Version: 1.0
Effective Date: October 1, 2026
StoryToShop LLC · Spicewood, TX 78669 · legal@storytoshop.ai
Incorporated into the StoryToShop Seller Agreement under Section 46. Where this Policy and the Seller Agreement address the same subject, this Policy controls operational detail; the Seller Agreement controls interpretation.
1. Scope and Account Eligibility
StoryToShop LLC ("StoryToShop," "we," "us") maintains high standards of service, reliability, and seller integrity. This Seller Performance Standards Policy ("Policy") applies to all merchants and creators ("Sellers") offering physical or digital products through StoryToShop storefronts.
At platform launch, Seller account creation and merchant fulfillment are strictly restricted to entities and individuals residing in and operating within the United States. Cross-border fulfillment and international Seller onboarding are prohibited.
2. Order Fulfillment and Shipping Standards
2.1 Handling Time. Sellers must specify clear, realistic handling times for each product. Standard orders must be processed and handed to a tracked shipping carrier within three (3) business days of purchase, unless the item is designated as custom or made-to-order with a disclosed production time.
2.2 Tracking Information. Valid tracking numbers from recognized national carriers (USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL) must be entered into the StoryToShop Seller dashboard promptly upon shipment.
Tracking is what allows StoryToShop to contest a payment dispute on a Seller's behalf. Where required tracking is not supplied, StoryToShop may be unable to successfully contest a dispute, and the resulting loss may be allocated to the Seller under Section 29 of the Seller Agreement.
2.3 Delivery Expectations. Sellers must set delivery expectations that they can reasonably meet. Domestic orders are expected to arrive within ten (10) business days of purchase unless different delivery terms were disclosed before checkout.
Delivery timing depends in part on the carrier. Carrier-caused delay is not by itself a Seller performance failure. Failing to ship within the handling-time standard, failing to supply tracking, or advertising a delivery expectation the Seller cannot meet are performance failures.
2.4 Required Notices. Where a Seller cannot ship within the promised or legally required timeframe, the Seller must promptly notify the buyer and offer the cancellation and refund options required by applicable law.
3. Order Cancellations and Defect Rates
3.1 Seller-Initiated Cancellations. Cancelling an order because of stockouts, inventory errors, or pricing mistakes damages buyer trust. A Seller's seller-initiated cancellation rate must not exceed two percent (2%) of total orders in any rolling 30-day period.
3.2 Order Defect Rate. Order Defect Rate ("ODR") includes orders receiving buyer protection claims, chargebacks, or negative feedback concerning fulfillment failure. A Seller's ODR must remain below one percent (1%) of total processed orders.
3.3 Minimum Order Volume. Percentage thresholds in Sections 3.1 and 3.2 are applied only once a Seller has processed at least twenty (20) orders in the measurement window. Below that volume, StoryToShop reviews performance case by case rather than by percentage, so that a single cancellation does not produce a misleading rate.
3.4 Excluded Events. Cancellations and defects caused by buyer request, confirmed payment fraud, carrier loss where valid tracking was supplied, or a StoryToShop platform failure are excluded from these calculations.
4. Customer Communication Standards
4.1 Response Time. Sellers must respond to buyer inquiries, order status requests, and refund inquiries within one (1) business day.
4.2 Professional Conduct. All communication conducted through StoryToShop channels must remain professional, respectful, and free of abusive, discriminatory, or harassing language.
4.3 On-Platform Communication. Order-related communication should take place through StoryToShop channels so that a complete record exists if a dispute is escalated.
5. Product Category Requirements
5.1 Tracking and Confirmation. StoryToShop may require signature confirmation or additional fulfillment evidence for orders above a stated value or in higher-risk categories.
5.2 Insurance. StoryToShop may require commercial general liability or product-liability insurance, and evidence of that coverage, based on product category, regulatory requirements, sales volume, gross merchandise value, safety history, or claims history. Categories that may carry heightened requirements include children's products, food and ingestibles, cosmetics and personal-care products, candles and flame products, electrical and battery products, health-related products, and products subject to mandatory testing or safety standards.
Where insurance becomes required, StoryToShop will state the required coverage and limits and provide a reasonable period to obtain it before restricting affected listings, unless immediate action is required by law or safety.
5.3 Production and Craft Terms. Sellers using the following terms must use them accurately:
- Handmade — materially created by hand by the Seller or by people working under the Seller's direction.
- Made to order — produced after the order is placed, within the disclosed production time.
- Small batch — produced by the Seller or the Seller's disclosed production partner in limited runs.
- Vintage — at least twenty (20) years old.
- Designed by [Seller], made by [partner] — the required disclosure format where a Seller's original design is manufactured or fulfilled by a third party.
6. Automated Safeguards and Human Review
StoryToShop uses automated systems to detect risk, fraud, spam, and policy violations, and may apply temporary safeguards to listings, storefront visibility, or account activity while a matter is reviewed.
A material automated restriction is routed for human review promptly and will not remain in place longer than seventy-two (72) hours without human review. Consistent with Section 32 of the Seller Agreement, a person makes or ratifies every final decision to terminate an account, impose a material long-term suspension, decide an originality complaint, resolve an escalated dispute, or decide an appeal.
7. INFORM Consumers Act Compliance
Pursuant to the federal INFORM Consumers Act, Sellers must provide and maintain accurate bank account details, tax identification numbers, business address, and contact information.
- $5,000 threshold. Sellers reaching $5,000 in gross annual revenue must complete identity and financial account verification.
- $20,000 threshold. Sellers reaching $20,000 in gross annual revenue must permit verified business contact details to be disclosed on order confirmations and storefront disclosures as required by federal law.
StoryToShop will make reasonable efforts to notify a Seller in advance of reaching a threshold and to explain what information will be collected or disclosed, including the options available under applicable law to a Seller whose only business address is a residence.
8. Monitoring, Warnings, and Account Remedies
StoryToShop monitors Seller performance metrics on an ongoing basis. Failure to meet these standards may result in:
- A written performance notice and a corrective action plan;
- Restriction of storefront visibility, listing privileges, or specific categories;
- Risk-based restrictions on payouts where permitted under Section 29 of the Seller Agreement and the applicable payment provider architecture;
- Suspension of selling privileges; or
- Termination of the Seller account under Sections 34 and 35 of the Seller Agreement.
Funds are not withheld as a penalty. Any payout restriction applied under item 3 above is a risk measure, is limited to what is reasonably necessary to address the risk, and is released when the risk is resolved. Amounts legitimately owed to a Seller remain owed to that Seller, subject only to the adjustments listed in Section 29 of the Seller Agreement.
9. Notice and Appeal
Where StoryToShop takes a Material Enforcement Action as defined in the Seller Agreement, the Seller will generally receive notice of the action, a meaningful reason, the provision relied upon, and the appeal period. A Seller may submit one internal appeal within fourteen (14) days of notice under Section 34 of the Seller Agreement.
StoryToShop may withhold some information where disclosure would violate law, compromise security, interfere with fraud prevention or an active investigation, or create a risk to another person. Where StoryToShop withholds information for one of these reasons, it will generally say so.
Questions about this Policy: legal@storytoshop.ai