¶ Terms · in plain language
The terms, without the lawyer voice.
Everything you can pay for on this site is sold by me, Swarnim Kalbande (I go by Sora Kalden), with payments processed by Polar as the merchant of record — they handle the card, the receipt, and sales tax. Here's what each payment actually buys. If anything here ever feels unfair in your specific case, email me; I'd rather fix it than hide behind a clause.
Consult booking fee — $25
The $25 books a real one-hour slot on my calendar and is non-refundable — that's its entire job; it makes the booking cost something so the calendar stays honest. It counts toward the $300 session price. You can reschedule (once, with a day's notice) without losing it. The remaining balance is payable after the session. If I cancel and we can't find a new time, you get the $25 back — the non-refundable part binds you, not me.
Subsidy: the $300 rate adjusts by need. Tell me your situation before or after the session; what you pay beyond the booking fee is settled between us in that conversation. No documentation required — I'll take your word, and I'll notice patterns.
What a consult is: advice from one person with relevant experience — not therapy, not licensed financial or legal counsel, and no guaranteed outcomes (anyone guaranteeing admissions or job offers is lying to you). What I do promise: a genuine hour, a concrete action plan, and pages of notes within a day.
Course seat reserve — $10
The $10 reserves your seat for the named course's next run, in order of reservation, and is credited toward the course price ($200 for Mathematical Thinking; need-based adjustment available). Until a run is scheduled, it's refundable on request, any time, no reason needed. Once a run is scheduled and you confirm your seat, it becomes part of your course payment; if the scheduled time doesn't work for you, you can roll it to the next run or take the refund then instead. If I never run the course, everyone gets refunded.
Kuzure first-run waitlist — $5
The $5 is a waitlist deposit for the first print run of Kuzure — it is not the game's price. It holds your place in shipping order and is credited toward your copy when the run happens. Refundable on request any time before your copy ships. If the game never ships, everyone gets refunded — that's the deal, stated on the page and repeated here.
The general stuff
Refund requests — email [email protected] from the address you paid with; refunds go back through Polar to your original payment method.
Your data — checkout data lives with Polar; I see your name, email, and what you bought, and use it only to deliver the thing. No newsletter you didn't ask for, no selling of anything.
Changes — if I change these terms, the version that applies to you is the one that was live when you paid.
Last updated July 2026.