Asked and answered

Questions

If yours is not here, email support@polarbearleathergoods.shop or call +1 909 402 3517. We reply within one business day.

01Ordering and payment

What currency are the prices in?: Every price, shipping charge and refund on this site is in United States Dollars (USD). There is no currency switch. If your card is in another currency your bank converts it at its own rate and may add a fee we have no part in.
Do I need an account?: No. There is no account system at all. You give a delivery address at checkout and that is the extent of it.
Is my card safe?: Card details are entered on a payment page certified to PCI-DSS Level 1 and are never transmitted to, processed by or stored on our servers. This site is served only over HTTPS. We could not see your card number if we wanted to.
What will appear on my statement?: The trading name shown on your order confirmation. If a charge ever looks unfamiliar, email or call us before raising a chargeback — we can identify it the same day and it is much faster than the bank route.
Can I change or cancel an order?: Yes, any time before dispatch, at no cost. We dispatch in 1–2 business days, so tell us quickly. After dispatch it becomes a return.

Where do you ship?: Worldwide, wherever our carrier delivers and export is lawful. We do not ship to destinations under comprehensive US sanctions. Rates and transit times by region are on the shipping page.
Who pays customs duties?: On deliveries outside the United States, the recipient does. Duties are set by your country, not by us, and we cannot estimate or absorb them. We always declare parcels accurately at the price paid; we will not mark an order as a gift.
When is shipping free?: On orders of USD 69.00 and above going to the contiguous United States, using the standard tracked service. Everything else is charged at the rates in the shipping policy.

How long do I have?: 30 days from delivery, for any reason, provided the article is unused and in its original packaging. Email us for a return reference first — parcels without one cannot be matched to an order.
Who pays return postage?: You do if you changed your mind. We do, with a prepaid label, if the article is faulty, damaged in transit or not what you ordered.
Can I return an embossed piece?: Only if it is faulty or differs from the proof you approved. Personalised articles cannot be resold, which is why they are excluded — it is stated before you order, not after.

What is the difference between full-grain, top-grain and split?: Full-grain is the outer surface of the hide, intact. Top-grain is that surface sanded to correct it. Split is the fibrous layer underneath, after the two are separated. Each article page names its grade, and the whole vocabulary is explained on the Materials & Care page.
Do you use bonded leather?: No. Not on any article, not as a lining, not as a stiffener.
Is any of it not leather?: One article, the Tag Classic at USD 18, is coated split leather, and its page says so in the second paragraph. Linings, zips, elastic and mesh are named by material on the article page wherever they are used.
Why does my article look different from the photograph?: Grain, shade and marks vary between hides and between panels. Growth wrinkles, healed insect bites and range scars are characteristics of the material and are present in leather of every grade. If you do not like the hide yours came from, that is a perfectly good reason to return it — you do not need to call it a defect.
Will it change colour?: The uncoated vegetable-tanned articles will, considerably, and permanently. There are four photographs of exactly how much on the Materials & Care page. The pigmented articles will barely move.

What does the shielding layer do?: The Cover Shielded contains a nickel-copper metallised polyester fabric bonded across both inner panels. We state the frequency it was measured at and the conditions of that measurement on its page and again on the product safety page.
Will it protect my passport or my cards?: We make no claim of that kind. The measurement describes one frequency under one set of test condition, and nothing more. Please do not treat any product as a security measure — that is a matter for your card issuer and for how you carry things.
Are the other articles a risk without it?: No, and we will not sell by suggesting otherwise. The Fold Finder does not offer the shielded article unless you specifically ask for it, for exactly this reason.

What fits in an inner coat pocket?: Anything up to about 12 mm thick disappears; past that a coat starts to show it. The Cover Single Slim is 4 mm. Every article page states its measured thickness when empty, and the Fold Finder warns you when your answer and your pocket disagree.
Which one holds four passports?: The Cover Family 4, with four stepped pockets and a full-width slot for the boarding passes that come back stapled together.
Do you sell wallets or bags?: No. Nothing larger than A5, no luggage, no cabin bags, no wallets. That boundary is deliberate.

Email, phone or the contact form — all three reach the same people, monday to friday, 09:00–17:00 eastern time.