping destinations

We primarily serve customers in the United States. Available shipping destinations are those accepted at checkout.

If your address is not accepted, please contact us before placing an order. We will confirm whether delivery is possible before taking payment.

Delivery to PO boxes, military addresses, US territories, and remote locations depends on the shipping service available for the address. Please contact us before ordering if you need confirmation.

2. Free standard shipping

Standard shipping is free to delivery destinations accepted at checkout. Our displayed prices include applicable sales taxes or VAT.

Any optional expedited delivery service will be offered separately, with its price shown before payment. Expedited delivery is available only when expressly offered and does not shorten the time needed to collect your stories, prepare your book, or obtain your approval.

We do not add undisclosed shipping, handling, or processing fees after purchase.

3. Book creation comes before shipping

Your order involves three distinct stages:

Book creation: collecting your stories and photographs, preparing the manuscript, and designing your book.
Review and production: receiving your approval of the final proof, followed by printing and binding.
Shipping: transporting your finished book to the delivery address.

The time you take to provide material, request revisions, and approve your proof affects the overall project schedule.

We will not print your personalized book without your affirmative approval. Silence or a delayed response does not count as approval.

If we are waiting for essential information or approval, we will explain what is needed and discuss any resulting schedule change.

4. Production and delivery timing

The production and shipping timeframe applicable to your order is the one disclosed before purchase or otherwise expressly agreed with you. Your order confirmation records the applicable information.

Shipping transit time begins when the carrier receives your parcel. It does not include the time spent creating, reviewing, printing, or binding your book.

Delivery estimates may be affected by the destination, carrier operations, holidays, weather, or customs processing. An estimate does not remove our obligation to meet agreed shipment deadlines or provide the notices and remedies required by law.

For US merchandise orders, if no shipment timeframe has been stated, we will follow the applicable legal default, generally shipment within 30 days after receipt of a properly completed order.

The personalized nature of your order does not allow us to delay fulfillment indefinitely or remove your legal rights.

5. Gifts and special occasions

If your book is intended for a birthday, anniversary, holiday, or another specific occasion, contact us before ordering.

We will confirm whether we can accept your requested deadline. A particular delivery date is guaranteed only when we expressly agree to it in writing.

Please allow time for the storyteller’s participation, your review, and any revisions, as well as production and delivery.

6. Shipment confirmation and tracking

We will send a shipment confirmation to the email address associated with your order when your book is dispatched.

Where tracking is available, the confirmation will include the tracking details. Tracking may not update immediately after a shipping label is created; label creation alone does not mean the carrier has received the parcel.

If you have not received a shipment confirmation or need help checking your order, email hello@theliveswekeep.com.

7. Additional copies and separate shipments

Additional copies purchased with your original package may arrive together or in separate parcels. We will notify you if your order is split into multiple shipments.

You will not be charged additional standard shipping because we choose to split an order.

Copies ordered later require a separate production and shipping schedule, which will be disclosed before that purchase.

Sending copies to multiple addresses must be arranged with us before dispatch. We will confirm availability and any optional service costs before you agree.

8. Address changes and failed delivery

Please check your delivery address carefully, including the recipient’s name, street number, apartment or unit number, ZIP or postal code, and country.

If you need to change an address, email us as soon as possible. We will confirm whether the change can be made. Once a parcel has entered fulfillment or been handed to the carrier, rerouting may not be possible.

If an incorrect or incomplete address supplied by you causes a parcel to be returned, we may request the reasonable additional cost of reshipping. We will explain and obtain your agreement to that cost before proceeding.

You will not be charged to correct an addressing or delivery error caused by us.

A failed delivery does not automatically cancel an order or determine whether a refund is due. We will assess the circumstances under our Terms of Service and applicable law.

9. Delayed shipments

If we learn that we cannot ship within the applicable promised timeframe, we will contact you promptly and no later than the deadline required by law.

Our notice will explain the delay, provide a revised shipment date where available, and explain your cancellation and refund options.

We will obtain any legally required consent to a delay. Where consent is required and not obtained, or where we cannot fulfill the order, we will cancel the affected order and provide the required refund.

For cancellations covered by the US FTC’s shipment-delay rules, we will refund all amounts required by those rules for the unshipped merchandise, without a cancellation penalty or deduction for personalization. Refunds will be issued within the applicable legal deadline—generally seven working days for payment methods accepted through our checkout.

If a parcel is delayed after dispatch, contact us. We will investigate with the carrier and provide an appropriate resolution. Carrier delays do not automatically release us from our responsibilities to you.

10. Lost parcels and parcels marked as delivered

If tracking indicates delivery but you cannot locate your parcel, check the delivery location, household members, reception desk, or building mailroom, then contact us promptly.

We will review the delivery information and investigate with the carrier. A tracking status alone does not automatically resolve a disputed delivery.

Where your order has not been delivered as agreed, we will arrange the appropriate remedy, which may include replacement or a refund.

You do not need to purchase separate shipping protection to receive the remedies for which we are responsible.

11. Damaged or incorrect deliveries

If your book arrives damaged, has a manufacturing defect, or is not the item you ordered, email hello@theliveswekeep.com.

Please include your order number, a description of the issue, and photographs of the book and packaging where reasonably possible. Keep the packaging while we assess the issue if you can.

We will arrange an appropriate correction, replacement, or refund in accordance with your rights. Where the problem is our responsibility, we will cover reasonable return and replacement shipping costs.

Please report problems promptly. We do not impose a short reporting deadline that removes your statutory rights, and photographs are not an absolute condition for exercising those rights.

12. Customs and import charges

If a shipment would require an import duty, customs charge, or similar fee payable by you, we will disclose it before accepting the order and obtain your agreement.

Otherwise, we will bear that charge for the accepted shipment. If you receive an unexpected payment demand, contact us so we can resolve it.

Customs inspections may affect transit time, but they do not remove your rights concerning non-delivery or other failures to fulfill the order.

13. Returns and shipping-related cancellations

Change-of-mind cancellations and returns are governed by our Terms of Service and any applicable return policy.

Personalized products are generally not eligible for change-of-mind returns once printing begins. This does not affect your rights regarding shipment delays, non-delivery, damage, defects, or incorrect goods.

Please contact us for return instructions before sending a book back. Our business address may differ from the appropriate return location. Requesting instructions does not replace any legally valid cancellation notice or restrict your statutory rights.

14. Contact

For assistance with shipping or delivery:

The Lives We Keep
Avenue Albert 1er 59
5070 Fosses-La-Ville
Belgium

Email: hello@theliveswekeep.com

Please include your order number, if available, so we can locate your purchase.