After you accept your designer's quote. Sending a request is free, and you will see the quote before any money moves. A quote is held for 72 hours, because Naira and Cedi exchange rates change daily; if it runs out, ask your designer for a refreshed one.

You choose. Many designers source fabric locally. Others ask you to send your own, and will tell you how much and where to ship it.

Either way, once your designer has your materials, they will send a photo or video of the fabric in the chat. You have 48 hours to approve or request changes! If we don't hear from you within 48 hours, we will assume you love it, and the designer will begin cutting to ensure your delivery timeline stays on track. A fabric approved because you didn't reply at all can't be disputed later.

No need to ship anything back. Once your order is marked delivered, you have 3 days to confirm receipt or report a real issue with photos — a minor fit issue gets a partial credit, the wrong fabric or design gets a full refund (unless you approved that fabric, or didn't reply to its video within 48 hours). If nothing's reported, payment releases automatically once the window closes.

We review each designer's portfolio and the social media where they post their work (Instagram, TikTok, Facebook or wherever they share it) to check that the pieces shown were made by them. Before a store goes live, we also verify the designer's identity and bank details, so your payment reaches the real person behind the work.

It depends on the piece and the designer. Every profile shows the usual turnaround, and your quote confirms it.

To the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, Germany, the UAE and Australia, plus family and friends in Nigeria or Ghana. Your designer's quote shows the garment cost and the shipping cost separately, so you know exactly what you're paying for. For international delivery you choose the speed: Express Courier (DHL, FedEx or UPS, about 3 to 7 days) or Standard Cargo (about 10 to 14 days, usually much cheaper). Both are priced by weight, so your quote shows the package weight too. If you'd rather skip international shipping altogether, you can also choose local pickup (no shipping fee) or give a local address in Nigeria or Ghana for your designer to use a cheap local courier instead.

Yes. Save them once in your account and send them with any request. Update them whenever you like.

Yes, a Buyer Protection Fee is added to your designer's quote at checkout. It's shown as its own line, and you see the full total before you pay. It covers securing your payment milestones and settling any issue with your order.

Yes. Custom work often costs more than people expect, so designers can quote their real price, and your order page shows your budget next to the quote so the difference is clear. You're never obliged to accept. Once you've accepted a quote, the price can only go up if you agree: a shipping correction is capped at 20% and allowed once, and anything you ask to add is priced with you first.

Occasionally a courier weighs the packed piece and it comes out heavier than the designer quoted (a Volumetric Weight Adjustment). Your designer can then ask for a one-time shipping correction of up to 20% of your order, and you choose whether to agree. If you decline, your order is not cancelled: your designer either sends it at the original price, or Seamesy steps in and agrees a fair solution with you both, such as a cheaper Standard Cargo option or splitting the difference. You're never charged extra without saying yes.

By email and in your order chat. Order emails (new quotes, messages, fabric and finished-piece approvals, delivery and your review window) are always on, because they carry deadlines you don't want to miss. Marketing emails are optional and you can unsubscribe from them any time. We don't send text messages.

Message Seamesy support from your order page as early as you can. If your designer doesn't deliver (they stop replying, can't finish, run 14+ days late on their side, or the parcel is lost), you get a full refund, including the Buyer Protection Fee. If you change your mind: Cancellations made within 24 hours of payment receive a full refund. After 24 hours, the 30% material deposit becomes non-refundable to cover the designer's sourcing costs. The deposit also becomes non-refundable as soon as your designer posts the fabric photo or video, if that happens first. The Buyer Protection Fee is refunded within the first 24 hours, but not after. Once cutting has started, your piece is being made for you, so it's finished and sent as normal unless you and your designer agree otherwise. If something is wrong with the finished piece, report it during the 3-day review window instead.

Seamesy does not offer standard returns on custom apparel — every piece is made to order for you. What we do guarantee is financial protection: once your order is delivered, you have 3 days to report a real problem instead. A minor fit issue caused by the designer gets a partial credit from their payout; the wrong fabric or design gets a full refund. That gives designers strong evidence against chargebacks on work they delivered as agreed, while giving buyers the confidence to spend.

By the time an order reaches you, the buyer's card has already been charged the full amount, and Seamesy secures your payment milestones from there. You aren't hoping the buyer pays you later.

30% of your payout (after Seamesy's 5% fee) is sent to you by bank transfer as a material deposit as soon as the order is paid, so you can buy fabric. Don't buy the fabric in the first 24 hours after payment: the buyer can cancel for a full refund in that window. After 24 hours, or once you post the fabric photo or video, the deposit is yours to keep if the buyer changes their mind. Post the fabric photo or video as soon as you've bought it. If the order is cancelled because you didn't deliver, the deposit has to be returned. The other 70% is released once the piece reaches the buyer and their 72-hour review window passes, or sooner if they approve it. For a shipped order, add the tracking number and post a photo of the shipping receipt or waybill in the chat. For a pickup, post a photo of the handover. If a pickup isn't collected within 14 days, the order completes and your payout is released anyway.

To protect the buyer, and that protection is what brings you buyers. Many people in the diaspora have been too nervous to wire money to a designer in Africa. Knowing the final payment is released only once the piece arrives is what makes them ready to order. You're trading some upfront cash for many more sales, and the money you're waiting on is already paid in full.

Whichever you and the buyer agree on. Turn on "I can source fabric for buyers" in your store settings if you offer that — otherwise the buyer sends their own and you tell them how much and where to ship it.

Before you cut, upload a clear photo or video of the raw fabric from the order page. If the buyer approves, or if 48 hours pass without a reply, you have the green light to begin cutting. This protects you from wrong-fabric disputes.

There's no return to ship back and forth. Once you mark an order shipped and the buyer marks it received, they have 3 days to confirm receipt or report a real problem. A minor fit issue you're responsible for means a partial credit comes out of your payout; the wrong fabric or design means a full refund. If a buyer provides incorrect measurements, but the garment is made accurately to those specifications, the designer remains protected and will receive their full payout. If nothing's reported, payment releases automatically once the window closes.

We review your portfolio and the social media where you post your work (Instagram, TikTok, Facebook or wherever you share it), confirming every piece you show is your own work. Before your store goes live, you'll also add your payout and identity details: your full legal name, your bank account, and a clear photo of a document that shows your legal name, such as a National ID, Ghana Card or NIN slip, passport, driving licence or voter's card. Your application also asks for your storefront or workshop address. It's optional and kept private, but it helps us verify you faster. We check that these match, so buyers know they're paying the real you. That review is what lets buyers pay upfront with confidence.

Whatever you set as your usual turnaround in your store settings — it shows on your public profile so buyers know what to expect before they ever send a request.

Wherever you choose, from the countries Seamesy currently supports (United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, Germany, the UAE, Australia, Nigeria and Ghana) — pick your delivery countries in your store settings so buyers see your coverage upfront. Your quote lists your shipping cost to them separately from the garment price, plus the package weight in kg (see the shipping reference table when you send a quote). The buyer chooses Express Courier (DHL, FedEx, UPS) or Standard Cargo, so quote for the service they picked. For cargo you can mark the order shipped with a tracking number or a photo of the waybill.

Seamesy doesn't book or track the shipment for you — you're booking the actual courier yourself once the piece is ready. Topship (topship.africa) and Terminal Africa (terminal.africa) are both free to sign up for and let you compare DHL, FedEx and UPS rates side by side and pay for a real label, usually for less than booking directly with one courier at their counter rate. Either is worth using instead of guessing.

Add a small buffer to your shipping quote. Couriers charge by the packed weight or the volumetric (size) weight, whichever is higher, and packaging adds more than you'd think. Adding about 10 to 15% (or roughly 0.5 kg) to the weight you quote means you won't come up short when you drop the parcel off.

That's a Volumetric Weight Adjustment. From the order page, use Request a budget increase and pick Shipping Correction: it's capped at 20% of the original order and can only be used once per order, and the buyer has to agree to it. Treat it as an emergency lever, not standard practice. Buyers don't like surprise costs after paying, so a small buffer in your original shipping quote is much better.

If the buyer declines, or agrees but doesn't pay within 48 hours, the order is not cancelled and the buyer isn't refunded for this. Seamesy doesn't pay the gap automatically, and nothing comes off your payout automatically either. You choose one of two things on the order page:

• Ship at the original price and cover the extra yourself. Your payout stays the same.
• Ask Seamesy to step in. Seamesy works it out with you both in the support chat, case by case: a cheaper Standard Cargo option, splitting the difference, local delivery in Lagos, or holding the piece at the Lagos Hub until it's sorted. Keep the piece until Seamesy replies.

Time spent waiting on Seamesy to sort it out isn't counted against you as a late delivery. Marking the order as shipped without choosing counts as covering it yourself.

Yes, any time, from Your store in your account — your bio, photo, pieces and prices can all change whenever you like. The details from your application (social media handle, country, phone number) are locked for verification; contact us if any of those need to change.

By email, every time a buyer sends you a request or a message, and in the notification bell on your account. Reply in the order chat on Seamesy so every detail of the order stays in one place.

Yes, up to two times before the buyer accepts. You can quote above the buyer's budget if that's your real price; just tick the confirmation and say why. After the buyer accepts, you can ask for more only through a budget increase on the order page: a shipping correction (up to 20%, once per order) or an addition the buyer asked for, which they must approve.

Seamesy charges a flat 5% platform fee on completed orders to cover securing payment milestones, payment processing and buyer protection. When you send a quote, simply factor this 5% into your total price so your final payout matches your exact goal.