Terms of Service

Not legal advice. These Terms are a practical summary of how we intend the Platform to work for users in the United States. State and local laws may also apply. If you need advice, consult a qualified attorney. By using The DropMuse (the “Platform”), you confirm that you are at least 18 years of age. If you are under 18, you may not use the Platform. By using the Platform, you agree to these Terms and our Privacy Policy.

1. The Platform — marketplace role

The DropMuse is a marketplace platform. We connect independent buyers and sellers. We are not the seller of record for third-party listings, and we do not take title to goods listed by users except where we expressly state otherwise.

What we provide: technology, listing tools, messaging, payment processing (through third-party providers such as Stripe), and optional procedures to help resolve disputes (for example, reports, refund requests, and admin review). These tools are provided for convenience only and do not guarantee any particular outcome.

What sellers are responsible for: the accuracy of listings, the item itself, packaging, shipping and delivery, import/export duties where applicable, taxes they owe, intellectual property and rights in their content, and compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. Shipping incidents are primarily seller-side responsibility in relation to the carrier and (if used) shipping insurance, with buyer remedies handled through platform dispute tools and applicable law.

What buyers are responsible for: reading listings, price, options, seller policies, and delivery estimates; providing accurate shipping information; and using the Platform’s dispute tools in good faith.

Geographic limits (orders): The Platform currently supports orders only for shipments to the United States. To enforce this limit, we may rely on the shipping address provided at checkout, the billing/checkout address, and the payment method’s issuing country information available through our payment providers; IP address alone is generally insufficient.

No warranty from us on third-party listings: We do not warrant or guarantee any listing’s quality, fitness, authenticity, or delivery. Any statement to the contrary on the Platform is not intended to override this section except where prohibited by law.

Items not sold through the Platform: We do not track, verify, or maintain provenance or transaction history for goods that were not sold through The DropMuse. Listings and order history on the Platform apply only to sales completed here.

Off-platform sales notice: Attempting to conduct sales outside this platform may result in account restrictions. Please note that artworks traded externally are not tracked, and ownership cannot be verified.

Account policy — one person, one account

Single account. Each user may create and use only one account on the Platform. You must not register, operate, or control multiple accounts for yourself or on behalf of the same person to evade limits, fees, reviews, enforcement, or any other Platform rule.

Stripe Connect and identity matching. After you complete Stripe Connect onboarding for payouts, we run an automated check (before payouts can clear our policy gates) using data Stripe provides about your connected account. We store and compare non-reversible hashes and encrypted fields—not full bank account numbers in plain text—such as bank fingerprint–class signals, routing/last4 composites where available, external account tokens, and (when present) SSN last four + date of birth + legal name signals, to detect reuse across DropMuse accounts. A match against a different account is treated as the same person.

If a duplicate payout identity is detected. We may ban the offending account, place all pending seller payouts for that account into an open platform dispute / hold, and freeze related funds for review. Resolution timing is at our administrators’ discretion; we do not guarantee an automatic payout date. In practice operators may take substantial time to review (for example on the order of thirty (30) days or longer), but that is guidance only and not a fixed platform rule or auto-release. Payout accounts that violate policy may also be suspended or reclaimed under Stripe’s rules and our enforcement.

Enforcement. If we reasonably determine that the same individual (or coordinated parties) has created or used multiple accounts, we may restrict, suspend, or terminate any or all related accounts, with or without prior notice, to the extent permitted by law.

Funds and remediation. Where permitted by law and by our payment providers’ rules, we may withhold, offset, claw back, or reverse payouts, fees, credits, or other amounts tied to prohibited multi-account use or abusive activity, and we may take other steps to correct unfair outcomes on the marketplace.

Consolidation and closure. If we deem it necessary for integrity, safety, or compliance, we may merge duplicate accounts or permanently close excess or redundant accounts at our reasonable discretion, including by attributing activity, listings, and orders to a single retained account where feasible.

Shop listings — unique items; no duplicate listings for the same art

Each primary (artist) shop listing represents one unique physical item for sale. Sellers may not create multiple separate shop listings for the same identical physical artwork (parallel storefront entries for the same piece or the same edition run presented as if it were different listings). If you have another genuinely separate physical copy to sell, it must be a different listing for that different object—not a duplicate storefront entry for the same piece. We may consolidate listings, remove duplicates, or restrict accounts when this rule is abused. Anyone may report suspected duplicates via Report this listing → Duplicated listing.

Resale of works sold here

Resale is part of the marketplace. Physical art and related goods that are sold through The DropMuse (primary / artist sales) may be listed for resale by the buyer who received them, using the Platform’s collector resale features, when eligible. This helps collectors trade works that were originally purchased here.

Your consent at sign-up: When you register as a seller, you must confirm (checkbox recorded on your account) that you understand and agree that buyers who purchase your physical listings on the Platform may use resale features for those items in line with these Terms and our policies. That record supports clarity for all parties; it does not replace compliance with law or third-party rights you may have outside the Platform.

Who ships and answers for resale orders: In a collector resale sale, the collector (reseller) is the seller for that transaction—fulfillment, packaging, carrier, tracking, and delivery are their responsibility. Loss, damage in transit, or disputes over condition for that shipment are primarily between the buyer and the reseller, not the original artist. See Shipping policy and Returns & refunds.

Original artist / primary seller: Except where law says otherwise, the original artist (or primary seller) is not responsible for a later resale transaction they did not fulfill. A buyer who is unhappy with a resale purchase should resolve the matter with the reseller and the Platform’s dispute tools for that order—not treat the original creator as the counterparty for that resale.

Artist buyback on resale: The original primary seller (artist) for a work may not purchase that same work when it is listed on the Platform’s collector resale market, even if another collector is the reseller. Purchase is not offered for that case and checkout is blocked server-side. This limits self-dealing and keeps the resale counterparty clear (buyer ↔ collector-reseller).

Remedies and enforcement: We may remove content, suspend or terminate accounts, withhold or reverse payouts when permitted by law and payment-provider rules, and cooperate with lawful requests. Nothing in these Terms requires us to police every listing or message, but we may take action to protect users and the integrity of the Platform.

Resale listing vs. refunds on the same purchase order; refunds/disputes vs. new resale. If you list a purchased item for collector resale on the Platform, refunds and exchanges for that same checkout order (artist primary or collector resale) are not available thereafter—including after you remove or sell the resale listing—because the Platform records that the work entered the resale channel. Separately, while an open refund request, platform dispute, certain post-rejection follow-ups, or card chargeback is pending on the purchase order that created your ownership, you generally cannot create or re-activate a resale listing for that item; the system may also pause or delist existing resale rows tied to that purchase until the case is resolved. See Returns & refunds.

Buyer cancellation before seller acceptance

While your order is in pending or paid status and the seller has not yet accepted, you may cancel and receive an unconditional full refund — no reason required. Once the seller accepts, cancellation is subject to the seller's stated refund policy. See Returns — seller refund policies and FAQ.

Seller refund policies

All listings on the Platform are subject to the platform's minimum protection policy. Refunds are available in the following cases:

• Non-delivery — item was not received.
• Damage — item arrived damaged.
• Not as described — item materially differs from the listing.

The platform's minimum protection applies to all transactions. See Returns & refunds for full detail.

2. Suspension and termination

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Platform, any feature, or any agreement relating to the Service, at any time, with or without cause or notice, to the extent permitted by law. This includes ending accounts, removing listings, or stopping the Service entirely. You may stop using the Platform at any time.

Discretion; policy and risk. We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts at our sole discretion, including in cases of policy violations or elevated risk. In such cases, access to the Platform may be restricted or revoked, except where necessary to complete existing transactions.

Monitoring and risk assessment. We may monitor account activity and assess risk using internal systems. Accounts may be restricted, suspended, or terminated based on violations of our policies or elevated risk signals.

Changes and discontinuation of the Service. The Platform (including any feature, listing tools, or area of the site) may be modified, suspended, or discontinued in whole or in part at any time, with or without notice, for any reason including business decisions. We are not liable for any loss resulting from such changes or discontinuation, to the extent permitted by law.

3. No warranty; “as is”

The Platform and all content are provided “as is” and “as available”, without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement, except where prohibited by law.

4. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, The DropMuse and its operators, affiliates, and suppliers shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for loss of profits, data, or goodwill, arising from or related to your use of the Platform, any transaction, or any dispute between users.

Our total liability for any claim arising from these Terms or the Platform shall not exceed the greater of (a) the amounts you paid to us in fees for the transaction giving rise to the claim in the three (3) months before the claim, or (b) USD $100, if applicable.

5. Indemnity

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless The DropMuse and its operators from claims, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising from your content, your listings, your use of the Platform, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of third-party rights.

6. Disputes between users

Disputes between buyers and sellers (including shipping, quality, refunds, and chargebacks) are between those users. The Platform may provide tools (messages, refund requests, admin review) for convenience only and does not guarantee any outcome.

Dispute quota. Each party (buyer and seller) may open a maximum of two (2) platform disputes per order. Quotas are tracked independently — the buyer's quota and the seller's quota do not affect each other. Disputes opened by platform administrators for mediation purposes do not count toward either party's quota. Once a party's quota is fully used, that party may no longer initiate further disputes on that order through the platform tools; resolution at that stage is subject to platform admin review and a binding administrative decision. The Platform reserves the right to adjust these limits on a per-account or per-order basis in cases involving abuse, fraud, or exceptional circumstances.

Inactivity and administrative resolution. If a party fails to respond to a platform communication or take a required action within 7 calendar days, the Platform may treat the inaction as acceptance of the pending resolution and proceed accordingly. The 7-day period begins when the Platform sends a notification to the relevant party via the platform's messaging system or registered email. Where a binding administrative decision is issued due to inactivity or quota exhaustion, such decision is final within the platform. These decisions do not affect any rights you may have under applicable law.

Card-issuer chargebacks and platform tools. Filing a chargeback with your card issuer is your right under applicable law; nothing in these Terms restricts that right. However, where a card-issuer chargeback is filed on an order, the Platform's in-app refund-request and dispute tools for that order may be limited or unavailable during and after the chargeback process. If the chargeback is resolved in the seller's favor by the card issuer, the in-app refund-request feature for that order will not be available for the remainder of the order protection period. The Platform recommends using in-app dispute tools first — they are typically faster and may resolve the issue without bank involvement.

7. Disputes with the Platform; governing law

If you have a dispute with us, you agree to try good-faith contact first. Any claim against the Platform shall be governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict-of-law rules, except where required otherwise by mandatory consumer protection laws in your country of residence.

Class action waiver. To the extent permitted by law, disputes must be brought in an individual capacity, not as a plaintiff or class member in any class or representative proceeding.

8. Payments and payouts

Payments, identity verification, and payouts may be processed by third parties (e.g. Stripe). You agree to their terms. Platform fees range from 4.0% to 4.9% of the listing price depending on your seller tier, as shown in the dashboard at the time of listing. Refunds and fee recovery (including fees on refunded transactions) are as described in the product flow and dashboard. Payouts may be available only after sales are final and eligibility rules are met.

Stripe Connect timing. Even when tier-based payout windows (e.g. 14–21 calendar days after delivery confirm, subject to tier and disputes) have already passed, first completing Stripe Connect does not make payouts instant: our systems apply a twenty-four (24) hour cooldown from successful Connect onboarding (after duplicate-identity checks pass) before seller payout eligibility dates may take effect. See also FAQ — payouts, identity, Connect.

Seller adjustment balance (refunds & fees)

Adjustment on your seller dashboard reflects amounts we record as owed back to the Platform from refunds and fee recovery. On a completed refund, we typically add the platform fee plus an estimated Stripe card processing fee (same 2.9% + $0.30 basis as checkout on the order total; actual Stripe fees may vary). If your seller payout for that order had already become eligible (or funds were already notionally owed to you under our rules), we may also add your seller share so the buyer can be made whole — so post-payout cases can include platform fee + estimated card fee + seller amount. These amounts may be recovered from your future earnings or payouts according to our policies and payment-provider rules. Issuer (card) chargebacks are addressed under Issuer chargebacks — seller share of Stripe dispute fees below.

If your account has a negative balance due to refunds or fees, we may recover the amount from future earnings or restrict account activity until the balance is cleared, to the extent permitted by law and by our agreements with payment providers.

Listing suspension threshold. When your outstanding balance reaches or exceeds $300, the Platform will automatically hide all of your active listings (both artist shop and collector resale) until your balance drops below that amount. Hidden listings are automatically restored once your balance is reduced — either by future payouts offsetting the amount or by a direct payment from your seller dashboard. Existing accepted orders and associated payouts are not affected by the suspension. The threshold may be updated; any change will be reflected in these Terms. You will be notified by email and in-app notification when an adjustment is added to your account and when a suspension is applied.

Issuer chargebacks — seller share of Stripe dispute fees

Seller-attributable disputes. Where a dispute or chargeback arises from or is tied to your sale (including shipping, item condition, authenticity, or fulfillment issues attributable to you as seller for that order), you agree that you bear the economic risk of that dispute as between you and the Platform, to the extent permitted by law and payment-provider rules. We may record pass-through amounts on your seller ledger (for example under Adjustment / amounts owed to the Platform) covering the disputed payment amounts allocated to you, Stripe processing and dispute fees we associate with that order, and reasonable internal administrative costs we incur to process the case (charged as part of the same recovery mechanism).

How recovery works. We may offset these amounts against future payouts or other amounts we owe you, may require you to pay outstanding balances, and may restrict features or payouts until balances are cleared. Your dashboard may show a negative net position until amounts are recovered. Actual Stripe fee lines can vary by case and region; we may rely on Stripe-reported balances, dispute outcomes, and our internal records when allocating amounts to an order and seller.

Platform as dispute respondent; evidence submission on your behalf. Because The DropMuse (not the individual seller) is the merchant of record with Stripe, all card-network disputes are responded to by the Platform — not by you directly. By using the Platform and accepting payment through it, you authorize The DropMuse to collect, compile, and submit evidence to Stripe (or any other payment processor) on your behalf in connection with any chargeback or dispute relating to your sale, without requiring your separate approval for each submission. You agree to cooperate promptly by providing relevant evidence (shipping records, tracking confirmations, communications, etc.) when requested. Failure to cooperate may impair the Platform’s ability to contest the dispute and may affect the outcome of the recovery process described above.

No buyer “double recovery” from this pass-through. Amounts described here are for platform and seller-side accounting after card-network outcomes; they are not a substitute for the buyer’s rights with their bank or issuer.

No second account to evade a negative adjustment. If your seller account shows an adjustment balance (including when amounts owed put you in a net-negative position with respect to payouts), you must not register or use another DropMuse account to bypass that balance, payout holds, or enforcement. We may use identity and payout signals from Stripe and other providers to detect related accounts. See also One person, one account and FAQ — seller dashboard stats.

9. Changes

We may update these Terms. We will post the updated effective date at the bottom of this page. Where changes are material, we may provide additional notice (for example, by email or an in-product message). Continued use after changes means you accept the updated Terms where permitted by law.

10. Contact

For questions about these Terms, email [email protected] or use the contact options on Customer support.

11. Prohibited content (including adult / NSFW)

You may not upload, list, post, transmit, or sell any content that is pornographic or intended to be sexually arousing, or that we reasonably deem adult-oriented. This includes:

• Explicit sexual acts, nudity intended for arousal, and sexually graphic images or descriptions
• Sexual violence or exploitation (including rape, coercion, or non-consensual content)
• Bestiality, incest, and underage/“barely legal” or age-ambiguous sexual content
• Fetish content presented in an explicit, sexually graphic manner
• Any illegal or harmful content, including content that facilitates wrongdoing

We enforce a no-NSFW standard for public listings. We may remove listings, block features, or suspend and terminate accounts when we believe a violation occurred. Repeated violations may result in permanent termination. We may act quickly when safety or legal compliance is at risk.

12. Message and community conduct

Full conduct standards are covered in our Community Guidelines, which are incorporated into these Terms by reference. The summary below applies to messaging specifically.

You must keep messages respectful and lawful. You may not use messaging to send:

• Harassment, threats, hate content, or discriminatory abuse
• Sexual or adult content intended to arouse, or explicit sexual language
• Off-platform payment requests or instructions intended to bypass our systems
• Scams, phishing attempts, or instructions facilitating fraud

If you receive prohibited content, do not engage. Use our reporting tools for listings and include evidence (screenshots, URLs, and relevant context). The Platform may restrict or remove content and accounts to protect users.

13. AML, fraud prevention, and risk review

To help prevent fraud, money laundering, and abusive or unsafe behavior, The DropMuse may monitor orders, shipping details, and message content for suspicious patterns. When we detect risk indicators (such as high-value or unusual purchasing patterns, repeated shipping address reuse, or off-platform payment requests), we may require additional verification (for example, phone verification and identity verification through our payment providers) and may temporarily limit order placement while a review is performed.

Off-platform “cash/P2P” instructions are not allowed for payments through the Platform. If you are asked to move money or complete payment outside our systems, you should not comply and should report the conversation.

14. IP rights, AI disclosures, and DMCA (U.S.)

By uploading or listing content, sellers represent and warrant that they own the rights in that content or have all required licenses/permissions (including for references, source assets, model inputs/outputs, and derivative works where applicable). If you cannot prove rights, do not list.

AI declaration

If AI tools were used in creating this item, you confirm that you have the necessary rights to use and sell the output. You are responsible for ensuring compliance with applicable licenses and laws.

For AI-assisted works, sellers must provide truthful disclosure about source basis, licensing/permission status, and material human modification. Misrepresentation may result in listing removal, account limits, payout hold, and legal escalation.

For U.S. copyright claims, The DropMuse supports notice-based handling (including DMCA-style intake, review, and repeat-infringer enforcement where appropriate). We may disable access to disputed listings while claims are reviewed.

DMCA designated agent

To submit a copyright infringement notice, contact our designated agent:

Email: [email protected]

Your notice must include: (1) identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed; (2) identification of the infringing material and its location on our site; (3) your contact information; (4) a statement of good faith belief that use of the material is not authorized by the copyright owner; (5) a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on their behalf; and (6) your physical or electronic signature.

Content and marketing license

By uploading content (images, listings, or other materials) to The DropMuse, sellers grant The DropMuse a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, display, reproduce, and promote this content across the platform, marketing materials, and social media channels. The platform may give appropriate credit to the seller where feasible, but is not required to obtain additional consent for promotional purposes.

This license does not transfer ownership; sellers retain full intellectual property rights to their content. Sellers remain responsible for ensuring that uploaded content does not violate third-party rights.

15. Shipping incidents and platform role in disputes

As a marketplace connector, The DropMuse is not the carrier and is not the direct shipper. Sellers remain primarily responsible for fulfillment quality, packaging, tracking, and carrier claim handling. The Platform may provide dispute tooling and evidence exchange but does not guarantee a specific outcome beyond applicable law and documented policy.

16. Cancellation, refund abuse, and high-risk orders

The Platform may require evidence (for example tracking events, return proof, condition evidence) for cancellation/refund claims. Repeated abusive behavior (intentional cancellations, suspicious return patterns, repeated address anomalies, payment evasion attempts) may lead to warnings, temporary ordering limits, account suspension, and additional verification requirements.

Current operating baseline (subject to legal/operational updates): higher-value orders around USD 700+ may receive additional review, orders around USD 1,000+ may require stricter verification, and repeated cancellation abuse may trigger temporary ordering limits (for example, around 72 hours).

Effective from: June 1, 2026