You have 30 calendar days from the date of delivery to return a unit purchased from Acorn Machinery. The window starts on the day the bill of lading is signed at your address, not the day you placed the order.
This policy applies to orders shipped within the continental United States and is written to be read before you buy, not after something goes wrong.
Return window at a glance
| Return window | 30 days from delivery |
| RMA required | Yes, before anything ships back |
| Return freight | Buyer pays on change-of-mind returns. Acorn pays on defective, damaged, or misdescribed units |
| Restocking fee | 15% on change-of-mind returns. None on defective, damaged, or misdescribed units |
| Refund issued | Within 5 to 7 business days of the returned unit passing inspection at our yard |
| Cancellation before dispatch | Free, full refund |
Condition requirements
A returned unit has to come back in the condition it left in, allowing for the inspection and light familiarization any buyer would reasonably do.
- No more than 10 additional hours on the meter for machines, or 250 additional miles for towable trailers, beyond the reading recorded at delivery
- No new damage, no fluid or fuel contamination, no modification, and no removed or swapped components
- No cut, drilled, welded, or repainted surfaces, and no removed decals, plates, or serial tags
- All original keys, manuals, attachments, ramps, spare tires, and loose parts included
- Title and registration paperwork returned unsigned and untransferred where a title was issued
A machine that has been put to work on a job is not a return. If you have run it through a week of grading or hauled six loads with the trailer, we will look at a warranty claim or a repair, but not a return.
How to start a return: the RMA process
- Contact us inside 30 days. Call (712) 356-0109 or email sales@acornmachinery.com with your order number, the serial number or VIN, the current meter reading, and the reason for the return.
- Send photos. All four sides, the meter, and any area you are raising a problem with. This is how we decide who pays freight, so it matters.
- We issue an RMA number within 2 business days. It is valid for 14 days.
- We book the truck. Equipment returns go back on a flatbed or lowboy that we arrange, because the load has to be secured properly and insured in transit. Do not hand a machine to a carrier you found yourself. Loads returned without an RMA or on an unapproved carrier are refused at our gate.
- Write the RMA number on the bill of lading and keep your copy.
- We inspect on arrival within 3 business days of the unit reaching Piscataway and confirm the outcome by email.
Who pays the return freight
You changed your mind, ordered the wrong model, or the unit does not suit the job. You pay return freight at cost. On most lanes in the lower 48 that lands between $550 and $1,200 depending on distance and machine dimensions. We quote it before the truck is booked, and you approve the number in writing before we dispatch.
The unit arrived damaged, arrived defective, or does not match how it was described and photographed on the listing. We pay return freight in full, and the original $550 outbound charge is refunded as well.
Restocking fee
Change-of-mind returns carry a 15% restocking fee calculated on the unit price, not on freight. It covers cleaning, re-inspection, re-listing, and the yard time a returned machine takes up.
There is no restocking fee on a unit that was damaged in transit, that failed on arrival, or that was not as described. We are not going to charge you for our mistake or the carrier’s.
Refunds: method and timing
Refunds go back to the original payment method. Card payments refund to the same card. Bank transfers and ACH refund to the originating account. We do not issue refunds by check to a third party or to an account other than the one the payment came from.
- We process the refund within 5 to 7 business days of the returned unit passing inspection.
- Card issuers typically post the credit in a further 3 to 10 business days. That part is on your bank, not on us.
- Bank transfer refunds usually land in 2 to 5 business days.
- You get an email with the refund amount and a line-by-line breakdown of any deductions on the day we release it.
On a change-of-mind return the refund is the unit price, less the 15% restocking fee, less the return freight cost. The original $550 outbound freight is not refunded on change-of-mind returns because the truck already ran.
Damaged or defective on arrival
Inspect before you sign the bill of lading and note any visible damage on it. The steps are set out in our Shipping Policy. Concealed damage has to be reported within 5 business days of delivery.
If a unit will not start, will not hold hydraulic pressure, or has a fault that was not disclosed, call us before you attempt a repair. In most cases we can put a local technician on it faster than a machine can be trucked back, and we cover that repair. Where a repair is not practical, you choose between a replacement unit or a full refund including both legs of freight.
Items we cannot take back
- Units that have been worked commercially, or that exceed the 10 hour / 250 mile allowance
- Units modified, repainted, re-decaled, drilled, welded, or fitted with third-party equipment
- Units titled or registered into the buyer’s name, or into a third party’s name
- Custom-built, custom-specified, or special-order trailers built to your dimensions
- Fluids, filters, batteries, and consumables once opened or installed
- Anything reported after the 30 day window has closed
Used equipment sold as-is is still covered by this 30 day return window for misdescription and for on-arrival faults. As-is means we are not warranting future wear. It does not mean you have no recourse if the machine is not what the listing said it was.
Cancelling before dispatch
Cancel any time before the unit is loaded and you get 100% of your money back, freight included. No restocking fee, no administrative charge. Email sales@acornmachinery.com with your order number or call the yard.
Once a load has been picked up by the carrier it is in transit and the cancellation becomes a return under the terms above. If you catch us while the truck is still being loaded, call rather than email. We can usually stop it.
Contact for returns
Acorn Machinery, Returns Department
250 Wills Way, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
Phone: (712) 356-0109
Email: sales@acornmachinery.com
Nothing in this policy limits rights you have under applicable state or federal consumer law.