TheMerchCorporation: Terms of Service
Last updated: [DATE]
These Terms of Service ("Terms") are an agreement between you and [LEGAL ENTITY NAME], a [STATE/COUNTRY] [ENTITY TYPE] with its registered address at [ADDRESS] ("TheMerchCorporation", "we", "us", "our"). They govern your use of https://themerchcorporation.com and any related services (the "Site"), and every purchase you make through it.
By using the Site or placing an order, you agree to these Terms, our Privacy Policy, our Shipping Policy and our Returns & Reprints Policy, which are part of these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Site.
1. Who we are and how your order is made
1.1 We are the seller. When you buy from the Site, your contract of sale is with TheMerchCorporation. We set the prices, take payment and are responsible to you for your order as these Terms describe.
1.2 Our production partner. Products are made on demand and shipped by our third-party production and fulfilment partner, Printful, Inc. and its affiliates ("Printful"), and may be made by other partners we use from time to time (together, "Production Partners"). When you place an order, you authorize us to share your design files, order details and shipping information with our Production Partners so they can make and deliver your order.
1.3 No contract with Printful. Printful is not a party to these Terms and does not sell to you directly. For any question about your order, please contact us, not Printful. Our Production Partners' own policies (for example, on content, production and claims) apply to how we fulfil your order. That is why some of the rules in these Terms, such as the content rules in Section 6 and the reprint rules in Section 10, reflect those policies.
1.4 Made to order. Every product is made individually after you order it. We do not hold stock. Production times and availability depend on our Production Partners and may change.
2. Eligibility and accounts
2.1 You must be at least 18 years old, or the age of majority where you live, to place an order. Alternatively, you may order with the involvement and consent of a parent or guardian who accepts these Terms.
2.2 You may check out as a guest or create an account. You are responsible for keeping your login details secure and for everything done through your account. Tell us immediately at [SUPPORT EMAIL] if you think your account has been used without your permission.
2.3 If you place an order on behalf of a business, you confirm that you are authorized to bind that business to these Terms.
3. Products, mockups and pricing
3.1 Blank products. The Site lists blank products that you customize with your own artwork. Product descriptions, specifications and size charts come from our Production Partners and manufacturers. We try to keep them accurate, but small variations happen (see Section 9).
3.2 Mockups are illustrations. On-screen previews and mockups are computer-generated approximations meant to help you place your design. They are not exact pictures of the finished product. Color, size, placement and texture may look different in real life.
3.3 Prices. Prices are shown in [USD] and do not include shipping or applicable taxes and duties, which are calculated at checkout. We may change prices at any time, but changes do not affect orders already confirmed. If a product is listed at an obviously wrong price because of an error, we may cancel the order and refund you in full.
3.4 Availability. Products, colors and sizes depend on availability from our Production Partners and may be withdrawn without notice. If an item you ordered becomes unavailable after you order it, we will contact you and either offer a substitute or refund that item in full.
4. Orders, payment and cancellation
4.1 Order process. Your order is an offer to buy. We accept it when your design passes our review (Section 7) and we send your order to production. When you complete checkout, your payment method is authorized. It is charged once your design passes review. If your design does not pass, the authorization is released and you are not charged.
4.2 Payment. Our payment processor, [Stripe, Inc.], handles payments. We do not store full card numbers. You confirm that you are authorized to use the payment method you provide.
4.3 Taxes and duties. We collect sales tax, VAT, GST or similar taxes where the law requires us to. [LAWYER REVIEW] For orders shipped outside [HOME COUNTRY], import duties, customs fees or taxes may apply. Where we do not collect them at checkout, the recipient is responsible for paying them when the package arrives. A package refused because of unpaid duties is treated as a returned package under Section 10.6.
4.4 Cancellation window. You can cancel your order within 2 hours of being charged from your order page or by emailing [SUPPORT EMAIL], and receive a full refund. After that, your order has started production and cannot be cancelled or changed, because it is made specifically for you.
4.5 Our right to cancel. We may refuse or cancel any order, and refund what you paid for it, if: your design breaks Section 6; we suspect fraud or unauthorized payment; the order cannot be fulfilled to your address; there was a pricing or listing error; or a Production Partner refuses to make it.
5. Your designs and intellectual property
5.1 You keep ownership. You keep all rights you have in the artwork, text, images and other material you upload ("Your Content"). We do not claim ownership of it.
5.2 License to us. [LAWYER REVIEW] You grant us and our Production Partners a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable licence to host, store, copy, resize, crop, reformat, adapt (for example, color conversion and background or edge adjustments you approve), reproduce, print and display Your Content. The licence covers only what is needed to: (a) show you previews and mockups; (b) review Your Content under Section 7; (c) make, ship and support your orders, including reprints; (d) keep records as the law requires and to resolve disputes; and (e) enforce these Terms. We will not use Your Content for marketing or sell it to anyone else without your separate permission. The licence ends when we delete Your Content under Section 5.4, except for copies we have to keep for legal, tax, dispute or claims purposes.
5.3 Your promises about Your Content. [LAWYER REVIEW] By uploading Your Content and placing an order, you confirm that:
(a) you own Your Content, or have every licence, permission and consent needed to use it in the way these Terms describe, including from any person shown in it;
(b) Your Content and the products made with it do not and will not infringe or misappropriate anyone's copyright, trademark, trade dress, patent, right of publicity or privacy, moral rights, or any other right;
(c) Your Content does not break Section 6 or any applicable law; and
(d) any information you give us during review (for example, that you hold a licence) is true.
5.4 Storage and deletion. We store uploaded files and finished print files for at least [24] months after your order, so that we can handle reprints, claims and legal requirements. Files that were never used in an order may be deleted after [90] days. You can ask us to delete Your Content sooner by emailing [PRIVACY EMAIL]. We will do so unless we have to keep it by law or for an open claim or dispute.
5.5 Our content. The Site, its design, software, text, logos and the "TheMerchCorporation" name belong to us or our licensors. You may not copy or reuse them without our written permission. Product photos and mockup templates belong to our Production Partners or their licensors.
6. Prohibited content
6.1 You may not upload or order products with content that:
(a) infringes anyone's intellectual property or publicity rights, including unlicensed logos, brand names, sports team marks, characters, artwork, or images of real people used without permission;
(b) shows or promotes child sexual abuse or the sexualization of minors (we report this to the relevant authorities);
(c) is sexually explicit or pornographic [OPERATOR DECISION: choose whether non-explicit adult or artistic nudity is allowed, and keep this at least as strict as Printful's content guidelines];
(d) promotes hatred, violence or discrimination against people based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age or any other protected characteristic, or shows hate or extremist symbols;
(e) threatens, harasses, bullies or defames anyone, or reveals someone's private information;
(f) glorifies or encourages self-harm, terrorism or serious violence;
(g) promotes illegal activity, illegal drugs, or the illegal sale of weapons;
(h) is false or misleading in a way that could cause harm, or impersonates a person or organization; or
(i) is otherwise unlawful where it is made, sold or delivered, or breaks our Production Partners' content guidelines.
6.2 We can decide at our discretion whether content breaks this Section. We may refuse, cancel or stop any order, delete content and suspend accounts that break it. If we cancel your order under this Section before it goes to production, you will not be charged (or will be refunded in full). [LAWYER REVIEW] If a breach is discovered after production has started, we may keep the cost of production and shipping already incurred, where the law allows.
7. Design review
7.1 Automated and manual review. Every upload is checked automatically for technical quality (file type, resolution, transparency, color profile) and for possible breaches of Section 6. Some designs, especially those that may contain logos, trademarks, characters or real people, are held for review by a person. A held order is usually reviewed within [24 hours]. If it is not reviewed within [5 days], it is automatically cancelled and your payment authorization is released.
7.2 Review is for our own protection, not a guarantee. Passing review does not mean we have confirmed that Your Content is lawful, original or properly licensed, or that it will print as you expect. You remain fully responsible for Your Content under Section 5.3.
7.3 Information requests. During review we may ask you for proof of ownership or a licence. If you do not provide it within the time we give, we may cancel the order.
8. Intellectual property complaints (DMCA and similar)
8.1 We respect intellectual property rights. If you believe a product made through the Site infringes your rights, send a notice to our designated agent:
[AGENT NAME], [LEGAL ENTITY NAME], [POSTAL ADDRESS], [IP EMAIL] (or use our form at /ip-complaint)
8.2 [LAWYER REVIEW] For copyright claims under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act, your notice must include: (a) your physical or electronic signature; (b) identification of the copyrighted work; (c) identification of the infringing material, with enough information for us to locate it (for example, an order number or image); (d) your contact information; (e) a statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent or the law; and (f) a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information is accurate and that you are authorized to act on the owner's behalf. We also accept trademark and right-of-publicity complaints at the same address.
8.3 We may remove content, cancel orders and share the complainant's notice with the uploader. Uploaders may send a counter-notice where the law allows. We will terminate the accounts of repeat infringers.
9. Print quality and product variation
9.1 Your file determines the result. Print quality depends heavily on the file you upload. Our editor shows a print-quality rating for each design at the size you place it:
- "Good": your image meets the recommended resolution for that product.
- "Fair": your image may print slightly soft. To order at that size, you must confirm that you understand this. Products ordered at "Fair" quality are not eligible for a reprint or refund because of softness, blurriness or pixelation.
- "Low" / "Unprintable": you cannot order at that size. You must resize your design or upload a higher-resolution file.
9.2 Normal variations, which are not defects. Because products are made individually by different printing methods, the following are normal. They are not grounds for a reprint or refund:
(a) differences between on-screen colors and printed colors. Screens show color differently from ink and fabric, and vivid or neon colors (especially RGB colors outside the printable range) may print duller;
(b) small color variations between production runs, products, fulfilment locations or garment batches;
(c) placement or alignment varying by up to approximately [0.5 inch / 1.25 cm] from the preview, and slight tilts on garments;
(d) size variations within the manufacturer's stated tolerances (please check the size guide; most garments have a tolerance of about 1 inch / 2.5 cm);
(e) semi-transparent areas, soft shadows, glows or very fine details printing as dotted patterns, solid areas, or not at all, especially on direct-to-garment and direct-to-film prints;
(f) a visible white or colored box where your file contains a solid background you chose to keep;
(g) printing over seams, zippers, pockets or hems; small unprinted areas near seams on all-over printed items; and the visible seam on mugs and wrapped items;
(h) a faint residue or smell from the pretreatment or curing used in garment printing, which normally washes out; and
(i) normal wear, fading or cracking caused by not following care instructions.
9.3 Automatic adjustments. To prepare your design for printing, we may automatically convert its color profile (for example, to sRGB), reduce its bit depth and remove metadata. We will not change the content, composition or size of your design without your action or approval in the editor.
10. Returns, reprints and refunds
10.1 No returns for change of mind. Each product is made specifically for you, so we do not accept returns or exchanges for change of mind, a wrong size or color choice, or a design that looks as previewed but not as you hoped. [LAWYER REVIEW] Where you have a statutory right to withdraw from a distance contract (for example, in the EU, EEA or UK), you agree that products made to your own design are goods made to the consumer's specifications or clearly personalized, so that right does not apply. Your statutory rights for faulty or misdescribed goods are not affected.
10.2 When we will reprint or refund. We will reprint the affected item for free, or refund it if a reprint is not possible or you prefer a refund, if:
(a) the item arrives damaged;
(b) the item has a manufacturing defect or a misprint, meaning the print differs materially from your approved design beyond the normal variations in Section 9.2 (for example, the wrong design, missing placement, or a seriously misplaced or smudged print); or
(c) you received the wrong product, size or color compared with your order.
10.3 How to make a claim. Submit a claim from your order page or to [SUPPORT EMAIL] within [30] days of delivery. Include your order number and clear photos showing the problem (and, for misprints, the whole printed area). We may ask for more photos or details. We pass claims to our Production Partner, whose assessment we generally follow. You usually do not need to send the item back; if we need it, we will tell you how and pay for the return.
10.4 What we do not cover. Reprints and refunds are not available for: designs ordered at "Fair" quality, for softness or pixelation (Section 9.1); the normal variations in Section 9.2; problems caused by Your Content (spelling mistakes, low-quality or cropped source files, backgrounds you chose to keep); size problems where the correct size was shipped; or items damaged after delivery or by improper care.
10.5 Lost packages. If tracking shows your package has not moved for [an extended period / X business days], or the carrier confirms it is lost, contact us and we will work with the carrier and our Production Partner. Once the loss is confirmed, we will reship or refund it. [LAWYER REVIEW] If tracking shows a package was delivered to the address you gave, we are not responsible for it after delivery, except where the law says otherwise.
10.6 Wrong addresses and returned packages. Please check your shipping address carefully. We are not responsible for orders delivered to an incorrect or incomplete address you gave us. If a package is returned to our Production Partner as undeliverable (for example, because of a wrong address, a failed delivery, refused delivery or unpaid duties), we will contact you. You may ask us to reship it at your expense (the shipping cost, plus any handling fees charged by our Production Partner) within [30] days. Otherwise, we may dispose of the item without a refund. Returned items may be kept by our Production Partner for a limited time only.
10.7 Refund method. Approved refunds are made to your original payment method, usually within [5–10] business days after approval.
10.8 Chargebacks. Please contact us before disputing a charge with your bank. We can usually resolve problems faster. We may dispute chargebacks that are not justified, including by giving your bank your order records, design approvals and delivery tracking.
11. Shipping
11.1 Production and delivery times. Your order usually enters production within [2–7] business days after it is charged. It then ships by the method you chose at checkout. Delivery estimates come from our Production Partner and carriers. They are estimates, not guarantees. Delays caused by carriers, customs, weather, holiday periods or events outside our control are not our responsibility. [LAWYER REVIEW] This is subject to consumer-protection rules on delivery deadlines that apply to you.
11.2 Where we ship. We ship to the countries shown at checkout. Some products cannot be shipped to some destinations.
11.3 Split shipments. Orders with more than one item may be made in different facilities and arrive in separate packages, each with its own tracking number.
11.4 Packaging. Orders are shipped with TheMerchCorporation packing slips. Some products may arrive in the manufacturer's original packaging or with the manufacturer's labels.
11.5 Risk and title. [LAWYER REVIEW] Risk of loss and title to products pass to you [when the package is handed to the carrier / on delivery], to the extent the law allows.
11.6 Tracking. We will email you tracking information when your order ships, and you can see your order status at any time from the link in your confirmation email.
12. Disclaimers
[LAWYER REVIEW] EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY STATED IN THESE TERMS, AND TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE SITE AND PRODUCTS ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE". WE DISCLAIM ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT PROMISE THAT THE SITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE OR FREE OF HARMFUL COMPONENTS. NOTHING IN THESE TERMS LIMITS ANY RIGHTS YOU HAVE AS A CONSUMER THAT CANNOT BE LIMITED BY LAW.
13. Limitation of liability
[LAWYER REVIEW] TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW: (a) WE ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA OR GOODWILL, ARISING FROM THESE TERMS, THE SITE OR ANY PRODUCT; AND (b) OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING FROM AN ORDER IS LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT YOU PAID FOR THAT ORDER, AND FOR ANY OTHER CLAIM TO [USD 100]. These limits do not apply to liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or to anything else that cannot be limited by law. Some jurisdictions do not allow these limits, so they may not apply to you.
14. Indemnity
[LAWYER REVIEW] You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless TheMerchCorporation, our Production Partners (including Printful), and their respective officers, employees and agents from any claims, losses, damages, liabilities, costs and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from: (a) Your Content, including any claim that it infringes or misappropriates anyone's rights; (b) your breach of these Terms; or (c) your breach of any law or third-party right. We will tell you about any such claim and may take part in the defense with our own counsel. (Note: an indemnity like this may be unenforceable against consumers in some jurisdictions. Counsel should decide whether to limit it to business customers or to Your Content only.)
15. Privacy
Our Privacy Policy explains how we collect and use your personal information, including sharing your name, address, contact details and design files with our Production Partners, payment processor and shipping carriers to fulfil your order.
16. Suspension and termination
We may suspend or close your account, or limit your access to the Site, if you breach these Terms, if required by law, or to protect us, our Production Partners or other users. Sections 5.2 (for retained copies), 5.3, 5.5, 8, 10 (for pending claims) and 12–19 survive termination.
17. Disputes, governing law and arbitration
17.1 Contact us first. Most problems can be solved quickly. Before starting any legal claim, email [SUPPORT EMAIL] with a description of the problem, and give us [30] days to try to resolve it.
17.2 Governing law. [LAWYER REVIEW] These Terms are governed by the laws of [STATE/COUNTRY], without regard to conflict-of-law rules. If you are a consumer, you also keep the protection of any mandatory laws of the country where you live.
17.3 Arbitration and class-action waiver. [LAWYER REVIEW, HIGH PRIORITY] [OPTIONAL. Include only if counsel recommends it. Arbitration clauses and class-action waivers are heavily regulated and often unenforceable against consumers outside the US (and in some US states), and need specific drafting: an opt-out window, small-claims carve-out, provider rules and fee allocation.] Placeholder: "Except for small-claims matters and claims for injunctive relief relating to intellectual property, any dispute arising from these Terms will be resolved by binding individual arbitration administered by [PROVIDER] under its [RULES]. You may opt out within 30 days of first accepting these Terms by emailing [EMAIL]."
17.4 Venue. [LAWYER REVIEW] Except where arbitration applies or the law gives you the right to sue where you live, claims will be brought only in the courts of [COUNTY/CITY, STATE/COUNTRY].
18. Changes to these Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. We will post the new version on this page and change the "Last updated" date. Changes apply to orders placed after the new version is posted. The Terms in force when you placed an order apply to that order.
19. General
19.1 Entire agreement. These Terms, together with the policies referred to in them, are the entire agreement between you and us about the Site and your orders.
19.2 Severability. If any part of these Terms is found unenforceable, the rest stays in effect.
19.3 No waiver. If we don't enforce a right, we have not given it up.
19.4 Assignment. You may not transfer your rights under these Terms. We may transfer ours to a successor business.
19.5 Events beyond our control. We are not liable for delays or failures caused by events outside our reasonable control, including failures or delays by carriers, Production Partners, payment processors or internet providers, natural disasters, pandemics, labor disputes or government action.
19.6 Language. If these Terms are translated, the English version prevails where the law allows.
19.7 Notices. We may send you notices by email to the address on your order or account. Notices to us must be sent to [LEGAL EMAIL] and [POSTAL ADDRESS].
20. Contact
[LEGAL ENTITY NAME] · [POSTAL ADDRESS] · [SUPPORT EMAIL] · [PHONE (optional)]
[Company registration number / VAT number, if required in your jurisdiction (e.g. EU/UK)]