Effective Date: October 15, 2026 Version: 1.0 Applies to: Prospective Sellers and Sellers in the introductory period who offer products or services through the Platform.
Article 1: Introduction and Scope
1.1 This document governs onboarding: the path from application to first sale, the information an applicant shall provide, the Company's decision periods, denial and re-application, and the operating constraints that apply during the introductory period. Onboarding implements the eligibility provisions of the Selling Terms of Service and the Business Verification Policy.
1.2 No person shall sell anonymously and no person shall sell without completing verification. Admission during an invite-only period is by invitation; invitation does not waive any verification, tax, or policy acceptance requirement in this document.
1.3 If a provision of this document conflicts with the Terms of Use, this document controls for the subject it governs. If a provision conflicts with the Selling Terms of Service or the Business Verification Policy, the higher document controls for that subject. Periods in this document are as stated in the Service Level Requirements, which controls on a divergence concerning a period.
Article 2: Definitions
2.1 The definitions in the Terms of Use and the Selling Terms of Service are incorporated into this document. The following additional definitions apply (a) Applicant: a person or business that has started or submitted an application for a Seller Account and has not been accepted.
(b) Introductory Period: the Seller's first 90 days of active selling.
(c) Verification Task: one unit of verification, including an identity document, address proof, tax identity, or bank account item.
Article 3: Eligibility and Registration
3.1 An Applicant shall meet the eligibility requirements of the Selling Terms of Service, including age, authority, and capacity, and shall complete each step of the onboarding sequence in Seller Center: overview; business verification; tax identity; bank information; policy acceptance; selling regions; featured-placement and category interests; and first listing preparation.
3.2 Progress in the onboarding sequence is saved as the Applicant proceeds. Saved progress is not acceptance. Acceptance occurs only on the Company's grant of onboarding under Article 5.
3.3 Each Applicant is recorded as one seller record. Every status transition: application, review, approval, and denial: is recorded against that record.
Article 4: Application Periods
4.1 The Applicant shall submit all required Verification Tasks within 14 calendar days after account creation.
4.2 The Applicant shall answer an information request during review within 5 business days. An unanswered request does not extend the 14-day period in Clause 4.1, and the Company's review period for the affected task runs from receipt of the answer.
4.3 The Company shall review each Verification Task within 3 business days after submission, shall notify rejection with reasons within 1 business day after decision, and shall grant or deny final onboarding within 10 business days after complete submission.
4.4 If the 14-day period in Clause 4.1 lapses without submission of the required Verification Tasks, the application expires. The Applicant may start a fresh application. The expired application record is retained and is not deleted.
Article 5: Information the Applicant Shall Provide
5.1 Legal identity: legal business name; business type, including sole proprietorship, limited liability company, corporation, partnership, or nonprofit; any doing-business-as name; and business telephone number.
5.2 Business address: street, city, state, and ZIP code, plus proof of address. The address shall be a real, verifiable address and shall not be a mail drop used to conceal the operating address, because the address supports disclosures under the INFORM Act Compliance Policy after the Seller meets the applicable threshold.
5.3 Tax identity: tax identifier type and number and the legal name exactly as it appears on the tax return, in accordance with the Tax Identity and 1099 Reporting Policy. The Company records only the last four characters of the tax identifier in the seller record. The tax identity shall match Internal Revenue Service records; a mismatch blocks disbursement until corrected.
5.4 Disbursement account: account holder name, routing number, account number, and account type, in the Seller's legal name or a doing-business-as name on file. Account ownership may be confirmed, including by a small verification deposit, before the first disbursement is released.
5.5 Evidence standard: each document submitted shall be legible and complete, without cropped edges or glare and without expiration, and the name on the evidence shall match the legal entity name declared. An expired document is a resubmission task; repeated resubmission for the same defect: three rounds: may be treated as inability to verify and may result in denial under Article 7.
5.6 Policy acceptance: the Applicant shall acknowledge each required policy presented during onboarding, including the Selling Terms of Service, the listing policy, the fulfillment and shipping requirements, the Return and Refund Policy: Sellers (Return and Refund Policy — Sellers), the intellectual property policy, and the seller code of conduct, before the first listing. Partial acceptance is not acceptance. Acceptance is recorded per policy version; on re-publication of a policy in a new version, the Seller shall acknowledge the new version before the next listing or disbursement cycle, as the acceptance terms in that policy provide.
Article 6: What the Company Provides; Introductory Period
6.1 On acceptance, the Company shall provide: a payment account through the Company's payment processor with identity verification completed through that processor in accordance with the Business Verification Policy; Seller Center access with the onboarding checklist and category and brand gating status; disbursement setup in accordance with the payment collection provisions of the Selling Terms of Service, the Payment Services Terms, and the Final Settlement and Payout Policy; and information reporting in accordance with the Tax Identity and 1099 Reporting Policy, including collection of the applicable tax form before the first disbursement and issuance of Form 1099-K to an eligible Seller by the applicable Internal Revenue Service deadline.
6.2 The Company does not receive or store raw identity document images submitted to the payment processor for identity verification; the Company receives verification decisions and account capability states.
6.3 During the Introductory Period: (a) the extended new-seller hold and a 10% rolling reserve apply in accordance with the applicable new-seller payment hold policy; (b) performance is measured on a trailing 30-day period with new-seller thresholds published in Seller Center in accordance with the Service Level Requirements; and (c) limits on the rate of new listings per week, published in Seller Center, apply.
6.4 Graduation. Completion of the Introductory Period with no failure threshold crossed in the final 30 days moves the Seller to standard thresholds and the standard hold schedule automatically. A failure threshold crossed during the Introductory Period does not by itself end the period, and freezes graduation; the final-30-day period restarts after the failure is cured.
Article 7: Denial and Re-application
7.1 A denial shall state the reasons and the evidence that cures the reasons. A denied Applicant may re-apply after curing the stated reasons; re-application restarts the periods in Article 4.
7.2 Denial for fraud, identity misrepresentation, forged documents, or a prior bar is final. Re-application under a different identity after such a denial is a violation of the Multiple Accounts Policy and a ground for immediate serious action under the Seller Enforcement Policy.
7.3 A denied Applicant may appeal under the Appeals Policy within the period stated in that policy.
Article 8: Liability
8.1 Exclusion of certain damages. To the fullest extent permitted by law, neither party is liable to the other for indirect, incidental, special, punitive, or consequential damages, or for lost profits, lost revenue, or loss of goodwill, arising out of or relating to this document, even if the party has been advised of the possibility of those damages.
8.2 Cap. To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Company's total liability arising out of or relating to this document shall not exceed the greater of (a) the amounts the Seller paid to the Company under this document in the twelve months before the event giving rise to the claim, or (b) one hundred dollars ($100).
8.3 Carve-outs. This Article does not limit (a) a party's indemnification obligations under this document; (b) liability for fraud or willful misconduct; (c) amounts the Seller owes for Orders, fees, chargebacks, or refunds under this document; or (d) liability that cannot be limited under applicable law.
8.4 Essential purpose. The parties agree that this Article allocates risk between them, that it is an essential part of the basis of their bargain, and that it applies even if a limited remedy fails of its essential purpose.
Article 9: Indemnification
9.1 Duty. The Seller shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Company and its members, managers, employees, and agents from and against every claim, demand, action, loss, liability, judgment, settlement, cost, and expense (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to: (a) the Seller's breach of this document; (b) the Seller's Products, Services, listings, or User Content, including product liability claims; (c) infringement or alleged infringement of intellectual property or other rights by the Seller's Products, listings, or User Content; (d) a product recall of the Seller's Products, including recall costs; (e) the Seller's violation of any law or of the rights of any person; and (f) taxes for which the Seller is responsible under this document.
9.2 Procedure. The Company shall give prompt written notice of a claim under this Article. The Seller shall control the defense with counsel reasonably acceptable to the Company. The Company may participate in the defense at its own expense. The Seller shall not settle a claim in a manner that imposes any obligation or restriction on the Company, or that does not release the Company fully, without the Company's prior written consent.
9.3 Survival. This Article survives the termination of this document.
Article 10: Enforcement and Appeals
10.1 Investigation. The Company may investigate any suspected violation of this document. The Seller shall cooperate with an investigation and shall produce the records this document requires the Seller to keep.
10.2 Notice. If the Company determines that the Seller has violated this document, the Company shall give written notice stating the provision violated and the facts relied on, except where notice would compromise an investigation of fraud, a safety risk, or a legal obligation.
10.3 Opportunity to cure. Where a violation is capable of cure, the Seller has ten (10) business days from notice to cure it and to confirm the cure in writing. No cure period applies to fraud, counterfeiting, a risk to the safety of a person or an animal, unlawful conduct, or a violation that by its nature cannot be cured.
10.4 Measures. If a violation is established and is not cured within the period allowed, the Company may, proportionate to the violation: (a) issue a written warning; (b) remove or suppress a listing or content; (c) cancel an Order or a booking; (d) suspend the Account or a program participation, in whole or in part; (e) terminate the Selling Terms of Service and the Account; and (f) exercise any other right or remedy available under this document or at law. The Company may hold disbursements to the Seller while an investigation under this Article is pending, and shall release amounts not required to satisfy the Seller's obligations when the investigation closes.
10.5 Appeal. The Seller may appeal a measure under this Article by written notice to legal@aapawz.com within thirty (30) days of the measure, stating the grounds and attaching the records relied on. The appeal is decided by a person who did not make the original decision. The Company's decision on appeal is final. A measure remains in effect during an appeal unless the Company directs otherwise in writing.
10.6 No waiver by delay. The Company's delay in acting on a violation is not a waiver of the violation or of any later violation of the same kind.
Article 11: Term and Termination
11.1 Term. This document takes effect when an Applicant starts an application or, for a Seller, when the Seller is accepted, and continues until terminated under this Article.
11.2 Termination by the Company. The Company may terminate this document and the Account on thirty (30) days' written notice for any reason, and immediately on written notice if the Seller materially breaches this document, engages in fraud, or becomes ineligible to participate.
11.3 Termination by the Seller. The Seller may terminate this document on thirty (30) days' written notice to support@aapawz.com, provided the Seller has no Order, booking, or investigation outstanding.
11.4 Effect of termination. On termination: (a) the rights granted under this document end; (b) obligations that arose before termination: including payment, refund, chargeback, record-keeping, and indemnification obligations: survive until satisfied; and (c) the Company shall disburse amounts owed, less amounts the Company may set off under the Selling Terms of Service, within thirty (30) days, except amounts held in connection with an open investigation or dispute.
11.5 Survival. The Definitions, Liability, Indemnification, Enforcement and Appeals (for measures taken before termination), Dispute Resolution, and General Provisions Articles survive termination.
Article 12: Dispute Resolution
12.1 Any dispute arising out of or relating to this document, or to the relationship it governs, is governed by the Dispute Resolution Policy, which is incorporated into this document by reference.
Article 13: General Provisions
13.1 Amendments. The Company may amend this document by posting the amended document in the Document Center and giving notice to the Seller at the email address in the Account. An amendment that materially increases the Seller's fees or obligations takes effect thirty (30) days after notice; other amendments take effect on posting. Continued use of the Platform after the effective date of an amendment is acceptance of it. If the Seller does not accept an amendment, the Seller's remedy is to terminate under Article 11 before the amendment takes effect.
13.2 Notices. Legal notices under this document shall be sent to legal@aapawz.com. Operational notices and all other communications shall be sent to support@aapawz.com. A notice to the Company is effective when the Company acknowledges receipt or, for email, one business day after sending, whichever is earlier. Notices to the Seller are effective when sent to the email address in the Account or posted to the Account's notice facility in the portal, whichever occurs first. The Seller shall keep the email address in the Account current. DMCA notices are given as provided in the DMCA and Copyright Policy, to the designated agent at legal@aapawz.com.
13.3 Governing law. This document is governed by the laws of the State of Tennessee, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. Subject to the Dispute Resolution Policy, any proceeding arising out of this document shall be brought in the state or federal courts located in Shelby County, Tennessee, and the parties consent to personal jurisdiction there.
13.4 Severability. If any provision of this document is held unenforceable, the provision shall be enforced to the fullest extent permitted, and the remaining provisions continue in full effect.
13.5 Entire agreement. This document, together with the documents it incorporates by reference, is the entire agreement between the Company and the Seller for the subject it governs and supersedes every prior or contemporaneous statement, communication, or agreement on that subject, whether written or oral.
13.6 Assignment. The Seller shall not assign this document or any right or obligation under it without the Company's prior written consent, and an assignment without consent is void. The Company may assign this document to an affiliate or in connection with a sale of all or part of its business, on notice to the Seller.
13.7 Waiver. A waiver of any provision of this document is effective only in writing and only for the instance stated. No waiver is a waiver of any other provision or instance.
13.8 Interpretation. Headings are for convenience only. "Including" means "including without limitation." This document shall not be construed against a party as its drafter. The English-language text controls over any translation.
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