1. This section applies to both VENDORS and BUYERS
WELCOME! We are pleased to provide you with access to Chefs and Bakers across the US through this online marketplace (BAKEMEO). All of our vendors are responsible for the quality and integrity of their own work. Understanding who is the Vendor and who is the Buyer: Once a person has completed a profile on this site and has listed a product for sale they are considered a VENDOR. Once a person has purchased a product they are considered a BUYER. You may have both roles depending on the situation – if you were originally only a VENDOR and then you started to buy items and or Post Requests, you will be considered both a VENDOR and BUYER. LISCENCING AND PERMITS Vendors on this site agree to follow the food handling/food preparation laws in their state. This includes (and is not limited to) the Cottage Food Laws. Vendors are responsible for obtaining their own licenses and permits. Vendors are also responsible for keeping all licenses and permits current along with food sanitation certification. ACCURACY Vendors are required to upload photos of their actual work. Stock photos can only be used if the Vendor explains in the product description that the final product will be inspired by the stock photo used for that listing. Vendors must disclose when they are using a Stock photo as to not mislead the Buyer. Vendors are required to accurately describe their skills and capabilities and the Buyers are encouraged to ask detailed questions to ensure that there is no miscommunication between the Vendor and Buyer. SHIPPING, PICK UP OR LOCAL DELIVERY Only place orders that require shipping by mail if you know the items will ship well. We recommend that you (the Buyer) do your research to learn more about what items ship well and what items do not. You can also find local BAKEMEO Chefs and Bakers on this marketplace who operate in your area so you should consider using local options for fragile items that will not ship well. Some of the local BAKEMEO Chefs and Bakers may offer delivery or you can pick up from their store. PAYMENT PROCESSING By using this site both the Vendor and Buyer agree to complete the entire transaction by processing the payment using the BAKEMEO payment option. It is for both your protection that we have included a payment feature to allow both the Vendor and Buyer to track the payment. When you try to negotiate a payment outside of BAKEMEO, it violates the terms of agreement and the Vendor can be banned from the BAKEMEO marketplace altogether. The Buyer can be banned too! Processing payments through this site also allows us to commit to corporate giving in local areas and continued use of this site allows increased marketing efforts to give our Vendors more exposure. STRIPE BAKEMEO uses STRIPE to process payments. In order to receive payments on this marketplace, Vendors must go to their Dashboard and click Settings, access the Cash Out tab and complete the Stripe Connect steps. Stripe will verify your information and you will be notified when your Stripe Account is approved. The blue Stripe button in your settings Cash Out tab, will also reflect APPROVED. This step has to be completed for your Listings to appear in the search. VENDOR CASHOUT Once the order is fulfilled, Vendor CASH OUTS are processed in 72 hours. REFUNDS and RETURNS Our refund policy is simple: No Refunds. And, Perishable items cannot be returned. However, if you feel that the product did not match the agreed upon request, please contact the Vendor. Many Vendors will allow a credit toward a future purchase. CUSTOMER REQUESTS Buyers may click on the CUSTOMER REQUEST tab and post specifics about a product or service they need. VENDORS can apply for these jobs. If an error message pops up stating that the VENDOR DOES NOT HAVE A MATCHING LISTING - this can be easily fixed. The VENDROS needs to create a similar listing which indicates that they are able to perform this type of task - and the system will allow the VENDOR to apply for the job. CUSTOMER STATEMENTS The charge description on the customers credit card statement will say BAKEMEO. REVIEWS We would appreciate BUYER feedback once the transaction is completed – by filling out a Vendor Review. When the Vendors hit it out of the Park – please let them know! Small businesses rely heavily on reviews and too often buyers run to post reviews online only when they feel something is wrong – customers who are happy most often do not post reviews. The food industry is tough, it requires long hours, lots of sacrifices and many Bakers and Chefs don’t get the credit they deserve as buyers do not realize how much work goes in to detailed projects. REVIEW NO NOs We will not tolerate hate speech or discrimination of any kind. TAXES Vendors are responsible for calculating and paying their own taxes. As a BAKEMEO Vendor – you will need to include your tax rate in the total price of the product. BAKEMEO FEE POLICY and TERMS OF USE Our goal at BAKEMEO is to promote small food operations – Bakers and Chefs who operate small business or work alone. Our goal is to give them well deserved exposure and to help their businesses grow. To be able to do so, we secure a 10 percent fee on all transactions. Once a Vendor has uploaded a product for sale, the Vendor Agrees to the BAKEMEO Fee Policy. The 10 percent BAKEMEO fee is non-negotiable. Likewise, once a Buyer has POSTED A REQUEST - the Buyer agrees to the BAKEMEO Fee Policy. Once Buyers begins searching for Vendors, communicates with Vendors and Makes a Payment - during any of these stages, the Buyer agrees to the BAKEMEO Fee Policy. PAYOUT FEES EXPLAINED How to calculate what you will earn: If you sell an item for $5 Stripe will deduct a payment processing fee of 2.9%+.30cents which is .45cents. We retain a 10% commission (10%x $5.00) which is .50cents. So you will make $4.05 0n the item you sold for $5.00. And as stated above CASHOUTS (payments to Vendors) are processed 72 after order fulfillment.