Terms of Service | Downtown+

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using Downtown+ (“Service”), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service (“Terms”). If you disagree with any part of these Terms, you do not have permission to access the Service. These Terms apply to all visitors, users, vendors, and others who access or use the Service.

2. Description of Service

Downtown+ is a multi-tenant community platform that connects local businesses, professionals, and residents in downtown districts across multiple cities. The Service provides:

Business and individual profiles — Public listings for businesses and community members
Events — Community event listings and discovery
Deals and promotions — Special offers from local businesses
News — Community news articles and updates
Marketplace — An online marketplace where verified vendors sell products with shipping and digital delivery
Verification subscriptions — Paid verification badges for profiles

Each downtown community has its own branding, content, and identity within the platform.

3. User Accounts

3.1 Registration

To access certain features, you must create an account. You can register with an email address and password, or sign in with Google OAuth. You must:

Be at least 13 years old (18 for business accounts and vendor features)
Provide accurate and complete information
Maintain the security of your account credentials
Notify us immediately of any unauthorized access

3.2 Account Tiers

Accounts operate under a tiered system:

Anonymous — Limited browsing and guest submissions
Authenticated — Registered users with dashboard access
Premium (Verified) — Paid subscribers with verified badges and vendor access
Admin — Platform administrators

3.3 Account Security

You are responsible for all activities that occur under your account. You agree to maintain the confidentiality of your password and to notify us immediately of any unauthorized use of your account.

4. Business & Individual Profiles

4.1 Profile Types

Downtown+ supports two profile types:

Business profiles — For registered businesses, restaurants, shops, and organizations
Individual profiles — For freelancers, artists, professionals, and community members

4.2 Claiming Existing Profiles

Some profiles may be pre-populated from public data. You may claim an existing profile to take ownership and manage its content. Claimed profiles must be verified to confirm ownership.

4.3 Accuracy

All profile information must be accurate, current, and not misleading. Downtown+ reserves the right to modify, unpublish, or remove profiles that violate these Terms or contain inaccurate information.

4.4 Verification

Profile verification is a paid subscription that provides a verified badge, access to marketplace features, and enhanced visibility. Verification does not constitute an endorsement by Downtown+.

5. Marketplace Terms

5.1 Platform Role

Downtown+ acts as a marketplace facilitator, not as the seller. Vendors are independent sellers who are solely responsible for the products they list, the accuracy of their descriptions, and fulfillment of orders. Downtown+ does not manufacture, warehouse, or ship products on behalf of vendors.

5.2 Pricing

All prices on Downtown+ are displayed in US dollars. Product prices are set by vendors. Downtown+ charges a 5% platform commission on applicable transaction amounts.

5.3 Vendor Payouts

Charges are created directly on the vendor's connected Stripe account. Downtown+ collects its platform commission as an application fee at the time of charge. Vendors pay their own Stripe processing fees and receive payouts according to their Stripe account's payout schedule.

5.4 Shipping

Vendors configure their shipping preferences per product:

Dynamic shipping — Real-time carrier rates from USPS, UPS, or FedEx
Flat rate shipping — A fixed price set by the vendor
Free shipping — No shipping charge to the buyer
Digital delivery — Downloadable products with no physical shipment

Vendors are responsible for fulfilling orders in a timely manner and providing accurate tracking information.

Platform-purchased labels include carrier-declared-value coverage up to the sum of item prices (subject to each carrier's maximum declared value). The insurance cost is passed through to vendors as part of the label charge and is shown as a separate line item in the label price breakdown. Carrier claims for damaged, lost, or never-arrived shipments are filed by Downtown+ on the vendor's behalf as a tracking-only workflow; any payout from the carrier is reimbursed to the vendor. Carrier claims do not issue customer refunds — customer refunds continue to run through the standard refund request flow described in Section 5.6.

5.5 Shipping Adjustments

Vendors are responsible for providing accurate weight and dimension information for each product they ship through the platform. After a label is purchased, carriers (USPS, UPS, FedEx) may issue shipping adjustments — additional charges that correct the original postage when the carrier scans the package and finds a discrepancy between the declared and actual weight or dimensions. Because Downtown+ is the mailer of record for platform-purchased labels, the carrier bills the platform, and the platform passes the adjustment cost through to the responsible vendor.

Vendors must pay outstanding shipping adjustments through the platform pay-off flow available from the vendor dashboard. If a vendor's outstanding adjustment balance reaches a platform-defined suspended threshold, Downtown+ may temporarily suspend the vendor's ability to purchase new shipping labels through the platform until the balance is paid off. This label-purchase suspension does not affect existing orders, product visibility, customer checkout, or vendor payouts.

5.6 Refunds & Returns

Each vendor sets their own return and refund policy, which is displayed on their product listings. Customers may request a refund within the applicable window. Vendors have 5 business days to approve or deny a refund request. If a customer is unsatisfied with the vendor's decision, they may escalate to Downtown+ for review within 14 days of the decision.

Where a vendor requires items to be returned before refunding, the customer packs the approved items into one or more return packages and chooses a return method per package (ship via carrier or, where the vendor accepts it, drop off in person). Each return package refunds independently as the vendor receives and inspects it.

Per-package partial refund reason. A vendor may refund a return package at less than its full expected contents — for example, when fewer items than expected arrive in resellable condition. When a vendor refunds a return package for less than the full quantity expected on that package, the vendor is required to provide a written reason (at least 10 characters) describing the reason for the reduced refund. The written reason is saved with the refund and displayed to the customer on their refund receipt. Similarly, a vendor who approves a customer request but refunds a different amount than the customer requested is required to provide a written explanation (at least 10 characters) of the adjustment, which is shown to the customer on their refund confirmation.

A vendor who denies a refund request is required to include a written reason (at least 10 characters). Denied requests may be escalated by the customer to Downtown+ for review within 14 days. Escalated requests are reviewed by the Downtown+ team, whose determination is final.

Refunds are debited from the vendor's Stripe balance. If the vendor's balance is insufficient, Stripe places the refund in a pending status and processes it automatically when the vendor has sufficient funds. The platform's application fee (commission) on the items and shipping portion of a refund is retained and not refunded. The application fee on the tax portion of a refund is returned to the vendor so that the tax portion of a refund nets to zero for the vendor.

Tax refunded on partial refunds reflects the tax actually paid on the specific items refunded for orders with mixed tax treatment (for example, digital plus physical items in jurisdictions that exempt digital goods). For orders where all items share the same tax treatment, tax is refunded proportionally and nets the same total amount. Downtown+ does not support counter-offer lifecycles for refund requests — a vendor's response is an approval (optionally at an adjusted amount with an explanation), a return-required instruction, or a denial.

5.7 Sales Tax

Downtown+ acts as a marketplace facilitator for sales tax purposes in jurisdictions where it is registered. We calculate, collect, and remit sales tax on behalf of vendors using Stripe Tax. When you receive a refund, the proportional sales tax is included in the refund amount and is reversed in our tax records.

Sales tax is calculated automatically from the buyer's shipping address using Stripe Tax and shown on the order summary before checkout is confirmed. Downtown+ does not charge restocking fees, return fees, or any other deduction from a refund — the refund amount returned to the buyer always includes the proportional share of any sales tax originally paid on the items refunded.

5.8 Disputes & Chargebacks

For marketplace transactions, each vendor is the merchant of record for their sales. When a customer's bank files a dispute (chargeback) against a charge, the affected vendor is responsible for responding with evidence through their Stripe Dashboard. Downtown+ provides dispute notification, monitoring, and tracking but does not submit evidence on behalf of vendors.

Dispute fees assessed by Stripe (currently $15.00 per dispute for US-based businesses) are the vendor's responsibility regardless of outcome. Vendors who do not respond to a dispute before the bank's deadline will automatically lose the dispute.

6. User Content

6.1 Content Ownership

You retain ownership of content you submit to Downtown+, including profile information, photos, product listings, news articles, events, and deals. By submitting content, you grant Downtown+ a worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual license to use, modify, publicly display, reproduce, and distribute such content in connection with the Service.

6.2 Content Standards

All user-submitted content must not:

Violate any laws or regulations
Infringe on intellectual property rights
Contain false or misleading information
Include harmful or malicious code
Harass, defame, or harm others
Contain counterfeit or fraudulent product listings

6.3 Moderation

All submitted content goes through an admin approval process before being published. Downtown+ reserves the right to reject, modify, or remove any content at its discretion.

7. Payments & Billing

7.1 Payment Processing

All payments on Downtown+ are processed through Stripe. By making a purchase or receiving payments as a vendor, you agree to Stripe's terms of service.

7.2 Verification Subscriptions

Profile verification is a monthly subscription billed through Stripe:

Business verification — $29.95/month
Individual verification — $19.95/month

Subscriptions renew automatically and can be cancelled at any time from your account settings. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period.

7.3 Marketplace Transactions

For marketplace purchases, the charge is created directly on the vendor's connected Stripe account. The buyer pays the product price plus applicable shipping costs. Downtown+ collects its platform commission (5%) as an application fee at the time of charge. Vendors pay their own Stripe processing fees. Shipping labels for dynamic shipping are billed to the vendor's connected Stripe account.

7.4 Refund Processing

Approved refunds are debited from the vendor's Stripe balance and returned to the customer's original payment method. If the vendor's balance is insufficient, the refund enters a pending status and is processed automatically by Stripe when the vendor has sufficient funds. The platform's application fee is retained on refunds. Refund processing times depend on the customer's bank or card issuer.

8. Intellectual Property

The Downtown+ name, logo, and all related marks are trademarks of Downtown+. All content provided on the Service, except for user-generated content, is owned by or licensed to Downtown+ and is protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.

9. Privacy

Your use of the Service is subject to our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. By using the Service, you consent to the collection and use of your information as described in the Privacy Policy.

10. Prohibited Uses

You may not:

Use the Service for any illegal purposes
Scrape, harvest, or collect data without permission
Interfere with or disrupt the Service's operation
Impersonate others or provide false information
Submit spam, chain letters, or unsolicited promotions
Upload viruses or malicious code
List counterfeit, stolen, or illegal products on the marketplace
Manipulate product prices, reviews, or ratings
Create fake profiles or submit fraudulent verification claims
Commit shipping fraud or fail to fulfill orders intentionally
Violate any applicable laws or regulations

11. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.

Downtown+ does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any business information, user content, product listings, or other materials available through the Service. We do not endorse any businesses, products, services, or content provided by third parties.

For marketplace transactions: Downtown+ does not guarantee product quality, vendor fulfillment, or the accuracy of product descriptions. Downtown+ is not responsible for disputes between buyers and vendors, though we provide tools to facilitate resolution.

12. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, DOWNTOWN+ AND ITS AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, USE, OR GOODWILL, ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE.

IN NO EVENT SHALL DOWNTOWN+'S TOTAL LIABILITY EXCEED ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100).

13. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Downtown+ and its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, or expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from your use of the Service, violation of these Terms, infringement of any third-party rights, or any products you list or sell through the marketplace.

14. Changes to Terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. If we make material changes, we will notify users through the platform or by email. Your continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance of the modified Terms.

15. Termination

We may terminate or suspend your access to the Service immediately, without prior notice or liability, for any reason, including breach of these Terms. Upon termination, your right to use the Service will immediately cease.

For marketplace participants: account suspension or termination may affect pending orders and scheduled vendor payouts. Downtown+ will make reasonable efforts to complete in-progress transactions, but is not obligated to do so in cases of Terms violations.

16. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Florida, United States, without regard to its conflict of law principles. Any disputes arising from these Terms shall be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Florida.

17. Contact

If you have questions about these Terms of Service, contact us at support@downtown.plus.