Seller Terms (Pro Shops)
Draft. This policy is under legal review and may change.
Last updated: [EFFECTIVE_DATE] Version 1.0
In short: Pro Elite members can sell their own products from a shop on CSI. You are the seller of record. Buyers pay you directly through PayPal, and CSI does not touch the money or take a commission. You handle shipping, pickup, returns, refunds, warranties, taxes, product safety and every law that applies to selling. Before your shop opens we verify your PayPal account, your identity (ID plus selfie), and your business registration, and new shops go through a probation period. Shops that collect reports or disputes can be paused automatically. This summary is not part of the binding terms below.
1. These terms
1.1. These Seller Terms apply when you open or run a shop on the Platform. They add to the Terms of Service, the Pro Terms and the Prohibited Items Policy. Words defined in the Terms of Service have the same meaning here.
1.2. You act for your trade or business when you sell, so you are not a Consumer for the purpose of these Seller Terms.
2. Who can sell
2.1. To open a shop you must have an approved Pro profile and an active Pro Elite plan, and you must pass seller verification (Section 3).
2.2. If your Pro Elite plan ends, your shop closes. You remain responsible for orders already placed.
3. Seller verification
3.1. Your shop opens only when all of these checks pass:
(a) your Pro profile is approved; (b) you connect a PayPal account through "Log in with PayPal", PayPal reports that the account is verified, and the name on it matches the name on your ID or your registered business name (CSI staff may override a mismatch only with a written note); (c) you complete an automatic identity check with our identity-verification provider (currently Veriff), which checks your identity document and a live selfie, including document authenticity, face match, liveness and watchlist screening; and (d) you provide your business registration number and a copy of your registration certificate, and CSI staff approve it.
3.2. The identity check involves the processing of biometric data. You will be asked for your separate, explicit consent before the check starts. The Privacy Policy explains how this data is handled. If you do not consent, you cannot open a shop.
3.3. A failed identity check can be retried once. After that, CSI staff decide whether you can sell.
3.4. If you change your connected PayPal account or legal name, checks (b) and (c) run again and your shop is paused until they pass.
3.5. You must keep the following information accurate and current, and CSI may show it to Buyers where the law requires: your legal or business name, business address, telephone number, email address, business registration number, and (where you have one) VAT or tax identification number. You confirm that you will offer only products that comply with applicable law.
3.6. Verification does not mean CSI vouches for you or your products. Section 8 of the Terms of Service applies.
4. Your products and listings
4.1. You may list products in the store's product categories, with names and descriptions, prices, photos, variants and stock. You must have the right to sell every product you list.
4.2. Listings must be accurate and complete and must include all information the law requires, including: the total price (with any taxes the law requires to be included), shipping charges, the identity of the manufacturer and, where the law requires, of an economic operator in the Buyer's country or region, warnings and safety information, material and size information, and any warranty terms.
4.3. You must not list anything in the Prohibited Items Policy, and you must not list products that are recalled, counterfeit, stolen, unsafe or not compliant with the product safety, labelling, certification or marking rules of the country you ship to.
4.4. Your listings are shown in your shop and in the main store, labelled "Sold by" followed by your business name.
4.5. CSI may review, refuse, hide or remove any listing at any time.
5. Probation and limits
5.1. A new shop is on probation for the first 60 days or until it has completed 10 orders, whichever is later. During probation, every product needs CSI staff approval before it appears, each item may be priced at no more than US$500, and you may have no more than 15 active listings.
5.2. After probation, new products may be published without prior approval, but they remain subject to reports, spot checks and removal. CSI may return a shop to "approve everything" at any time.
5.3. CSI may change these limits. Current limits are shown in your shop dashboard.
6. Payment
6.1. Buyers pay you directly through PayPal. At checkout, the Buyer's cart is split by seller, and the Buyer approves a separate PayPal payment to you for your items. CSI is not a party to the payment, does not hold or receive the money, and takes no commission.
6.2. Your relationship with PayPal is governed by PayPal's terms, including its Acceptable Use Policy, Seller Protection rules and dispute process. You must comply with them.
6.3. CSI gift cards, store credit, rewards points and coupons cannot be used for your products, and your products do not earn rewards points.
7. Fulfilment
7.1. You set the countries you ship to and a flat shipping price for each. You may also offer pickup from your base city. Your shipments do not use CSI's carrier accounts.
7.2. You must add a tracking number, or mark the order "ready for pickup", within 3 days of the order. Late orders are flagged to CSI and the Buyer is updated. If you cannot ship within the time you stated (or, if you stated none, within 30 days), you must tell the Buyer, offer to cancel, and refund promptly if they cancel.
7.3. You are responsible for packaging, shipping lawfully (including any rules for batteries, aerosols, chemicals or other dangerous goods), customs paperwork, export controls and import requirements.
8. Returns, refunds and warranties
8.1. You must publish your own return and refund policy in your shop, and it must at least meet the law of the Buyer's country, including (for Consumers in the European Union) the 14-day right of withdrawal and the statutory legal guarantee.
8.2. You handle returns and refunds yourself, from your own PayPal account, and record refunds on the order page.
8.3. Any warranty is given by you or the manufacturer, not by CSI.
8.4. Buyers can message you from the order page. You must respond promptly and in good faith.
9. Taxes
9.1. You are solely responsible for determining, charging, collecting, reporting and paying all sales tax, use tax, VAT, customs duties and other taxes on your sales.
9.2. CSI does not process your payments and does not collect or remit tax on your sales. If a tax authority decides that CSI must collect tax on your sales, CSI may change how your shop works (including requiring payments to flow through a mechanism that allows tax collection) and will give you as much notice as reasonably possible.
10. Product safety and recalls
10.1. You are responsible for the safety and legal compliance of your products, including registration, testing, certification and marking requirements.
10.2. If a product you sold is recalled or found unsafe, you must stop selling it at once, tell CSI, and contact affected Buyers as the law requires. CSI may share Buyer contact information with you, and information about you with authorities, to support a recall.
11. Reports, pauses and suspension
11.1. Every product and order has a "Report seller" option. CSI reviews reports.
11.2. CSI may pause your shop automatically (products hidden, existing orders still to be fulfilled) if thresholds set by CSI are met. The current thresholds are: 3 open reports; 2 PayPal disputes; 20% of your last 20 orders cancelled or unshipped; or an average product rating below 3.0 over 5 or more reviews. CSI may change the thresholds. Only CSI staff can unpause a shop.
11.3. CSI may also hide products, pause or close your shop, or close your account as described in the Terms of Service.
11.4. CSI staff can see order details and messages about orders to handle reports and disputes. CSI may share information with PayPal and with authorities where it reasonably believes this is needed to prevent fraud or comply with law.
12. Reviews
Buyers who complete a purchase can review your products. The Community Guidelines and Review Policy apply. You must not offer anything to Buyers in exchange for positive reviews, and must not threaten or pressure Buyers about reviews.
13. Indemnity
In addition to Section 20 of the Terms of Service and Section 16 of the Pro Terms, you will defend, indemnify and hold harmless the CSI Parties from all claims, losses, damages, fines, penalties, costs and expenses (including reasonable legal fees, and any tax, interest or penalty assessed on CSI) arising out of or connected with your products, listings, sales, shipping, returns, refunds, taxes, recalls, intellectual property infringement or breach of these Seller Terms.
14. CSI's role
CSI is not the seller, buyer, agent, marketplace payment processor or guarantor of any Seller Sale. Sections 6, 19 to 26 of the Terms of Service apply to your shop.