Shipping & Returns
Every painting leaves my studio packed by hand. If anything here is unclear, or you need a work by a particular date, email me first at minuca@minucasostres.com and I will tell you exactly what is possible.
Original paintings
Before it ships. Every original oil is fully cured and varnished before it leaves the studio. Originals are packed and dispatched within 5 working days of your order. If you need a painting for a specific date, tell me before you order.
How it is packed. The painting is wrapped in acid-free glassine, then bubble wrap, fitted with rigid corner protectors and placed inside a double-walled cardboard box. Paintings travelling outside the United Kingdom are additionally reinforced, and larger works are crated.
United Kingdom. Originals are sent tracked, signed for on delivery, and covered against loss or damage in transit for the full purchase price of the work. Smaller paintings travel by Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed, which arrives the next working day by 1pm. Larger framed works travel by Parcelforce express, which arrives the next working day. Either way you get a tracking number the moment the painting leaves the studio.
Spain, the EU and the rest of the world. Originals travel with a specialist carrier, crated and declared at their full value so that cover applies to the whole purchase price. Standard postal services cap their cover well below the value of an original painting and several of them exclude artwork altogether, so I do not use them for original work. Allow 5 to 10 working days to Spain and the EU, and 10 to 15 working days elsewhere, after dispatch.
Large or high-value works. Paintings over 70 cm on any side, and any work above £2,500, are shipped by a specialist fine art carrier and quoted individually. Those works are sold by enquiry rather than through the basket: write to me and I will give you the cost and the timings before you commit to anything.
What comes with the painting. Every original is signed by the artist and ships with a Certificate of Authenticity.
Limited edition prints and gifts
Giclée prints are made to order and dispatched within 7 to 14 days. They are sent flat in a hard-backed envelope or rolled in a reinforced tube, depending on size, tracked in every case. Each print is hand-signed, numbered and comes with a certificate of authenticity.
Items from the Brand Shop are printed and sent by my production partners and may arrive separately from the rest of your order.
Shipping costs
- United Kingdom: £5.95 on orders under £300. Free on everything above that, originals included.
- Spain and the EU: €15 on prints, gifts and smaller works up to €299. €95 on original paintings above that, which covers crating, the specialist carrier and full-value cover.
- Rest of the world: €30 up to €299, and €170 on original paintings above that.
Collection in person
You are welcome to collect your painting from my studio in Surrey, free of charge, by arrangement. Email me and we will find a time.
Customs, duties and import taxes
Prices on this site do not include import duties or taxes. Deliveries outside the United Kingdom, Spain and the rest of the EU included, may attract import duty, VAT or a customs handling fee on arrival. These charges are set by your own authorities, are outside my control, and are payable by you. Every shipment outside the UK is declared at its full value, as the insurance cover requires.
If something arrives damaged
Please open the parcel and check the work on arrival. If it has been damaged in transit, email me photographs of both the packaging and the painting within 48 hours of delivery. I will handle the claim with the carrier and resolve it with you directly. Keep the packaging until we have sorted it out.
Returns
Original paintings and prints. If a work is not right for your space, you may return it within 14 days of delivery for a refund of the purchase price. This applies wherever you are: United Kingdom, Spain, the EU and the rest of the world.
Please email me first, so that we can agree the return. Works sent back without an agreed return cannot be accepted. The painting must come back unused, in its original packaging and in the condition in which it arrived, and the return carriage is at your cost. Please use a tracked and insured service: I cannot refund a work that arrives back damaged. Once the piece is safely returned, I refund you within 14 days. The original shipping cost is not refunded.
If you are in the EU, import duty or tax you have already paid to your own authority is not refundable by me, but you may be able to reclaim it directly from your customs office.
Commissions. Commissioned paintings are made for you and cannot be returned because you have changed your mind. This does not affect your rights if the work arrives faulty or damaged.
A note on colour
Every care has been taken to show each painting as accurately as possible in size and colour. Screens vary between browsers and devices, so there may be a slight difference between the image and the painting in the room. That variation is not a fault, but if a work is not what you expected when it arrives, the 14-day return above covers you.