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How do I request a refund from the Asset Store?

Discussion in 'Assets and Asset Store' started by dbryson, Jul 8, 2014.

  1. dbryson

    dbryson

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    Perhaps I am stupid, but I can't find anywhere where I can request a refund for an Asset Store purchase. How do I request a refund for an asset purchase that sucks? Thanks.
     
  2. User340

    User340

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    Which asset? Lol
     
  3. angrypenguin

    angrypenguin

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    This contact page lists "Asset Store" as one of the available subjects. I'd start there.

    I swear there used to be a published email address for this... or perhaps I just used their normal support address?
     
  4. Aurore

    Aurore

    Director of Real-Time Learning

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    There was an actual e-mail address for this, it may even still work, but this contact page lets us know what the query is about so we know who it needs to go to without having to read through it first.
     
  5. Graham-Dunnett

    Graham-Dunnett

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    Well, to obtain a refund:

    a) Contact the vendor who's asset you have purchased.

    b) Discuss your problem with the vendor, who should try and assist you.

    c) Assuming the problem cannot be resolved, the vendor will contact the support team and request that we issue you a refund.

    d) Support start the refund process.

    e) You get your money back.
     
    schmosef likes this.
  6. nipoco

    nipoco

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    Is that so?

    I got one refund (as AssetStore Vendor) once, and nobody contacted me beforehand.

    Not that I care that much. I just wanted to note that.
     
    tomekkie2 likes this.
  7. Graham-Dunnett

    Graham-Dunnett

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    Not sure when that was, but at least in the last 12 months we've not unilaterally issued refunds.
     
  8. Yukichu

    Yukichu

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    I asked for a refund from an asset store seller and he said he didn't have the money to give me a refund, and to ask the asset store. I emailed them and they said they don't give refunds and work with the asset owner. Went back to the asset owner, told him this, and he said oh well, too bad.

    Lovely. The asset was broken and would not work for a month without him fixing it before I asked for a refund.

    Reminds me of the time I bought something from eBay on a prerelease (DVD), when the item was released the seller kept saying it would be shipped on a certain day, which would always pass by. When I finally got sick of waiting, I asked for a refund. It had passed the 90 days mark or whatever it is with PayPal which makes refunds unallowable. Lovely scam.

    Perhaps there needs to be a more visible notice on the purchase confirmation popup informing you that the asset store cannot refund your purchase, only the asset owner can do this. Unfortunately I think this would impact sales like... some random amount, so it might not happen as there is a link to some terms of service or something already there.
     
  9. Dustin-Horne

    Dustin-Horne

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    I've never had anyone request a refund for my asset, but I did have one just appear once. I inquired about it and found that it was because a user was double charged (they bought twice). Completely innocent and the asset store team clarified it for me right away so likely nothing to worry about.
     
    nipoco likes this.
  10. Graham-Dunnett

    Graham-Dunnett

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    http://unity3d.com/legal/as_terms

    Clause 2.6 says "All sales are final and there shall be no refunds except as required by law." We direct customers to the asset store vendor so they can reach an agreement. The vendor is not obligated to provide refunds. Many vendors do offer refunds in exceptional circumstances since that is part of maintaining a good business. A vendor asking a customer to contact the Asset Store team maybe doesn't understand this.
     
    JamesArndt likes this.
  11. Yukichu

    Yukichu

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    Oh I know the terms, but thanks for reposting them. I was just bummed I bought something that was broken for a month and then couldn't get a refund from the vendor.

    Very true on everything else you said as well. Definitely not good business.
     
  12. angrypenguin

    angrypenguin

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    As a response to specifically what you quoted, this makes perfect sense. The rest of the story still raises valid questions, though - the asset is said to have fundamentally not worked as advertised. To me that sticks it straight into the "except as required by law" category, and yet the vendor was either unable to or chose not to provide a refund. Under those circumstances what potential recourse does a customer have?
     
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  13. Graham-Dunnett

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    Well, the unityToaster add-on is advertised as making toast for your breakfast. Lots of people have bought this, and are very happy with the asset. I occasionally get people who complain that they are not getting toast each morning as expected, and have even sent photos of their toaster in their kitchen not even turning on. Obviously they ask for a refund. I explain that at 07:45am if they are running Unity they can see a new toast asset appear in the hierarchy window. This does assume that (a) they are running Unity, and (b) the clock on their system is correct, since the add-on uses system-time to decide when to add the toast asset to the database. I don't usually offer refunds unless a customer can show the asset not functioning. Saying they bought it by mistake doesn't wash with me.

    (Obviously this is my light-hearted way of describing different opinions about what an asset can do or is for. I don't think assets will be approved for sale on the store if the Asset Store crew think the asset or description is misleading. If there is a genuine dispute, then one of us typically contacts the vendor and gives them a good kicking. Um, I mean, talks nicely to them about their obligations. If a vendor goes off the radar, or doesn't respond to us, then we can (and do) provide a refund. It's very very rare that a vendor ignores us.)
     
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  14. nipoco

    nipoco

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    Thanks!
    That makes sense.

    Because that happened only once so far, I won't burst into tears :)
     
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  15. Dustin-Horne

    Dustin-Horne

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    I have a feeling that a lot of people just get very upset right away instead of just shooting off an email and asking for clarification.
     
  16. angrypenguin

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    I'm all for light heartedness, but for the sake of clarity the answers buried in there seem to be that a refund is a possibility if:
    a) the asset can be demonstrated to not work as advertised or described, and/or
    b) the vendor can not be contacted by Unity.
    Right?

    For what it's worth, I've never had a negative purchase experience with the Asset Store, and continue to happily use it on a weekly basis. (Though I have given feedback multiple times in the past about how I think the assets themselves can be better quality controlled.)
     
    luma2057 likes this.
  17. dbryson

    dbryson

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    I've tried contacting the vendor twice. They don't respond. So, if the vendor doesn't contact the support team how can I get a refund?

    The asset is the "Cave Building Set v2.0". It consists of 3 wall pieces that don't fit together, 3 ceiling pieces that don't fit together, several stalagmites and stalactite's, some rocks/boulders, various textures and materials, a couple of shader's generated with Shader Forge. So I go and create a scene just mashing the wall pieces and ceiling pieces in with a terrain for the floor, plugging any holes with rocks and boulders until I have a nice big cavern. Next I add a bunch of lights and lightmap and everything goes black. The shader doesn't seem to work with lightmapping. I try to contact the seller and I get no response.

    So you are telling me the vendor must contact UT support for me to get a refund?

    I have purchased quite a few assets from the store and have been pretty happy with most of them and extremely happy with others, but this idea that I can't get a refund unless I can contact the vendor and they contact you seems pretty messed up.
     
  18. dbryson

    dbryson

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    I am quite offended by this. This response is very condescending and quite out of line. I have bought quite a few assets from the asset store and been quite pleased. Now when I find one I don't like and can't contact the vendor and ask how to get a refund, I get this. Obviously, "light-hearted" means making fun of paying customers. I bought this asset and I think it sucks and you make fun of me. Thanks.
     
    Last edited: Jul 10, 2014
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  19. Graham-Dunnett

    Graham-Dunnett

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    I believe I said earlier in this thread that if the vendor does not respond to let support know, and we'd get involved. Asset store vendors are expected to deal with their customers in a sympathetic and professional way. If they don't and we get complaints, then we can kick them off the store. Of course we want everyone, customers and vendors, to be happy. Forward your emails to the "Cave Building Set v2.0" vendor to support, mention my name and this thread, and we'll sort something out.
     
  20. Graham-Dunnett

    Graham-Dunnett

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    If my remarks have offended you, then I sincerely apologise. It was never my intention to poke fun at you or anyone. My point was that there can be a gulf between what a product does, and what someone expects it to do. Having that discussion with the vendor, once the product has been bought, is the way to resolve these issues. The second half of my reply did go on to say that we'd intervene where vendors do not meet their obligations. Maybe the clumsiness of the first part of my reply caused you to skip that part, which, of course, was what my reply was meant to be about.
     
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  21. Graham-Dunnett

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    Sort-of. I think your point (a) is better worded that the vendor and customer agree that a refund is the best course of action. A vendor might say "yeah, good point, that's a bug and I'll fix it" in which case the customer should expect to get an improved asset. Or "yeah that's a use case I hadn't thought of", and so on. The best result is the customer and the vendor make progress towards something better. I personally don't think that "the asset doesn't work how I want it to" is a reason for a refund. Assets have reviews, and customers and seek advice here on the forums if they have any doubts at all about an asset prior to purchase. A vendor is totally at liberty to say that no refunds are required if they think a customer is trying to pull a fast one. (Most of the cases that come into support are variations of "I bought X and don't want it".)

    And regarding (b). Well, we expect vendors to be responsive to their customers. If they don't respond to the customer, and don't respond to us, then something bad might have happened. We usually provide a refund. If this happens more than a few times with the same vendor, then we'll take the vendor off the store and wait for them to get in touch with us. Obviously people have vacations and forget to set out of office reminders. Or they change email address and forget to notify their contacts. Or emails simple fail to get delivered, or taken out by spam filters.

    Does that help?
     
  22. GibTreaty

    GibTreaty

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    The thought of having to give a refund for Asset Store purchases makes me cringe a little. Giving a refund isn't the problem, its the unknown process in which to do it that gets me. I've read the Asset Store terms and Publisher guidelines but there are no instructions on what the Publisher should do in the case of a refund. If we just straight up give the customer the money back...

    Asset Cost = $10
    Publisher Receives = $7
    Refund = $10


    ...we would lose that 30% and the customer would still technically have access to the asset.

    So is it true that when the customer contacts the publisher, that the publisher then has to contact Unity? I'm guessing then, the money would be subtracted from the Publisher's account and won't receive the income from the next asset purchases until they've gone over the refunded amount. If that's the way it's done then that's fine, but I'd like to know if that's how it really is or not.
     
  23. Graham-Dunnett

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    In your example, your asset store account would be deducted $7, Unity would add the $3, and the customer would get $10. A future purchase will provide you another $7, and now your account is at $0.

    Vendors do not have to provide refunds. They have to treat customers professionally and try to help them. If they want the customer to get a refund, they need to email support confirming the refund is okay. (Um, so, if you and Bob have an email exchange and decide that a refund is in order, then you need to forwards that to support. We'd recommend that the vendor does this and copy in the customer.)

    And yes, the customer still has access to the asset, since digital goods cannot be returned. Which is why the refund request needs to stand up.
     
    GibTreaty likes this.
  24. Deleted User

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    I love EMEA / UK law for this sort of thing, if software is broken or not fit for it's described (intended) purpose you are entitled to refund.
     
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  25. hippocoder

    hippocoder

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  26. Deleted User

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    It does, read the FSB guidelines for UK law. If you buy a faulty product knowingly, (based of the description of it being faulty) then it's your own fault.

    Now the confusing bit is the distribution as you said, but you can still raise a paypal case or flag it with your bank if you believe you have been miss sold a product.

    So this clause is very vague.. (who's law exactly?)

    Clause 2.6 says "All sales are final and there shall be no refunds except as required by law."
     
  27. angrypenguin

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    To be honest... no. I'm asking about the policy for instances where there's a genuine case for refund, and you're pretty much saying "instead of a refund the vendor should ideally fix it". Which is fine at times, but silly at others.

    I don't know about elsewhere, but in my part of the world if something doesn't reliably work as advertised off the shelf, as long as you return to the store in a reasonable time frame it is absolutely grounds for refund. The store can't shrug and say "hopefully the supplier will fix it later", because at that point in time you don't have what you paid for.

    For what it's worth, I completely agree with the whole thing about not deserving refunds for changing your mind. I don't necessarily agree that the description/reviews/etc. are always enough to make an informed decision, which I've given feedback on in the past.
     
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  28. superpig

    superpig

    Drink more water! Unity Technologies

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    You have no idea how disappointed I was when I realised this is not a real add-on.
     
  29. Graham-Dunnett

    Graham-Dunnett

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    You're talking about physical assets you can return. Digital goods typically have different return policies since there's no way to actually return them and loose access to them. Asset Store has a no-refund policy. I've been discussing the kinds of issues where a refund can/will be given, which are rare, and require the vendor and purchaser to reach an agreement.
     
  30. angrypenguin

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    Regardless of whether something is digital or physical, if it doesn't do what it's meant to do then you didn't get what you paid for and, to my knowledge, that sticks it straight under the "required by law" category more or less anywhere in the world. Yes, I expect that's an exceptionally rare use case, but it's different to the use case you keep going back to.

    I know that situations like the ones I'm talking about are rare (ie: where there's a genuine and valid complaint and either the vendor won't play ball or fixing it after the fact genuinely isn't good enough), but lets not pretend that they can't exist at all.

    Anyway, no point thrashing it further here. I guess I can discuss it further with someone in the unlikely event I get into a situation such as I describe some time in the future. I did honestly think there'd be some existing policy in place, though - after all, the purchase is made with you, not directly with the supplier.
     
    Last edited: Jul 12, 2014
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  31. Flow-Media

    Flow-Media

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    this policy just makes me reluctant to spend on any big money purchases, i recently purchased the rpg all in one and there is so many errors and broken code i cant use it i emailed vendor twice and still no reply over 7 days. i think ill keep my purchases to under $20 from now on
     
  32. greggtwep16

    greggtwep16

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    Refund policies are always a tight rope to walk and it's even worse with digital goods where you hand out source that still functions after "return".

    Regarding the product in question it looks like you left a review which is good as it will warn others since to be more cautious since the other reviews are mostly positive.
     
  33. Ryiah

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    I recommend reading through as many of the reviews as possible before buying an expensive asset. Some of the reviews which were only visible once I told it to make them visible made it clear the asset has problems. By the way while Graham might have stated that the Asset Store has a no refund policy that doesn't seem to be the case from newer posts I've read.

    Start by requesting a refund from the author of the asset. If that fails contact the Asset Store and see what happens.
     
  34. greggtwep16

    greggtwep16

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    In general it's still the policy. There are a few exceptions like accidental double purchase but for the most part it's still a no refund policy. If a customer contacts support, support will also try and reach out to the asset owner and if that has no response they in some cases issue a refund. However, if the asset author does answer and doesn't agree to the refund they generally don't issue one. On the private publishers forums over the years there have been many discussions, angles, etc. to the policy but in general this is how they handle it.

    That being said the customer should always directly request a refund from the publisher in email. Most publishers bend over backwards trying to accommodate requests because the price of the product usually isn't worth a negative review and would be happy to issue a refund. It's just smart business as negative reviews over the long term will hurt the bottom line more than a single refund. That being said, obviously this isn't universal and there are publishers especially part-time ones who don't see it this way but it generally backfires on them.
     
  35. Don-Gray

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    Is butter still coming in Toast 2.0?
     
  36. angrypenguin

    angrypenguin

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    While not recently, I've both given and received a refund on the Asset Store.

    The refund I gave was because a user got in contact and asked for it. (There was more to it than that, but that's what it boiled down to.) The process there was for the user to contact me asking for it, then for me to contact Unity to approve the request, within a reasonable timeframe.

    The refund I got was for something I purchased that had errors. After attempting to contact the author to get support via their provided means, then attempting the same via Unity, I requested a refund because it didn't work and had no support. I was told that normally refunds need to be approved by the provider, but since neither of us could contact them they went ahead with it.

    So... if there's genuine reason my experience is that you can indeed get a refund. Plus, while it varies from place to place there's law to back that up. Having a "no refunds" policy doesn't necessarily mean anything as long as you have genuine grounds for wanting the refund.
     
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  37. Meltdown

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    Rules for buying from the asset store...

    1. When was the last update released for the asset? If it was more than a year ago, it's risky. Assets that haven't had an update in a long time are usually no longer supported and will probably break with newer versions of Unity.

    2. Look at the assets forum support thread (usually on this forum). Is the author responsive to people's questions? Or is there a string of questions about the asset with no replies from the author?

    3. If still in doubt, email the author. Ask them something technical about the asset and if it's still being updated, and if not, why not. If you get a good response, then your call if you want to buy it.

    I'm a firm believer that if an asset is no longer supported it shouldn't be charged for. There are loads of assets still happy to take our money from us, but the author can't be bothered to keep it working or give us support. These assets should be marked as deprecated and made free.
     
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  38. Jasinka

    Jasinka

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    Good idea...
    I bought one asset and he don't working... Last update 2016-april...
     
  39. ronbonomo

    ronbonomo

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    I did the same, still broke and same problems. He needs removed from asset store
     
  40. ronbonomo

    ronbonomo

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    Just wanted to say, Offroads is pretty cool
     
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  41. ronbonomo

    ronbonomo

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    That's the key, only the good ones show, unless you hit the small text that says show all. That option should be in your face noticable. I read the bad forum blog conversations of rpgaio before I bought it, terrible stuff. So I looked at reviews on the store. Was deciding between his and uMMORPG. His was cheaper and the reviews I saw were good and seemed he has improved it and support. So I bought it and every time I turn around it is freezing unity and breaking my project making me start over. This last time it broke was an in your face obvious bug, I tracked it down to what exactly keeps breaking. Went on his forum, saw another reporting same bug and I comment on with them. I contact him, get nothing. I leave a bad review and he responds to the bad review, trying to save himself face. So I layed it all out to him, not giving him the chance to down play my review as my fault it doesn't work instead of his fault. That's what he does, he down plays the bad reviews and no one re edits there review to stop him from downplaying it. If they did, I would of never bought it. He is one that should be watched by Unity. Now I am out of my money, no working product. And he gets away with it. Bad Business. Granted I haven't asked for a refund yet, I am giving him a chance to make right, But if he doesn't Unity should remove him from their store, he is making it so many others are less willing to spend money here
     
  42. japanmomiji

    japanmomiji

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    I am not a fixer.

    I am noob waste guy who want to play GI joe diorama in unity.

    I spend $90 and 7hours for meaningless assets.

    I do not want to talk with game business predictor.

    I want cool diorama in my pc
     
  43. Meltdown

    Meltdown

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    wot
     
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  44. mikejkelley

    mikejkelley

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    What Unity is not telling you in its "no refunds except as required by law" is that the law ensures just about everything, physical or digital, is subject to a refund under an Implied Warranty of Merchantability.

    "The standards for merchantability are relatively low, basically guaranteeing that goods sold will do what they are supposed to do..."

    I'm not a lawyer but these guys are... https://consumer.findlaw.com/consumer-transactions/what-is-an-implied-warranty-.html
     
  45. Wothanar

    Wothanar

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    i need a refund , the plugin maker say he will not support me coz im saying that im experiencing issues , he dont like the way i talk to him when i never say anything rude but just the truth about whats going on my side, he say he sold more then 100 assets this month bla bla and no one complain, but he BLAME to unity saying unity has problems to import his plugin, I REALLY DONT CARE NOW i have spend 75 USD in something i cant use and im really dissapointed with it , more when he say he will not support me? WHAT? it was really a leak of arguments and leak of support leak of professionalism even when he call himself professional and he told me that will not support me coz the way i talk him, when i just mad coz his plugins bugs but never say anything offensive so we agree he will refund but well i will wait 24 hours then i will come to look at unity support if he dont refund my money since i think it was the worst experience i had on the asset store and the only one since i bought alot of plugins but no one give me problems like this...
     
  46. CausticLasagne

    CausticLasagne

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    I have also bought several assets from the asset store that have vague descriptions or no trials. The lack of a solid refund policy kills the asset store for me. I just bought a gun pack only to find out that the way the models were made doesn't work with a particular shader. I've shown the asset not working as expected and I'd either like the publisher to fix the asset otherwise refund me as the asset would be useless to me. I'm waiting for a response from the publisher...
    Unity needs a better refund policy for assets that don't work as advertised.
     
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  47. rafaelbarretobra

    rafaelbarretobra

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    upload_2023-3-31_10-9-57.png

    Bought the Youtube DL Video Player. Dragged the prefab, hit the Play. "Please report this bug" - doesn't work. Vendor received emails but won't return. Seems I lost 25 dollars since I can't find anywhere to get Unity to help with this. This forum is my last hope at getting my 25 dollars back. Their bug page is of no help.
     
    Last edited: Mar 31, 2023