Terms and returns

Last updated 19 October 2026

1. About us and these terms

Build A Book (buildabook.online) is run by Jon Dowson, a sole trader based in the United Kingdom, trading as Build A Book ("we", "us"). You can contact us at hello@buildabook.online, or by post at Unit 1, Plot 28, George Thomas Avenue, Bridgend, CF32 9SQ, United Kingdom.

These terms apply when you order from us. Please read them before you order. Our privacy policy explains how we use your information.

2. Who can order

• You must be 18 or over and buying as a consumer, not for resale.
• eBooks can be ordered from anywhere. Paperbacks and hardbacks are delivered to UK addresses only.
• If the book is for a child who isn't yours, please make sure their parent or guardian is happy for you to share their first name and details with us.

3. What you're buying

eBook

A personalised picture book as a PDF, with a cover and 32 illustrated pages, that you can read online and download to keep. It's delivered on your private book page, and we email you the link.

eBook + paperback

The eBook, plus a printed copy of the same book: a 32-page, 21 × 28 cm paperback with a matt laminated cover and full-colour 170gsm silk pages, delivered in the UK.

eBook + hardback

The eBook, plus a printed copy of the same book as a 32-page hardback: a hard cover with a matt laminated finish and full-colour 170gsm silk pages, about 21 × 28 cm, delivered in the UK.

About every book

• Written for your child: each story is written from the answers you give us, with the help of AI, and checked by our systems for children's content before you see it. No two stories are the same, so the samples on our website are examples.
• The pictures: they're drawn from our own illustrations, using the look you choose, such as skin tone, hair and glasses. They're a friendly likeness, not a portrait of your child.
• Make-believe dreams: if the dream you give us is make-believe, such as a superhero, we'll turn it into the nearest real dream, and tell you in your book.
• Printed colours: they can look slightly different from how they appear on your screen.

4. The details you give us

• Please check the spelling of names and the dedication before you order. We'll use them exactly as you type them.
• Don't include anything offensive, or other people's private details. We can refuse or change words that aren't suitable for a children's book. If we can't write a story from your answers, you can change the dream and we'll try again, free.

5. Prices and payment

• Prices are in pounds sterling and are shown before you pay. Paperback and hardback prices include UK delivery.
• Payment is taken by Stripe when you order. We never see your card details.
• Discount codes are entered at checkout. They can't be exchanged for cash, one code can be used per order, and they may have an expiry date or other conditions shown with the code.
• Our contract with you starts when your payment is confirmed.
• If we've made an obvious mistake with a price, we'll contact you before going ahead, and refund you if you'd rather not continue.

6. What happens after you pay

1. We write your story straight away. It usually takes a few minutes. Your private book page shows the progress, and we email you when the book is ready.
2. eBook: read it online and download the PDF as often as you like while your book page is available. We keep it for 2 years, so please save a copy.
3. eBook + paperback or eBook + hardback: read every page first. If it isn't quite right, you can use one free rewrite before you approve it. We'll write a brand-new story, and you can change the dream too. The rewrite replaces the first story.
4. Approve and print: when you press Approve, we send your book to our print partner exactly as you've approved it. After that, we can't make changes.

If you bought the eBook and later add a paperback or hardback from your book page, the same steps apply: check it, approve it, and we print it.

7. Delivery (paperbacks and hardbacks)

• Paperbacks and hardbacks are printed on demand by our print partner, Gelato, and its local printers, then posted to the address you give at checkout. Most UK orders arrive within about a week of approval. Delivery times are estimates, not guarantees.
• Please check your address. If a book can't be delivered because the address was wrong or incomplete, we may charge for reprinting and posting it again.
• If your book hasn't arrived within 28 days of approval, email us and we'll reprint and resend it free.

8. Cancellation and refunds

For most things bought online, UK law gives you 14 days to change your mind. That right works differently for our books:

• The eBook is digital content. At checkout, you ask us to write it straight away and confirm you understand that you lose your right to cancel once it's written. The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 allow this. We confirm it in the email we send when your book is ready.
• The paperback or hardback is made to your specifications and personalised, so it's not covered by the right to cancel or return.
• If something goes wrong on our side before your story is written, for example we can't write it at all, we'll give you a full refund.

This doesn't affect your rights if something is wrong with your book (see section 9).

9. If something is wrong with your book

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 protects you. Your book must be as described, fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality. If it isn't, we'll put it right.

• eBook problems: for example a file that won't open, missing pages, or a name spelled differently from how you typed it. We'll fix or replace it, and if we can't, we'll give you a refund.
• Paperback or hardback problems: for example a misprint, missing or loose pages, a book damaged in the post, or a book that doesn't match what you approved. Email us within 30 days of delivery with your order reference and a photo, and we'll send a free reprint or give you a refund.
• Not counted as faults:
  • A spelling or detail that was typed that way in the order.
  • Small differences between screen and print colours.
  • A likeness that isn't exact.
  • Simply preferring a different story. That's what the free rewrite is for.

Email hello@buildabook.online and we'll reply within 5 working days. Refunds go back to the card you paid with.

10. Using your book

Your book is yours to keep, read and share with family and friends, and you can print copies of the eBook for your own use. You can't sell it, publish it, or use it for business. Our illustrations, designs and the Build A Book name belong to us.

11. Our responsibility to you

• We're responsible for loss or damage you suffer that is a foreseeable result of us breaking these terms or not taking reasonable care. We're not responsible for loss that wasn't foreseeable.
• We only supply books for domestic and private use, so we're not responsible for any business losses.
• Nothing in these terms limits our responsibility for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for anything else the law doesn't allow us to limit, including your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
• If something outside our control delays your order, such as a postal strike or a problem at the printer, we'll tell you and keep delays as short as we can. If the delay is long, you can ask for a refund for anything you haven't received.

12. Complaints and the law

• If you're unhappy, please email hello@buildabook.online and we'll do our best to sort it out.
• These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. You can bring a claim in the courts of England and Wales, or if you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, in your local courts.

13. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. The terms that apply to your order are the ones shown on this page when you ordered.

14. Gift vouchers and gifted books

• What a voucher is worth: an eBook voucher is worth the price of the eBook, a paperback voucher is worth the price of the eBook + paperback, and a hardback voucher is worth the price of the eBook + hardback, as shown when you bought it. It's taken off at checkout as a discount of that amount. If the recipient chooses something that costs more, they pay the difference. Any value left over is not refunded or carried over.
• Valid for 12 months from the date it was bought, for one order. The expiry date is on the voucher.
• One voucher per order. It can't be used with another discount code, exchanged for cash or resold.
• Keep the code safe. Anyone with the code can use it, so treat it like cash. We can't replace a code that's been used by someone else. If you lose your voucher, email us and we'll resend it to the buyer's email address.
• Sending it: if you give us the recipient's email address, we'll email the voucher on the date you choose. Please check the address. We're not responsible if a voucher is sent to a wrong address you gave us, but if it hasn't been used we'll cancel it and send you a new one.
• Changing your mind: you can cancel a voucher within 14 days of buying it for a full refund, as long as it hasn't been used. Email us with the voucher code.
• Gifted books: if you tick "This is a gift", everything in these terms applies to you as the buyer. We'll email the recipient a read-only link to the book on the date you choose; the approval, free rewrite and the option to add a printed book stay with you.

15. Digital illustrations

• What it is: included in every eBook, eBook + paperback and eBook + hardback at no extra cost. We put your child into the cover and every page, in 3D-animated digital illustrations, made from the photo you add or, without a photo, from the look you choose.
• Your photo (optional): you must be the child's parent or guardian, or have their permission. We use the photo only to make your child's character, then delete it (see our privacy policy).
• Your first copy: your book arrives first with our standard drawn pictures, so you can read the story and use your free rewrite if you want one. When you approve the story, we create the digital illustrations (usually within about 15 minutes) and email you.
• eBooks: your eBook updates with the digital pictures. If you haven't approved the story within 3 days, we create them automatically.
• Paperbacks and hardbacks: after you approve the story, we create the pictures and show you every page. Nothing is printed until you press Print it.
• Not quite right? If a picture doesn't look right, tell us and we'll redo it free.
• AI pictures: the pictures are made with AI, so they're a likeness in an animated style, not an exact portrait, and small details can vary between pages.
• If we can't make them: if we can't make your illustrations (for example because the photo isn't clear enough), we'll let you try another photo or make them from your look settings instead, or you can keep your book with our standard drawn pictures.

16. Personalised comics

• What it is: a 32-page comic starring up to four people you choose: a cover, a "made for" page, a cast page, 20 comic pages with 54 cartoon panels and speech bubbles, and 10 bonus pages (posters, a map, colouring and drawing pages and a certificate). The same comic comes as an eBook, eBook + paperback or eBook + hardback (21 × 28 cm).
• Photos: everyone in the comic needs a photo. You must be allowed to share each photo, and be the parent or guardian of any child in them or have their permission. We use the photos only to draw the characters, then delete them (see our privacy policy).
• Free preview first: before you pay, we draw the characters and a cover and write a summary of the story, so you can see it first. You can ask for one free change to the story. Previews are kept for 7 days, and you can make up to 6 a week.
• Made as soon as you pay: the comic is made from the story in your preview straight away, usually within 30 minutes, and we email you when it's ready. At checkout you agree to this, and that you can't cancel for a refund once it's made.
• Paperbacks and hardbacks: nothing is printed until you've read every page and pressed Approve and print. Delivery is as in section 7.
• AI pictures: the pictures and story are made with AI, so the characters are a cartoon likeness rather than an exact portrait, and small details can vary between panels. We check every picture, but if one doesn't look right (for example, someone's missing or a face is wrong), tell us before approving and we'll redraw it free.
• If something is wrong: section 9 applies to comics as well: we'll put it right with a fix, a reprint or a refund.