Terms of Service

By creating an account, accessing, or using Manual Marketplace (the "Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms and by our Privacy Policy. If you are creating an account on behalf of a company, you represent that you have authority to bind that company, and "you" refers to both you and that company. If you don't agree, don't use the Service.

• You must be at least 18 years old and able to form a binding contract to use the Service.
• Account types: Platform Admin, Expert (an individual seller of Guides), Company Admin (manages a trade company's subscriptions, technicians, and optionally sells its own Guides), and Technician (added by a Company Admin to view Guides assigned to them).
• You're responsible for keeping your login credentials confidential and for all activity under your account. Tell us immediately if you suspect unauthorized access.
• One company should generally have one Company Admin account, with technicians added from the Team page — see Section 8 (Anti-Fragmentation) for why, and note that circumventing seat-based billing by splitting one company across multiple accounts is a violation of these Terms.
• We may suspend or terminate an account that provides false information, including a Company Admin who misrepresents an existing company as new to avoid a Team invite.

Manual Marketplace is a marketplace connecting trade companies with Experts and other companies who publish step-by-step video (and optional photo/text) technical guides ("Guides"). Companies subscribe to individual Guides, in blocks of five (5) seats per month, and organize the Guides they own or subscribe to into their own "Groups" to control which of their technicians can view which Guides.

We are a venue and payment facilitator. We do not create, verify, test, or supervise the technical content of any Guide, and we are not a party to the underlying work a technician performs after watching one. See Section 4 — please read it carefully.

• Guides are priced per block of 5 seats per month, set individually by each seller within a platform-enforced price band. Subscribing reserves that many seats, which a Company Admin then assigns to specific technicians via Groups.
• Payment is processed by Stripe, our payment processor. By subscribing, you authorize recurring monthly charges to your payment method until you cancel.
• Subscriptions renew automatically each billing period until canceled. You can cancel from your dashboard at any time; access continues through the end of the period you already paid for.
• Fees are generally non-refundable, including for partial months or unused seats, except where required by law or where we agree otherwise in writing.
• We may change a Guide's price prospectively; price changes don't apply retroactively to a period you've already paid for.
• Free trials and preview access (Section 6) are not subscriptions and are not billed, but a seller may end a trial or preview grant early if it was granted in error or in violation of these Terms.

Some Guides allow a Company to request "preview access" (view the Guide's content without buying, to evaluate it) or a "free trial" (a temporary 5-seat, 14-day grant usable by real technicians), at each seller's discretion. Neither requires payment information or creates a billing obligation. We (and the relevant seller) may limit, revoke, or decline any preview or trial request at any time.

Manual Marketplace retains a platform fee of 20% of the gross subscription price on every paid subscription, with the remainder paid out to the Expert or Company that owns the Guide. Stripe's own payment-processing fees are deducted separately by Stripe and are not part of, or controlled by, our 20% fee. Full seller-specific terms, including payout mechanics and tax responsibility, are in the Seller Agreement, which is incorporated into these Terms for anyone who lists a Guide for sale.

Guides are priced and sold in blocks of 5 seats specifically so that splitting one company into several single-person "company" accounts to dodge seat-based billing provides no discount and costs more, not less. Creating multiple company accounts for the same business to evade fees, seat limits, or trial restrictions is a violation of these Terms and grounds for suspension of all associated accounts.

• Guide video, photos, and written steps are uploaded by Experts and Companies, not by us. If you upload content, you represent that you own it or have the necessary rights and permissions to publish it, that it doesn't infringe anyone else's rights, and that it's accurate to the best of your knowledge — subject always to the disclaimer in Section 4.
• By uploading a Guide, you grant Manual Marketplace a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, stream, display, reproduce, and promote it as necessary to operate the Service (e.g., on marketplace listing pages and in search results). You keep ownership of your content. Full seller-specific licensing terms are in the Seller Agreement.
• Messages sent through the in-app messaging feature should relate to legitimate business communication about Guides, subscriptions, or trials — not spam, harassment, or solicitation unrelated to the Service.
• We may remove any content, or suspend any account, that we reasonably believe violates these Terms, applicable law, or presents a safety, legal, or intellectual-property risk — though we have no obligation to monitor content and aren't responsible for content we haven't reviewed.

• Don't use the Service for anything unlawful, fraudulent, or that infringes someone else's rights.
• Don't attempt to circumvent seat limits, billing, or access controls (including sharing a single technician login across more people than were actually invited).
• Don't scrape, reverse-engineer, or systematically download Guide video content outside the normal viewing experience.
• Don't upload malicious code, or attempt to gain unauthorized access to other accounts or to our systems.
• Don't misrepresent your qualifications, licensure, or the safety/accuracy of a Guide you publish.

We rely on third-party providers to operate the Service, including Stripe (payments and payouts) and Mux (video hosting/streaming). Your use of those features is also subject to those providers' own terms and privacy policies. We aren't responsible for outages or issues caused by third-party providers.

Manual Marketplace's name, logo, and platform software are our property (or our licensors') and aren't covered by any license granted to you under these Terms. You may not use our branding without written permission.

THE SERVICE AND ALL GUIDES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR SECURE, OR THAT ANY GUIDE IS ACCURATE, COMPLETE, CURRENT, OR SAFE.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, MANUAL MARKETPLACE AND ITS OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, OR GOODWILL, ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE OR ANY GUIDE — INCLUDING PERSONAL INJURY, DEATH, OR PROPERTY DAMAGE ARISING FROM FOLLOWING A GUIDE. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING OUT OF THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US IN THE 12 MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM AROSE, OR (B) $100. Some jurisdictions don't allow these limitations, so some of the above may not apply to you.

You agree to indemnify and hold Manual Marketplace harmless from any claim, loss, or expense (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from your content, your use of the Service, your violation of these Terms, or, if you're a Company, work your technicians performed based on a Guide.

You may stop using the Service and close your account at any time. We may suspend or terminate your account for violating these Terms, non-payment, or if required by law. Sections that by their nature should survive termination (disclaimers, limitation of liability, indemnification, dispute resolution) will survive.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles, and you agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located in Ontario for any dispute not subject to arbitration. [Placeholder: many marketplaces add a binding arbitration clause and class-action waiver here — whether that's appropriate, and enforceable given your users may be in other provinces or countries, is exactly the kind of thing to confirm with an attorney before launch.]

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we'll update the "Last updated" date above and, where appropriate, notify you in-app. Continuing to use the Service after changes take effect means you accept the updated Terms.

Questions about these Terms: legal@manualmarketplace.com (placeholder — replace with your real support/legal contact).