Short answer: Returning unused or leftover tiles because you changed your mind or over-ordered is a shop's own offer, and at the nine Australian online tile shops we checked on 27 September 2026 and again on 9 October 2026 the terms vary widely. Where a window is offered it runs from 7 to 30 days, restocking fees run from 5% to at least 30%, some shops take returns only as an exchange or before dispatch, and the customer usually pays the return freight. Damaged, faulty or wrong tiles are a separate matter: most shops ask for transit damage to be reported within 48 hours to 7 business days of delivery, the rest as soon as possible, and your rights under the Australian Consumer Law apply whatever a returns policy says.
Tiles are easy to over-order, because the cutting allowance and the rounding up to whole boxes leave a margin that may not be used. That makes the returns policy worth reading before you buy, not after the job is finished. This page sets the shops' published terms side by side, in their own words, and separates the two kinds of return that are easy to confuse. Tilekind is one of the nine, and our terms are in the same tables.
1. Two different kinds of return
- Change of mind, or over-ordering. The tiles are as ordered and undamaged; you no longer want them, or you have boxes left. Whether a shop takes them back, and on what terms, is up to its returns policy.
- Damaged, faulty or wrong. The tiles arrived broken, have a defect, or are not what you ordered. Here the consumer guarantees in the Australian Consumer Law apply, and a shop's policy cannot take them away. The shop's terms still set out how and when to report the problem, which is worth knowing because the windows for reporting transit damage are short.
Your rights when tiles arrive wrong covers the second kind in more detail. The rest of this page follows the shops' own terms.
2. Change-of-mind returns, shop by shop
| Shop | Window | Restocking or handling fee | Return freight | Main conditions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Tiles | 30 calendar days from delivery | 20% handling fee may apply | A return delivery fee applies when it collects pallets from site; fees waived under its Online Return Guarantee for a first website order returned in full to a metro address | Unused, unopened and in the original packaging; at least 5 m² or 3 boxes per item; special-order and clearance items excluded |
| TileCloud | 30 days from delivery | 5% | Customer | Unused, in original packaging and saleable; not installed |
| Tilemall | 30 days from delivery; cancelling before the order is processed is free | 25%, capped at $200 | Customer; for tiles, $220 or the delivery cost, whichever is greater | Cartons unopened; photos before booking; clearance, special-order and sample items excluded |
| TileTouch | 14 days from receipt, as an exchange only | 25% | Customer | All boxes and tiles in good condition; no partial returns |
| The Tile Collective | Returns to be requested within 14 days of delivery; its refund page also states it is not required to refund or replace for a change of mind | 30% | Customer | Original packaging, undamaged and saleable; a minimum quantity; enough of the same batch still in its stock; custom, special-order, discontinued and clearance items excluded |
| Tile Lane | Its refund policy gives 7 days from delivery, and the same page states that no returns or exchanges are accepted for change of mind | 25% | Customer | Full unopened boxes, unmarked and undamaged, of current stock and shade; discounted, special-order and project leftover goods excluded |
| Future Tile | Considered if the order has not yet been collected or shipped | At least 30% once packed | Customer | Partial tile orders not returnable unless defective |
| Beaumont Tiles | Its documents differ; see below | 25%, in different forms | Customer | Full unopened box lots in resaleable condition, with the sales docket; special-order and clearance items excluded |
| Tilekind | 14 days from delivery; request a return before sending anything | 20% of the returned tile value | Customer | Unopened, in full unopened boxes, or unused and uncut full mosaic sheets; in original packaging, with proof of purchase; cut, installed, partly used and sample pieces excluded |
Where a shop's pages give more than one version of a term, the table shows the version on its returns or refund page and notes the difference. The Tile Collective's refund page asks for at least 5 boxes, while its terms and conditions say 4 boxes or 5.76 m², whichever is less. TileCloud's help centre says in one place that refunds cannot be given for a change of mind and in others that tiles can be returned within 30 days less 5%. Beaumont Tiles sets out its returns in two documents: a credits and returns sheet that waives its fees within 7 days of purchase and takes no returns after 30 days; and terms of trade that make returns its discretion, at the lesser of 25% or $200 plus return costs.
3. Why leftover boxes are hard to send back
The conditions in the table add up to a pattern. Most shops want boxes that are unused and in their original packaging, and five of the nine, Tilekind included, say the boxes must be unopened. Several set a minimum quantity per item. Several also want the tiles to be from a batch they still hold, because tiles are made in production batches whose shade can differ, and a returned box from an old batch may not sell. Cut, installed and partly used tiles are excluded at every shop that addresses them.
In practice, the boxes most likely to be accepted are whole ones you never opened, returned soon after delivery. The half box left over when the job is done is the least likely. That is worth knowing when you decide how much allowance to order; how many tiles do I need? works through the count piece by piece.
4. Reporting damage and wrong items
| Shop | Report within, as stated | What to send |
|---|---|---|
| National Tiles | 7 business days of delivery | Keep the goods and packaging for inspection |
| TileCloud | 2 business days of delivery | Photographs |
| Tilemall | 48 hours of delivery for transit or visible damage and shortages, noted on the proof of delivery where possible; wrong items as soon as reasonably possible, and the 48-hour limit does not apply to manufacturing defects | Photographs of the goods and packaging |
| TileTouch | 2 days of receipt, for transit damage | Photographs |
| The Tile Collective | 48 hours on its refund page and terms; 2 business days in its FAQ; "two (2) working days or 48 hours" in its delivery policy | Photographs of the goods and packaging |
| Tile Lane | 2 days of delivery, for transit damage | Not stated |
| Future Tile | Straight away | Photographs |
| Beaumont Tiles | 48 hours, by phone | Photographs |
| Tilekind | As soon as possible | Photographs |
Whatever the window, the practical advice is the same everywhere: check the delivery on the day it arrives, before the packaging goes and before any tile is laid, and photograph the pallet, the labels and any damage. For faulty or wrong items, the shops that address it say they will replace or refund and, in most cases, cover the return freight.
5. What to check before you order
- Whether change-of-mind returns are offered at all, or only as an exchange or before dispatch.
- The window, and when it starts: from delivery, from receipt or from purchase.
- The fee and the freight together. A 25% restocking fee plus return freight on a pallet can take much of the refund on a small return.
- The conditions: unopened boxes, minimum quantities, current batch, and which items are excluded.
- The damage window, so you know how soon to check the delivery.
If you are comparing the full cost of an order between shops, buying tiles online in Australia sets returns alongside price and delivery.
6. Where Tilekind sits
We are one of the nine, so this section is ours to write and yours to check against the tables. Tilekind accepts change-of-mind returns for 14 days from delivery, of tiles “unopened, in full unopened boxes, or unused and uncut full mosaic sheets”, in their original packaging, with a 20% restocking fee and return freight paid by the customer. The window, the fee and the customer-paid freight do not apply to damaged, faulty or incorrect goods, which we put right at our cost. The full terms are in our refund policy.
On the figures above, three shops give 30 days from delivery, and Beaumont Tiles' credits and returns sheet allows returns up to 30 days from purchase, fee-free within 7 days. TileCloud's 5% fee is lower than ours. Six set a fee of 25% or more, though Tilemall caps its fee at $200, Beaumont Tiles' terms of trade cap it at the lesser of 25% or $200, and our 20% has no cap; National Tiles also waives its 20% for a first website order returned in full to a metro address. Like most of the nine, we ask the customer to pay the return freight on a change of mind. Which of those matters depends on how likely you are to have boxes left over, and how soon you would know.
Can you return unused or leftover tiles?
Sometimes, and only on the shop's terms. Some of the nine shops checked here take unused tiles back for a change of mind; others only as an exchange, only before dispatch, or not at all, and two shops' own pages contradict each other on it. Where a window is offered it runs from 7 to 30 days, restocking fees run from 5% to at least 30%, and the customer usually pays the return freight. Where returns are accepted, the tiles usually have to be unused and in their original packaging, and at several shops in unopened boxes. Leftovers are harder: some shops refuse partial returns or project leftovers outright, several set a minimum quantity, and an opened or part-used box is the least likely to be taken back. Whole boxes you never opened, sent back soon after delivery, are the most likely to be accepted; cut, installed and partly used tiles are excluded at every shop that addresses them. Damaged, faulty or wrong tiles are a different matter, and your rights under the Australian Consumer Law apply whatever a returns policy says.
What is a restocking fee?
A percentage kept from the refund on a change-of-mind return. At the nine shops checked here it ranges from 5% to at least 30%, and it is usually on top of the return freight. Several shops state that it does not apply to damaged, faulty or wrong items.
How soon do I have to report damaged tiles?
Most of the shops here ask for transit damage to be reported within 48 hours or 2 days of delivery, one allows 7 business days, and others ask for it as soon as possible. Check the delivery on the day it arrives and photograph any damage.
The same nine shops on other questions. Online tile shops in Australia compared brings the comparisons together; the others in this series cover tile samples, delivery, paying online and prices per square metre.
7. Where these facts come from
Every term for another shop comes from that shop's own returns or refund page, terms and conditions, FAQ or help centre, read on 27 September 2026 and read again on 9 October 2026. Where a shop's documents differ, sections 2 and 4 say so and give the main versions. Tilekind's terms come from our own refund policy on the same dates; its eligibility wording was updated on 4 October 2026 and is quoted here as updated. Nothing on this page is legal advice or an assessment of any shop's terms against the law. Shops change their policies, so the shop's own page is the one to rely on when you order. If a shop's terms have changed, or we have misread them, email sales@tilekind.com.au and we will correct the tables.
Not included: Bunnings, whose pages our check could not load on 27 September 2026.
Sources, as read again on 9 October 2026:
- Beaumont Tiles, Returns, the credits and returns sheet it links to, and Terms of trade, its FAQ and a product page
- Future Tile, Refund policy
- National Tiles, Sales terms and conditions
- The Tile Collective, Refund policy, terms and conditions, FAQ and delivery policy
- TileCloud, Terms and conditions and help centre
- Tilemall, Returns and refunds and terms of service
- TileTouch, Return and refund and terms and conditions
- Tile Lane, Refund policy and terms of service
- Tilekind, Refund policy
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