Entrepreneur Policy
MAE provides an online platform for agricultural Entrepreneurs where they can sell their homemade goods and homegrown produce directly to buyers through the United States of America. It’s important to us that Entrepreneurs and Shoppers have a positive experience within each Entrepreneur’s Marketplace. Please continue to read on to learn more about your rights, and our expectations of you, as an Entrepreneur.
This Entrepreneur Policy supplements and forms a part of the Terms of Use (“Terms”) entered into between you and MAE. By opening an MAE Marketplace, you’re agreeing to this policy as well as our Terms. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein have the meaning provided in the Terms.
The Basics of Selling
To set yourself up for success and to see your Marketplace grow, you’ll need to follow these basic requirements.
Who Can Sell On MAE?
You must be 18 years or older to use our Services as an Entrepreneur. Minors under 18 and at least 16 years of age are only permitted to use our Services through an account owned and operated by a parent or legal guardian with the appropriate permission and under the direct supervision of their parent or legal guardian, in which case “you” as used throughout these Terms includes the parent and/or legal guardian. Children under the age of 16 years are not permitted to use MAE’s Entrepreneur Services. The parents or legal guardians of the minor are responsible for any and all Entrepreneur account activity conducted by a minor on your behalf.
What can be sold on MAE?
MAE Services provides each Entrepreneurs its own Marketplace specifically created to support agricultural entrepreneurs. Our Entrepreneurs are individuals who have created businesses through the cultivation of natural resources – farming, baking, hunting, fishing, textiles and more. Shoppers come to MAE so they can support local businesses, they can indulge in the finest foods, tastiest treats, and premier textiles. Everything listed for sale on your MAE Marketplace must be homegrown or homemade.
Homegrown means Products that are grown or raised on your farm / hobby farm, by you or your business.
Homemade means Products that are handcrafted and created by you or your business using the finest and freshest ingredients, or materials.
Entrepreneurs should be transparent about their ingredients, where they are grown and / or made, as well as where your ingredients and materials come from. We strongly encourage you to disclose whether your Products meet certain dietary restrictions (gluten free, nut free, dairy free, keto, etc.), are raised on organic farms, or are produced in allergy free kitchens.
Advertising
Use our name, but follow our trademark policy. We hope that Entrepreneur’s will share their Marketplace with your buyers in your own networks – both face-to-face and online. When doing so, you must represent MAE in the appropriate setting and follow our brand standards we may occasionally update. We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable license in the United States to use and display our name or logo in connection with promoting the availability of your Products through the Platform in accordance with our brand standards, so long as you provide us a sample of the advertising content containing our name or logo and we approve such content prior to such public use or display. You remain responsible for all third-party claims regarding such advertisements to the extent such claim doesn’t relate to the ownership of our name or logo.
What Can’t be Sold on MAE? - Our Restricted Products List
MAE has a strict policy on prohibited Products. In general, our rules are simple.
Prohibited Products include:
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Drugs
These Products are all strictly prohibited from being sold on through your Marketplace. These Products may be subject to legal requirements and in some cases considered controlled under applicable law.
Medical Drugs
All medical drugs or Products that claim to treat, prevent, or cure medical diseases or conditions. These have legal restrictions and the Service does not support individual Entrepreneurs developing their own medical drugs.
Specific Animal Products
Live animals cannot be sold on your Marketplace.
Any Products made from endangered or threatened animal species.
All Products produced of ivory or from ivory-producing animals.
All Products made from cat or dog parts as defined by the United States Code Tariff Act of 1930.
Human Remains
All Products made from human remains.
Hate Products
Although we encourage our entrepreneurs and buyers to represent their whole selves, we are a community that supports individuals of all backgrounds, ethnicities, religions, who have different preferences in art, politics, and humor. While art can be subjective, we will monitor and restrict Products that we believe promote or support hate including Products that are derogatory toward minority groups (race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, etc.)
How to Maintain your Marketplace
Your Marketplace is a direct reflection of you and your business. It’s important that you proudly, honestly, and accurately represent yourself and your Products. By creating and selling through your Marketspace, you agree that:
You have read and agree to the Terms of Use and this Entrepreneur Policy.
You are honestly representing yourself, your business, and your Products in all descriptions and details.
You ensure your Products are not illegal or part of the Can’t be Sold on MAE list.
Your Products listed for sale are your Products, represented by your photos and or other Content.
You do not have multiple Marketspaces that sell the same Product. Entrepreneurs are only allowed to have multiple Marketplaces if they have multiple unique businesses, as determined in MAE’s sole discretion.
Entrepreneurs will pay their bills. Entrepreneurs are responsible for paying all fees that it owes MAE as set forth in our current Fee Schedule located HERE. All Entrepreneur accounts are required to have an active form of payment for the payment of monthly platform fees to be automatically withdrawn. Entrepreneurs are also required to maintain an active bank account for transfer for funds from purchases. Entrepreneurs are responsible for collecting and paying any applicable taxes for purchases or sales that you make through our Services. Pursuant to the Entrepreneur Policy, MAE will collect the applicable sales tax on your behalf and directly remit them to the appropriate jurisdictions.
Entrepreneur Requirements & Standards
By deciding to sell your Products through the Services, you understand and agree that you are responsible for complying with all applicable laws and regulations for the Products you list for sale, including providing any required labels, warnings, and restrictions. MAE assumes no responsibility for the accuracy, labeling, or content of your Products or your listings.
As an Entrepreneur, we expect you to provide and maintain excellent customer service and meet standard levels of trust with Shoppers. Our Services and team are here to support your success however, we do require Entrepreneurs to meet a minimum level of standard as set forth in the Terms and these Entrepreneur Policy. You may be penalized for not maintaining our minimum standards up to, and including, a permanent closure of your Marketplace.
By selling through MAE, you are agreeing to:
Honor the commitments you are making by listing Products for sale within your Marketplace.
Respond to Shopper inquiries and messages in a timely manner.
Promise to resolve disagreements or issues with orders directly with Shoppers. In the event you are unable to reach a resolution with a Shopper, MAE will take reasonable measures to mediate the disagreement.
At MAE, we do not believe the Shopper is always right; however, we believe all Shoppers deserve to have a delightful experience. That will always remain our primary focus when meditating disagreements.
Honor your shipping and processing times. It is important to remember that shipping requirements and limitations may vary by state. You are responsible for knowing those legal requirements for your Product’s destinations.
Marketspace Fees
There are fees associated with being an Entrepreneur which include fees for maintaining your Marketplace, selling its Products, and advertising through the Service webpages, apps, or social media channels. Maintaining a Marketplace on the Services means you are agreeing to pay the Entrepreneur Fees set forth in the Fee Schedule located HERE.
MAE Marketplace Community Guidelines
At MAE, regardless if you are an Entrepreneur or a Shopper, you are considered a part of our marketplace community. We require all of our community users to treat each other with kindness and respect. As an Entrepreneur, you have additional responsibilities in order to protect Shoppers, their personalized information and data, and ensure a delightful customer experience.
Within your Marketplace, you have the ability to upload a variety of Content (e.g., text, images, videos) to promote your business and listed Products. As a Marketplace owner, you are agreeing that you will not post any Content that violates our Anti-Harassment Policy. Additionally, you will not upload any content that:
Contains threatening or harassing language, or could be viewed as extortion.
Violates someone else’s intellectual property rights, or copies / mimics their likeness.
Is false, misleading, or deceptive which includes omitting transparent Product information.
Requests for donations, contains spam material or offers unsolicited advertising and / or promotions.
Contains reference to illegal substances, or any medicinal claims.
Are listed in the Can’t be Sold on MAE’s list.
Protecting Personal Information
As an Entrepreneur, you are responsible for protecting the privacy and personal information of Shoppers. All Shopper information that you receive and process through your listings and sales must be protected and kept private with all legal requirements. In some cases, this may mean that you may be required to maintain and post your own privacy policy within your Marketplace. In all circumstances, MAE maintains that the protection of private information for all community users is a top priority. Any Entrepreneur who violates this policy, or even accidentally discloses personal information without the Shopper’s consent is responsible for that unauthorized disclosure.
Entrepreneur Interference
As a user of our MAE community, you are expected to treat all of our users with respect and adhere to our Anti-Harassment Policy. We define Entrepreneur intentional interference as any action by one Entrepreneur to intentionally drive away business from another Entrepreneur. This is strictly prohibited on MAE and could result in the permanent closure of your Marketspace without any liability to MAE.
MAE Purchase Protection
MAE’s priority is to ensure that all users of our community have a delightful experience. We respect Entrepreneurs and their right to manage its communications with Shoppers directly. If disagreements arise that cannot be resolved, MAE reserves the right to issue a refund directly to the Shopper and recoup the funds through withdrawing from your Entrepreneur account on file.
MAE Marketspace Terms
At any time, MAE may make changes to the Terms of Use, its policies, and/or security settings at our sole discretion. Entrepreneurs hereby agree to any updated terms to continue with the active status of their Marketplace account. It is the responsibility of Entrepreneurs to acknowledge and accept these changes, or cancel their subscription and Entrepreneur accounts. Marketplaces that are have become inactive due to failed Entrepreneur verification will continue to be charged the platform fee set forth in its subscription until otherwise canceled.
If MAE has reason to believe an Entrepreneur, its Marketplace, the Entrepreneur’s Content or its Product listings violate our Terms of Use, including any one of our MAE policies, we may deactivate the Product listing, a portion of your Content, or deactivate / suspend your Entrepreneur account. We also reserve the right to permanently remove your access to the Services.
In general, MAE will notify Entrepreneurs of any form of suspension unless it becomes a continuous violation of our policies, or we have legal reasons that prevent us from notifying you.
Page last updated on 06/24/2024.