The four stages of a printed order

Because every deck is custom-generated and quality-checked, a printed order moves through distinct stages:

• Cards ready: your cards have been generated and are waiting on your order page.

• Print approval (your step!): you review every card, make any edits, and confirm the deck for print with "Confirm & Send to Print". Production doesn't begin until you approve — the production clock starts from your approval, not from your purchase. See How to approve your deck for printing.

• Production: your deck is being printed and prepared at our printing facility.

• Shipping: your order has left the facility, and you'll receive a confirmation email with a tracking number.

Estimated timelines

Production time depends on which edition you ordered — all measured from your print approval:

• Deluxe printed deck: up to 14 business days. Premium 350gsm card stock, delivered in a velvet keepsake pouch.

• Standard edition: up to 21 business days. The same complete deck on smooth card stock, shrink-wrapped, at about half the deluxe price.

• Collector's Edition: up to 21 business days. Hand-finished, which is what makes it take longer.

Note: business days do not include weekends or public holidays. Your order page names the edition you bought if you're not sure which window applies to you.

Why they're estimates, not guarantees

These are the timelines we plan around and hit for the overwhelming majority of orders — but they are estimates, and it's only fair to say so plainly: sometimes an order takes longer.

The reason is the same thing that makes the deck worth ordering. Every Tails deck is made to order. We hold no stock, because your deck doesn't exist until you approve it — there is no warehouse copy of a deck starring your pet. Approving it starts a print run of exactly one, made from your photos, for you.

• Nothing is waiting on a shelf. A mass-produced item ships fast because thousands of identical copies were printed long before you ordered. Yours is printed after your approval, one deck at a time.

• Each card is judged on its own. No two decks are alike, so we can't check one and assume the rest are fine. Every card is generated and quality-checked individually, and anything that isn't right is remade rather than shipped.

• Finishing is deliberate. Card stock, cutting, edges and packaging happen deck by deck, and the Collector's Edition is genuinely finished by hand.

• The final leg belongs to the courier. Once the parcel leaves the facility, routes, paperwork, weather and public holidays all affect the last few days.

When an order does run long, nothing is lost: your deck is a physical object made specifically for you and can't be given to anyone else. Your tracking page keeps updating, and if you'd like us to look at your specific parcel, email support@tails-ai.com with your order number.

We'd rather spend an extra day getting your deck right than send you a rushed version of something you'll keep for years.

How to track your order

You will receive an email with your tracking number as soon as your order is dispatched. You can track your package via the carrier portal link provided in that email. If you cannot find your confirmation email, please check your spam folder or search your inbox for "Tails AI".

If your edition's production window has passed since you approved your deck and you haven't received a shipping update, email support@tails-ai.com with your order number.