Contact us

Vinyl | CDs | Merchandise | T-shirts

Please use the form below for all questions, concerns, inquiries, requests, etc. A member of the Gar Hole Team will be in touch soon. If you are inquiring about the status of your order, please double check the list of estimated shipping dates below the form before hollering.

If you would like to send a music submission for GHR consideration, please do so in the form of a streaming link (Soundcloud, Bandcamp, etc.) We are a small team with limited time and resources, but we do our best to listen and respond to everyone who sends us music.

    FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

    To send a direct message to GHR, please go >HERE< and fill out the contact form.

    SHIPPING / ORDERING / OTHER FAQ

    Returns/Exchanges

    Pre-Orders

    Orders/Shipping

    MISC

    Returns/Exchanges

    WHAT IS YOUR RETURN POLICY?

    Gar Hole accepts returns on the following items:

    • unopened CDs, LPs, and tapes
    • unworn and unwashed apparel

    All returns must be made within 30 days of receiving an order.

    Please send an email contact@garholerecords.com with your name and order number and we will provide further instructions to start your return.

    The quickest way of making an exchange for an item, after contacting the label about what you’d like to swap, is to make a purchase on the site for the correct item. We can include additional  packaging and postage with your new corrected order, which you can use to return your item. After we receive your return and inspect the items, we will process your refund.

    Postage Costs: we cover shipping costs only if you were shipped an incorrect item or your purchase is damaged/defective.

    REFUNDS

    We will notify you once we’ve received and inspected your return, and let you know if the refund was approved or not. If approved, you’ll be automatically refunded on your original payment method. Please remember it can take some time for your bank or credit card company to process and post the refund too. It will also take some time for your returned

    WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I ORDERED THE WRONG SIZE OR CHANGED MY MIND ABOUT A PURCHASE?

    If you need to swap a size or have changed your mind about a purchase that you have already received, no worries, we totally understand! Please send an email contact@garholerecords.com and we will provide further instructions to start your return.

    Postage Costs: we cover shipping costs only if you were shipped an incorrect item or your purchase is damaged/defective.

    DOES GAR HOLE OFFER EXCHANGES FOR DAMAGED OR INCORRECT ITEMS?

    First of all, we’re so sorry for the inconvenience!

    Secondly, yes, we absolutely offer exchanges for incorrect or damaged items!

    Please send an email to contact@garholerecords.com and we will do whatever we can to fix the issue for you as quickly and painlessly as possible.

    Please note: we will most likely ask for some photographic evidence of the damage to the item.

    Pre-Orders

    WHAT IS A PRE-ORDER?

    A pre-order is an order placed for an item that has not yet been released.

    In general, pre-orders allow our customers to reserve copies of new albums in advance of the official release date.

    The pre-order period may begin two weeks to 3 months before the album is physically available – we provide the expected date we’ll be able to ship pre-orders on each item’s product page.

    In addition to albums, we may make other merch items (le.g., t-shirts) available for purchase via pre-order as well.

    You may order other items along with your pre-order; however, those items will be held until the entire order can ship together on the pre-order ship date.

    WHEN DO PRE-ORDERS SHIP?

    Pre-orders typically ship 10 days (sometimes earlier) before an album’s release date. Please note: you will be charged as soon as you place the order.

    CAN I MAKE CHANGES TO MY PRE-ORDER?

    Probably.

    Please contact contact@garholerecords.com with your order number and the details of your request and we will do our best to accommodate you.

    Please note: We are not able to apply sale discounts or coupons to existing pre-orders.

    I ORDERED OTHER ITEMS WITH A PRE-ORDER. CAN I GET THOSE EARLIER?

    If you ordered additional items with your pre-order and don’t want to wait — don’t worry! We can usually arrange to split ship your order. Please contact contact@garholerecords.com with your order information to get started.

    Orders/Shipping

    WHEN WILL MY ORDER SHIP?

    We pack and ship orders Monday – Friday, we do not ship orders over the weekend.

    Generally, orders ship out within two or three business days after they are received. You will receive an e-mail the moment your order ships. You will also receive order updates at various stages in your packages journey to your door

    We’re are a small operation so we can get backed up after holidays, big sales, or while shipping large pre-orders out the door.

    If you have not received an email within several business days, please send a pseudo-friendly e-mail to contact@garholerecords.com and we’ll be happy to look into this for you.

    *Pre-order and back-ordered items are an exception.

    Items ordered alongside a pre-order will ship with the pre-order, if you would like to arrange for those items to ship earlier, please send us an email and we can work something out.

    WHEN WILL MY ORDER ARRIVE?

    At the time of my writing this, the USPS (our sole postage provider) is still experiencing widespread delays and things have been all over the place. However, here are some of the basic delivery windows you can expect during normal operating conditions:
     
    Please note: Delivery windows are based on transit time once an order has been shipped. These estimates are approximate and not guaranteed.

    Please email contact@garholerecords.com with any questions.

    For U.S. residents:

    Priority Mail | USPS

    • 1-3 business days

    First Class Mail | USPS

    • 2-4 business days
    • for packages under 16 oz

    Media Mail | USPS

    • 3-10 business days

    For international orders:

     
    DELIVERY TIMES FOR INTERNATIONAL ORDERS HAVE BEEN VERY SLOW DURING COVID. It is not uncommon for orders to take a full 5-6 weeks or longer to make it to their final destination. Here’s what to expect during normal times:

     

    USPS Economy International Mail

    • 1-3 weeks
    • Delivery confirmation only

    USPS Standard International Mail

    • 3 – 6 weeks
    • Limited updates provided

    HELP! I JUST ORDERED THE WRONG THING – CAN I CHANGE MY ORDER?

    If you need to make an adjustment or correction to an order that HAS NOT BEEN SHIPPED, please send an email to mailorder@polyvinylrecords.com as soon as you can.

    We will try to correct your order before it ships, but please understand: we may not be able to make the requested adjustment.

    Make sure to include the following information:

    • your NAME
    • your ORDER NUMBER
    • the INCORRECT item, size, or color
    • the CORRECT item, size, or color

    Please note: if there is a price difference between items, we will send you an invoice or process a refund for that difference accordingly. Let us know if you have any questions.

    CAN I CANCEL MY ORDER?

    If you order hasn’t shipped, then almost certainly yes! Outside of that scenario, then It depends. We will try to accommodate you, but reserve the right to refuse your request.

    Below are a few examples of why we might deny your request, but this should not be viewed as a comprehensive list.

    • Your order has already been shipped.
      • please refer to Returns and Exchanges for details on how to initiate the return of an unwanted package.
    • You’ve accessed the digital download.
      • if you’ve already accessed the download but your items have not shipped, we will most likely convert your order to a digital purchase and issue a partial refund.
    • You’ve ordered a limited edition pre-order item.
      • most of the time we’ll be able to take care of this for you, but there may be occasions when a cancelation and refund are not an option for pre-orders.

    Please email contact@garholerecords.com to submit your request.

    HOW DOES GAR HOLE HANDLE BACKORDERS?

    Outside of pre-ordered items, we do our very best to avoid situations in which an item could be unavailable to ship at the time of your purchase. But seeing as we are a small operation printing/pressing/duplicating small runs of items at a time, it will happen.

    BACK-ORDERS:

    A product that is temporarily out of stock, but still available for purchase in the store is considered to be on back-order.

    Putting an item on back-order is typically reserved for vinyl but may include other products that have long turnaround times.

    Album represses can take several months. If we run out of an item before the restock arrives at our warehouse, we will put that product on back-order and include a shipping date estimate.

    The COVID era has also brought about some widespread garment shortages for all of our suppliers. It is possible with some pre-order apparel items that they could become backordered for this reason. If such a case comes about, we will contact you and give you some options, such as switching to a different size or a different garment / color.

    Please note: Orders that include back-ordered items will be treated like pre-orders – everything in the order will ship at the same time.

    OVERSOLD ITEMS:

    Sometimes our inventory count is off and we accidentally sell more copies of an item than we have on hand. We know this sucks and is really frustrating – here is how we approach this type of situation:

    If the missing item is on its way to our warehouse, we will hold onto your order for a day or two so everything can ship together.

    If the item will be restocked, but it will take more than a few days to arrive, we will reach out to you to see how you would like to proceed.

    If the product will be not be restocked, we will remove the item from your order and ship the rest of your order to you.

    CAN I PLACE AN ORDER WITH EXPEDITED SHIPPING?

    We currently do not have any expedited shipping options available on the store. However, if you would like to inquire about get something shipped to you quicker, please send us an email at contact@garholerecords.com and we can figure it out.

    INFO ABOUT LOCAL PICKUP

    Orders can only be picked up between 11-5pm every Friday and Saturday at our office, located in downtown Fayetteville at Trailside Village (426 W Center St. Unit D, Fayetteville, AR 72701). The door to the space is on the alley-facing side of the building, next to Yarb and AM/PM. Please wait until you’ve received confirmation that your order is ready to pick up before visiting the office for pick up.
     
    Pick up can only occur during our regular office hours. If those days do not work for you, feel free to reach out via contact@garholerecords.com to see about finding an alternative pick up day or time. If requesting an alternative pick up time, please reach out before you place your order, as we cannot make any guarantees to availability outside of our normal office hours.
     
    Please note: some items on the store are available for purchase weeks, and sometimes months, before they are available for pick up. For more info on pre-orders, take a look here.

    MEDIA MAIL DISCLAIMER

    Media Mail is a less expensive shipping option offered through the USPS reserved for shipping physical reproductions of certain media (vinyl, CDs, cassettes, books, etc.). At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we noticed a significant dip in the reliability and speed of Media Mail service, which led us to remove it as an option from the website.

    In the interest of saving our US customers money on shipping, we have reintroduced the option to the webstore, however with this disclaimer: we cannot replace Media Mail packages which have been lost or damaged in transit. We also cannot guarantee or speculate when you will receive your Media Mail order once it’s been dropped off at the post office.

    Please note: it is actually quite rare for the USPS to lose a package. It is also not really not that common that a parcel is significantly damaged in transit. We use high quality shipping materials at Gar Hole and your package should be safe under most normal circumstances.
     
    If this doesn’t sound good to you, please use either USPS First Class or Priority Shipping for your order (or, if you’re local, our local pick-up option!). Additionally, shipping rates on our Bandcamp and Shopify stores are all based on USPS First Class and Priority rates. Media Mail service is only available on www.garholerecords.com.

    USPS TRACKING IS SHOWING THAT MY ORDER HASN’T BEEN DROPPED OFF AT THE PO AND IT’S BEEN SEVERAL DAYS/WEEKS SINCE I PLACED MY ORDER. WHAT IS GOING ON?

    This has been a strange phenomenon we’ve been experiencing lately, beginning at the end of 2020, when the USPS service slow downs really started to kick in.  From what we gather, it has something to do with a flaw on the actual tracking barcode on the package. Your package was most likely picked, packed, and dropped off a day or two after you placed your order, however it is not scanning properly. Good news is your package doesn’t have to track in order for it to get to its final destination and the likelihood of it getting sincerely “lost” is pretty low. For all of the dozens of people who have gotten concerned about their order after experiencing this issue, all of those packages have eventually showed up.

    So, as unsatisfying as this may be, our best suggestion is to just stay patient. It is true that the mail is running much slower than normal, and that most likely is the culprit of your package’s disappearance. If you would still like us to check in on it, that’s totally cool! Just send us a message at contact@garholerecords.com and we will look into it for you.

    MISC

    WILL GAR HOLE LISTEN TO MY BAND’S DEMO?

    If you would like to send us some of your music, please do so at contact@garholerecords.com and we do our best to listen when we can. Please do not send any files or things we’d need to download. Streaming links, such as private Soundcloud or Bandcamp uploads, are preferred. If you send us files, we probably won’t check it out.

    Please understand that we are a small label with limited resources. We don’t plan on releasing tons of stuff every year. We also plan on primarily working with artists within our own community and family, just because it is easier and more fun for us. That’s not to say that there isn’t a point in sending us stuff. We’d actually love to hear it! Our label is still young, and we aren’t totally swamped with other projects at the moment, AND (regardless of what some people might say) folks do get record deals by sending unsolicited demos all the time. So feel free.

    That being said, my (Kurt) best advice for people starting their music career is to make sure you work within your own local/regional music scene first. You likely have a DIY community and label-type resources available in your neighborhood. Do some research, meet/contact/engage with people in your area, play some local shows (when it’s safe), do some regional tours, hone your craft. All of this will definitely get you farther than cold calling labels.

    CAN I BUY GAR HOLE STUFF FOR MY STORE/DISTRIBUTOR/MAIL ORDER BUSINESS?

    Sure! Please e-mail contact@garholerecords.com and we will direct you to where Gar Hole releases can be purchased for wholesale.

    WOULD LIKE TO BE REMOVED FROM YOUR MAILING LIST.

    No problem. You can use the unsubscribe button at the bottom of a GHR mailing list email or, if you are having trouble there, email us at contact@garholerecords.com  and we will do it manually.