Product Safety & GPSR Compliance

As of September 2025, I am excited to say I will be able to begin shipping to EU member states and Northern Ireland once again and I have employed EAS as my EU Authorised Safety Representative to allow me to ship to you under the new GPSR rules.

Your safety and satisfaction are my top priorities. I ensure that all my products comply with the EU General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR), meaning they meet the highest safety standards and are safe for their intended use.

I work closely with my authorised representative in the European Union to ensure ongoing compliance and to provide a point of contact for market surveillance authorities.

How to contact me (consumers):
For any product safety questions, concerns, returns, or support, please contact me at sophia@sophiamcevoy.com.

Please do not contact my authorised representative—their below channel is not for consumer support.

EU Authorised Representative (for authorities & serious safety matters only):
Easy Access System Europe OÜ
Mustamäe tee 50, 10621 Tallinn, Estonia
Email: gpsr.requests@easproject.com
Website: www.easproject.comPhone: +372 5696 8939

Last Updated: 22.08.25

As you may now have already been notified, the De Minimis Exemption that allowed small businesses to ship products to the US under $800 without incurring any duty or taxes has been ended by Donald Trump and will take effect on 29th August. 

It is with regret that I will be temporarily pausing any further orders to the US until I have a clear understanding of how this will work moving forward. This is worrying for my business as I have built up the most wonderful customer base with my American supporters. 

So far, it seems that I will be able to continue shipping to the US after the 29th August, but with the standard 10% tariff that has been applied to all imported UK goods. This sales tax will be applied to your order at checkout with the idea that I would then use this additional fee to pay the relevant customs charges up front before shipping to ensure smooth passage on entry to the US Postal System and avoid any delays or unexpected fees your end.

For example, an order placed to the value of $100 with $30 shipping would incur a 10% sales tax on both the value of goods and shipping costs, totalling $13, with the total fee for shipping being $130 + $13 = $143.

However, this is an incredibly uncertain time for all involved and, as the postal services both here in the UK and with you in the US grapple with next moves, I’ve decided to pause all shipping to the US until I’m completely clear on how shipping to you will look moving forward.

As soon as I’m able to resume shipping to the US I’ll inform you both by posting an update here and through my newsletter, which you can sign up to through the form in the footer of this page. I’m hopeful that it will be later this year that I can reinstate that option and send you lots of lovely pottery again.

If you have placed a pre-order with me in July, I will have been in touch with you individually by email. If you have any concerns or questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me by email.

I am currently working on a solution to be able to resume shipping to EU member states and Northern Ireland again very soon.

Please continue to check back here or sign up to my mailing list at the bottom of this page for further updates as they become available.

If you have pre-ordered any pieces from the pre-order launch, I will begin making these towards the end of August.

I intend to ship out all pre-ordered pieces at the end of September/beginning of October.

If you order any in-stock pieces alongside pre-order items, I will reserve the in-stock items and send them with the pre-order pieces at the end of September.

If you would like to receive the in-stock pieces sooner, please place a separate order.

UK POSTAGE

For UK deliveries all in-stock orders are sent by Royal Mail and the option for available services will be clear at checkout. There is a flat fee for each service offered and usually free shipping for orders over £50 will be available.

Your items will be sent within 3-4 days of receipt of your order and you will receive confirmation via email using the address you provided at checkout.

INTERNATIONAL POSTAGE

International postage (EU and Worldwide) is sent with Royal Mail International Standard or Tracked. This service normally takes 7 working days but please allow up to 21 days for your parcel to reach you as delivery times can vary depending on your location. I am not responsible for postage delays at busier times of year; these are out of my control so please anticipate potential delays around these times e.g. Christmas.

In addition to shipping costs please be keep in mind when ordering that parcels will be taxed on entry to your country and you may be charged customs clearance/handling fees before you are eligible to receive your parcel. This is a fee set by your country and is a separate cost from shipping fees I charge.

UPDATE DECEMBER 2024 - PLEASE READ BELOW FOR UPDATES TO EU AND NI SHIPPING.

DAMAGED UPON DELIVERY

In the very unlikely event that your pottery is damaged upon arrival, you are eligible to receive a replacement. Please follow these steps:

Contact me on sophia@sophiamcevoy.com to report the damage within 48 hours of delivery.

Please photograph the broken item and the packaging it arrived in, ensuring all labels are visible and attach the image to the email when you contact me as this helps me to diagnose any potential problems encountered during transit.

Upon receipt of this email I will be in contact to arrange a replacement to be shipped out to you at no additional cost. Please keep in mind this may not be immediate if the required replacement is not currently in stock.

Please note I will not be able to provide a replacement without photographic evidence so please don’t hesitate in providing all the necessary information.

INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS

Please note that you are likely to be charged an additional customs and handling fee before you can take possession of your parcel. This is not a fee I set or that I control and the import and VAT rates you pay are set by your country so please ensure you are clear on these before ordering.

If you decide not to pay the customs fee and refuse the parcel, it will be entered back into the system and returned to me. This process can take weeks so please notify me of your decision and prepare for it to take some time to arrive back.

In this instance, I can only issue a refund minus the initial shipping costs and only once the parcel has arrived back safely to me. I will not be able to issue a refund if it is lost so please bear this in mind.

ANYTHING ELSE

If you have any concerns about an order you have placed, send me an email using the contact form on the contact page, or by getting in touch at sophia@sophiamcevoy.com

All UK orders are sent with a Tracked Service from Royal Mail. Please refer to your shipping fulfilment email which should include your tracking number.

Please allow 5-6 working days from receipt of your fulfilment email for your parcel to arrive; this should allow time for any delays to have worked themselves out.

If, after this time has elapsed and you are concerned your parcel has been lost, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

For International orders, please refer to your shipping fulfilment email for all tracking information. The US and Canada are currently shipping fairly quickly with Royal Mail, but please allow for up to 2 weeks for your parcel to reach you.

Loss claims for international orders cannot be opened until 25 days after the arrival due date but please get in touch before then so I can monitor the situation and discuss your options.

I THINK MY ORDER HAS BEEN LOST OR STOLEN UPON DELIVERY

If you believe your parcel has arrived but has since been lost or stolen, I unfortunately cannot be held responsible for this loss. I will ensure that I reach out to Royal Mail to confirm the parcel has indeed been delivered.

Beyond this, I am unable to offer refunds or replacements. Please ensure you have a safe place selected or elect to have a parcel left with a neighbour should you not be in to take receipt of your parcel.

UK ORDERS

As a small business, I ask that you make thoughtful purchases to avoid the need to return anything. My priority will always be that you are completely overjoyed with the pottery you receive and I will work hard to make sure your purchasing experience is overwhelmingly positive.

However, if for any reason your purchase isn’t quite what you’d hoped, you have 14 days from receipt of your order to return your item for a full refund minus shipping costs, providing your order is unused and in perfect condition.

Please note that the above does not apply to international sales; these purchases are considered final and are not eligible for returns or exchanges unless there is a fault with your piece.

A few things to know if you’re thinking of returning your item:

1. I cannot accept returns unless I am notified first, so please get in touch at sophia@sophiamcevoy.com to arrange this and I will be able to provide you with a return address.

2. Please keep all packaging that your order arrived in as it will importantly be marked ‘fragile’; this will allow you to securely repackage the item and help towards its careful handling on its way back to me. Royal Mail offers some good advice on how to pack fragile items here, but a top tip is to give the box a shake when packaged - if you can hear or feel movement, the item inside can move and may not be completely secure.

3. Please be advised that the cost of return shipping is your responsibility. I advise you to insure your package and send it by a Tracked and Recorded Delivery service so that you are able to claim for the package should the worst happen and it goes missing. I will make sure to notify you as soon as the package arrives back with me and I will issue a full refund for the cost of the item shortly after, though I am unable to refund shipping costs.

4. It is important to note that should your item arrive back to me in an unsaleable condition (broken or chipped) or go missing in transit I will be unable to issue a refund, so I recommend that you insure your item when posting it and please make doubly sure it is packaged securely to cover you if the worst should happen.

5. The above refund policy does not apply to sales of Seconds & Samples pieces - all sales of this nature are considered final.

All sales of ‘Seconds’ and ‘Samples’ items (which will be clearly stated as such in title and product descriptions) are final and the above refund policy does not apply.

If you have purchased a piece made on commission, this means that I have made this item bespoke for you and will take anywhere between 6-10 weeks to complete.

As these orders are made specifically to your requirements, all commissioned pieces are non-refundable. However, my priority is that you are overjoyed with your new ceramics; if this is not the case, please get in touch and we can discuss any issues you may have further.

If your piece arrives damaged please follow the above steps for reporting damaged goods and a replacement will be arranged for you immediately. Please double check the dimensions of the piece and the accompanying care instructions to ensure you are completely happy before placing your order.

Sustainability and being kind to the environment is important to me as part of running my business and I know it is important to many of you.

Currently, every single piece of packaging your pottery is sent in is recyclable. This includes the cardboard box, which is sealed with recyclable paper packing tape, the recyclable paper bubble wrap your pieces are wrapped in and the packing peanuts, which are biodegradable (they dissolve in water and can go straight on the compost or under the tap in the sink). My parcels come with a recyclable thank you note and care card but are otherwise paperless; I do not include an invoice slip in your package and instead your invoice will be sent to the email you provided at checkout.

All items are washed before being packed but I suggest you give them an initial hand wash before their first use to remove any packing debris.

Why not snap a photo of your piece in use and tag me on Instagram @sophiamcevoyceramics? I love seeing your pieces being enjoyed in their new homes.

Gift vouchers may only be redeemed against the cost of pottery items from www.sophiamcevoy.com.

Gift vouchers cannot be exchanged for cash.

Your gift voucher does not have an expiry date and can be used against any purchase made with Sophia McEvoy Ceramics.

Money owed for returned items bought using a gift voucher (in part or in full) will be refunded first and foremost by gift voucher. For example, if you buy £70 worth of pottery, pay in part using a £50 gift voucher and return £25 worth of your order, the money will be refunded onto a gift voucher for future use.

I cannot be held responsible if your gift voucher is lost, stolen, destroyed or used without your permission and no replacement will be issued in these circumstances.