FAQs

Have no fear! We DIVE, SHOOT, and SERVICE everything we sell! All Backscatter salespeople are divers, photographers, and actively use the equipment we sell. We love to share our hands-on experience with our customers. Helping you select which camera to purchase is just the beginning of a long relationship. We will help you assemble your system and give you shooting tips for your next dive trip. There are no stupid questions when you become a Backscatter customer!

Call us first! One simple camera setting might be the cause of your troubles. Our expert staff know the pitfalls and will get you back in the water quickly. If you have a serious issue our world class service department will expedite an affordable repair for you and also act as your advocate on any potential warranty claims. All Backscatter purchases include free lifetime tech support. We’re always just a phone call away!

No feet drag around here! In stock items will ship same day if the order is placed before 3pm Pacific time, excluding holidays and weekends, which will ship on the next regular shipping day. If your item is backordered, your card will not be charged and we will notify you with a ship date the same or next business day. We don’t get paid until your order ships.

You will receive an email with a tracking number around 5pm Pacific time of the day of shipping.

Orders over $200 shipped to all 50 US states, AFP/FPO, and Canada will receive free standard shipping via UPS or USPS.

We understand this might be a hassle, but it's the only way we can offer you a fully insured shipment. Shipments without signature required are not insured and ship at the risk of the purchaser. Please contact us if you require other arrangements.

Missing or damaged items must be reported within 2 days of receipt of your package. Save all boxes and packaging materials. Take photos of damaged boxes or items. Contact us immediately and we will assist you on the steps required to expedite your claim with the shipping carrier.

In most cases yes, but due to credit card security requirements we may require orders to be shipped to the billing address of the credit card. We can only ship PayPal orders to the authorized PayPal shipping address.

Yes! We ship to international destinations every day and offer heavily discounted rates. You will be presented with all shipping options and costs during checkout. If you're new to international purchases, please take note! Your country might charge significant import duties. Please consult your local government import office for rates.

Yes! We accept most forms of credit and debit cards.

For in-stock items, we charge your card within 24 hours of shipment. Out of stock items will not be charged until your order ships. For special order, custom, or drop ship items, your card will be charged when the order is placed since these items cannot be cancelled or returned. We will alert you if your items are considered special order.

Yes. Please keep in mind we can only ship PayPal orders to the authorized PayPal shipping address.

If you need to make a change to your website order, please call or email us immediately.

Absolutely! You can purchase a gift certificate of any value at backscatter.com/Backscatter-Gift-Certificate

Backscatter does not store any credit card numbers in our systems. For security we use a tokenized credit card system that creates a unique code for the credit card information that is derived from multiple outside credit card processing sources. No one could ever decode this token into a credit card number since it is not made up of the credit card number itself. This unique code can only be used with our specific credit card merchant services provider with our specific merchant services account. None of our employees or even our credit card merchant service provider have access to credit card numbers since it is not stored in our system or theirs. What we do store on our system is the card type, expiration date, and last 4 numbers of the card. This is industry standard so that we can identify for a customer which card was used for a specific transaction and for accounting purposes. This information may be stored for future use on repeat orders without compromising credit card security. Even if there was a data breach and some nefarious characters got a hold of these credit card tokens, it would be meaningless data for them that has no way of being converted into credit card fraud. Since we do not store credit card numbers, we have nothing to hack.

For certain website orders that fail a security check and are declined, we may require an additional security measure to be run to process the transaction. There are 2 steps to a payment transaction. The authorization, and the sale. The authorization step is the process where the credit card provider approves the transaction. No funds are exchanged at this step. If the authorization is declined we may ask for an additional security step that will require you to resubmit the order to obtain another authorization. We will send this request via email to you for processing. Since we cannot charge an authorization that has been declined, we cannot charge the card twice.

Backscatter does not collect, charge, or have any estimation or knowledge if VAT or duties will be charged or what the fees may be. We suggest contacting your local customs office to inquire about any additional fees, taxes, or duties that may be charged upon delivery.

That would require us to falsify official US Government export shipping documents, which does not have a happy ending for us. Sorry, but we must play by the rules.

Your satisfaction is our goal! Merchandise may be returned for a store credit or exchange within 10 days of your receipt of the goods. Merchandise must be in new condition, never immersed in water, and include all original packaging, accessories, and instruction material. Shipping fees, special orders, and items not meeting the above criteria are not returnable or may be subject to a 15% restocking fee. Contact us with your return request and we'll expedite a solution for you.

If an order is refused or returned to us due to inaccurate or incorrect address information or because it was declined or undeliverable, Backscatter reserves the right to retain the original shipping/handling fee and expenses we incur related to the return of undeliverable packages or merchandise to us. If an order is refused, and as a result abandoned and unable to be returned to Backscatter, we are sorry but no refunds can be made for the order.

We highly recommend that you jump in the water and get your gills wet. Nothing will wash away your troubles better than a high percentage of nitrogen, oxygen, and the color of deep blue. Thank you for supporting Backscatter by using our gear on your next dive. Please contact us with any questions.