All direct payment gateways adhere to the standards set by PCI-DSS as managed by the PCI Security Standards Council, which is a joint effort of brands like Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover.

No, we do not do expedited shipping.  All orders (except those going to Hawaii and Alaska) are shipped with UPS Ground only.

All our products have a close relationship and connection with Japan.  Many products are designed and made in Japan, while others are designed in Japan  and then produced outside of Japan. We are also proud to carry a growing number of products designed and made beautifully by local Japanese makers here in Los Angeles.  

Our store's founding commitment since 2003 has been to bring interesting and compelling stories from Japan to our customers.  There are still many Japanese products we have yet to find so we will keep this concept for many years to come!

Yes. We are just starting our service with a limited range of items. Please select the destination country for shipping to see what we offer. You may face some inconvenience due to our lack of experience. Thank you for your understanding!

Yes, we do ship to Alaska and Hawaii, but unfortunately, free shipping is not available for these destinations.  Our checkout shipping carrier defaults to UPS, but you can select USPS for Alaska and Hawaii only. Please note that we may need to contact you if the shipping fee changes significantly. Thank you for your understanding. 

If you are unable to change the shipping country, please try the following solutions:

1. Empty Your Shopping Cart: Clear all items from your shopping cart and then select the correct shipping country.
2. Clear Cache and Restart: Occasionally, it may not be possible to change the shipping country during a session. If this happens, please clear your browser's cache and images, and restart the process from the beginning.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Before shipping orders, we will always check the condition of the item to ensure all products are in good condition. 

If you receive a damaged item, please email hello@tortoiselife.com within 48 hours of its arrival with the following:

• Your order number
• 5 photos of the outside of the shipping box (1 photo per side, 1 photo from above)
• 1 photo of the packaging inside the box
• 1 photo of the damaged item

Unless these conditions are followed, Tortoise will not be able to take responsibility for any damages.

Tortoise General Store is not responsible for any lost, delayed or stolen packages.  If a package does not arrive as the tracking number indicates, please contact us right away and we will contact UPS to file a claim on your behalf.  Tortoise General Store is not able to freely replace or refund lost, stolen or delayed items without the claim first being processed and approved.  Claims that are rejected by UPS cannot be refunded or replaced by Tortoise General Store.  Please be aware that claims for lost, delayed or stolen packages can take several weeks to process and resolve.