SweetsMerchant Policy

This policy is a part of our Terms of Use. By being a SweetsMerchant, you’re agreeing to this policy and our Terms of Use.

1. Selling Basics
   a. What can be sold on SweetsMarket?
   b. What can’t be sold on SweetsMarket?
   c. Managing your SweetsMarket shop
   d. Seller Standards
   e. Selling Fees
2. Being a Member of the SweetsMerchant Buddy
   a. Creating and Uploading Content
   b. Privacy and Protecting Personal Information
   c. Communication Standards
   i. Messages
   ii. Communicating Cancellations
3. Feedback, Disputes, and Your Success
   a. Reviews
   b. Your Seller Account and SweetsMarket’s Terms
   c. Seller Protection

SweetsMarket is a gifting marketplace. Buyers come here to purchase gift that unique, curated and/or personalized. Everything listed for sale on SweetsMarket can be any type of gifts. 

You agree that the gift should:

1. Made or curated by you.
2. You are using your own photographs or video content, not stock photos, artistic renderings, or photos used by other sellers or sites. Read more about using appropriate photographs here.
3. All listings for sale are available with message card and gifting packaging.
4. If you are using photographs of previous work with options for customization (like color choices) included in the listing, it is clear in your description that the photos shown are just examples.

For more information on how to list personalized items, please see this Help article.

We encourage you to be transparent about how your gifts were made. You can disclose whether your items have social or environmental attributes, such as organic or recycled. Learn more here.

B.  What Can’t be Sold on SweetsMarket?

Even if they otherwise meet our marketplace criteria, prohibited items, services, and items that violate our intellectual property policies are not allowed to be sold on SweetsMarket. 

You may not create an SweetsMarket listing for the purpose of sharing a referral code, posting a want ad, or similar activity that does not offer a physical item for sale.

Reselling is not allowed on SweetsMarket. Reselling refers to listing that you were not involved in making that item.

Keep in mind that members may flag listings that appear to violate our policies for SweetsMarket’s review. SweetsMarket may remove any listings that violate our policies. Note that listing fees are non-refundable. SweetsMarket may also suspend or terminate your account for any violations. You’ll still be on the hook to pay any outstanding fees on your SweetsMarket statement. You can find more information in our Fees & Payments Policy.

C.  Managing your SweetsMarket Shop

Your shop represents you and your business to the SweetsMarket Buddy. It’s important that you, your items and your shop are honestly and accurately represented.

By selling on SweetsMarket, you agree that you will:

1. Provide honest, accurate information to SweetsMarket and in your shop section.
2. Honor your Shop Policies.
3. Ensure your shop content, such as any text, photos or videos used to represent yourself, your shop or your listings, abide by SweetsMarket’s policies, including our Anti-Discrimination Policy.
4. Accurately represent your items in listings and listing photos.
5. Respect the intellectual property of others. If you feel someone has violated your intellectual property rights, you can report it to SweetsMarket.
6. Not engage in fee avoidance.
7. Not create duplicate shops or take any other action (such as manipulating clicks, carts or sales) for the purpose of manipulating search or circumventing SweetsMarket’s policies.
8. Not coordinate pricing with other sellers.

D. Seller Standards

By listing a product for sale on SweetsMarket, you understand and agree that you are responsible for complying with all applicable laws and regulations for the products you list for sale, including any required labels and warnings. SweetsMarket assumes no responsibility for the accuracy, labeling, or content of your listings.

As a seller, you must provide great customer service and maintain trust with your buyers. These requirements are called our Seller Service Level Standards. SweetsMarket may reach out to you if your shop fails to meet SweetsMarket’s Seller Service Level Standards. Read more here.

By selling on SweetsMarket, you agree to:

1. Honor your shipping and processing times. Sellers are obligated to ship an item or otherwise complete a transaction with a buyer in a prompt manner, unless there is an exceptional circumstance. Read more in our Shipping Policy here.
2. Respond to Messages in a timely manner.
3. Honor the commitments you make in your shop policies.
4. In the unlikely event that you can’t resolve disagreements or disputes directly with the buyer, SweetsMarket Team can help through our case system. Read about your rights and responsibilities regarding cases here.
5. If you are unable to complete an order, you must notify the buyer and cancel the order. Read about how to cancel an order in this Help article.

E.  Selling Fees

Sellers may be charged for using some of SweetsMarket’s services. There are fees associated with listing, selling, advertising, and certain other SweetsMarket products and features. You can find information on fees in the Fees and Payments Policy.

A.  Creating and Uploading Content

As a member of SweetsMarket, you have the opportunity to create and upload a variety of content, like listings, Messages, text, photos, and videos. In order to keep our community safe and respectful, you agree that you will not upload content that is:

1. Contains hateful or derogatory language or imagery, or any content that is subject to our Anti-Discrimination and Hate Speech Policy;
2. Contains threats, harassment, extortion, or violates our rules about interference;
3. Violates someone else’s intellectual property rights;
4. Is false, deceptive, or misleading;
5. Contains unsolicited advertising or promotions, requests for donations, or spam;
6. Contains private information, whether it is your own, or someone else’s;
7. Encourages or facilitates a transaction that evades the SweetsMarket checkout process;
8. Contains prohibited medical drug claims;
9. Violates any of the rules described in our Prohibited Items Policy.

Some content on SweetsMarket is subject to additional requirements. Please see below for more details.

Read more about how SweetsMarket search works, what factors impact search ranking, and how you can help optimize your listings and shop here and in The Ultimate Guide to SweetsMarket Search.

B.  Privacy and Protecting Personal Information

You are responsible for protecting members’ personal information you receive or process, and you must comply with all relevant legal requirements. This includes applicable data protection and privacy laws that govern the ways in which you can use SweetsMarket user information. These laws may require that you post and comply with your own privacy policy, which must be accessible to SweetsMarket users with whom you interact. Your privacy policy must be compatible with this policy and SweetsMarket’s Terms of Use, and SweetsMarket’s Privacy Policy.

For more information, please see our Privacy Policy.

C.  Communication Standards

1. Messages

With SweetsMarket’s “Messages", you have the ability to communicate directly with your buyers or other SweetsMerchant members. Messages are a great way for buyers to ask you questions about an item or an order.

Messages may not be used for the following activities:

1. Sending unsolicited advertising or promotions, requests for donations, or spam;
2. Harassing or abusing another member or violating our Anti-Discrimination Policy;
3. Contacting someone after they have explicitly asked you not to; or
4. Interfering with a transaction or the business of another member.
5. Exchanging personal contact, financial or other information for the purposes of evading the checkout process on SweetsMarket, including phone number, address, email, social media handles, external URLs, instructions for money transfer, etc.

i. Interference

Interference occurs when a member intentionally interferes with another member’s shop in order to drive away their business. Interference is strictly prohibited on SweetsMarket. Examples of interference include:

1. Contacting another member via Messages to warn them away from a particular member, shop, or item;
2. Posting in public areas to demonstrate or discuss a dispute with another member;
3. Purchasing from a seller for the sole purpose of leaving a negative review;
4. Maliciously clicking on a competitor’s Promoted Listings ads in order to drain that member’s advertising budget, also known as “click fraud."
5. Creating or using an independent buyer account to maliciously upvote another shop’s negative reviews in order to position those reviews more prominently.

ii. Harassment and Discrimination

Any use of Messages to harass other members is strictly prohibited. Similarly, Messages may not be used to support or glorify hatred or otherwise violate our Anti-Discrimination Policy. If you receive a Message that violates this policy, please let us know right away.

2. Communicating Cancellations

If you are unable to complete a transaction, you must notify the buyer via Messages and cancel the transaction. If the buyer already submitted payment, you must issue a full refund. You are encouraged to keep proof of any refunds in the event a dispute arises. All cancellations are subject to our Cancellation Policy.

A.  Reviews

Reviews are a great way for you to build a reputation on SweetsMarket. Buyers can leave a review, including a one to five star rating and a photograph of their purchase, within 100 days after the latter date of their item’s estimated delivery date. If an estimated delivery date is not available, the review window opens after the order’s processing time and shipping time have elapsed. Buyers can edit their review, including the photograph, any number of times during that 100 day period.

On the rare occasion you receive an unfavorable review, you can reach out to the buyer or, if the review is less than 3 stars, leave a response.

In addition to our rules for Creating and Uploading Content in Section 2a, reviews and your response to reviews may not:

1. Contain graphic, mature, or obscene language or imagery, or any content that is subject to our mature content policy;
2. Be about things outside the seller’s control, such as a shipping carrier, SweetsMarket or a third party;
3. Include shilling or otherwise falsely inflate a shop’s review score; or
4. Undermine the integrity of the Reviews system.

1. SweetsMarket’s Case System

The Case system is how a buyer notifies SweetsMarket of an order issue or dispute, in order for SweetsMarket to help them reach a resolution. Buyers must contact sellers directly via the Help with Order link and attempt to resolve any outstanding issues before opening a case on SweetsMarket. For this reason, it is important that you fill out your shop policies and regularly respond to Messages from your buyers. Once a buyer contacts you to notify you of a problem with an order, you will have 48 hours to resolve the issue. If the issue is unresolved in this time frame, a case may be opened by the buyer. Once a case has been opened, SweetsMarket will assist in the resolution of the case between the buyer and seller. This may include, but is not limited to, automatically closing the case and issuing a refund to the buyer, or reviewing the case further to help the buyer and seller resolve it as quickly as possible.

SweetsMarket reserves the right to resolve an order issue before the 48-hour window for circumstances including, but not limited to, seller inactivity, harassment, refusal of service, manipulation, and undermining the integrity of the case system.

Buyers may file a case for a non-delivery or a not-as-described item (for more information on how we define these terms, and other criteria to open a case, click here). SweetsMarket may request your assistance in resolving a case opened against your shop. By using SweetsMarket’s case system, you understand that SweetsMarket may use your personal information for the purpose of resolving disputes with other members. For more information on our privacy policy, click here.

If SweetsMarket determines that an item is not as described, you will be required to refund the order, including original shipping and return shipping. SweetsMarket reserves the right to issue a refund to the buyer and recoup funds from your account, including your payment account reserve, if payment was made via SweetsMarket Payments.

B.  Your Seller Account and SweetsMarket’s Terms

In order to keep SweetsMarket safe and improve our Services, we may take actions that limit the visibility of your shop, listings or ads, or that impact your payment account. In the event a shop sees unusual order activity, or we otherwise believe that your actions or shop may result in buyer disputes, chargebacks, increased risk of fraud, counterfeiting, or other claims, SweetsMarket may take actions such as limiting visibility of your account, or placing restrictions or reserves on your payments account, in accordance with our Terms of Use, including this Policy and our SweetsMarket Payments Policy. When appropriate and permitted by law, SweetsMarket will communicate information to the affected seller about the issue.

In the event a shop sees an unusual spike in orders, particularly in a high demand category, a shop may see an increase or decrease in its search ranking. Often, if a shop sees an increase in fulfilled orders and good reviews, this may result in higher visibility and search rank. However, sometimes a rapid increase in orders can reduce visibility. Read more about how SweetsMarket search works, and what factors impact search ranking, and how you can help optimize your listings and shop hereand in The Ultimate Guide to SweetsMarket Search.

In addition, we may limit the visibility of listings or ads in the interest of keeping SweetsMarket safe, and improving our Services. For example, listings or ads may have decreased visibility because they include terms that represent a prohibited item or based on third party policies. These listings or ads may also be restricted from appearing in one or more features of the Services. While these listings or ads may have limited visibility, they are still discoverable in search.

SweetsMarket may make changes to onboarding or authentication processes for sellers at our sole discretion. Completion of these processes may be required for seller account activation or continued access and usage.

If SweetsMarket has reason to believe you, Your Content, or your use of the Services violate our Terms, including this Seller Policy, we may deactivate Your Content or suspend or terminate your account (and any accounts SweetsMarket determines is related to your account) and your access to the Services. Sellers in the European Union can see more information here. Generally, SweetsMarket will notify you that Your Content or account has been suspended or terminated, unless you’ve repeatedly violated our Terms or we have legal or regulatory reasons preventing us from notifying you.

C. Seller Protection

SweetsMarket also provides limited protection to sellers who meet the requirements of our Seller Protection Program. Read more about SweetsMarket’s Seller Protection Program here.

Last updated on Feb 8, 2022