SelectBlinds Review: Returns, FIT Protection, Warranty, and What the Tier Names Mean

Is SelectBlinds a safe place to buy custom blinds?

SelectBlinds is a direct-to-consumer window-coverings seller whose catalog draws on several manufacturers. It is also this site's affiliate merchant (we may earn a commission if you buy through a link on this page), so this review reads it against SelectBlinds' own pages rather than its banners: returns, guarantees, terms, warranty, measuring and help pages, plus product and collection pages, read on September 15 and re-checked on October 5, 2026. Policy text is perishable; confirm the current wording before you order.

Three questions decide whether a made-to-size purchase is a calculated buy or a coin flip, and SelectBlinds answers all three in writing. The measuring guide is public, by product type, with the rounding rules spelled out. The factory takes the inside-mount deduction, and the cellular instructions say so in plain words. The remake policy is real: FIT Protection, free at checkout on October 20, 2026, covers a customer measuring error with one remake per product, inside stated caps.

Two things keep it from a clean sweep. The first is pricing theater: a crossed-out "regular price" sits next to a sale price on nearly every product (45 percent off on October 5, 2026), and SelectBlinds' terms say a listing may show a manufacturer's suggested price it may never have sold at. The second is that its policy pages disagree with each other on several points, among them the change-of-mind remake discount. The category rule applies here as everywhere: custom blinds are made to your numbers and are generally not returnable, every seller applies its own deductions, and the seller's measuring page governs your order, not a general guide.

How does ordering from SelectBlinds work?

Samples first. Swatches are free and ship free. The terms say samples go out "by the next business day via standard ground (usually delivered in 3-5 business days)," with a $10.00 expedite; the help centre says 4-6 business days by USPS. One inconsistency to flag: the terms cap a sample order at "fifteen (15) free samples at one time," while the sample picker on the product pages read "Choose up to 30 samples for free" on October 5, 2026.

Configure the product. You enter width and height to the eighth of an inch, pick inside or outside mount, choose a lift (cordless is the base option on the cellular lines; cord loop, top-down/bottom-up, and motorized lifts are paid upgrades), then pick a warranty tier; FIT Protection is an opt-in add-on, free as of October 20, 2026. The new-customer discount is applied in the cart on a first purchase; the current terms of SelectBlinds' new-customer offer change with the promotion calendar.

The 4-hour review window. For orders with standard production and standard shipping, SelectBlinds holds the order for a 4-hour review period before it goes to production. Changes inside that window go by email or phone; the terms state that "Changes to orders cannot be made after the expiration of the 4-hour review period." A "Bypass Review" button in the confirmation email forfeits the window, and orders with expedited shipping cannot be changed at all.

Production and shipping. Production time is stated per product. On October 5, 2026, the pages read ranged from "Orders typically ship within 1-2 business days" (Budget Cordless Light Filtering Cellular) to 30-40 (LEVOLOR Designer Blackout Cellular); the Cordless Light Filtering Cellular said 2-3 and the Premier Single Cellular 4-5. The pages add "1 to 7 additional business days for shipping." Standard shipping is free to the continental United States.

What does SelectBlinds' measuring guide say, and who takes the deductions?

Measure width in three places and use the smallest; measure height in three places and use the largest. If a measurement lands on a sixteenth or a thirty-second, round the width down to the nearest eighth and the height up. Record width first, then height; a transposed pair is an easy way to order a shade that does not fit.

For an inside mount, the cellular page is explicit about who does the subtraction: "We will make all the necessary deductions based on the measurements you provide during checkout. Do not make your own deductions. Don't add to the width to make up for any deductions that we will take." The page then lists the deduction by collection; a quarter-inch off the headrail and three-eighths off the fabric is the most common pair, with a stated tolerance of plus or minus an eighth. Minimum mounting depth sits on each product's Specifications tab, and it is the constraint shallow-framed windows trip over.

For an outside mount, SelectBlinds builds to the number you enter with no changes. Its instructions call for at least two inches of overlap on each side of the opening, at least two inches added top and bottom, and a flat mounting surface of at least two and a half inches, though the same page's deduction table lists smaller flat-surface minimums, 1 to 1 1/2 inches, for some collections; your product's Specifications tab decides.

If this is your first custom order, walk through how to measure for blinds the first time and how to measure for cellular shades, then skim the common measuring mistakes. The Measure and Mount Fit Checker and the deduction rules explainer show what a factory deduction does to your opening.

What is SelectBlinds' FIT Protection measuring guarantee?

FIT Protection is SelectBlinds' named measuring guarantee, and its terms are specific enough to memorize.

• It is free to add (opt-in at checkout as of October 20, 2026), and it "can be added to cover any custom window covering that you order from us."
• Claims must be submitted within 90 days of the original order's purchase date.
• The corrected size must be within 2 inches per side of what you ordered. A width-for-height transposition counts as a qualifying error inside that tolerance; a change beyond it "will be treated as a new order at customer cost."
• One remake per covered product, and four total remakes per household over the customer's lifetime.
• It is a remake, not a refund. The terms say "no cash refunds are available through FIT Protection: Measuring Guarantee." If the corrected size prices higher, you may be charged the difference.
• Remake shipping is free. The FIT section of the terms and the guarantees page say the remake ships "at no additional cost"; on October 20, 2026, the terms' shipping section no longer mentioned remakes. No expedited shipping on a remake.
• Proof is required. The terms say to call, with photos or video showing how the original does not fit; the returns page also offers Live Chat or a web form.
• Exclusions: improper installation or mounting choice, products ordered outside the recommended sizes, bulk orders of 25 or more individual products, awnings, and any trade, business, or reseller account. Coverage is for the customer's personal residence only.

Blinds.com's SureFit allows one remake per item and four per household per lifetime inside 30 calendar days; SelectBlinds gives 90 days from purchase. The four-per-household lifetime ceiling is the same on both. The rest of that head-to-head is in SelectBlinds vs Blinds.com.

Does SelectBlinds accept returns?

Not in the sense most shoppers mean. The returns page says it in one sentence: "Because our blinds and shades are custom made, we cannot offer a refund or exchange unless a product is defective." If there is a defect in materials or workmanship, or the product was made to the wrong size through a factory error, SelectBlinds will repair or replace the same product in the same size at no cost for up to 90 days from purchase, shipping included. A measuring error on your side is not a return; it is a FIT Protection claim.

There is a third path for a change of mind, and it is where the fine print stops agreeing with itself. Within 90 days, if you dislike the color or want a different mount or lift, you can request a remake of the same product in the same size at the price you paid. The returns page ends that clause "plus an additional 10% off," and the guarantees page puts it as "plus give you an additional 10% off." The terms and conditions end the identical clause "minus 10% off." All three wordings were still live on October 5, 2026, and a help-centre article adds one that allows a different product; this review does not know which wording SelectBlinds will apply. The terms add that "Returns must be approved by us in writing," so ask Customer Care for the current wording in writing before you rely on it.

One more line is worth taking literally: the terms say SelectBlinds encourages customers "to try ordering one product to start before ordering for the rest of your windows," which is sound advice for any custom seller. For contrast, our Blindster review found a published refund path there when we read it in September 2026, capped at $500 per household in any 12-month period.

What does SelectBlinds' warranty cover?

The base is a free 3-year limited warranty on every residential purchase. It covers defects in materials and workmanship, plus internal working parts and mechanisms, "so long as the product is installed in accordance with the installation instructions." It runs to the original purchaser only and cannot be transferred.

The cost lines are specific. A flat $15 return shipping charge is your only expense on a covered claim. After three years there is a $5 charge for parts, while fabric and slats become "wearable items" that are no longer covered. On vertical blinds, a replacement track over 90 inches wide carries an $85 oversize shipping fee, which includes the $15.

Two paid tiers extend that: a 5-Year Limited Warranty with the same coverage for two more years, and a 5-Year Unlimited Warranty that "covers virtually everything" for five years. The upcharge is priced per product: on October 5, 2026, the Cordless Light Filtering Cellular page listed the upgrades at +$4.87 and +$9.75, the Premier Single Cellular page at +$6.31 and +$12.63, and a 2-inch cordless faux-wood page at +$3.19 and +$6.39.

Three years is at the short end; brand warranties sold elsewhere can run longer (see our Levolor and Bali reviews). On October 5, 2026, SelectBlinds' own LEVOLOR Designer pages offered its free 3-year limited warranty and paid 5-year upgrades; its terms say these "are the only warranties we provide to our products."

Essential vs Signature vs Premium vs Luxury: what SelectBlinds' tier names mean

SelectBlinds' own blog sorts its range into four tiers: Essential ("Good: Budget-Friendly Basics"), Signature ("Better: Stylish & Reliable"), Premium ("Best: Timeless & High Quality"), and Luxury ("Best of the Best: Custom & Distinctive"). Product names reuse other adjectives, though: eight cellular shades carry "Premier," and "Essential" also names a Nautica Home cellular line. The products come from several makers too; the catalog feed named eight vendors on cellular listings on October 5, 2026.

Here is what the cellular collection showed on October 5, 2026, using its stated "Price for: 24 x 36 inches" regular prices:

Regular prices at the collection's default 24-by-36-inch size on October 5, 2026; most of these lines also showed a 45 percent sale price that day.

Buy by the specification (cell size, opacity, lift, minimum depth), not the adjective: the tier says where SelectBlinds positions a product, the specification whether it fits your window. The Premier light-filtering cellular page shows how the configurator exposes those specs, and the broader SelectBlinds window shades catalog lists its roller, roman, solar, and zebra lines the same way.

What do SelectBlinds' blinds and shades cost per window?

Start with what the "regular price" may not be. SelectBlinds' terms say "Individual product listings may reflect a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price" and then: "The MSRP may not be the prevailing market price or regular retail price, and products may not have been sold or offered by us at the MSRP." On October 5, 2026, the Modern Textured light-filtering roller page showed a sale price of $93.50 against a regular price of $169.99 at its default size; the sale number is the one to compare against another seller's plain sticker.

Judge SelectBlinds by the post-discount per-window number on your actual sizes. Three levers move it. Opacity: on the base cellular line, blackout listed at $98.99 against $60.99 for light-filtering at 24 by 36. Lift: on the Premier page, continuous cord loop added $36.54, cordless top-down/bottom-up $48.72, a motorized wand $76.13, and app-driven Automation $108.90, all at the default size. Size: the 24-by-36 default is a small window, so price your own width and height before comparing anything.

Two practical rules follow. First, order free samples before you price anything, because "light filtering" spans a wide range of opacity and a swatch against your own glass is the only way to know which line you are comparing; the free-sample strategy covers how. Second, if you are pricing slat blinds rather than shades, the SelectBlinds window blinds catalog prices the same way, and the real-wood versus faux-wood decision is covered in wood vs faux-wood blinds.

One safety note in SelectBlinds' own words, from the lift selector: "Corded lifts with accessible cords pose a strangulation hazard to young children and pets." What the federal rules require is in blind cord safety rules explained.

What are the honest cons?

The regular price is a reference, not a promise. The terms say a listed MSRP may never have been a selling price, so do the per-window math yourself, every time, against another seller's plain price.

FIT Protection is narrower than the banner suggests. One remake per product, four per household for life, a 2-inch tolerance, a possible price difference, photo proof, and no cash refund.

The base warranty is three years, and the fabric falls out of it after that. Longer cover means paying for the 5-year tiers, and only the unlimited tier covers accidents.

The policy pages disagree with each other. "Plus" versus "minus" 10 percent on the change-of-mind remake, fifteen versus thirty free samples, and 3-5 versus 4-6 business days for them to arrive. A seller whose terms contradict its own returns page is a seller you get in writing.

Production time varies by product, from 1-2 business days to 30-40 on one LEVOLOR line (October 5, 2026), plus 1 to 7 days in transit. Check your product page, not the collection badge.

The change window is four hours, and zero on expedited orders. Once production starts, a typo in the width is a FIT claim, not a correction.

Who should buy from SelectBlinds, and who should pass?

Buy here if you are measuring your own windows for the first time and want a written measuring net, you will order swatches before you commit, you are comfortable doing the post-promo price math, and you want one catalog that spans cellular, roller, roman, faux-wood, and motorized lines. The 90-day FIT window and the factory-applied deductions make it a low-anxiety default for a single room, and for a whole floor if you stay under the four-remake household cap.

Pass if you need a true money-back return (SelectBlinds offers none; of the sellers we have reviewed, Blindster's capped refund comes closest), you want a limited-lifetime warranty bundled at no cost, you are ordering for a business, trade, or resale account or placing a bulk order of 25 or more units (FIT excludes both), or perpetual-sale pricing wears you down. SelectBlinds and Blinds.com both offer free phone design consultants, but only Blinds.com sells professional measure and install; that comparison is in the Blinds.com review.

Verdict

SelectBlinds is a reasonable place to buy made-to-size blinds provided you treat the measurement as the risk and the remake policy as the insurance — the FIT Protection guarantee that covers a mis-measure is worth more to a first-time buyer than any discount code on the banner.

SelectBlinds grades well on the two things this site weighs most, fit confidence and spec honesty. The measuring instructions are public and specific, the factory takes the inside-mount deduction and says so, and FIT Protection is a written guarantee with real caps rather than a slogan. The catch is the pricing theater and the fine print that argues with itself: treat the regular price as noise, get the change-of-mind remake terms in writing, and confirm the current policy text on the day you order. Do that, sample first, follow SelectBlinds' own measuring page to the letter, and this is one of the safer ways to buy custom shades online.

Sources and further reading

Everything above is read from published pages rather than from hands-on testing. Verify the current wording before you order — window-covering policy text changes often, and the figures that matter to you are the ones live on the day you check out.

• SelectBlinds warranty, returns policy, terms and conditions and tier guide — the merchant's own terms, and the documents that decide what happens when a blind arrives wrong.
• Window Covering Safety Council — independent guidance on cordless and child-safe window coverings, including why corded products are being designed out of the category.
• U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission — the federal regulator for window-covering cord safety and the place recalls are published.
• Attachments Energy Rating Council (AERC) — the independent rating body for the energy performance of window attachments; the reference point for any insulation claim made about cellular or honeycomb shades.