FAQ

How can I contact RETROPILOT?

Email direct to james@retro-pilot.com

You'll always get a response within 24 hours, but probably much sooner.

Send a message through the Retropilot Facebook page.

Mail to:

Retropilot

PO BOX 55

AMBERLEY QLD 4306

SHIPPING

All orders are shipped from Brisbane, Australia. These delivery times are guides only and cannot be guaranteed.

Shipping within Australia -

Parcel Post ~ 3-5 Business Days. This will be longer for more 'remote' states like WA and NT. Your shipping confirmation email will have the latest estimate.

Express Post ~ 1-2 business days. This will be longer for more 'remote' states like WA and NT. Your shipping confirmation email will have the latest estimate.

Shipping outside of Australia -

Some international orders have been arriving in as little as one week, but you should be emotionally prepared for at least two weeks. The timeline for international parcels is harder to predict, so be sure to follow along on your tracking link.

Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns about your order.

Within Australia

Parcel Post - $5 (AUD). Tracking available.

Express Post - $7 (AUD). Tracking available.

USA and New Zealand

$10 AUD (approx $7 USD).

This is a tracked service.

International (Everywhere else)

$13 AUD (approx $9 USD).

This is a tracked service.

The short answer is pretty much everywhere all over the world. If the checkout system accepts your country - I'll ship there!

If your country isn't coming up as available for shipping, send me a message and I'll see what I can do!

Under most circumstances, your order should ship the next business day.

This will not be the case if:

- Retropilot is on holiday (in which case, your order will be processed immediately upon my return). You'll know if Retropilot is in holiday mode by the banner at the top of the website (it will be super obvious!).

- You ordered during an 'initial release' (e.g. when there have been many hundreds of orders in a very short period of time). In this case it may take me a little longer than 'next business day', but I'll always ship them as soon as I can (usually within 3 business days)

In all cases, you will receive a shipping confirmation email once your order is on its way.

For international customers, if you select "Quarterly Bundle", your order will ship on the designated shipping date as selected at checkout and as written in your order confirmation email.

This option is currently only available for International customers (outside of Australia).

Quarterly bundling is a way for you to save on International shipping and import fees by having your orders combined and shipped together for a single international shipping fee once a quarter (every 3 months).

If you select "Quarterly Bundle" on checkout, any orders you place between 'today' and the shipping date designated at checkout (e.g. 15th of March) will be combined and ship together as a quarterly bundle.

When you place your order, I'll set it aside in a small tub with your name on it until the designated shipping date.

The designated shipping dates will always be the middle of the third month of the quarter - i.e. the 15th of March, June, September and December.

You will receive an invoice for shipping on the designated shipping date (or just prior). This invoice amount will be the regular shipping amount for your country, so there will be no surprises at the end of the quarter.

Please note - if you have started a Quarterly Bundle, but you select "Tracked Shipping" for a new order, that new order will skip your bundle and will be shipped immediately. You may wish to use this option if you don't want to wait for a new release, but still want to retain your existing bundle.

Please also note - the checkout system isn't smart enough to recognise that you have previously started a bundle, so it would be your responsibility to select "Add to Bundle" on checkout if you wish for this to happen.

Please let me know if you have any questions about Quarterly Bundling.

All orders are shipped in a thin but sturdy black cardboard box (19cm x 14.5cm x 1.8cm). Retropilot shipping boxes are custom designed to prevent bending and damage to your purchase. The shipping boxes are thin enough to easily fit in most conventional letterboxes.

Within the box, your items will be packaged within a protective plastic sleeve which will help protect them if the box gets wet (e.g. rain during delivery).

Unfortunately not - all orders must be shipped.

Yes - all orders will have tracking numbers included in the shipping confirmation email.

If your parcel is headed outside of Australia, you may sometimes find that tracking events disappear after it has been handed off to your local carrier. In these cases, paste your tracking number into this website to see more details:

https://www.17track.net

Significant inactivity after arriving in your country can sometimes mean that your local authorities are waiting for import taxes to be paid.

For customers in the USA and New Zealand - the following does not apply to you. Your countries don't charge import fees.

For customers in Canada, Europe, the UK and the rest of the world:

You may have more to pay when the parcel arrives (import and duties fees), and it will be your responsibility to pay these additional fees.

Please note that your parcel will be returned to Australia if you decline to pay these fees on arrival. In this case, you may be refunded the cost of the items but not the shipping fee.

Canada - you can expect import fees for orders over $20 CAD.

Europe/UK/Everywhere else - there may be import fees, but they are different for each country. I'd encourage you to check prior to ordering. Search for "[Your country] import duties and taxes" to find this information.

STICKER FAQ

All stickers are made from a durable vinyl material. They have an attractive gloss finish.

Retropilot stickers are printed using an old-school method called Silk-Screen Printing.

Silk-Screen stickers are your best option if you prefer a higher caliber, higher quality, more durable and longer lasting sticker.

Yep! Get them as wet as you like. They'll even withstand going through a dishwasher.

TL;DR:

Outdoors - 3-5 years.

Indoors - Forever.

Retropilot stickers really stick. They are all water-proof and weather-proof. When applied properly to a dry, smooth and clean surface, Retropilot stickers will tolerate brutal ocean waters, sun, sleet and snow. If you choose to put them on an indoor surface (e.g. a laptop or toolbox), they will likely be uncovered by the archeologists of the future.

If you're putting them outdoors, it depends on how often they are exposed to sunlight. If placed in full sun on a daily basis you can expect your stickers to resist fading for 3 - 5 years (this is very good - most budget paper stickers wouldn't last more than a few months outdoors).

Their longevity also depends on the amount of 'use' they will be exposed to. Avoid placing your sticker where it is likely to encounter abrasion or friction (e.g. the underside of a surfboard being dragged across the sand) as this will obviously reduce the life of your sticker. They're very durable - but they're not invincible!

Your stickers will be printed with extremely high calibre inks and are sealed with 3 thick coats of clear UV protective ink. That said, there is one undeniable truth when it comes to colour and direct sunlight exposure over long periods of time: colours fade.

Retropilot stickers are very fade resistant. As a general rule of thumb, you can expect your stickers to resist fading for 3-5 years.

The technical term is Photo Degradation. Some objects may be more prone to fading, such as dyed fabrics and watercolours. Other objects, like outdoor silk-screen printed stickers, reflect the light more which makes them less prone to fading. But over time and with direct exposure to ultraviolet light, eventually all colours fade. This is true for cars, space shuttles and stickers too.

Some colours fade faster than others. Yellow tends to be the first colour to fade, followed by magenta, then cyan and although it will take a very long time, finally black.

For best results and maximum adhesion, ensure your sticking surface is:

- Dry (just for when you place the sticker - they can get wet afterwards!)

- Smooth (textured surfaces will reduce the adhesive power)

- Clean (wipe the surface and remove any dust or other contaminants)

There are some surfaces that won't work well. These include:

- Textured plastics

- Ceramics

- Oily or dusty surfaces

- Some painted surfaces

- Other surfaces that wouldn't typically host a sticker (e.g. fabrics, timber etc).

All stickers have an attractive gloss finish. The gloss finish allows the colours to really "pop", and you'll find them to be much more vibrant than matte stickers. They look fantastic!

There is a bit of a trick to it - click here for more.

The stickers are initially printed in California.

The stock is then shipped to Australia and posted out from Brisbane.

OTHER

Unfortunately I'm not taking on any new work at this time, but you can certainly let me know your idea.

Posters are now available as digital downloads - you can find them here.