Merchant Agreement

This Merchant Agreement (the "Agreement") applies to every person or entity that operates a store built with PepsiteBuilder (an "Operator"). It supplements the Terms of Service; capitalized terms not defined here have the meaning given there.

You and PepsiteBuilder are independent contractors. Nothing in this Agreement creates a partnership, joint venture, agency, franchise, or employment relationship. You may not represent that PepsiteBuilder manufactures, sells, endorses, or stands behind any product you offer.

You are the sole seller of record for every sale made through your store. The sales contract for every order is between you and your customer. PepsiteBuilder is not a party to that contract, takes no title to products at any time, and has no obligation or liability to your customers.

This remains true regardless of fulfillment mode. Where the Platform facilitates fulfillment through a third-party supplier, that supplier acts as your vendor, not ours, and you remain fully responsible to your customer for the order.

By operating a store you represent and warrant, on an ongoing basis, that: (a) you are at least 21 years old; (b) you are legally permitted to operate this business in every jurisdiction you operate in or sell into; (c) every product you offer is sold strictly for laboratory research use and not for human or veterinary consumption or administration; and (d) all information you provide to us is accurate.

Centrally authored product descriptions are provided as research-framed reference copy. You are responsible for reviewing every listing in your store — including centrally authored copy — and for confirming it is accurate and lawful for your business before you sell.

For products you add yourself, you are solely responsible for the entire listing: identity, purity, description, safety, labeling, and lawfulness. You may not modify or supplement any listing with medical, therapeutic, dosing, weight-loss, performance, anti-aging, or other human-use claims.

You are solely responsible for compliance with every law and regulation applicable to your business, including (without limitation) the U.S. Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, FTC advertising rules, DEA and state controlled-substance schedules, state attorney-general requirements, import/export controls, and the laws of every jurisdiction you ship to.

You may not sell any product that is a controlled substance, requires a prescription, or is otherwise prohibited in a jurisdiction you sell into. It is your responsibility to know which products these are and to restrict your catalog and shipping destinations accordingly.

The Platform's compliance features (age gate, buyer attestations, research-use-only labeling, generated policy pages) are provided as tools. They do not constitute legal advice and do not guarantee compliance. You are expected to have your store, products, and practices reviewed by your own qualified counsel.

All marketing of your store, wherever it appears (your store, ads, social media, email, SMS), must comply with the Acceptable Use Policy. You may not make or imply human-use, therapeutic, or FDA-approval claims anywhere, may not target consumers seeking treatment for any condition, and may not market to persons under 21.

You own the customer relationship. You are responsible for order acceptance and refusal, fulfillment timelines, shipping compliance (including carrier rules and any hazmat or labeling requirements), customer support, returns, refunds, and disputes.

You must honor the policies published on your store. You are responsible for keeping any policy content you customize accurate and lawful.

You are solely responsible for: (a) your payment processing accounts and their fees, reserves, holds, fines, and terminations; (b) every chargeback, reversal, and refund on your sales; (c) accurate transaction descriptors and compliance with card-network rules, including rules specific to high-risk merchant categories; and (d) determining, collecting, reporting, and remitting all taxes on your sales. PepsiteBuilder provides no tax advice and files nothing on your behalf.

As between you and PepsiteBuilder, you are the controller of your store's customer data; we process it on your behalf to operate the Platform. You are responsible for complying with privacy laws that apply to your customers, honoring your published privacy policy, handling data-subject requests, and using customer data only for operating your store. You may not sell customer data.

Your store includes a 21+ age gate and mandatory checkout attestations (age, research-use-only, and terms acceptance). You may not remove, disable, weaken, or instruct customers to bypass these controls. If your jurisdiction requires stronger verification than the Platform provides by default, implementing it is your responsibility.

You are strongly advised to carry commercial general liability and product liability insurance appropriate to your business. PepsiteBuilder does not provide insurance and its liability limits are not a substitute for your own coverage.

You will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless PepsiteBuilder, its owners, officers, employees, contractors, and agents from and against any and all claims, demands, actions, investigations, damages, losses, liabilities, penalties, fines, judgments, settlements, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from or relating to: (a) products offered, sold, or shipped through your store, including any alleged injury, death, illness, or property damage and any use or misuse of a product; (b) any regulatory or law-enforcement action concerning your business; (c) your marketing and claims; (d) your breach of this Agreement, the Terms of Service, or the Acceptable Use Policy; (e) your violation of any law or the rights of any third party; (f) your taxes, chargebacks, and payment disputes; and (g) your handling of customer data.

We may assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter subject to indemnification (at your expense), in which case you agree to cooperate with our defense.

The disclaimers of warranties and limitations of liability in the Terms of Service apply to this Agreement in full. Without limiting them: PepsiteBuilder MAKES NO REPRESENTATION ABOUT THE LEGALITY, SAFETY, QUALITY, OR MARKETABILITY OF ANY PRODUCT, AND HAS NO LIABILITY ARISING FROM PRODUCTS SOLD THROUGH YOUR STORE.

We may suspend or terminate your store immediately and without prior notice for any violation of this Agreement or the Acceptable Use Policy, for risk or legal reasons, or where required by a partner or authority. On termination your license to use the Platform ends; provisions on attestations, indemnification, liability, records, and disputes survive.

The Platform records the date, time, network address, and document versions of your acceptance of this Agreement and related policies, and records buyer attestations on each order. You consent to our retention of these records and their use as evidence of acceptance.

This Agreement, together with the Terms of Service and the policies incorporated into them, is the entire agreement between you and PepsiteBuilder regarding store operation. You may not assign it without our consent. If any provision is held unenforceable, the remainder stays in effect. Failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. The governing-law and dispute-resolution terms of the Terms of Service apply.