This Brand Merchant Agreement (“BMA”) supplements the Terms of Service. It applies to every brand operator listing or selling products on Crescence. If a term in the BMA conflicts with the Terms, the BMA controls for brand-merchant matters.
1. Commission
Crescence retains a flat 13% of the order subtotal as platform commission on every fulfilled order. Commission is calculated pre-tax and pre-shipping, so the brand operator keeps the remaining 87% of the subtotal(subject to § 4).
Shipping is handled separately from commission. The office pays for delivery of its order. For an order consolidated across multiple brands, the brand operator covers inbound freight of its products to the Crescence distribution center; a single-brand order ships directly to the office, so no inbound freight applies.
2. Payouts and hold periods
Payment for an order fulfilled through the Crescence distribution center is released once Crescence has received the brand operator's shipment and verified it against the order; payouts settle via Stripe Connect within 3 business days. At that point the brand operator has completed its fulfillment obligations, and Crescence assumes responsibility for storage, fulfillment, and delivery to the buyer.
Payout is not conditioned on delivery to the office, on any refund window, or on any other event that occurs after Crescence takes possession of the products. The brand operator is not responsible for any delay, loss, or error that occurs after receipt.
Crescence may hold a payout only for an issue that exists at or before the time of receipt: a discrepancy between the shipment and the order, an unresolved verification requirement, or a fraud or compliance review (including Stripe Radar). We notify the brand operator of any hold within 24 hours.
For a single-brand order that ships directly to the office, the brand operator completes its fulfillment obligations when it hands the order to the carrier, and payment is released on shipment confirmation.
3. First-order credit
To welcome a new office, Crescence covers the shipping cost on that office's first order. This is the only first-order credit. It is a Crescence marketing expense, absorbed entirely by Crescence, and is never deducted from the brand operator's payout: the brand operator still receives 87% of the full order subtotal.
4. Chargebacks, inventory, and fulfillment
A chargeback loss is allocated to the party responsible for the underlying problem, not automatically to the brand operator.
If a chargeback results from the brand operator's acts or omissions, for example failing to ship the order to Crescence, shipping the wrong products, shipping damaged products, or otherwise failing to meet its fulfillment obligations, the brand operator bears the resulting loss, and the disputed amount plus the issuer's fee may be debited from its next payout.
If a chargeback results from Crescence's acts or omissions after we have received the products, for example losing the inventory, shipping the wrong products, shipping to the wrong address, failing to deliver the order, or another fulfillment error on our part, Crescence bears the resulting loss, and no amount is deducted from the brand operator's payout because of our mistake.
A chargeback that does not result from the brand operator's acts or omissions is not charged to the brand operator. For any chargeback, Crescence will provide the evidence package we submitted to Stripe so the responsible party can challenge the issuer's decision.
More generally, while the brand operator's products are in Crescence's custody for consolidation or fulfillment, Crescence is responsible for loss of or damage to those products caused by Crescence, and for its own fulfillment errors (for example shipping the wrong product, shipping to the wrong address, or failing to deliver), and will not deduct those losses from the brand operator's payout. The brand operator remains responsible for products lost or damaged before Crescence receives and accepts them, and for defects, mislabeling, or safety issues in the products themselves. Refunds, shipping failures, and payout holds are handled consistently with this section and § 2.
5. Product claims and labeling
The brand operator warrants that every product listed on Crescence: (a) accurately reflects ingredient and allergen content per FDA Big-9 (peanut, tree-nut, dairy, egg, soy, wheat, fish, shellfish, sesame); (b) complies with FDA labeling requirements for the product category; (c) does not make health claims that lack substantiation; (d) is sold legally in each state where the brand operator makes it available for delivery through Crescence.
Misrepresentation of allergen content is grounds for immediate product suspension and potential account termination.
6. Recalls
If the brand operator becomes aware of a safety issue requiring recall, the brand operator must notify Crescence within 24 hours by emailing hellocrescence@gmail.com with severity, affected lots, and the recall notice. Crescence will (a) notify every office that ordered the affected SKU within the lookback window, (b) suspend the affected SKUs from discovery, and (c) coordinate auto-refund offers for orders placed in the last 90 days. The brand operator is responsible for the recall economics - Crescence does not absorb refund costs in a recall.
The brand will cooperate in, and bear the cost of, any recall or market withdrawal of its products, including the cost of customer notifications and remediation.
7. Insurance
The brand will maintain commercial general liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 in the aggregate, plus product liability coverage appropriate to its products. On request, the brand will provide a certificate of insurance naming Crescence Inc. as an additional insured and will notify Crescence of cancellation or material change in coverage.
8. Traceability, testing, and compliance
The brand maintains lot and batch traceability (one-up, one-back) and records sufficient to support a recall, consistent with applicable FDA requirements including the Food Traceability Rule (FSMA section 204) where it applies. The brand provides a certificate of analysis on request, and represents that its facilities are registered with the FDA where required and that it complies with applicable FSMA preventive-controls and current good manufacturing practice requirements.
9. Brand IP licensed to platform
The brand operator grants Crescence a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to display, reproduce, and distribute their brand marks, product photography, and product copy through the Service. The license terminates 90 days after the brand operator's account is closed, except for outstanding orders and historical pages that remain visible to past customers.
10. Indemnification
The brand operator agrees to indemnify and hold Crescence harmless from any claim arising out of: (a) products sold through Crescence, (b) brand operator's violation of FDA or state food-safety regulations, (c) brand operator's violation of intellectual property rights of any third party.
11. Audit rights
Crescence reserves the right to audit a brand operator's compliance with this BMA on reasonable notice (typically 5 business days), including review of certifications, ingredient sourcing, and labeling. Audits are conducted electronically where possible. Repeated audit failures are grounds for account termination.
12. Term and termination
The BMA is in effect for as long as the brand operator's Crescence account is active. Either party may terminate on 30 days' written notice; Crescence may terminate immediately for material breach or repeated AUP violations. Outstanding orders at the time of termination are honored; payouts complete on the normal schedule.
13. Suspension and delisting
Crescence may immediately delist or suspend a brand's products upon a recall, regulatory action, lapse in required insurance, or a material safety risk.
14. Contact
Brand operator questions: hellocrescence@gmail.com.
