Terms and Conditions

Hip eCommerce Terms & Conditions

This document and the other documents that we reference below make up our terms and conditions (or “Terms” for short).

The Terms are a legally binding contract between you and Hip eCommerce ("Hip eCommerce", "HipStamp", "HipPostcard", "HipComic", "Hip eCommerce, Inc.", "us", or "we"; but we’ll just refer to Hip eCommerce, Inc. and all of its subsidiaries collectively as “Hip eCommerce”). By using any of our Services (even just browsing one of our websites), you’re agreeing to the Terms. If you don’t agree with the Terms, you may not use our Services.

Our terms include a specific clause for disputes with Hip eCommerce, specifically, we include an arbitration clause and class action waiver. By agreeing to the Terms, you agree to resolve all disputes through binding individual arbitration, which means that you waive any right to have those disputes decided by a judge or jury and that you waive your right to participate in class actions, class arbitrations, or representative actions.

About Hip eCommerce

Hip eCommerce operates as a marketplace platform, enabling users to engage in the offering, sale, and purchase of a wide range of products through diverse pricing formats and locations. Hip eCommerce does not function as a marketplace facilitator; consequently, we do not participate directly or indirectly in any transactions or payments conducted on our platform. All transactions and payments occur exclusively between the buyers and sellers involved. By using Hip eCommerce, you expressly agree that all transactions and payments are the sole responsibility of the involved parties. Hip eCommerce assumes no responsibility or liability, whether directly or indirectly, in connection with such transactions or payments.

It is important to note that Hip eCommerce does not operate as a traditional auctioneer, as the actual contract for sale is established directly between the seller and the buyer. While we may provide informational guidance related to pricing, shipping, listing procedures, and other aspects of our services, it is solely for informational purposes.

Additionally, while Hip eCommerce may offer assistance in facilitating dispute resolution through various programs, it is crucial to acknowledge that we exercise no control over the presence, quality, safety, or legality of the items advertised on our platform. Furthermore, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or truthfulness of users' content or listings, the ability of sellers to successfully sell items, the ability of buyers to fulfill payment obligations or the completion of transactions or item returns by buyers or sellers.

Policy Enforcement

When a buyer or seller issue arises, we may consider the user's performance history and the specific circumstances in applying our policies. We may choose to be more lenient with policy enforcement in an effort to do the right thing for both buyers and sellers. Our failure to act with respect to a breach by you or others does not waive our right to act with respect to subsequent or similar breaches.

We do not guarantee we will take action against all breaches of this User Agreement.

Your Account with Hip eCommerce

You’ll need to create an account with Hip eCommerce to use some of our Services. Here are a few rules about accounts with Hip eCommerce:

You must be 18 or older to use our Services. Minors under 18 and at least 13 years of age are only permitted to use our Services through an account owned by a parent or legal guardian with their appropriate permission and under their direct supervision. Children under 13 are not permitted to use Hip eCommerce or the Services. You are responsible for any and all account activity conducted by a minor on your account.
Provide accurate information about yourself. It’s against our terms to use false information or impersonate another person or company through your account.
You are responsible for your account. You're solely responsible for any activity on your account. If you’re sharing an account with other people, then the person whose billing information is on the account will ultimately be responsible for all activity. If you’re registering as a business entity, you personally guarantee that you have the authority to agree to the Terms on behalf of the business. Accounts are not transferable.
Protect your password. As we mentioned above, you’re solely responsible for any activity on your account, so it’s important to keep your account password secure.
Defining our relationship. These Terms don't create any agency, partnership, joint venture, employment, or franchisee relationship between you and Hip eCommerce.

Username Policy

We want all our members to choose a username they like, but we don't allow members to choose a username that might be offensive to others, might violate a copyright or trademark, or might mislead or confuse other members. When you register, you should choose a username that you like and will remember. Use your imagination, but keep in mind that there are a few rules you need to follow. Remember that usernames:

Can't be obscene or profane
Can't contain an email address or web address (URL), or the word HipStamp, HipPostcard or HipComic
Must be at least 6 characters long
Can't contain a third party's registered trademark

Make sure you follow these guidelines. If you don't, you may be subject to a range of actions, including limits of your buying and selling privileges and suspension of your account.

If you see a username on the site that you think violates this policy, please report it.

We reserve the right to change or remove any username, for any reason, which may or may not be provided to the member, at our sole discretion, at any time.

Trademarks

Usernames are generally claimed on a first-come, first-served basis. This means that you may see a username on our site that includes your trademark. While there may be cases where this type of use can be reported for trademark infringement based on the context of its use, please note that not every use of your trademark in a username is necessarily a trademark infringement. The same word used in a different context may not violate your trademark.

If you believe that a username infringes your trademark rights, you may want to contact the responsible person and try to resolve your issue with them directly. If you’re sure you want to report a username, on our site, that you believe infringes your trademark, you can do so by contacting us. However, please first ensure that your claim would meet the following guidelines:

Please note that registering a business name is not the same as registering a trademark. For example, within the United States, registering your name with the state has no impact on what happens in the other 49 states. If you incorporated your business in New York, another business can use your same name in New Jersey or Connecticut. And, it can even incorporate or form an LLC in other states with with the same name.
Therefore, we can only review reports of trademark infringement in which the individual reporting the claim, and/or their legal representative, owns a registered trademark with the United States Patents and Trademark Office (USPTO) (for claims made within the United States), and/or appropriate equivalent agencies outside of the United States (for claims made outside the United States).

When filing a report with us, the registration number of the trademark must be provided.

Store Names

The same policies which apply to usernames apply to Store Names. Note that while usernames must be unique, and are generally claimed on a first-come, first-served basis, Store Names do not need to be unique, and multiple members may hold the same Store Names.

Your Content

Content that you post using our Services is your content (“Your Content”). This includes anything you post using our Services (like store names, profile pictures, listing photos, listing descriptions, reviews, comments, etc.).

You are solely responsible for Your Content. You represent that you have all necessary rights to Your Content and that you’re not infringing or violating any third party’s rights by posting it.
When providing us with content or causing content to be posted using our Services, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, sublicensable (through multiple tiers) right to exercise any and all copyright, publicity, trademark, and database rights and other intellectual property rights you have in the content, in any media known now or developed in the future. Further, to the fullest extent permitted under applicable law, you waive your moral rights and promise not to assert such rights or any other intellectual property or publicity rights against us, our sublicensees, or our assignees. This allows us to provide the Services and to promote Hip eCommerce, or the Services in general, in any formats and through any channels, including across any Hip eCommerce Services, our partners, or third-party website or advertising medium. You agree not to assert any moral rights or rights of publicity against us for using Your Content. You also recognize our legitimate interest in using it, in accordance with this license, to the extent Your Content contains any personal information.
We may offer services which can import and/or sync you content and data from external services and websites. These services may utilize third-party APIs, website scraping, and other means in order to import and/or sync content related to said accounts. Any such content and data accessible to us in this regard constitutes content we include as Your Content.
Reporting Unauthorized Content. Hip eCommerce is committed to following appropriate legal procedures to remove infringing content from the Services. If content that you own or have rights to has been posted to the Services without your permission and you want to remove it, please follow the steps listed in our Intellectual Property Policy.
You agree that you will not post any content that is abusive, defamatory, obscene, threatening, vulgar, or otherwise offensive or in violation of our Prohibited Items Policy, Community Policy, or any part of our Terms. You also agree not to post any content that is false and/or misleading, or uses the Services in a manner that is deceptive or fraudulent. Hip eCommerce reserves the right to find any content inappropriate, at it's sole discretion.

Catalog Data

We may offer catalogs including stock images, descriptions and product specifications that are provided by third-parties (including users). You may use catalog content solely in connection with your Hip eCommerce listings. The permission to use catalog content is subject to modification or revocation at any time at Hip eCommerce's sole discretion.

While we try to offer reliable data, we cannot promise that the catalogs will always be available, accurate, and up-to-date, and you agree that you will not hold our catalog providers or us responsible for inaccuracies. The catalog may include copyrighted, trademarked or other proprietary materials. You agree not to remove any copyright, proprietary or identification markings included within the catalogs or create any derivative works based on catalog content (other than by including them in your listings).

Your Use of Our Services

We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, and revocable license to use our Services - subject to the Terms and the following restrictions (in general):

Don’t Break the Law. You agree that you will not violate or circumvent any laws in connection with your use of the Services. This includes any local, state, federal, and international laws that may apply to you.
Pay Your Bills. You are responsible for paying all fees that you owe to Hip eCommerce - see the Fees Policies for additional details. Except as set forth below, you are also solely responsible for collecting and/or paying any applicable taxes for any purchases or sales you make through our Services.
Don’t Steal from Us or Our Members. You agree not to “crawl,” “scrape,” or “spider” any page or content of the Services or to reverse engineer or attempt to obtain the source code of the Services. To use our API, see our API documentation and API Terms of Use. You agree not commercialize any Hip eCommerce application or any information or software associated with such application. You agree not to harvest or otherwise collect information about users without their consent.
Don’t Interfere with Our Systems. You agree not to interfere with or try to disrupt our Services, for example by distributing a virus or other malicious content. You agree not to impose an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our infrastructure.
Don't Circumvent Our Measures. You agree not to circumvent any technical measures we use to provide the Services. You further agree not to bypass our robot exclusion headers.
Respect Our Trademarks. The names “Hip eCommerce,” “HipStamp,” “HipPostcard,” “HipComic” and the other Hip eCommerce marks, logos, phrases, and designs that we use in connection with our Services, are trademarks or service marks of Hip eCommerce in the US and in other countries.
Share Your Ideas. We love to hear from you, and how you think you should improve our services. Any unsolicited ideas or other materials you submit to Hip eCommerce (not including Your Content or items you sell through our Services) are considered non-confidential and non-proprietary to you. This includes any and all information submitted through our Community Forums. You grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, irrevocable, sub-licensable, perpetual license to use and publish those ideas and materials for any purpose, without compensation to you.
Digital Communication. Hip eCommerce will provide you with certain legal information in writing. By using our Services you agree that we can send you information electronically (by email, etc.) instead of mailing you paper copies, and that your electronic agreement is the same as your signature on paper.

Termination

Termination By You. You may terminate your account at any time, by contacting Hip eCommerce and requesting that your account be terminated. You can cancel your Store subscription at any time from the Members Area > Store page. Terminating your account will not affect the availability of some of Your Content that you posted through the Services prior to termination.

Termination By Hip eCommerce. We may terminate or suspend your account (and any related accounts) and your access to the Services at any time, for any reason, and without advance notice. If we terminate your account, you do not have a contractual or legal right to continue to use our Services, for example, to sell or buy with us. Hip eCommerce may refuse service to anyone, at any time, for any reason.

Hip eCommerce may delay or remove hosted content, remove any special status associated with your account (and any related accounts), remove and demote listings, reduce or eliminate any discounts, and take technical and/or legal steps to prevent you from using our Services. If you or Hip eCommerce account is terminated, you may lose any information associated with your account, including Your Content.

Outstanding Bills at Terminations. You will be responsible for paying all outstanding bills immediately, when your account with us is terminated.

We May Change or Discontinue the Services. Hip eCommerce reserves the right to change, suspend, or discontinue any of the Services at any time, for any reason. We are not liable to you for the effect that any changes to the Services may have on you, including your ability to generate revenue through the Services.

Survival of Terms. The Terms will remain in effect even after your access to the Service is terminated, or your use of the Service ends.

Warranties and Limitations of Liability

Items You Purchase. You understand that Hip eCommerce does not manufacture, store, or inspect any of the items sold by Sellers through our Services. We only provide the venue; the items in our marketplaces are produced, listed, and sold directly by Sellers who are independent from Hip eCommerce, so Hip eCommerce does not (and can not) make any warranties about their quality, safety, or even their legality. Any legal claim related to an item you purchase must be brought directly against the Seller. You release Hip eCommerce from any and all claims related to items sold through our Services, including if an item has been misrepresented or harms you.

Content You Access. You may come across materials that you find inappropriate or offensive while using our Services. We make no representations and are not responsible for any content posted by users through the Services. You release us from all liability relating to that content.

People You Interact With. You release us from all liability relating to your interactions with other users. We recommend that you use your best judgement when interacting with others, as we do not screen users.

Third-Party Services. Our Services may contain links to third-party websites or services that we don’t own or control (for example, links to Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest). You may also need to use a third party’s product or service in order to use some of our Services (like a compatible mobile device to use our mobile apps). When you access these third-party services, you do so at your own risk. The third parties may require you to accept their own terms of use. Hip eCommerce is not a party to those agreements; they are solely between you and the third party.

Warranties

We try to keep our Services safe, secure, and functioning properly, but we cannot guarantee the continuous operation of or access to our Services. Bid update and other notification functionality in Hip eCommerce's applications may not occur in real time. Such functionality is subject to delays beyond Hip eCommerce's control.

You agree that you are making use of our Services at your own risk, and that they are being provided to you on an "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" basis. Accordingly, to the extent permitted by applicable law, we exclude all express or implied warranties, terms and conditions including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

In addition, to the extent permitted by applicable law, we (including our parent, subsidiaries, and affiliates, and our and their officers, directors, agents and employees) are not liable, and you agree not to hold us responsible, for any damages or losses (including, but not limited to, loss of money, goodwill or reputation, profits, or other intangible losses or any special, indirect, or consequential damages) resulting directly or indirectly from:

Your use of or your inability to use our Services;
pricing, shipping, format, or other guidance provided by Hip eCommerce;
delays or disruptions in our Services;
viruses or other malicious software obtained by accessing or linking to our Services;
glitches, bugs, errors, or inaccuracies of any kind in our Services;
damage to your hardware device from the use of any Hip eCommerce Service;
the content, actions, or inactions of third parties, including items listed using our Services or the destruction of allegedly fake items;
a suspension or other action taken with respect to your account or breach of the Abusing Hip eCommerce Section above;
the duration or manner in which your listings appear in search results as set out in the Listing Conditions Section above; or
your need to modify practices, content, or behavior or your loss of or inability to do business, as a result of changes to this User Agreement or our policies.
Some jurisdictions do not allow the disclaimer of warranties or exclusion of damages, so such disclaimers and exclusions may not apply to you.
Regardless of the previous paragraphs, if we are found to be liable, our liability to you or to any third party is limited to the greater of the amount of fees in dispute not to exceed the total fees, which you paid to us in the 12 months prior to the action giving rise to the liability, or $100.

HipValues

HipValues represent our estimate of the average current online selling price for a specific item based on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to historical sales data. HipValues are not available for all items, and are provided without any warranties of any kind expressed or implied.

Indemnification

You will indemnify and hold us (and our affiliates and subsidiaries, and our and their respective officers, directors, employees, agents) harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable legal fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of your breach of this Agreement, your improper use of Hip eCommerce's Services or your breach of any law or the rights of a third party.

Buyer Policies

Prohibited Buyer (and General) Activities and Actions

The following activities are prohibited on our site and are in direct violation of our Terms:

Fail to pay for items you have purchased, unless you are unable to contact the seller, or if, at our sole discretion, we agree that a significant error, such as a typographical error, has been made.
Engage in suspicious activity.
Participate in shill bidding.
Contribute to an unfriendly environment either through offensive or abusive messaging (whether made using the internal message system feature or otherwise) or on our community and forum pages.
Take actions, which at our sole discretion, we believe are negatively impacting our business.
Manipulate the price of an item.
Interfere with another member’s listings.
Ask for an excessive amount of returns on items, regardless of if the seller(s) agree.
A pattern of filing an excessive number of items not received claims.
Post content that is false, misleading, inaccurate, defamatory, libelous, or obscene.
Post content that we believe is spam or of bulk in nature.
Transfer your account to another party without our explicit written consent.
Purposely submit any inaccurate information, commit fraud, or falsify information in connection with your account with Hip eCommerce.
Purposely create multiple Hip eCommerce accounts.
Solicit or advertise for any commercial, political, or religious purpose, or compete directly or indirectly with Hip eCommerce when using our Site or any of its contents.
Use the Site, or any of its resources, to solicit other users, sellers, or partners of Hip eCommerce, to become users, sellers, or partners of other online or offline services which would be, or are in direct or indirect competition or potential competition with Hip eCommerce, including but not limited to, aggregating current or previously offered data or deals.

Bidding, Buying & Paying Policies

You are responsible for reading the full item listing before making a bid or commitment to buy.
Your account must contain accurate and up-to-date contact information.
You must pay for any items you commit to buy. This includes items you win through auction-style listings and accepted offers, as well as store items that you commit to purchase, and items that you commit to buy through any other selling format we make available.
Only place bids on items that you intend to buy.
You can't bid on your own item. We call this shill bidding, and it not only violates our policies, it's against the law in many places. Additionally, if you know the seller, you can't bid on the item with the intent to increase its price or desirability artificially; or to artificially inflate the member's feedback. This rule applies to family, friends, roommates, employees, and online connections.
You can only retract a bid under specific circumstances. For example, if you meant to bid $10.00 but accidentally bid $1,000.00, you can retract the bid. Even then, you need to bid the amount you originally intended immediately. Never use bid retraction to manipulate the bidding process. Bid manipulation is unfair, and it has serious consequences. All bid retractions must be made through our support system and will be reviewed and approved on an individual basis.
Make sure that you read the listing description before you bid. Many of the problems buyers and sellers encounter are the result of simple misunderstandings about what is for sale and the terms of the sale. Only bid on or buy an item if you can meet the requirements described in the listing. If you bid on an item and you don't meet the seller's requirements, we consider that unwelcome and malicious buying.
You enter into a legally binding contract with the seller to purchase an item when you commit to buy an item or if you have the winning bid (or your bid is otherwise accepted). While all bids, as well as purchases of any form, made on this website, are intended to be binding by both the buyer and seller, if we believe, at our sole discretion, that a significant error has been made (including in the pricing of an item), due to an issue of any sort, the transaction is not binding until the seller ships the item to the buyer (regardless of payment).
Note that we do not transfer legal ownership of items from the seller to the buyer.
You can't offer to buy items outside of Hip eCommerce. Sellers must follow the same rule, so if a seller offers to sell you something outside of Hip eCommerce, don't accept the offer.
If you buy an item from a seller in another country, you can't ask the seller to mark the item as a gift in the customs declaration. This is illegal and against our policies.

Unreasonable Buyer Requests

Making unreasonable requests. When you bid on or buy an item, you accept the seller's terms as set out in the listing, provided the listing complies with our listing policies. You are entitled to expect that the seller will do what they've said with regards to shipping, payments, and item returns. We know that exceptional circumstances occur, and we allow you to make reasonable and limited requests. However, we do not require sellers to fulfill requests which are outside of their terms.

Reasonable REQUESTS

The following actions are allowed by the buyer to ask the seller:

Asking to use one of the alternative shipping options specified in the listing.
Asking to use a more expensive shipping option to get the item more quickly, and offering to pay the extra shipping cost.
Asking the seller if it's acceptable if your payment is briefly delayed due to exceptional circumstances.
Asking to return an item according to the seller's return policy.
Asking whether a seller will combine shipping for multiple purchases.

Unreasonable Requests (which we do not allow)

The following actions are prohibited by the buyer to ask the seller:

Requesting a transaction be canceled for any reason other than one allowed by our terms.
Requesting a change to the shipping method or delivery location, other than those specified in the listing.
Requesting a change to the payment method or timing, other than those specified in the listing.
Requesting that the price of an item, or an order, be changed after an auction is won, or an offer is accepted. The auction process works using proxy bidding, which ensures that the final price won is only at most one increment above the next highest bidder's bid. In order to keep this process fair for all involved, we prohibit buyers from requesting changes to the amount they pay for an auction item which they have won. Additionally, keep in mind that sellers have no ability to change the price of an item which has been won within the Hip eCommerce system.
Requesting a listing be held for you without completing a sale.
Requesting a partial refund or discount not covered by the original listing.
Requesting additional items or services that are outside of what is contained in the listing.
Asking the seller to complete the transaction off Hip eCommerce.

As a Seller, if a buyer makes such requests, please point them toward these terms, or alert our team to help inform the buyer on our policies, as well as to review if further action is needed. Note that we have these policies to help provide a safe, fair, and fun environment for all of our users.

If you're having a problem with a Seller

Be honest and have good intentions when you try to resolve a transaction problem. See our help section to learn more about what to do if you don't receive an item or it doesn't match the listing description.

You can't try to contact other potential buyers to "warn" them about a seller. This is called transaction interference. If you have a concern about a seller's behavior, report it to us and we'll investigate.

International Buying and Selling

Many of our Services are accessible to international sellers and buyers. We may offer certain programs, tools, and site experiences of particular interest to international sellers and buyers, such as estimated local currency conversion and international shipping calculation tools. Sellers and buyers are responsible for complying with all laws and regulations applicable to the international sale, purchase, and shipment of items.

You may restrict international buyers from purchasing your items if you explicitly exclude international shipping from your listings and apply an exclusion list to your listings.

You authorize us to use automated tools to translate your Hip eCommerce content and member-to-member communications, in whole or in part, into local languages where such translation solutions are available. We may provide you with tools that will enable you to translate content at your request. The accuracy and availability of any translation are not guaranteed.

Seller Policies

Prohibited Seller Activities and Actions

These Prohibited Seller Activities and Actions are established to maintain a selling platform that is safe for buyers and fair for sellers of both products and services. Failure to comply with the terms of this policy can result in the cancellation of listings, suspension from the use of Hip eCommerce tools and reports, and/or the removal of selling privileges.

General Guidelines

The following guidelines apply to both sellers of products and services. For guidelines specific to products or services, see the information following this section.

The default method of payment between buyers and sellers on our marketplace is PayPal, and therefore all Sellers must have a valid PayPal account in good standing in order to be eligible to sell on Hip eCommerce.

Attempts to divert transactions or buyers: Any attempt to circumvent the established Hip eCommerce sales process or to divert Hip eCommerce users to another website or sales process is prohibited. Specifically, any advertisements, marketing messages (special offers), or "calls to action" that lead, prompt, or encourage Hip eCommerce users to leave the Hip eCommerce website are prohibited.

Prohibited activities include the following:

The use of email intended to divert customers away from the Hip eCommerce sales process.
The inclusion of hyperlinks, URLs or web addresses within any seller generated confirmation email messages or any product/listing description fields that are intended to divert customers away from the Hip eCommerce sales process.
Using the Sell, Bulk Lister, or any other tool which lists items on our website, for any purpose other than creating product listing pages is prohibited.
Unauthorized and improper business names: The Business Name (identifying a seller’s business entity on Hip eCommerce) must be a name that: accurately identifies the seller; is not misleading; and the seller has the right to use (that is, the name cannot include the trademark of, or otherwise infringe on, any trademark or other intellectual property right of any person). Furthermore, a seller cannot use a business name that contains an email suffix such as .com, .net, .biz, and so on.
Inappropriate communications: All communications with buyers (including those sent through the Buyer-Seller Messaging Service and/or email) must be courteous, relevant, and appropriate. Unsolicited communications other than as necessary for order fulfillment and related customer support, and communications containing marketing content of any kind (including within otherwise permitted communications) are prohibited.
Direct email addresses: Buyers and sellers may communicate with one another via the Buyer-Seller Messaging Service. Buyers and sellers are prohibited from providing or soliciting direct, non-Hip eCommerce-generated email addresses on the Hip eCommerce website or in correspondence through the Buyer-Seller Messaging Service.
Operating multiple Seller Central accounts: Operating and maintaining multiple Seller Central accounts is prohibited. If you have a legitimate business need for a second account, you can apply for an exception to this policy by contacting us through our Contact Us page on our website.

General Seller Policies

As a Seller, you're expected to:

Ship items promptly once an order has been paid.
Promptly resolve customer issues.
Manage inventory and only sell items that are currently available.
Agree that you, the seller, are responsible for collecting and remitting applicable sales and use taxes where you have nexus.
Respond to buyers' questions promptly.
Be helpful, friendly, and professional throughout a transaction.
Ensure that items delivered to buyers match the descriptions provided in the listing.

Product Listing Policies

When listing an item with us, you agree to the following:

You will list items and post content in appropriate categories or areas.
You cannot include links to outside websites where you can purchase items anywhere besides Hip eCommerce, or any personal website (including those which represent your business). This includes hyperlinks and text, images, etc., which instruct users to visit another website.
You are not allowed to circumvent fees in any way.
You will not cross-merchandise or cross-promote a product within a listing.
Buyer's premiums and/or any other arbitrary percentages or fixed/variable fees are prohibited unless otherwise exempted by Hip eCommerce via written consent.
Shipping and Handling charges, including for additional items, are required to be specified using the options we provide.
It is not permissible to instruct buyers that they must pay an additional amount for shipping, above the amount automatically calculated using the options we provide, including but not limited to: asking buyers to pay an additional amount based on their total order value.
Shipping and Handling charges must be realistic and are not allowed to be excessive. The amount you are looking to receive for an item must be reflected in the price of the item, and cannot be included within the shipping and handling charge of the item. This same policy applies to multiple items won by a single buyer, in regards to combined shipping and handling. The definition of excessive is at our discretion, but can usually be obtained using good judgment.
It is not permissible to instruct buyers that they must wait for a custom invoice before paying for a purchase.
It is not permissible to instruct buyers that they must meet any minimum or maximum purchase requirements.
When selecting an available method of payment, from the options we provide, any additional charges or requirements for using the indicated method of payment are prohibited (for example, indicating a buyer must pay an additional 30 cents if paying by PayPal).
All listings and products must offer a specific physical item, a service, or a digitally delivered good. Listings or products that are blank, or that don't offer a specific physical item, service, or digitally delivered good, can be confusing for our users and may increase the risk of fraud.
All information contained within a listing must be accurate, not misleading, and relevant to the listing.
Item titles may only contain information directly relevant to the item itself.
Item titles should not include shipping information, promotional words, or words irrelevant to the actual item, such as Wow! Look!, etc. Additionally, excessive (or non-standard) use of capitalization of words and inappropriate use of punctuation and special characters is strictly prohibited (i.e., 'BEST BRITISH STAMP!!!', 'L@@K!!!', 'Germany #5 ◊ Used ◊ OG', etc.).
Item titles cannot include private ids (also known as SKUs, or your own unique product identification numbers).
Prices must be realistic and are not allowed to be excessive. The definition of excessive is at our discretion, but usually only applies to items listed at several times their actual retail value.
Numerical Grades (Stamps), and prices based on Numerical Grades (such as SMQ Values), can only be displayed if the item comes with a Graded Certificate from the PSE, PFC, or APS.
E-graded stamps should not be listed within the Graded stamp category
Multiple listings for the same physical item are not allowed (ie: duplicate listings are prohibited). If you have multiple copies of the same type of item, individual listings can be created, but only if each listing contains the actual image of each physical item. If you are using a stock image, instead use the 'Quantity' option when creating your listing to indicate the quantity you have available.
For stamps, when using a stock photo, at most two product listings may be created per Country and Catalog Number based on the condition of mint/unused, and used. Creating variants of such listings based on any additional item specifics, including but not limited to: language, catalog type, catalog number variant, and/or price, is strictly prohibited.
The listing of replica stamps, forgeries, and/or counterfeits is not permitted on our site, with some exceptions for non-modern forgeries as explicitly approved, on a per-listing basis, by us, which must be identified clearly in the headline. If we receive reports or identify listings of replica stamps, forgeries, and/or counterfeits that are not allowed (whether they purport to be a replica, forgery, counterfeit, or legitimate), we reserve the right to suspend your account.
The listing of copies or photos of original postcards is not permitted on our Site. If we receive reports or identify listings that are copies or photos of original postcards (whether they purport to be copies or legitimate), we reserve the right to suspend your account. Authorized reproductions of postcards may be allowed in certain circumstances if easily identified as authorized reproductions and with our express written permission.
Listings for Pre-Sale items can only be made if the expected date of shipment to the buyer is within 30 days from when the listing ends. If a buyer purchases a pre-sale item and you are unable to ship the item within 30 days, you must offer the buyer a full refund (including shipping and any other costs).

Any listing, which does not conform to the above policies, may be ended at any time. Fees will not be refunded on any listing that is ended due to listing policy violations. The above listing policies also apply to all forum posts, internal messages, and other forms of communication (wherever applicable).

Product Listing - Image Policies

Images are one of the most important parts of your listing because they allow potential buyers to see the item's exact condition, and help them decide whether to bid or buy. As a result, when you create a product listing, you must include at least one photo that is 250 pixels on the longest side, but we recommend including more to help increase your chances of a successful sale.
Additionally, when listing an image in a product listing with us, you agree to the following:

Images must accurately represent the item.
Images may only feature the specific item for sale.
Images must not include any borders.
Images must not include any added text, artwork or marketing material.
Images must not include any watermarks of any type.
Images must be oriented correctly.
Images must be cropped such that the product fills at least 75% of the image.
Placeholder images and images used to convey messages are not allowed.
By listing a product image, it is assumed that the image is of the exact item the buyer will receive. If the image is only meant to serve as an example (ie: a “stock photo”), this must be explicitly and clearly stated at the top of the description.
For stamps and postcards, if a stock photo is used, it must show either an unused or used depiction of the product which corresponds to the condition of the product listing.
Any image used as a stock photo may only be used on at most one product listing. This includes the physical item depicted in the image (ie: it is not permissible to crop or otherwise alter an image of a stock photo to create a “different” stock photo).

Ending an Auction Early

When you choose to end a listing early, buyers may be disappointed. If you regularly end listings early, your account may be subject to account restrictions and other consequences. However, we understand that sometimes you may have a good reason to end a listing early.

If the item is lost, broken, or otherwise no longer available for sale; as soon as you notice a problem, try to end the listing.
If you made a mistake when creating the listing; consider revising the listing or adding a note to the item's description, rather than ending it. If you can't revise the listing, try to end the listing.
Note that your ability to end a listing early depends on the amount of time remaining in the listing and whether the listing has received any bids.
We still charge listing fees (such as an insertion fee and any optional fees) if you end your listing early, even if you don't sell to the high bidder. If you want to change or improve your listing, consider revising your listing instead.
Sellers aren't allowed to cancel bids and end listings early in order to avoid selling an item that did not meet a desired sale price.

Shipping & Returns

It is a standard practice in eCommerce to provide buyers with tracking information once an item has been shipped. While this is not a requirement on Hip, it is highly encouraged. Additionally, please keep in mind that PayPal is the default method of payment on Hip, and in the event that an item does not arrive to a buyer, the buyer will be eligible to file a claim with PayPal through their Buyer Protection program. Without tracking information, it is generally not possible to dispute such a claim. Furthermore, it is not permissible to explicitly or implicitly ask buyers to waive any protections provided to them by any of our terms, or any of PayPal's terms; including asking buyers to waive their rights to PayPal's Buyer Protection in the event that an item is not delivered.

Sellers have the option to indicate if they wish to accept returns within each listing. If a Seller has opted to accept returns, they must accept returns in accordance with their stated policies. Additionally, if an item arrives which is significantly different than as described within the listing, returns must be accepted, if a return request is made within 30 days of when the order was placed.

In any case where an order is canceled, or an item is allowed to be returned, it is prohibited to charge the buyer a restocking fee.

Store Subscriptions

In order to sell on Hip, you must have a valid Store Subscription.

Monthly subscriptions: Store subscriptions are billed to your account in advance, starting on the date in which you activate your store subscription. Monthly subscriptions automatically renew every 30 days.

Auto-upgrade of your subscription: Should you surpass the monthly listing allotment for your Store Subscription, your account will be upgraded to the next subscription level. By continuing to create listings, you agree to the auto-upgrade of your Store Subscription to the next level subscription when you pass the designated listing allotment. A notification email will be sent if your subscription is auto-upgraded.

International Sellers

If you are registering to sell from a country outside of the United States, there are important steps you must take before you begin selling on Hip eCommerce. The following steps ensure a great experience for you and for customers: You must accurately state the 'shipping from' country in your Hip eCommerce seller profile for display to customers. You will be responsible for assuring that you will meet the shipping expectations for all orders you receive.

Feedback Policies

Once a transaction has been initiated, buyers and sellers will have the opportunity to leave a feedback rating for each other per item purchased. Feedback should accurately reflect the purchasing experience and be specific to the item received.

If no feedback has been provided after 45 days, Hip will automatically post a positive feedback rating for sellers with the comment “Positive Feedback Automatically Left After 45 days”.

Item Specific. Feedback must be specific to each individual listing. For example, if there is an issue with one listing, out of an order of ten listings, neutral or negative feedback can only be left for the one listing, not all ten.

Feedback Extortion. Buyers are not allowed to use threats of neutral or negative feedback to get something that wasn't part of the original listings, and sellers can't demand positive feedback from buyers.

Feedback Manipulation. Members can not exchange feedback solely for the purpose of increasing feedback scores, or enhancing their reputation on our site.

Feedback in Seller Terms and Conditions. Sellers are not allowed to include terms and conditions in a listing that limit or restrict the buyer from leaving feedback.

Retaliatory Feedback. If a member leaves legitimate neutral or negative feedback against another member, the member can not leave simply neutral or negative feedback in return as a response.

Changing Feedback

In general, once feedback is left, it can not be changed.

Feedback is an important part of the Hip eCommerce platform, and as such, we take the feedback system very seriously. In particular, this means that even if a member disagrees with the feedback they have received, in order to keep the system fair and transparent, there is only a very limited set of circumstances in which we can update or remove feedback left for our members.

In general, we can only update or remove feedback in the following set of limited circumstances, and only at our sole discretion on a case-by-case basis:

A clear mistake. For example, a member left feedback with the text “Smooth Transaction, No Problems”, but accidentally checked off the negative feedback box.
A member requests to withdraw feedback within 30 days. Specifically, if neutral or negative feedback was left due to an issue with the transaction, which was subsequently resolved, the poster may request to withdraw their feedback within 30 days of the original transaction.
Failure to read a clear item description. In the case where a buyer has left neutral or negative feedback, but their comment shows a clear failure to read the item description (which in itself must be clear and unambiguous), the Seller may request the feedback be reviewed for removal. An example of this would be if a listing was for a “Used” item, and the feedback left is a complaint that the item is “Used”.

Delivered orders shipped with tracking. In the case where a buyer has left neutral or negative feedback, indicating that an order was not delivered, but the Seller can prove delivery via a valid tracking number, the Seller may request the feedback be reviewed for removal.

Please keep in mind that feedback can not be changed or updated in any other circumstances, including, but not limited to, the following:

A buyer believes that the item was not described accurately (excluding within the case of “Failure to read a clear item description.”)
A buyer left neutral or negative feedback because there was an issue with an order, even if the Seller has subsequently resolved the issue, and/or refunded the buyer. With that in mind, we, of course, encourage all members to work out any issues before leaving feedback.

Fees Policies

The fees we charge for using our Services are listed on our Fees page. We may change our seller fees from time to time by posting the changes on the Hip eCommerce site 14 days in advance but with no advance notice required for temporary promotions or any changes that result in the reduction of fees.

Note that we charge a final value fee when your item or relisted item sells, or if we determine that you intended to complete a sale outside of Hip eCommerce.

Note that homepage featured upgrades last 30 days, or until your listing ends, whichever occurs first, and do not automatically renew.

When transaction fees are calculated on a sale, shipping costs are included in the calculation, and there is a 1¢ minimum transaction fee calculated per each listing sold.

You must have a valid payment method on file when selling on Hip eCommerce and pay all fees and applicable taxes associated with our Services by the payment due date. If your payment method fails or your account is past due, we may collect fees owed by charging other payment methods on file with us, and/or retaining collection agencies and legal counsel. In addition, you will be subject to late fees. Hip eCommerce, or the collection agencies we retain, may also report information about your account to credit bureaus, and as a result, late payments, missed payments, or other defaults on your account may be reflected in your credit report. If you wish to dispute the information, Hip eCommerce reported to a credit bureau, please contact us. If you wish to dispute the information a collection agency reported to a credit bureau regarding your Hip eCommerce account, you must contact the collection agency directly.

The purpose of adding a credit card to your account with us is to pay for any applicable subscription fees and/or selling fees added to your account balance. Your credit card may be charged when you enable a store subscription, on the first of every month, and/or if your account balance exceeds the amount indicated on the My Account > Credit Card page (subject to change, including, but not limited to if your payment method fails one or more times), and/or if your account/subscription is closed or suspended.

In general, all fees are non-refundable. However, at our discretion, we may offer a refund of Final Value Fees when requested through the "Request Final Value Fee Refund" button per transaction on the My Account > Account History page.

Member-to-Member Communication Policies

Members can send messages to each other on Hip through Messaging Services, which we provide. We encourage open communication between our members. However, to keep everyone in our community safe, we have guidelines and policies that cover how you communicate.

Specifically, we do not allow members to use Hip's Messaging Services to:

Make offers to buy or sell outside of Hip
Send spam
Threaten others, or use profanity or hate speech
Exchange email addresses, phone numbers or other contact information, web addresses or links

Hip may monitor messages sent through Hip's Messaging Services for fraud, abuse, spam, and other violations of Hip's policies.

Make sure you follow these guidelines and do not attempt to circumvent these guidelines. If you do not follow these guidelines, you may be subject to various actions, including your messages being blocked, as well as limits on your buying and selling privileges, and/or suspension of your account.

Additionally, please note that if we determine, at our sole discretion, an offer or sale is being made, or agreed upon through Hip's Messaging Service, we may create an appropriate corresponding offer or sale between the buyer and seller through the appropriate features on Hip.

Community Forum Policies

At Hip eCommerce, we believe in the power of a positive community, and we invite you to participate in that community in a way that is encouraging, inspiring, and respectful. Our members are helpful, insightful, charismatic, and funny, and all of them bring a different perspective and voice.
Keep in mind that the Forums are a common area that you share with the Hip eCommerce community. If you choose to express your ideas here, we ask that you:

Respect all members and their posts, including the privacy and personal information of others.
Act positively and encourage others. Don’t be rude or snarky.
Be helpful. Offer constructive criticism or voice a dissenting opinion, but don’t be mean or disrespectful.
Be honest and transparent. Post as yourself, using your real name, and not with a fake identity.

Moderators ensure the Forums are a welcoming place for all. Moderators may take certain actions to keep the Forums organized and helpful for everyone. Actions taken by moderators are not up for public discussion.
Additionally, the following types of activities, are prohibited:

No trolling - the posting of controversial (whether on or off-topic) messages with the intent of baiting other users to reply. Also, in the tradition of the Three Billy Goats Gruff, please do not feed the trolls! If you believe a member is trolling, please contact our Staff or a Moderator.
No badgering - writing hostile or insulting messages aimed at other users for their views, comments, status as a member on the site, or any other reason. If you disagree with another member's opinions, you're welcome to share your own view, but please be polite and respectful - don't let things get personal.
No spamming - the creation of posts that may be viewed as advertisements for any entity or services outside of the Hip eCommerce platforms.
No necroposting - the posting of either irrelevant replies or replies which do not add any additional value to the original topic, on very old topics. Except in rare circumstances, such replies will be removed.
No excessive swearing or language - this is self-explanatory.
No bumping - the act of posting simply to encourage other members to reply to a topic, either frequently, more than once in a row, or within a short period of time. If you create a new topic, and no other members have responded to your topic, it would only be acceptable to bump the topic after one day has passed. Once you have bumped a topic, it is not acceptable to re-bump the topic, unless another member has responded, and the conversation has continued in a way that has added value to the original topic. These guidelines also apply across topics (such as if you were to post in a different topic, encouraging members to post in the original topic in question).
No hijacking of topics by changing the subject. If you want to change the subject, please start a new topic. Note that if a member creates a post that is indirectly related to the original topic and/or last post, or in the general spirit of a conversation (including in jest) which would take place about the topic - this is not considered hijacking.
No cross-post hijacking of topics - if other members have asked a specific question, do not attempt to change said topic into another discussion of an item you have already raised in another topic. For example, if you would like to see Feature Request X, and a member asks how do I accomplish Y? do not answer by trying to change the topic into another discussion on Feature Request X. Similarly, if another member asks the community to review their Store, and asks for tips on how to increase their sales, it would not be appropriate to change the topic, and indicate that the member is not seeing an increase in sales due X,Y and Z; whereas X,Y and Z refer to opinions you recently brought up in another topic. This type of activity takes questions and topics off track, and prevents helpful insights from being shared with our members.

We also ask that you:

Do not post material that is hateful or mean towards race, religion, sex, or any other offensive nature.
Do not post lewd or offensive content, or links to lewd or offensive content.
Do not post any personal information about you or anyone else.
Do not attempt to moderate our forums. If you believe another member is not following our guidelines, please contact our Staff or Moderators. It is generally not appropriate to tell other members what they should, or should not be posting.

Additionally, please note that our Feedback system is an important part of the Hip eCommerce community and the appropriate place to discuss issues with specific transactions. In general, discussing specific issues with other members (by name) is discouraged within the Community Forums, as the Feedback system is the appropriate place for such public posting of information.

Topics and posts which do not comply with our guidelines will generally be removed, without warning, and with or without an explanation. If you find a post you have created has recently been removed, we encourage you to review our Community Forum Guidelines.

Note: The Forums are a public space, and your posts are permanent. Every member is responsible for what they post in the Forums. We don’t edit or hide content by request.

Note: We reserve the right to edit or remove any content or post within our forums, and/or ban (temporarily or permanently) any member from our forums. In addition, we also require that you follow any guidelines which could be applicable from our Product Listing guidelines.

Community Forum Section Guidelines

You will notice that the forums are divided into different sections. Here is a guide on what to post where:

Questions

Questions is a place to get answers from the community. Post there when you are looking for an objective or definitive answer. Have a question about how to open a Store? Need to know how to properly set up a business in the state of New York? Have a question about making an purchase within our marketplaces? Ask in Questions!

Chatter

This is a place to get advice and talk about business related topics with the community. Post there if you want to discuss business matters, ideas on how to improve your Store, or anything else related to selling and buying on Hip eCommerce.

This section can also be used for all non-business related conversations. It's a place for you to connect with community members and discuss a wide range of topics. Get creative!

Stamp Reviews

This section is for comments and questions on specific stamp issues, such as identifying an unknown stamp, or letting the community know what your favorite stamp is!

Feature Requests

This is a place to share your ideas on how to improve the Hip eCommerce websites. Before creating a new post, please review the existing posts to ensure you are not creating a duplicate feature request. While necroposting guidelines still apply, feel free to vote for any existing feature requests you find - no matter the age of the original post! This can be done by clicking on the like / vote button of the topic.

A further note on Feature Requests, and how we listen to your feature requests:

We're always excited to hear about ways in which our members currently use HipStamp, and it's awesome to see all of the product feedback and feature requests our members are sharing right here in our forums. First and foremost, please know that we see your feedback and we are taking it into account. While we cannot make any guarantees on specific feedback and requests, we're continuously reviewing your comments and posts here.

Here's how it works:

The feedback we collect from the forums is integrated internally with our product development and customer feedback process. We capture your feedback from the forums, then aggregate it and cross reference it with the feedback our teams collect from the thousands of members we communicate with each month. Then we prioritize all requests against many factors including company vision, business needs/impact, and so on. We do not share a product roadmap because we are unable to promise a timeline and we want to ensure that the features and updates we release are as well made as possible. We wouldn't want to release a sub-par feature just to meet a deadline, and often our priorities change based on continuous information we're collecting. So, while we can't promise a timeline or that every piece of feedback will be implemented, we can promise that we take your feedback seriously and we are considering it alongside other customer feedback.

Bugs

The Bugs section is one of the places where you can report site issues and get technical support from our Staff. You may also do that via email.

Promos

This is where you can promote Hip eCommerce listings, Stores, and sales and/or promotions that you love. They can be your items or items from other Stores. This section is for Hip eCommerce promotions only and is not a marketing channel for bloggers, outside venues and services, etc. In addition, you may not use this channel to solicit for donations or fundraising.

Promotions Policies

By participating in a special offer or promotion, you agree that you may not later claim that the rules of that special offer or promotion were ambiguous.

Hip eCommerce Promotions & Cash Back Offers

From time to time, Hip eCommerce may directly offer promotions, including cash back offers, for purchases of items within Hip eCommerce during specific times, and given specific conditions. These promotions and offers ("Promotions") and the corresponding rewards or cash back ("Rewards") do not signify any involvement by Hip eCommerce in the transactions between buyers and sellers on the platform. Rather, these are incentives offered independently by Hip eCommerce to users who meet the specified conditions. Participation in these promotions and receipt of any rewards are bound by the following policies.

Eligibility

Promotions are available to individual users of Hip eCommerce who are at least eighteen years of age at the beginning of the promotional period. Participation in any Promotion and the opportunity to earn rewards, including cash back, from any Promotion are offered at the sole discretion of Hip eCommerce. Hip eCommerce has the right, in its sole discretion, to change or cancel these Promotion Terms in whole or in part at any time, including retroactively, without notice. Unless otherwise indicated, in any calendar month, you are limited to at most one thousand dollars ($1,000.00 USD) in aggregate under all Hip eCommerce Promotions.

How to Earn Rewards

To earn Rewards pursuant to a Rewards Offer, you must: (1) complete the online purchase in an amount equal or greater to the Minimum Purchase Amount; (2) satisfy any other conditions specified for the Promotion; and (3) claim the Reward within seven days, as specified in the Promotion, or if not specified otherwise, by emailing support@hipecommerce.com. This process does not involve Hip eCommerce in the actual transaction between buyer and seller but is solely aimed at rewarding the participant for meeting the specified conditions. Upon verification that your purchase qualifies and that you have satisfied applicable requirements, the Reward specified for the applicable Rewards Offer will be sent to you within thirty days (although it will generally be sooner), unless otherwise specified.

For any Reward, if you return the items purchased, the transaction is canceled, complete your purchase after the Promotion Period, or fail to satisfy the Minimum Purchase Amount or any other conditions specified by the Promotion, Hip eCommerce reserves the right to invalidate the Rewards Offer, in which case Hip eCommerce may ask for a return of the Rewards Offer, which you will be legally required to return if asked. The determination of whether or not a purchase qualifies for the Rewards Offer and whether applicable conditions have been satisfied is at the sole discretion of Hip eCommerce. Hip eCommerce also reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to reevaluate approved Rewards, at any time, without notice, including, but not limited to, whether purchases qualify for the Promotion and whether applicable conditions have been satisfied, and Hip eCommerce, in its sole discretion, may adjust any Rewards Offers or any Approved Rewards, at any time, without notice. All decisions by Hip eCommerce are final and binding on you.

Participating in a Rewards Offer does not give you ownership or any other legal claim to any Reward unless and until Hip eCommerce, in its sole discretion, determines that you have met all eligibility criteria and fulfilled all requirements for the Promotion and you have completed the redemption process. Rewards Offers are provided solely by Hip eCommerce and are not underwritten or funded by any other third party. You may not make any claims for Rewards Offers against Sellers or any other third party.

Promotions Release

BY PARTICIPATION IN ANY PROMOTION, YOU AGREE TO RELEASE AND HOLD HARMLESS HIP ECOMMERCE, THE SELLER AND EACH OF THEIR RESPECTIVE SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, SUPPLIERS, DISTRIBUTORS, AND ADVERTISING/PROMOTION AGENCIES, AND EACH OF THEIR RESPECTIVE PARENT COMPANIES AND EACH SUCH COMPANY’S OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES AND AGENTS (COLLECTIVELY, THE “RELEASED PARTIES”) FROM AND AGAINST ANY CLAIM OR CAUSE OF ACTION, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PERSONAL INJURY, DEATH, OR DAMAGE TO OR LOSS OF PROPERTY, ARISING OUT OF PARTICIPATION IN THE PROMOTION OR RECEIPT OR USE OR MISUSE OF ANY REWARDS OFFER.

Additional Conditions

Hip eCommerce reserves the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Promotion, or any part of it or the payment of any Rewards amounts, if any fraud, technical failures, gaming, human error or any other factor impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Promotion, as determined by Hip eCommerce in its sole discretion. Hip eCommerce reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify or suspend payments to any individual it finds, or reasonably suspects, to be tampering with the operation of the Promotion or to be acting in violation of the Promotion Terms of this or any other promotion or in an unethical, dishonest, deceptive or disruptive manner. Any attempt by any person to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Promotion may be in violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, Hip eCommerce reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. Hip eCommerce’s failure to enforce any term of these Promotion Terms shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.

Use of any automated system to participate is prohibited and will result in disqualification. In the event of any dispute as to the qualification of potential recipients of a Reward, the authorized account holder of the email address used to register will be deemed the qualified recipient. The “authorized account holder” is the natural person assigned an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted address. Each potential recipient of Rewards may be required to show proof of being an authorized account holder.

Promotions Disclaimer

THE RELEASED PARTIES ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR: (1) ANY INCORRECT OR INACCURATE INFORMATION, WHETHER CAUSED BY YOU, TYPOGRAPHIC ERRORS OR BY ANY OF THE EQUIPMENT OR PROGRAMMING ASSOCIATED WITH OR UTILIZED IN THE PROMOTION; (2) TECHNICAL FAILURES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO MALFUNCTIONS, INTERRUPTIONS, OR DISCONNECTIONS IN PHONE LINES OR NETWORK HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE; (3) UNAUTHORIZED HUMAN INTERVENTION IN ANY PART OF THE PROMOTION; (4) TECHNICAL OR HUMAN ERROR WHICH MAY OCCUR IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE PROMOTION; OR (5) ANY INJURY OR DAMAGE TO PERSONS OR PROPERTY WHICH MAY BE CAUSED, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, FROM YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THE PROMOTION OR RECEIPT OR USE OR MISUSE OF ANY REWARDS. IF FOR ANY REASON YOUR ONLINE PURCHASE IS NOT RECORDED, ERRONEOUSLY DELETED, LOST, OR OTHERWISE DESTROYED OR CORRUPTED, YOUR SOLE REMEDY IS TO COMPLETE ANOTHER PURCHASE DURING THE PROMOTION.

Contact

Authorization to Contact You; Recording Calls

Hip eCommerce may contact you using autodialed or prerecorded calls and text messages, at any telephone number that you have provided us, to: (i) notify you regarding your account; (ii) troubleshoot problems with your account; (iii) resolve a dispute; (iv) collect a debt; (v) poll your opinions through surveys or questionnaires; or (vi) as otherwise necessary to service your account or enforce this User Agreement, our policies, applicable law, or any other agreement we may have with you. Hip eCommerce may also contact you using autodialed or prerecorded calls and text messages for marketing purposes (e.g., offers and promotions), if you consent to such communications. As described in our User Privacy Notice, Hip eCommerce may collect other telephone numbers for you and may place manual non-marketing calls to any of those numbers and autodialed non-marketing calls to any landline. Standard telephone minute and text charges may apply and may include overage fees if you have exceeded your plan limits. If you do not wish to receive such communications, you may change your communications preference at any time, including through the communication preferences section of your Hip eCommerce Members Area.

Hip eCommerce may share your telephone number with its authorized service providers as stated in our User Privacy Notice. These service providers may contact you using autodialed or prerecorded calls and text messages, only as authorized by Hip eCommerce to carry out the purposes we have identified above.
Hip eCommerce may, without further notice or warning and in its discretion, monitor or record telephone conversations you or anyone acting on your behalf has with Hip eCommerce or its agents for quality control and training purposes or for its own protection.

Privacy of Others; Marketing

If Hip eCommerce provides you with information about another user, you agree you will use the information only for the purposes it is provided to you. You may not disclose, sell, rent, or distribute a user's information to a third party for purposes unrelated to the Services. Additionally, you may not use information for marketing purposes outside of the Services, via electronic or other means, unless you obtain the consent of the specific user to do so.

Disputes with Other Users

Release

If you have a dispute with one or more users, you release us (and our affiliates and subsidiaries, and our and their respective officers, directors, employees and agents) from claims, demands and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown, arising out of or in any way connected with such disputes. In entering into this release you expressly waive any protections (whether statutory or otherwise) that would otherwise limit the coverage of this release to include only those claims which you may know or suspect to exist in your favor at the time of agreeing to this release.

Disputes with Hip eCommerce

PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY. IT AFFECTS YOUR RIGHTS AND WILL HAVE A SUBSTANTIAL IMPACT ON HOW CLAIMS YOU AND HIP ECOMMERCE HAVE AGAINST EACH OTHER ARE RESOLVED.

You and Hip eCommerce agree that any claim or dispute at law or equity that has arisen or may arise between us relating in any way to or arising out of this or previous versions of the Hip eCommerce User Agreement, your use of or access to the Services, or any products or services sold or purchased through the Services, will be resolved in accordance with the provisions set forth in this Legal Disputes Section.

Applicable Law

You agree that, except to the extent inconsistent with or preempted by federal law, the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to principles of conflict of laws, will govern the User Agreement and any claim or dispute that has arisen or may arise between you and Hip eCommerce, except as otherwise stated in the User Agreement.

Agreement to Arbitrate

You and Hip eCommerce each agree that any and all disputes or claims that have arisen or may arise between you and Hip eCommerce relating in any way to or arising out of this or previous versions of the User Agreement, your use of or access to Hip eCommerce's Services, or any products or services sold, offered, or purchased through Hip eCommerce's Services shall be resolved exclusively through final and binding arbitration, rather than in court. Alternatively, you may assert your claims in small claims court, if your claims qualify and so long as the matter remains in such court and advances only on an individual (non-class, non-representative) basis. The Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this Agreement to Arbitrate.

1. Prohibition of Class and Representative Actions and Non-Individualized Relief
YOU AND HIP ECOMMERCE AGREE THAT EACH OF US MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION OR PROCEEDING. UNLESS BOTH YOU AND HIP ECOMMERCE AGREE OTHERWISE, THE ARBITRATOR MAY NOT CONSOLIDATE OR JOIN MORE THAN ONE PERSON'S OR PARTY'S CLAIMS, AND MAY NOT OTHERWISE PRESIDE OVER ANY FORM OF A CONSOLIDATED, REPRESENTATIVE, OR CLASS PROCEEDING. ALSO, THE ARBITRATOR MAY AWARD RELIEF (INCLUDING MONETARY, INJUNCTIVE, AND DECLARATORY RELIEF) ONLY IN FAVOR OF THE INDIVIDUAL PARTY SEEKING RELIEF AND ONLY TO THE EXTENT NECESSARY TO PROVIDE RELIEF NECESSITATED BY THAT PARTY'S INDIVIDUAL CLAIM(S). ANY RELIEF AWARDED CANNOT AFFECT OTHER USERS.

2. Arbitration Procedures
Arbitration is more informal than a lawsuit in court. Arbitration uses a neutral arbitrator instead of a judge or jury, and court review of an arbitration award is very limited. However, an arbitrator can award the same damages and relief on an individual basis that a court can award to an individual. An arbitrator should apply the terms of the User Agreement as a court would. All issues are for the arbitrator to decide, except that issues relating to arbitrability, the scope or enforceability of this Agreement to Arbitrate, or the interpretation of Section 1 of this Agreement to Arbitrate ("Prohibition of Class and Representative Actions and Non-Individualized Relief"), shall be for a court of competent jurisdiction to decide.

The arbitration will be conducted by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") under its rules and procedures, including the AAA's Consumer Arbitration Rules (as applicable), as modified by this Agreement to Arbitrate. The AAA's rules are available at www.adr.org or by calling the AAA at 1-800-778-7879. The use of the word "arbitrator" in this provision shall not be construed to prohibit more than one arbitrator from presiding over an arbitration: rather, the AAA's rules will govern the number of arbitrators that may preside over an arbitration conducted under this Agreement to Arbitrate.

A party who intends to seek arbitration must first send to the other, by certified mail, a completed form Notice of Dispute ("Notice"). The Notice to Hip eCommerce should be sent to our address found in the Contact Us section of our website. Hip eCommerce will send any Notice to you to the physical address we have on file associated with your Hip eCommerce account; it is your responsibility to keep your physical address up to date. All information called for in the Notice must be provided, including a description of the nature and basis of the claims the party is asserting and the relief sought.

If you and Hip eCommerce are unable to resolve the claims described in the Notice within 30 days after the Notice is sent, you or Hip eCommerce may initiate arbitration proceedings. A form for initiating arbitration proceedings is available on the AAA's site at www.adr.org. In addition to filing this form with the AAA in accordance with its rules and procedures, the party initiating the arbitration must mail a copy of the completed form to the opposing party. You may send a copy to Hip eCommerce at our address found in the Contact Us section of our website. In the event Hip eCommerce initiates an arbitration against you, it will send a copy of the completed form to the physical address we have on file associated with your Hip eCommerce account. Any settlement offer made by you or Hip eCommerce shall not be disclosed to the arbitrator.

The arbitration hearing shall be held in the county in which you reside or at another mutually agreed location. If the value of the relief sought is $10,000 or less, you or Hip eCommerce may elect to have the arbitration conducted by telephone or based solely on written submissions, which election shall be binding on you and Hip eCommerce subject to the arbitrator's discretion to require an in-person hearing, if the circumstances warrant. In cases where an in-person hearing is held, you and/or Hip eCommerce may attend by telephone, unless the arbitrator requires otherwise.

The arbitrator will decide the substance of all claims in accordance with applicable law, including recognized principles of equity, and will honor all claims of privilege recognized by law. The arbitrator shall not be bound by rulings in prior arbitrations involving different users, but is bound by rulings in prior arbitrations involving the same Hip eCommerce user to the extent required by applicable law. The arbitrator's award shall be final and binding and judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof.

3. Costs of Arbitration
Payment of all filing, administration and arbitrator fees will be governed by the AAA's rules, unless otherwise stated in this Agreement to Arbitrate. If the value of the relief sought is $10,000 or less, at your request, Hip eCommerce will pay all filing, administration, and arbitrator fees associated with the arbitration. Any request for payment of fees by Hip eCommerce should be submitted by mail to the AAA along with your Demand for Arbitration and Hip eCommerce will make arrangements to pay all necessary fees directly to the AAA. In the event the arbitrator determines the claim(s) you assert in the arbitration to be frivolous, you agree to reimburse Hip eCommerce for all fees associated with the arbitration paid by Hip eCommerce on your behalf that you otherwise would be obligated to pay under the AAA's rules.

4. Severability
With the exception of any of the provisions in Section 1 of this Agreement to Arbitrate ("Prohibition of Class and Representative Actions and Non-Individualized Relief"), if an arbitrator or court decides that any part of this Agreement to Arbitrate is invalid or unenforceable, the other parts of this Agreement to Arbitrate shall still apply. If an arbitrator or court decides that any of the provisions in Section 1 of this Agreement to Arbitrate ("Prohibition of Class and Representative Actions and Non-Individualized Relief") is invalid or unenforceable, then the entirety of this Agreement to Arbitrate shall be null and void. The remainder of the Agreement and its Legal Disputes Section will continue to apply.

5. Future Amendments to the Agreement to Arbitrate
Notwithstanding any provision in the User Agreement to the contrary, you and we agree that if we make any amendment to this Agreement to Arbitrate (other than an amendment to any notice address or site link provided herein) in the future, that amendment shall not apply to any claim that was filed in a legal proceeding against Hip eCommerce prior to the effective date of the amendment. The amendment shall apply to all other disputes or claims governed by the Agreement to Arbitrate that have arisen or may arise between you and Hip eCommerce. We will notify you of amendments to this Agreement to Arbitrate by posting the amended terms on our website at least 30 days before the effective date of the amendments and by providing notice through the Hip eCommerce Message Center and/or by email. If you do not agree to these amended terms, you may close your account within the 30 day period and you will not be bound by the amended terms.

C. Judicial Forum for Legal Disputes
Unless you and we agree otherwise, in the event that the Agreement to Arbitrate above is found not to apply to you or to a particular claim or dispute, either as a result of your decision to opt out of the Agreement to Arbitrate or as a result of a decision by the arbitrator or a court order, you agree that any claim or dispute that has arisen or may arise between you and Hip eCommerce must be resolved exclusively by a state or federal court located in Delaware. You and Hip eCommerce agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of the courts located within Delaware for the purpose of litigating all such claims or disputes.

Changes to the Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. Changes are effective upon the posting of the changes. Your use of the Services following the changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms. You are responsible for becoming familiar with any changes. In the event that we believe the changes to our terms are material, we may highlight these changes to you by sending you an email or notification about the changes.

Some Finer Legal Points

The Terms, including all of the policies that make up the Terms, supersede any other agreement between you and Hip eCommerce regarding the Services. If any part of the Terms is found to be unenforceable, that part will be limited to the minimum extent necessary so that the Terms will otherwise remain in full force and effect.

Our failure to act with respect to a breach by you or others does not waive our right to act with respect to subsequent or similar breaches. We do not guarantee we will take action against all breaches of this User Agreement. We may assign any of our rights and obligations under the Terms.

Headings are for reference purposes only and do not limit the scope or extent of such Section.

Our Contact Information

If you have any questions about the Terms, please email us at: support@hipecommerce.com

Last Updated: Jun 23, 2023