Terms of service

You must be at least 13, or 16 where local law requires it. If you're under the age of majority where you live, a parent or guardian must agree to these terms for you. You must be 18 to sell.

You join with an email address and a password. Keep your password to yourself. You're responsible for what happens under your account, so tell us at [email protected] if you think someone else got in.

Your username is public and becomes your closet's address. Usernames don't change, so pick one you'll keep. We may reclaim a username that impersonates someone or infringes a trademark.

One person, one account. Bands claim pages through their members' accounts rather than separate band logins.

MerchVice opens by invitation first. Members get personal invite links, and we record who invited whom. Don't sell invites or use them to spam.

While the site is in a gated launch mode, content is visible only to members and invited visitors. Once it opens, public content is visible to everyone on the web.

You own what you post. Your photos, words and closet stay yours.

You give us a license to run the site with it. When you post, you give MerchVice a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, display, resize, reformat and distribute your content on MerchVice and in places that point back to it, such as share cards, the weekly digest, previews when someone shares a link, and search engine results. The license lets us show your content. It doesn't let us sell your photos to anyone or use them in advertising outside MerchVice without asking you.

The license ends when you delete the content or your account, except for copies others have already shared, backups that roll off on schedule, and records we keep for moderation or the law.

You're responsible for what you post. Post only photos you took or have the right to share, and only words that are yours or that you have the right to use. Describe items honestly.

In short: no nudity, no bootleg sales, and be decent to each other. In full:

• No nudity. Suggestive content is allowed only when marked as such, and it shows only to members who have turned on the switch to see it.
• No bootleg or counterfeit sales or trades. Only sell or trade the real thing. A bootleg may be shown as history if it's labeled as a bootleg. Labeled bootlegs can't be listed for trade or sale.
• Be decent. No harassment, threats, hate, or targeting people for who they are.
• No impersonation. Don't pretend to be a band, a label, an artist or another person. Only a band's verified managers speak as the band.
• No spam. No mass messaging, fake accounts, fake engagement, or link dropping.
• Nothing illegal. No stolen goods, no illegal items, no fraud.
• Respect privacy. Don't post other people's private information, such as addresses, without their consent.
• Don't break the site. No scraping at scale, probing for weaknesses, getting around rate limits or blocks, or interfering with other members' use.

You can report items, posts, comments, messages, members and bands. Reports go to a person.

An automated image check runs at upload and may hold a photo for review before anyone else sees it. We may also use automated tools to sort reports and suggest likely spam. These tools flag and suggest. People decide removals and suspensions.

If we remove something you posted, we'll tell you which rule it broke, and you can reply once to ask us to look again. Repeated removals can lead to a suspension. A suspended member can sign in and read but can't post, comment, message or like. We may remove content or accounts without warning when the risk to others is serious.

No band, label or artist is affiliated with or endorses MerchVice unless it has claimed its page. Band pages may be created by fans tagging their merch, using public information such as data from MusicBrainz.

A band can claim its page by proving it speaks for the band. A person reviews every claim. Approved managers can edit the band's page, post as the band, and list official merch. If you claim a page you don't have the right to, we'll remove your access and may remove your account.

Members can mark items as open to trade and talk through trades on MerchVice. MerchVice helps you find each other. It isn't a party to the trade.

• No money passes through MerchVice for trades.
• Members ship to each other and are each responsible for their side of the exchange: describing items honestly, packing and shipping, and paying their own shipping costs.
• We don't inspect, insure, hold or guarantee traded items.
• Trade disputes are between the members involved. Report fraud to us, and we'll act on accounts that break these rules.

Ratings and feedback come only from completed trades and sales on MerchVice. Don't trade ratings, leave false feedback, or pressure someone over a rating.

Selling isn't live yet. When it arrives, these terms apply, and we'll update them before launch.

• You must own what you sell. Only list items you own and have the right to sell. Bands list their own official merch.
• Payments go through Stripe, and possibly PayPal. To sell, you'll create a Stripe account and agree to Stripe's own terms, including the Stripe Connected Account Agreement. MerchVice never stores card numbers.
• One flat platform fee. Every seller and every band pays the same fee, which we'll publish here and show before you list. Payment processing fees from Stripe or PayPal are separate.
• Shipping. Sellers ship what they sell, on time and as described, and are responsible for the item until it arrives.
• Sales tax. Where the law requires MerchVice to collect and remit sales tax as a marketplace, we will, and it shows at checkout. Sellers are responsible for their own income taxes.
• Buyers pay the listed price plus shipping and any tax shown at checkout. Disputes go first to the seller, then through Stripe or PayPal's process.

We may change fees with at least 30 days' notice. Changes won't apply to sales already made.

MerchVice's name, logo, design and code belong to us. Don't use them in a way that suggests we endorse you.

Band names, logos and artwork belong to their owners. Showing a photo of merch you own, as a fan, is what MerchVice is for. Copying a band's artwork to make or sell your own merch is not allowed here.

If you believe something on MerchVice infringes your copyright, send a notice to our designated agent at [email protected]. Include your signature, the work, a link to where it appears, your contact details, a statement of good-faith belief that the use isn't authorized, and a statement under penalty of perjury that your notice is accurate and you're authorized to act for the owner.

We'll remove or disable the content and let the member know. A member who thinks it was removed by mistake can send a counter-notice to the same address. We'll terminate repeat infringers.

Trademark complaints, including about counterfeit goods or impersonation of a band or label, go to [email protected] as well.

You can stop using MerchVice anytime. To delete your account, email [email protected] from your account's address. Self-serve deletion is coming.

We may suspend or end your account if you break these terms, put others at risk, or create legal exposure for us. We'll tell you why unless the law or someone's safety prevents it.

Disclaimers, limits of liability and governing law survive the end of your account.

MerchVice is provided "as is" and "as available". We work to keep it running and safe, but we don't promise it will always be available, error-free or secure.

We don't verify every item, member or claim. We don't guarantee that items are authentic, as described, or will arrive. Use judgment when trading or buying.

To the extent the law allows, we disclaim implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

To the extent the law allows, MerchVice and Ed Crotty aren't liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for lost profits, data or goodwill, arising from your use of the site or dealings with other members.

Our total liability for any claim is limited to the greater of what you paid MerchVice in the 12 months before the claim, or $100.

If someone brings a claim against us because of content you posted, an item you traded or sold, or your breaking these terms, you agree to cover our reasonable costs and losses from it.

These terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, USA, without regard to its conflict of law rules. Disputes go to the state or federal courts in Pennsylvania, unless the law where you live gives you the right to bring them locally.

Before filing, email [email protected] and give us 30 days to sort it out.

We'll update these terms as MerchVice grows, especially when selling and trading arrive. We'll change the effective date at the top. For meaningful changes, we'll tell members by email or on the site at least 14 days before they take effect. Using MerchVice after that means you accept the new terms.

If part of these terms can't be enforced, the rest still applies. If we don't enforce something right away, we haven't given up the right to. You can't transfer your account or these terms. We may transfer them if MerchVice is sold or merged.

MerchVice, Ed Crotty [email protected]