GrottoMade

Terms of Service

Last updated: July 4, 2026

Welcome to GrottoMade. These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of grottomade.com and app.grottomade.com (together, the "Service"), operated by GrottoMade ("GrottoMade," "we," "us," or "our"). By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to these Terms. If you don't agree, please don't use the Service.

GrottoMade is not yet operated through a formally registered business entity. This section will be updated with our legal entity name and mailing address once incorporation is complete.

1. Who can use GrottoMade

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account. By registering, you confirm that you meet this requirement and that the information you provide is accurate and up to date.

2. Accounts

There is one account type per person — your account can act as a buyer (browsing, favoriting, following shops, messaging) and, if you choose to open a shop, as a seller too. You're responsible for keeping your login credentials secure and for all activity under your account. You may not transfer, sell, or share your account with anyone else without our written permission.

We reserve the right to reclaim or require you to change a username or shop URL that impersonates someone else, infringes a trademark, or is offensive.

3. What GrottoMade is (and isn't)

GrottoMade is a discovery platform that helps independent makers list handmade goods and helps buyers find them. We do not process payments, hold funds, set prices, ship items, or guarantee any transaction. Every sale is a direct agreement between a buyer and a seller — see our Disclaimers for details. GrottoMade is not an agent, broker, reseller, employer, or partner of any buyer or seller, and we are not a party to any transaction or communication between users.

We may modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Service at any time, with or without notice, and we're not liable to you for doing so.

4. Selling on GrottoMade

Sellers must complete our Verified Handmade review before publishing listings. Our Handmade Standards (see Community Guidelines) explain what counts — reselling finished goods, assembling pre-made kits, drop-shipping, and print-on-demand without meaningful artistic input are not allowed.

Listings must be accurate — photos, descriptions, pricing, and shipping estimates should reflect what a buyer will actually receive and when. Free accounts have no listing or transaction fees, ever; optional paid tiers (like Pro) add extra tools and are billed as disclosed at the time of purchase.

Sellers are solely responsible for complying with all applicable laws and regulations that apply to what they sell — including tax obligations, business licensing, product safety standards, and labeling requirements (for example, for candles, soaps, cosmetics, food, or children's items). GrottoMade doesn't review listings for regulatory compliance and isn't responsible for a seller's failure to meet it.

Search results, homepage placement, and "Trending" or "Featured" sections are determined by a combination of factors (recency, engagement, tier, and similar signals) that we may change at any time.

5. Buying on GrottoMade

You can browse listings and shops without an account. A free account unlocks favoriting, following shops, and messaging sellers. Buyer accounts never have fees.

6. Payments & transactions

GrottoMade does not process payments of any kind. Buyers and sellers arrange payment directly with each other, off-platform. We recommend using a method with built-in buyer protection, such as PayPal Goods & Services, and we display a reminder banner on listings for that reason — but the choice of payment method, and everything that follows from it, is between the buyer and seller. GrottoMade is not a party to, and assumes no responsibility for, any transaction, shipment, refund, or dispute.

Use GrottoMade, and interact with other users, at your own risk. We encourage you to exercise caution before sending money or sharing personal information with anyone you meet through the Service.

7. Messaging

GrottoMade provides internal messaging so buyers and sellers can communicate. We do not routinely monitor private messages, but we may review message content when necessary to investigate a report, enforce these Terms, comply with a legal obligation, or protect the safety of our users. You're responsible for what you send, and for verifying who you're dealing with before sending money or personal information off-platform.

8. Prohibited conduct

On GrottoMade, you agree not to:

  • List items that aren't genuinely handmade under our Handmade Standards
  • List illegal, hazardous, counterfeit, or trademark-infringing items
  • Harass, threaten, or defraud another user
  • Attempt to circumvent our verification, suspension, or reporting systems
  • Scrape, resell, or misuse data from the Service
  • Impersonate another person or misrepresent your affiliation with anyone

9. Your content

You keep ownership of the photos, descriptions, and messages you post. By posting content, you give GrottoMade a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, display, and distribute it on the Service (for example, showing your listing photo in search results or a social share card). You're responsible for having the rights to anything you upload.

10. GrottoMade's intellectual property

The GrottoMade name, logo, and wordmark, along with the Service's software, design, and other content we create, are owned by GrottoMade or our licensors and are protected by intellectual property law. You may not copy, modify, distribute, or use them without our written permission, except as necessary to use the Service as intended (for example, sharing a link to your own listing).

11. Removing content

We may remove, edit, or disable any listing, message, or other content that violates these Terms, our Community Guidelines, or that we reasonably believe may expose a user or GrottoMade to harm or legal liability — with or without notice.

12. Copyright complaints

If you believe content on GrottoMade infringes your copyright, email hello@grottomade.comwith a description of the work, the infringing listing or content, and your contact information, and we'll investigate and take appropriate action, which may include removing the content.

13. Suspension, termination & deletion

If you violate these Terms, we may issue a warning, temporarily suspend your shop or messaging, or permanently close your account, depending on severity. Serious or repeated violations can result in immediate permanent suspension. You can also delete your own account at any time from Settings; deleted accounts enter a 30-day recovery window before permanent, irreversible deletion.

14. Disclaimers & limitation of liability

The Service is provided "as is," without warranties of any kind. GrottoMade doesn't guarantee the accuracy of any listing, the conduct of any user, or the outcome of any transaction. To the fullest extent permitted by law, GrottoMade isn't liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, or special damages — including lost profits, lost data, business interruption, or damage from viruses or unauthorized access to your account — arising from your use of the Service or any transaction conducted through it.

15. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold GrottoMade harmless from any claim arising from your use of the Service, your listings, your content, or a transaction you enter into with another user.

16. Governing law & venue

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida, USA, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Any legal action arising from these Terms will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Florida, and you consent to that venue.

17. Entire agreement

These Terms, along with our Privacy Policy, Community Guidelines, and Disclaimers, constitute the entire agreement between you and GrottoMade regarding the Service, and supersede any prior agreements on the subject.

18. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, that provision will be limited or removed to the minimum extent necessary, and the rest of these Terms will remain in full effect.

19. Waiver

Our failure to enforce any provision of these Terms isn't a waiver of our right to enforce it later.

20. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we'll post the updated Terms here with a new "Last updated" date. Continued use of the Service after a change means you accept the updated Terms.

21. Contact

Questions about these Terms? Reach us at hello@grottomade.com.