Refund policy

Effective Date: August 17, 2026

At Minato Market, our seafood and specialty products are sourced from Japan specifically in response to confirmed customer orders. Because these products are perishable, limited in availability, and specially purchased for each weekly shipment, seafood and other perishable food products are final sale.

Please review your order carefully before completing checkout.

1. Final Sale Policy

All seafood, refrigerated products, frozen products, perishable food products, auction-sourced products, preorder products, and custom-sourced products are final sale once the order has been placed and confirmed.

Final-sale products cannot be:

  • Canceled

  • Returned

  • Exchanged

  • Refunded because of a change of mind

  • Changed to a different item, size, quantity, or delivery week

This policy applies even if the order has not yet been delivered, because purchasing, reservation, import, transportation, and fulfillment arrangements may begin shortly after the order is confirmed.

Submitting a cancellation request does not mean that the cancellation has been accepted. A cancellation or order change is valid only if Minato Market confirms it in writing.

2. Order Errors and Change-of-Mind Requests

Customers are responsible for reviewing the following information before submitting payment:

  • Product selection

  • Product size or weight

  • Quantity

  • Delivery or pickup option

  • Recipient information

  • Delivery address

  • Phone number

  • Gate code and building access information

  • Delivery instructions

  • Weekly delivery date

We do not normally provide cancellations, refunds, exchanges, or store credit for:

  • Accidentally ordering the wrong product

  • Ordering the wrong size or quantity

  • Duplicate orders submitted by the customer

  • Personal taste or preference

  • A change in personal schedule

  • Failure to review the weekly delivery date

  • Failure to provide correct delivery information

  • Failure to receive or collect the order

Please contact us immediately if you notice an order error. We may attempt to help when operationally possible, but we cannot guarantee that an order can be changed or canceled.

3. No Physical Returns of Perishable Products

For food-safety reasons, Minato Market does not accept physical returns of seafood or other perishable products after they have been delivered, picked up, or transferred to the customer.

Do not mail, ship, or bring a perishable product back to us unless Minato Market has specifically instructed you to do so in writing.

Returning a product without authorization does not guarantee a refund and may create additional food-safety concerns.

4. Problems That May Qualify for Review

Although seafood and perishable products are final sale, we will review claims involving:

  • An item missing from the order

  • An incorrect item delivered

  • An incorrect quantity delivered

  • A product materially different from its listed description

  • Packaging that was materially damaged before delivery or pickup

  • A product that appears to have been compromised before responsibility transferred to the customer

  • A product that arrived in an unacceptable condition

  • A duplicate or incorrect charge caused by Minato Market

  • An item that Minato Market is unable to obtain or fulfill

Approval is not automatic. Each request will be evaluated using the available photographs, order records, delivery records, product information, timing, storage information, and other relevant circumstances.

Nothing in this policy limits any customer right or remedy that cannot be waived under applicable law.

5. Reporting an Order Problem

Please inspect your order immediately after delivery or pickup.

Any missing, incorrect, damaged, temperature-related, or quality concern should be reported as soon as reasonably possible and no later than 24 hours after delivery or pickup.

Contact us by replying to your order confirmation email or emailing:

shopminatomarket@gmail.com

Please include:

  • Your full name

  • Your order number

  • The affected product

  • A clear description of the problem

  • The date and approximate time the order was received

  • Clear photographs of the product

  • Photographs of the inner and outer packaging

  • A photograph of the product label

  • A photograph of any damage, leakage, or packaging issue

  • A thermometer reading, if available and the concern relates to temperature

  • Any other information reasonably requested to evaluate the claim

For a missing item, photographs of the delivered order and packaging may still be requested.

Claims reported after 24 hours may be difficult or impossible to verify. We may decline a claim when the product’s original condition, delivery condition, handling, or storage history can no longer be reasonably determined.

6. Food-Safety Concerns

If you believe a product may be unsafe:

  • Do not taste or consume it.

  • Contact Minato Market immediately.

  • Take clear photographs before opening or disposing of the product, when safe to do so.

  • Retain the product, packaging, and label under appropriate refrigeration or freezing until we provide instructions, when it is safe and practical to do so.

If retaining the product could create a safety or sanitation concern, document the condition thoroughly and dispose of it safely.

Minato Market may request information about:

  • When the product was received

  • When it was refrigerated or frozen

  • Where it was left after delivery

  • The approximate product or refrigerator temperature

  • Whether the packaging was opened

  • Whether any portion was prepared or consumed

  • How the product was transported or stored after pickup

A customer should not consume a product merely to determine whether it is eligible for a refund.

7. Customer Storage and Handling Responsibility

Responsibility for proper handling and storage transfers to the customer when:

  • The order is handed to the customer or another person at the delivery address;

  • The order is left at a location specifically authorized by the customer; or

  • The order is collected from the pickup location.

After receiving an order, the customer is responsible for promptly:

  • Inspecting the products

  • Refrigerating or freezing the products as appropriate

  • Following the product label and storage instructions

  • Maintaining proper temperature control

  • Preventing cross-contamination

  • Using clean equipment and food-contact surfaces

  • Consuming the product within an appropriate period

Refunds are not available for deterioration, spoilage, contamination, or damage caused after transfer because of delayed retrieval, improper refrigeration, improper freezing, mishandling, cross-contamination, extended transportation, or failure to follow storage instructions.

8. Natural Seafood Variations

Seafood is a natural and seasonal product. Appearance and eating characteristics may vary between individual fish, harvests, suppliers, regions, seasons, and weekly auction lots.

The following do not normally qualify as defects when they fall within the product description and reasonable natural variation:

  • Differences in color

  • Differences in shape

  • Differences in fat content or marbling

  • Differences in texture

  • Differences in flavor

  • Differences in trim or presentation

  • Minor weight or count variation

  • Differences between the actual product and website photographs caused by lighting, photography, packaging, or natural variation

Personal preference or dissatisfaction with a product’s taste, texture, fat level, appearance, or preparation result does not by itself qualify for a refund.

This section does not apply when a product materially differs from the description, size, quantity, or item purchased.

9. Delivery and Drop-Off Issues

Refund eligibility for delivery-related issues is also governed by our Shipping & Local Delivery Policy.

Minato Market is not responsible for an unsuccessful delivery caused by:

  • An incorrect or incomplete delivery address

  • An incorrect phone number

  • Missing apartment, suite, gate, or call-box information

  • Failure to provide necessary building access

  • The customer or recipient being unavailable

  • The customer being unreachable

  • An unsafe or inaccessible delivery location

  • Failure to retrieve an authorized drop-off promptly

When a customer authorizes an unattended drop-off, responsibility transfers to the customer when the order is delivered according to the instructions provided.

Minato Market is not responsible for theft, loss, tampering, pests, weather exposure, building personnel, delayed retrieval, temperature changes, or damage occurring after an authorized unattended drop-off.

Delivery photographs, timestamps, driver records, communications, signatures, and location records may be used to verify delivery.

10. Missed Pickup

Customers must collect pickup orders at the designated location and during the stated pickup window.

Because the products are perishable and specially sourced, failure to collect an order does not automatically qualify the customer for:

  • A refund

  • Store credit

  • Redelivery

  • Rescheduling

  • Replacement

We may be unable to hold seafood beyond the stated pickup period.

11. Available Resolutions

After reviewing an eligible claim, Minato Market may provide one or more of the following resolutions, as appropriate:

  • Replacement of the affected item

  • Partial refund

  • Full refund of the affected item

  • Refund of the affected order

  • Store credit, with the customer’s agreement

  • Another mutually agreed resolution

The resolution will be based on the nature and extent of the verified issue.

A refund will not exceed the amount actually paid for the affected product or order.

When only one item in a multi-item order is affected, any approved refund will normally be limited to that item rather than the entire order.

12. Delivery Charges

Delivery charges are generally non-refundable after delivery has been completed or a reasonable delivery attempt has been made.

A delivery charge may be refunded when:

  • Minato Market cancels the entire order before delivery;

  • No delivery attempt occurs because Minato Market cannot fulfill the entire order; or

  • The delivery charge was applied incorrectly.

When only part of an order is refunded and the remaining products were delivered successfully, the delivery charge will normally not be refunded.

13. Products Unavailable From Japan

Availability may change because of:

  • Auction results

  • Catch or harvest conditions

  • Supplier availability

  • Quality inspection

  • Weather

  • Airline or cargo delays

  • Customs clearance

  • Government inspection

  • Import restrictions

  • Transportation interruption

  • Other circumstances outside our reasonable control

If Minato Market cannot obtain or fulfill an ordered item, we may:

  • Contact the customer regarding an alternative;

  • Delay the affected item with the customer’s agreement;

  • Refund the unavailable item; or

  • Cancel and refund the affected order.

Customers are not required to accept a materially different substitute unless the product listing clearly stated that substitutions were permitted.

14. Custom Orders and B2B Orders

Custom orders, special sourcing requests, restaurant orders, catering orders, wholesale orders, event orders, and other B2B purchases may be governed by separate quotations, invoices, deposits, purchase orders, or written agreements.

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, custom-sourced and specially ordered products are final sale once accepted.

Deposits and sourcing payments may be non-refundable after Minato Market has reserved, purchased, processed, or arranged transportation for the requested product.

When a separate written agreement conflicts with this general policy, the separate agreement controls for that transaction.

15. Gift Cards, Promotional Credits, and Discounts

Gift cards, promotional credits, rewards, and discount codes are not redeemable for cash except where required by applicable law.

If an approved refund relates to an order purchased with a gift card, store credit, promotional credit, or multiple payment methods, the refund may be returned to the original payment methods in accordance with the payment platform’s processing rules.

Any discount applied to an order may be allocated proportionally among the items in that order. The refund for an affected item will not exceed the amount actually paid for that item after discounts.

Promotional rewards or complimentary items do not have a separate refundable cash value.

16. Refund Method and Processing

Approved refunds will normally be issued to the original payment method unless another resolution is agreed upon or required by law.

After Minato Market submits a refund, the time required for the refund to appear depends on the customer’s bank, card issuer, payment provider, and payment method.

Minato Market does not control processing delays imposed by financial institutions or third-party payment providers.

Shipping an item back, submitting a claim, or receiving confirmation that a claim is under review does not mean that a refund has been approved.

17. Fraudulent or Unsupported Claims

We may deny or further investigate claims involving:

  • Altered or misleading photographs

  • Inconsistent delivery or storage information

  • Products that have been substantially consumed or discarded without documentation

  • Repeated unsupported claims

  • Abuse of refunds, rewards, discounts, or chargebacks

  • Evidence that the product was mishandled after delivery

  • Claims relating to an order not purchased from Minato Market

This section does not prevent customers from raising legitimate concerns or exercising rights available under applicable law.

18. Minato Market’s Right to Cancel

Minato Market may cancel or limit an order because of:

  • Product unavailability

  • Failure to meet our quality requirements

  • Pricing or listing errors

  • Payment authorization problems

  • Suspected fraud

  • Delivery-area restrictions

  • Import or regulatory restrictions

  • Food-safety concerns

  • Circumstances outside our reasonable control

If Minato Market cancels a paid item or order and no substitute is accepted, we will refund the applicable amount paid.

19. Contact Us

Questions or claims regarding cancellations, returns, missing products, incorrect products, product condition, or refunds may be sent to:

Minato Market
Email: shopminatomarket@gmail.com

Please include your order number in all communications.