Vendor Policy

‘Gramersi’ and ‘Gramersi.com’ are trading names of Gramersi Ltd (“Business”). Gramersi Ltd is a company that is registered in England and Wales. Our company number is 14103370. Our registered office address is 26 Bonaire, City Island, Leeds, LS12 1DL.

These terms (“The Terms”) are a legally-binding contract between you (the “Vendor”) and Gramersi.

This contract sets out your rights and responsibilities when you use Gramersi, and any other services provided by us (we’ll refer to all of these collectively as our “Services”). By using any of our Services, you are agreeing to these terms:

  • Our Privacy Policy;
  • Our Market Research Policy;
  • Our Fees Policy;
  • Our Content Policy;
  • How We Deal With Intellectual Property;
  • Creating A Vendor Account/Profile On Gramersi;
  • Our Vendor Policy;
  • Refunds, Returns, Cases, and Complaints;
  • Legal.

In addition to this vendor policy, all users of Gramersi’s services are also bound by our terms of use.

*****

Our Privacy Policy

Privacy (In A Marketplace Context)

Gramersi’s marketplace enables vendors to create their own shop on our platform.

Because we’re a marketplace, we will never hold any stock for any of the vendors we feature. We merely provide the technology to enable vendors to sell their products on our platform. This means that when vendors list their products on Gramersi, they are selling to customers (“Shoppers”) directly, meaning that the responsibility to facilitate the order(s) sits with the vendor.

Both Gramersi and vendors process shopper’s personal information (for example, shopper name, email address, and delivery address), and are therefore considered separate and independent data controllers of shopper’s personal information under UK law.

For Gramersi Marketplace Vendors

Gramersi’s marketplace vendors are responsible for protecting any shopper’s personal information that you receive or process, and you must comply with all relevant legal requirements. This includes applicable data protection and privacy laws that govern the ways in which you can use Gramersi user information.

These laws may require that you post and comply with your own privacy policy, which must be accessible to Gramersi users with whom you interact. Your privacy policy must be compatible with this policy, and Gramersi’s Terms of Use. In particular, when you sell using our services (subject to this policy), you may receive and determine what to do with personal information, such as communicating with users, and/or entering into transactions with Shoppers. 

This means that you’ll process personal information (for example, a shoppers name, email address, and delivery address) and to the extent that you do so, under UK law, you are an independent controller of data relating to other users that you may have obtained through the services. 

As a data controller (someone who decides what personal data is collected, and the purpose of which you’ll use the data for) to the extent that you process user personal information outside of the Services, you may be required under applicable data protection and privacy laws to honour requests received from such users for data access, portability, correction, deletion, and objections to processing. 

Also, if you disclose personal information without the shopper’s proper consent, you are responsible for that unauthorised disclosure. This includes any disclosures you make, and/or unintentional data breaches.

You may receive a shopper’s email address, or other information as a result of entering into a transaction with that shopper. This information may only be used for Gramersi-related communications, or for Gramersi-facilitated transactions. You may not use this information for unsolicited commercial messages, or for unauthorised transactions. 

Without the shopper’s consent, and subject to other applicable Gramersi policies and laws, you may not add any Gramersi member to your email or physical mailing list, use that shopper’s identity for marketing, or obtain and retain any payment information. Please bear in mind that you’re responsible for knowing the standard of consent required in any given circumstance. 

If Gramersi is sued, fined, or otherwise incurs expenses because of something you did as a joint data controller of any personal shopper information, you agree to indemnify Gramersi for the expenses it occurs, in connection with your processing of shopper personal information.

As a Gramersi vendor, if you sell in the UK, you may need to:

  • Create and comply with your own GDPR-compliant privacy policy, in addition to Gramersi’s policies;
  • Put your privacy policies in your terms and conditions;
  • Provide or delete your Shopper’s personal information (should they request it) if you’re storing or using it outside of Gramersi;
  • Adhere to applicable rules on being transparent with how you use shopper information for activites such as analytics, marketing, or sharing with third parties;
  • Consider consulting with a lawyer for guidance on how these new rules could directly affect you. 

*****

Our Fees Policy

Vendors will be charged for using some of our Services. There are fees associated with listing, selling, advertising on Gramersi. This policy explains your fees and taxes, and how to pay them. This policy is a part of our Terms of Use. By opening an Gramersi shop, you’re agreeing to this policy, and to our Terms of Use.

Vendors may be required to pay the following types of fees. Please note that all fees are listed exclusive of any value-added tax (VAT) or similar taxes that may apply. See the Taxes section below for further details.

Commission Fees

When you make a sale through Gramersi.com, you will be charged a commission fee of 15% of the price you display for each listing, plus the amount you charge for delivery and gift wrapping. Commission fees are deducted from the amount deposited to your connected Stripe account.

Payment Processing Fees

Gramersi uses Stripe Connect to process certain payments on Gramersi.com. Payment processing fees are charged at 0.20p (GBP) for each transaction made through Stripe.

Fee Avoidance

Any action by any vendor to avoid paying a fee is considered as “fee avoidance,” and is strictly prohibited by Gramersi. This includes, for example, encouraging shoppers to purchase an item in your Gramersi shop through another venue, or making a purchase of a cheaper item and taking the remaining payment via another method.

Any transaction initiated on Gramersi may not be completed off of Gramersi. The price stated in each listing description must be an accurate representation of the sale. Vendors may not alter the item’s price after a sale for the purpose of avoiding Gramersi transaction fees, misrepresent the item’s location, or use another user’s account without permission.

Paying Your Fees

Gramersi will automatically deduct all fees owed from the amount sent to your connected Stripe account. Your statement is available in your Vendor Dashboard at the beginning of each month, and this will detail all sales and fees activity from the preceding month.

Taxes

Aside from the limited circumstances set out below, you are responsible for collecting and paying any taxes associated with using and making sales through Gramersi services. Depending on your business status and location, Gramersi may be required to apply VAT on vendor fees charged and remit it to the relevant tax authority.

Gramersi Stripe Payments Policy

In order to accept payments on Gramersi, vendors will have to create a connected Stripe account through the vendor profile payments section. You will be asked to agree to Stripe’s contract as well as ours.

You are responsible for paying all fees that you owe to Gramersi. 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.

Where applicable, Gramersi will calculate, collect and remit value-added tax or VAT and sales tax. Some countries may refer to VAT using other terms, e.g. Goods and Services Tax (GST), but we’ll just refer to VAT, GST, and any local sales taxes collectively as “VAT”.

*****

Our Vendor Content Policy

Content that you post using our services is your content (so let’s refer to it as “Your Content”). We don’t make any claim to it. This includes anything you post using our services (such as shop names, profile pictures, listing photos, listing descriptions, reviews, comments, videos, and usernames, etc.). You agree to the following terms:

  • You understand that you are solely responsible for Your Content. You represent that you have all necessary rights to all parts of Your Content, and that you’re not infringing or violating any third party’s rights by posting it;
  • By posting Your Content through our services, you grant Gramersi a license to use it. We don’t claim any ownership to Your Content, but we have your permission to use it to help Gramersi function and grow. That way, we won’t infringe any rights you have in Your Content and we can help promote it. For example, you acknowledge and agree Gramersi may offer you or Gramersi Shoppers promotions on the Site, from time to time, that may relate to your listings;
  • By posting Your Content, you grant Gramersi a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, irrevocable, sub-licensable, perpetual license to use, display, edit, modify, reproduce, distribute, store, and prepare derivative works of Your Content. 

This allows us to provide the services and to promote Gramersi, your Gramersi shop, or the services in general, in any formats and through any channels, including across any Gramersi services, our partners, third-party websites, or advertising medium(s).

You Agree:

  • Not to assert any moral rights or rights of publicity against us for using Your Content;
  • To recognise our legitimate interest in using it, in accordance with the scope of this license, to the extent Your Content contains any personal information;
  • If you upload a photo or video of a listing on your Gramersi shop, we have permission to display it to shoppers, and we can resize or enhance it so it looks good to a shopper.

Our “Appropriate Photographs” Policy

At Gramersi.com, we take photographs very seriously.

For anyone that has ever been featured on the news section of our platform, you may recall that we ONLY accept images that are 1mb+. Also, when you read articles on the news section of our platform, you’ll notice that we’re quite specific about the type of photography we use in our articles.

Unfortunately, there have been times when we’ve had to turn a brand away, either because their photography was too low quality, or it just wasn’t professional enough. We have advised, and we’ll continue to advise ALL start-up founders to invest in professional founder shots, lifestyle shots, and product shots. It really does go a long way, and it’ll make a noticeable difference.

That being said, we are a platform that is rooted in giving start-ups a chance, so if you’re planning on setting up a vendor profile with us, although it isn’t a “hard rule,” in order to get the best out of your Gramersi vendor experience, we suggest the following:

  • Use high quality product and lifestyle shots in your product listings;
  • Edit them to an Instagram square-size (if possible). We recommend Canva for this.

Whilst we’ll do our best to facilitate start-ups that join with us, there may be rare incidents where we are forced to reject vendor profile applications, because ultimately, we have an image and a standard of quality that we want to uphold, and this will be done at our discretion.

****

Intellectual Property

If content that you own or have rights to has been posted to or on our services without your permission, and you want it removed, please follow the steps listed in our Intellectual Property Policy.

If Your Content is alleged to have infringed another person’s intellectual property, we will take appropriate action, such as disabling it if we receive a report of infringement that complies with our policies, or terminating your account if you are found to be a repeat infringer. We’ll notify you if any of that happens.

*****

Creating A Gramersi Vendor Account Profile:

Gramersi enables brands to sell their goods directly to Shoppers.

We want to make sure that you and your Shoppers have a positive experience on Gramersi. Read on to find out more about your rights, as well as what is expected of you, as a vendor. This policy is a part of our Terms of Use. By opening a Gramersi shop, you’re agreeing to this policy, and our Terms of Use.

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

  • You agree that you will not violate any laws in connection with your use of the services;
  • It is your responsibility to obtain any permits or licences that your business requires, and to meet applicable legal requirements in applicable jurisdiction(s).

This includes the sale and delivery of your items, such as:

– Age verification upon delivery, where required by law.

You may not sell anything that violates any laws. You must comply with our Terms, and you may not engage in fraud (including false claims or infringement notices), theft, anti-competitive conduct, threatening conduct, or any other unlawful acts or crimes against Gramersi, another Gramersi user, or a third party.

When you create an account on Gramersi.com, you agree to the following terms:

  • To provide accurate information about yourself. We prohibit the use false information or any attempt to impersonate another person or company through your account;
  • You may not use language that is offensive, vulgar, infringes someone’s intellectual property rights, or otherwise violates The Terms;
  • The Terms do not create any agency, partnership, joint venture, employment, or franchisee relationship between you and Gramersi;
  • You agree not to crawl, scrape, or spider any page of the Services or to reverse engineer or attempt to obtain the source code of the Services (including both Gramersi’s Intellectual Property and Vendor Content) without our express permission;
  • You agree not to interfere with or try to disrupt our Services, for example by distributing a virus, excessive requests to our site or platform, or other harmful computer code;
  • Follow our Trademark Policy;
  • Honour your Shop Policies;
  • Ensure your shop content, such as any text, photos or videos used to represent yourself, your shop or your listings, abide by Gramersi’s policies, including our Anti-Discrimination Policy;
  • Accurately represent your items in listings and listing photos;
  • Respect the intellectual property of others. If you feel someone has violated your intellectual property rights, you can report it to Gramersi;
  • Not engage in fee avoidance;
  • Not create duplicate shops or take any other action (such as manipulating clicks, baskets or sales) for the purpose of shilling, manipulating search or circumventing Gramersi’s policies;
  • Not coordinate pricing with other vendors;
  • Honour your dispatch and processing times. Vendors are obligated to dispatch an item or otherwise complete a transaction with a shoppers in a prompt manner, unless there is an exceptional circumstance. Please be aware that legal requirements for dispatch times vary by country;
  • Respond to Messages in a timely manner;
  • Resolve disagreements or disputes directly with the shopper. In the unlikely event that you can’t reach a resolution, Gramersi will do their best to help. You agree to contact us in this instance;
  • If you are unable to complete an order, you must notify the shopper and cancel the order as soon as possible.

Account Closure

  • You may terminate your account with Gramersi at any time;
  • We may terminate or suspend your account, should we have reason to believe that your use of our services violate The Terms. If we do so, it’s important to understand that you no longer have a contractual or legal right to continue to use our services, for example, to sell or buy on our website. Generally, Gramersi will notify you that your account has been terminated or suspended, unless you’ve repeatedly violated The Terms or we have legal or regulatory reasons preventing us from notifying you.

Prohibited Items Policy

For a variety of reasons, we prohibit certain types of items from being featured or sold the Gramersi platform (anything that is on Stripe’s list of prohibited items/businesses here: https://stripe.com/en-gb/legal/restricted-businesses). We also prohibit the following categories:

  • CBD;
  • Sex, adult industry, and/or pornographic related products, and/or services.

Also, Gramersi prohibits the sale of any products which may discriminate against people based on the following personal attributes:

  • Race;
  • Colour;
  • Ethnicity;
  • National origin;
  • Religion;
  • Gender identity;
  • Sexual orientation;
  • Sex;
  • Disability.

Everything listed for sale on Gramersi MUST be original intellectual property, not white label, and not licensed/retailed/resale of another brand.

  • We encourage you to be transparent about how your products were made and where your materials come from, and to disclose whether your items have social or environmental attributes, such as organic or recycled;
  • Even if they otherwise meet our marketplace criteria, prohibited items, services, and items that violate our intellectual property policies are not allowed to be sold on Gramersi;
  • Keep in mind that members may flag listings that appear to violate our policies for Gramersi’s review. Gramersi may remove any listings that violate our policies;
  • Gramersi may also suspend or terminate your account for any violations. You’ll still be liable, responsible, and expected to pay any outstanding fees on your Gramersi statement.

Managing Your Gramersi Shop

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

Being a Member of the Gramersi Community

At Gramersi, everyone is expected to treat fellow members of the Gramersi community with respect. As a vendor, you have additional responsibilities to safeguard personal information, and communicate promptly with shoppers in order to provide a great customer experience.

Messages

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

Messages may not be used for the following activities:

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

Interference

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

  • Contacting another member via Messages to warn them away from a particular member, shop, or item;
  • Posting in public areas to demonstrate or discuss a dispute with another member;
  • Purchasing from a vendor for the sole purpose of leaving a negative review.

Your Vendor Account and Gramersi’s Terms

In order to keep Gramersi safe and improve our Services, we may take actions that limit the visibility of your shop, listings, or ads, or that impact your payment account.

In the event a shop sees unusual order activity, or we otherwise believe that your actions or shop may result in shopper disputes, chargebacks, increased risk of fraud, counterfeiting, or other claims, Gramersi may take actions such as limiting visibility of your account, or placing restrictions or reserves on your payments account, in accordance with our Terms of Use, this Policy, and Our Fees Policy.

When appropriate and permitted by law, Gramersi will communicate information to the affected vendor about the issue.

In addition, we may limit the visibility of listings or ads in the interest of keeping Gramersi safe, and/or to improve our services. For instance, listings or ads may have decreased visibility because they include terms that represent a prohibited item or based on third party policies. These listings or ads may also be restricted from appearing in one or more features of the services.

Gramersi may make changes to on-boarding or authentication processes for vendors at our sole discretion. Completion of these processes may be required for vendor account activation or continued access and usage.

If Gramersi has reason to believe that you, Your Content, or your use of the Services violates our Terms, including this Vendor Policy, we may deactivate Your Content or suspend or terminate your account (and any accounts Gramersi determines is related to your account) and your access to the services.

Generally, Gramersi will notify you that Your Content or account has been suspended or terminated, unless you’ve repeatedly violated our Terms or we have legal or regulatory reasons preventing us from notifying you.

Our Service Level Standards

How is a shop’s customer service performance measured?

We may review shops holistically, considering several factors when performance is assessed. These factors may include, and aren’t limited to, on-time dispatch rate, communication in Messages, cases, reviews, and tenure. We may monitor patterns that may lead to negative experiences for shoppers, such as potentially unmanageable surges in order volume, late dispatch, or lack of communication.

We know some orders won’t go as expected, despite your best efforts:

  • We will hold you financially responsible for certain circumstances, such as delays caused by the delivery service and items lost in transit that were dispatched on time;
  • We will account for the possibility of isolated situations that may impact your shop (for example, a vendor may live in an area affected by an unforeseen natural disaster);
  • We will exclude low reviews and cases from Shoppers who misuse the review system or open a case by accident.

We believe it’s important for you to work with your shopper when there’s an issue.

For example, if a shopper’s order arrives damaged or seems lost in transit, you could assist them with filing a postal claim. If a shopper leaves an unfavourable review, you might propose a resolution that works for both of you. When a shop’s customer service is measured, we review how the vendor addresses issues from a customer service standpoint as well as what’s being done to prevent similar situations in the future.

What happens if my shop doesn’t meet Gramersi’s Service Level Standards?

Our goal is to support sustainable shop growth, by providing education and intervention to shops who need it. 

If we determine that your customer service is resulting in, or is likely to result in negative experiences for shoppers, we’ll be in touch via email. We may provide informational guidance or limit access to your account, depending on the urgency of the situation. These limitations can include disabling your shop, which would make you invisible to customers, and block your ability to create new products, but you would still be able to fulfil existing orders.

If your shop continues to fall short of our expectations after we contact you, we may permanently revoke your buying and selling privileges. Shops with little to no history of strong customer service may be permanently suspended at any time (this is rare, and it most often applies to new shops who have received a high rate of complaints).

Our “Sustainability And Transparency” Policy

Whilst we are NOT a sustainability marketplace (and we’ve never claimed to be), due to the nature of our business (retail start-ups), and the time in which we started (COVID-19), a significant percentage of the brands we’ve written about (and are in contact with), are eco-friendly, sustainable, inclusive, and/or vegan, which we fully support.

We’re just as passionate about these areas, as the brands we come into contact with. If a brand wants to be featured on the Gramersi news channel, or set up a vendor profile with us, we actively encourage them to mention their eco-friendly, sustainable, inclusive, and/or vegan credentials here (if applicable):

  • On your vendor profile description,
  • In any press releases you send to us,
  • In any relevant product listings.

The world is becoming more conscious, and we’ve been at the forefront of this movement, by featuring some of the most conscious start-ups before anyone else. We want to continue doing so, but we can only achieve this if you provide the correct information in the correct places. However, with the rise in green-washing we will not accept the following:

  • Lying or misrepresenting your credentials (as a green, ethical, inclusive, or vegan brand) in order to sell products.

If we discover this activity occurring on our platform, we will immediately disable your account.

Delivery Policy

Gramersi provides a variety of services to make it easier for vendors to get their one-of-a-kind items into the hands of shoppers quickly and securely. This Delivery Policy explains your delivery obligations as a vendors and your rights and responsibilities when using Gramersi postage labels services. This policy is a part of our Terms of Use. By opening an Gramersi shop, you’re agreeing to this policy and our Terms of Use.

Delivering Your Items

Vendors are responsible for packaging and dispatching their sold items to shoppers. If you’re using a delivery or fulfilment service, please keep in mind that you are ultimately responsible for making sure that your shoppers receive their orders. By entering tracking information or delivery confirmation on Gramersi, you’re giving us permission to collect and share this data received from your chosen delivery company with the shopper.

In the unlikely event an order does not arrive, be prepared to provide valid proof of dispatch. Valid proof of dispatch must show that the item actually was dispatched and that it was sent to the address provided by the shopper on Gramersi. If a shopper does not receive their order, they may file a complaint against your shop.

*****

Our Refund Policy

If a shopper is looking to return an item, get a refund, or otherwise notify a vendor of a problem with their Gramersi order, the first thing they must do is contact the vendor directly. The right of withdrawal allows EU/EEA/UK consumers to withdraw from their purchase of physical goods within a period time, usually 14 days from delivery, and to return their purchase in exchange for a refund.

If the shopper has requested help, and you’re unable to resolve the issue together within 48 hours, the shopper may file what’s known as a “case.”

With Gramersi’s case system, the shopper alerts Gramersi that there is an issue with their order that they were unable to resolve with the vendor within 48 hours, and Gramersi will assist in the resolution of the case between the shopper and vendor. This may include, but is not limited to, automatically closing the case and issuing a refund to the shopper, or reviewing the case further to help the shopper and vendor work together to resolve the issue.

NOTE: Gramersi does not hold vendors responsible for delivery delays or errors, as long as the vendor can prove that they dispatched the item on time to the address on the Gramersi receipt. If a not-as-described case has been closed against your shop for late deliver,y and you have proof that the item shipped on time to the address on the Gramersi receipt, please contact us.

Your Obligations As A Vendor

Gramersi reserves the right to resolve the case on your behalf, including, but not limited to, by issuing a refund to the Shopper and recouping funds from your account if the payment was made via Stripe.

Cases may be closed automatically in the following circumstances:

  • You issue the shopper a full refund through Gramersi;
  • The order’s tracking information shows that the package was delivered to the address on the Gramersi receipt (for non-delivery cases only);
  • The shopper closes the case if they are satisfied with the resolution.

In some cases, Gramersi may need to investigate further in order to resolve the case. Each case must remain open until a resolution has been reached. If Gramersi reaches out to you to provide more information on any open case, you must respond within two working days.

To resolve a non-delivery case, you may be asked to provide proof of dispatch or show that a refund was made to the shopper. Proof of dispatch should show that the item was dispatched to the address given by the shopper when they purchased the item on Gramersi. Proof of dispatch could be:

  • A scanned copy of the delivery confirmation or departure information;
  • A delivery service receipt;
  • A customs form;
  • A tracking number and/or tracking information that shows the package was delivered to the shopper.

To resolve a not-as-described case, you may be asked to provide additional information to Gramersi to show that the item was properly described in the listing.

Gramersi reserves the right to resolve an order issue before the 48-hour window for circumstances including, but not limited to: vendor inactivity, harassment, refusal of service, manipulation, and undermining the integrity of the case system. Gramersi may close or resolve a case due to lack of participation from either party.

Gramersi may reopen a previously closed case to further investigate tracking issues or other aspects of the dispute. In the unlikely event that a case remains unresolved for more than 365 days, it is considered to be a late delivery, and the only acceptable resolution is a full refund. To maintain the integrity of the case system, you cannot encourage or require a shopper to close a case as a condition of resolving a dispute.

Ineligible Disputes and Transactions

Some disputes and transactions are ineligible for the case system, including:

  • Items that are damaged by the delivery company (if properly packaged by the vendor);
  • Items that have been altered, used, worn, washed, or discarded after receipt;
  • Items that are received after the agreed-upon delivery date due to delivery delays;
  • Items that are returned without a return agreement;
  • Items that are accurately described but don’t meet a shopper’s expectations;
  • Cost of postage disputes;
  • Items that are purchased in person;
  • Items prohibited from sale on Gramersi, including services and intangible goods;
  • Transactions where payment is not made via Gramersi’s checkout system.

*****

Legal

Changes to The Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we believe that the changes are material, we’ll definitely let you know by posting the changes through the services and/or sending you an email or message about the changes. That way, you can decide whether you want to continue using the Services.

Changes will be effective upon the posting of the changes unless otherwise specified. You are responsible for reviewing and becoming familiar with any changes. Your use of the services following the changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms.

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

*****

If you have any further questions regarding our policies, please do get in touch here.