Terms of Service

1. Eligibility

1.1 U.S. access. The Services are currently intended for Authors and Booksellers based in the United States. All subscription prices and settlement calculations are denominated in U.S. dollars unless expressly indicated otherwise.

1.2 Age and authority. You must be at least 18 years old and legally capable of entering into these Terms. If you use the Services for an organization, you must have authority to act on its behalf.

1.3 Compliance. You are responsible for ensuring that your use of the Services and your consignment transactions comply with applicable laws and your agreements with other parties. We may decline service where prohibited by law.

2. Accounts and roles

2.1 Account types. Accounts are designated as Author or Bookseller accounts. A person or business must use the appropriate account type and provide accurate registration and account information.

2.2 Security and authorized users. You must keep login credentials confidential, use reasonable account security measures, and promptly notify us of suspected unauthorized use. You are responsible for actions taken through your account by people you authorize, except to the extent caused by our breach of these Terms or applicable law.

2.3 Account information. You must maintain accurate contact, business, and other required information and update it when it changes. You may not misrepresent your identity, role, authority, or relationship to another user.

2.4 Account access. You may not transfer your account without our written consent. We may require reasonable verification before restoring access or making sensitive account changes.

3. Subscriptions and billing

3.1 Plans and prices. Available subscription plans, features, prices, billing intervals, and any usage restrictions are described on our pricing or checkout pages. The terms displayed and affirmatively accepted at checkout apply to the particular subscription. Free accounts are not charged a subscription fee unless the user separately enrolls in a paid plan.

3.2 Recurring billing authorization. If you select a recurring paid plan, you authorize us and our third-party billing provider to charge the payment method you provide at the disclosed price and interval until you cancel or the subscription otherwise ends. Applicable taxes may be added where required. We will disclose the recurring payment terms and the cancellation method before obtaining your agreement to recurring billing.

3.3 Upgrades and downgrades. An upgrade generally takes effect immediately, and any prorated upgrade charge will be displayed or calculated under the checkout terms before you confirm it. A downgrade generally takes effect at the end of the then-current billing period, unless the checkout or account interface expressly states otherwise.

3.4 Cancellation. You may cancel a paid subscription at any time through the cancellation method available in account settings or by contacting us at support@consignwrite.com. Unless otherwise disclosed at checkout or required by law, cancellation stops future renewals, and paid access continues until the end of the billing period already paid for. Cancellation does not cancel or discharge any Author–Bookseller obligation described in Section 6.

3.5 Refunds and failed charges. Except as required by law or expressly promised at checkout, fees for an already commenced billing period are nonrefundable. We may suspend paid features after a payment fails, following any notice or cure period required by law. We will not treat a billing failure as payment of an Author settlement.

3.6 Price changes. We may change prices for future billing periods with advance notice as required by law. A change does not retroactively alter fees for a billing period already paid for. Where applicable law requires additional consent or the ability to cancel before a price increase, we will provide it.

3.7 Subscription fees are distinct from settlements. Subscription fees compensate ConsignWrite for software access. They are not a commission on consigned book sales and are not collected on behalf of Authors.

4. Relationship between Authors and Booksellers

4.1 Independent consignment relationships. ConsignWrite provides the Services to support the administration, documentation, and reconciliation of consignment relationships between Authors and Booksellers. Each Consignment Agreement is solely between the relevant Author and Bookseller.

4.2 No party to Consignment Agreements. Solely by providing the Services, ConsignWrite does not become a party to any Consignment Agreement, take title to consigned inventory, purchase inventory from Authors, or assume a Bookseller’s payment obligations. If the Services facilitate recording or acceptance of a Consignment Agreement, the resulting agreement is between the relevant Author and Bookseller, not ConsignWrite.

4.3 Responsibility for consignment terms. Authors and Booksellers are responsible for their agreements and legal obligations, including ownership, prices, commissions, sales, discounts, returns, damage, lost inventory, taxes, payment schedules, recordkeeping, and dispute resolution. They should obtain professional advice when needed.

4.4 No agency or fiduciary relationship with ConsignWrite. Except as expressly agreed in a separate written instrument, ConsignWrite is not an Author’s or Bookseller’s payment-collection agent, escrow agent, trustee, financial institution, or fiduciary. Nothing here changes an agency, trust, fiduciary, or similar relationship imposed by law between an Author and a Bookseller.

4.5 Records and disagreements. The Services may provide calculations, statements, communications, and dispute-tracking tools. ConsignWrite does not guarantee the underlying transactions, determine the enforceability of Consignment Agreements, or adjudicate disagreements between Authors and Booksellers. Each party retains its independent rights and remedies.

4.6 Statutory protections preserved. Nothing in these Terms modifies or limits nonwaivable ownership, trust, security-interest, payment-timing, accounting, or other protections under applicable consignment or commercial law. Administrative labels, account statuses, and calculations do not independently determine the existence or priority of such protections.

5. Settlement calculations and payments

5.1 Settlement calculations and discounts. The Services calculate amounts associated with consigned inventory based on the transaction data, recorded Consignment Agreement terms, and applicable software settings. Unless a valid Consignment Agreement provides otherwise, the Author’s share on an imported Shopify sale is calculated from the item’s undiscounted or list price used by the Services for that sale, rather than a lower price resulting from a Bookseller-applied discount. The Bookseller bears the effect of its own discount on that calculation. A discount that is not separately identifiable in imported data may not be reconstructed by the Services. Users must verify pricing, import accuracy, and applicable agreement terms. Mandatory law and the applicable Consignment Agreement prevail over software defaults.

5.2 Bookseller’s responsibility. The Bookseller is solely responsible for paying the Author what is legally and contractually owed. A Settlement Statement or balance displayed by the Services is a calculation or record, not an independent promise, guarantee, receipt, or transfer of money by ConsignWrite.

5.3 Settlement payments occur outside ConsignWrite. Under the current Services, Booksellers pay Authors directly using methods agreed between them outside the platform. ConsignWrite does not collect, receive, hold, transmit, advance, or disburse these settlement funds and does not debit a Bookseller’s account for settlement payments. Recording a payment in the Services does not initiate that payment.

5.4 Payment recording, confirmation, and disputes. Booksellers may record individual payments, including partial payments, with the date, amount, method (such as check, cash, bank transfer, or other), and reference. The Services require a reference for non-cash recorded payments. Authors may confirm or dispute individual payment records; an Author must enter a note when disputing a payment. While a payment record is disputed, it is excluded from the amount administratively credited against the relevant balance until the dispute is resolved. Once an Author confirms a payment record, that record is final within the ordinary platform workflow and cannot be reopened or edited; any later correction must be recorded separately through an available adjustment or corrective entry. Administrative finality is not a waiver or release: confirmation does not independently prove funds cleared, waive rights, settle a claim, or discharge a debt under a Consignment Agreement or law.

5.5 Statement disputes and balances. An Author may separately dispute the amounts in a Settlement Statement. While that dispute is open, the Services may place relevant in-platform statement or payment workflows on hold. Any such hold is administrative only: it does not prevent a Bookseller from making a direct payment outside the platform or excuse or postpone an obligation that is legally due. A disputed or unpaid balance remains a matter between the Author and Bookseller. ConsignWrite does not guarantee payment or Bookseller solvency.

5.6 Third-party payment costs. ConsignWrite’s subscription fees are separate from Author settlement amounts. Any charges relating to an outside check, cash, bank, or other payment are governed by the parties’ arrangements with that provider and their Consignment Agreement.

5.7 Future integrated payments. ConsignWrite may offer a separately authorized integrated settlement-payment feature in the future. It is not active under these Terms. Such a feature would require additional disclosures, payment-provider terms, appropriate user authorizations, and an updated description of the actual flow of funds before activation. Acceptance of these Terms alone does not authorize ConsignWrite to debit, hold, or transfer settlement funds.

5.8 Accuracy and adjustments. Users must reasonably review their records and report errors promptly. The Services allow authorized users to enter signed positive or negative adjustments with a stated reason. An adjustment cannot be edited or deleted through the ordinary workflow after entry; errors must be corrected with a separate entry. The Services do not allow an adjustment that would reduce the recorded amount owed to an Author below $0.00. These are accounting controls, not legal decisions about entitlement. No record, correction, adjustment, confirmation, or displayed balance changes a party’s legal rights, overrides mandatory law, or substitutes for an agreement where one is required. Refunds, returns, chargebacks, and similar events remain subject to applicable law and the relevant Consignment Agreement.

5.9 Sale without a recorded agreement. If a sale is recorded or imported for an Author and Bookseller and no active, paused, or terminated Consignment Agreement between them is recorded in the Services, the Services may initially calculate the sale using a provisional 0% Bookseller commission and flag it for Bookseller review and any appropriate adjustment. This provisional treatment does not establish that no agreement exists outside the Services, that the Author is legally entitled to the entire sale price, or that the Bookseller has no enforceable commission entitlement. The parties must verify the governing terms and agree on or otherwise lawfully determine corrections. A platform adjustment alone does not create or amend a Consignment Agreement.

5.10 Due dates. The Services display payment due dates calculated from recorded settlement and agreement data. Unless another valid payment term is configured, the administrative default is 30 calendar days after the recorded approval of a Settlement Statement. The displayed date is informational and does not independently create, accelerate, extend, or discharge a legal obligation. Applicable mandatory law and the Consignment Agreement control the actual deadline. Statement preparation delays, approval delays, record disputes, and workflow holds do not automatically change a contractual or statutory payment deadline.

5.11 No tax reporting agency for settlements. Each Author and Bookseller is responsible for determining and satisfying applicable tax obligations and information-reporting requirements for their own transactions. ConsignWrite may provide transaction summaries or exports for convenience, but these are not tax advice or official tax forms unless expressly identified as such. ConsignWrite does not assume a duty to issue Forms 1099-K, 1099-NEC, or 1099-MISC for direct Author settlement payments solely because it records those payments. This provision does not limit reporting obligations imposed on ConsignWrite by law in other capacities.

6. Cancellation, termination, and outstanding obligations

6.1 Continuing Author–Bookseller obligations. Suspension, cancellation, expiration, or termination of access to the Services does not erase any preexisting payment, inventory-return, accounting, tax, or other legal obligation between an Author and a Bookseller.

6.2 Open settlements. A Bookseller remains responsible for identifying and satisfying outstanding settlement obligations, including unrecorded, disputed, or overdue amounts, according to the applicable Consignment Agreement and law. Ending a subscription does not itself accelerate or postpone a payment deadline.

6.3 Consigned inventory. The Author and Bookseller remain responsible for reconciling and returning unsold inventory and resolving lost, damaged, returned, or missing goods. Access termination does not change ownership or priority rights in inventory or proceeds.

6.4 Access and export. Users should export records they need for accounting, tax, or legal purposes while their accounts and relevant export features are accessible. Any export capability is the capability actually made available under the relevant plan or feature. Following termination, some account functions and access to shared records may end. We may retain, delete, or make available records according to our Privacy Policy, documented retention practices, and applicable law; we do not promise perpetual record access or deletion where retention is legally required.

6.5 No assumption of obligations. ConsignWrite does not assume an Author–Bookseller debt or responsibility for consigned inventory solely because a subscription ends, a Bookseller stops operating, or either party becomes insolvent.

6.6 User cancellation and account closure. Users may request account closure through available account controls or by contacting support@consignwrite.com. Closing an account may affect the availability of connected records to the closing user and other users; requests are subject to applicable record-retention requirements and the legal rights of affected parties.

6.7 Suspension or termination by ConsignWrite. We may suspend or terminate access for a material violation of these Terms, fraudulent or unlawful activity, threats to security, nonpayment of applicable subscription fees, or where needed to comply with law. Where reasonably practicable and consistent with security and legal obligations, we will provide notice and an opportunity to correct a curable violation. We may act immediately to address serious risks.

6.8 Survival. Accrued rights and obligations, payment liabilities between users, intellectual-property provisions, confidentiality, permitted record retention, disclaimers, limitations of liability, indemnification, dispute-resolution provisions, and clauses that by their nature should survive will continue as applicable.

7. Prohibited uses and user responsibilities

7.1 Prohibited activities. You must not use the Services to commit fraud, misappropriate funds or inventory, impersonate others, infringe intellectual-property rights, violate privacy or other laws, harass users, spread malicious code, disrupt systems, probe security without authorization, scrape data without permission, or access another user’s information except as authorized.

7.2 Accuracy and authority. You must have the right to provide or import your User Content, connect third-party accounts, and share information with the other users involved in a consignment relationship. Do not upload payment-card numbers, government-issued identity documents, Social Security numbers, or similarly sensitive information into general-purpose fields unless a feature expressly permits that data and provides an appropriate collection mechanism.

7.3 Enforcement. We may remove unlawful content, restrict functions, or suspend accounts where reasonably necessary under Section 6.7. This does not create a duty to monitor or certify every transaction.

8. Disclaimer of warranties

8.1 Provided as available. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, ACCURACY, CONTINUOUS AVAILABILITY, OR ERROR-FREE OPERATION, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY.

8.2 Third-party and user data. We do not warrant the completeness or accuracy of information provided by users, imported from Shopify or other third parties, calculated from inaccurate inputs, or entered in Consignment Agreements. We do not guarantee the availability, financial condition, or performance of any Author, Bookseller, payment service, or other third party.

8.3 No legal, accounting, or tax advice. The Services provide administrative information and tools, not professional legal, tax, accounting, banking, lending, or financial advice. Users are responsible for obtaining professional advice where appropriate.

8.4 Preserved rights. Nothing in this Section disclaims an express obligation we undertake elsewhere in these Terms, our liability for our own unlawful conduct, or a warranty or remedy that applicable law does not permit us to exclude.

9. Limitation of liability

9.1 Excluded damages. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, CONSIGNWRITE AND ITS OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AFFILIATES, AND SERVICE PROVIDERS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, LOST BUSINESS, OR LOSS OF GOODWILL ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO THE SERVICES, EVEN IF ADVISED THAT SUCH DAMAGES WERE POSSIBLE. THIS DOES NOT EXCLUDE DAMAGES OR REMEDIES THAT APPLICABLE LAW PROHIBITS US FROM EXCLUDING.

9.2 Aggregate cap. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, CONSIGNWRITE’S TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICES WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) $250 OR (B) THE TOTAL SUBSCRIPTION FEES ACTUALLY PAID TO CONSIGNWRITE BY THE CLAIMANT DURING THE 12 MONTHS PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM.

9.3 Exceptions. Nothing in Sections 9.1 or 9.2 excludes or limits liability for ConsignWrite’s fraud, willful misconduct, or any other conduct or obligation to the extent applicable law prohibits exclusion or limitation. This Section does not cap or discharge an Author’s or Bookseller’s separate obligations to the other under a Consignment Agreement.

9.4 Allocation of risk. The parties acknowledge that the limitations in this Section are part of the agreed allocation of commercial risk and are reflected in the availability and pricing of the Services.

10. Governing law and disputes involving ConsignWrite

10.1 Governing law. Except to the extent mandatory law requires otherwise, these Terms and disputes between a user and ConsignWrite are governed by the laws of the State of Kansas, without regard to conflicts-of-law principles.

10.2 Informal resolution. Before filing a lawsuit, a party should provide written notice describing the dispute and requested relief to the other party and allow 30 days for an attempt at informal resolution. This process does not prevent a party from seeking emergency relief, complying with a filing deadline, or exercising rights that cannot be conditioned on advance notice.

10.3 Courts and venue. Subject to nonwaivable law, the parties consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state courts located in Johnson County, Kansas, and the United States District Court for the District of Kansas, as applicable, for disputes between a user and ConsignWrite arising under these Terms. A party may seek emergency injunctive relief in any court with jurisdiction when necessary to protect rights or property.

10.4 Author–Bookseller disputes excluded. This Section does not select the law or forum for, or control litigation or arbitration between, an Author and a Bookseller under their separate Consignment Agreement. ConsignWrite’s in-product confirmation and dispute-tracking tools are not binding arbitration or adjudication.

10.5 No mandatory arbitration imposed here. These Terms do not require arbitration or include a class-action waiver. Any later adoption of either provision would require separate drafting, legal review, and any assent required by law.

11. Changes to these Terms

11.1 Changes. We may update these Terms to reflect product, business, security, or legal changes. We will post the current version with its effective date and provide reasonable advance notice of material changes by email, an in-product notice, or another appropriate method, as required by law.

11.2 Acceptance of material changes. Where applicable law or the nature of the change requires affirmative acceptance, we will seek it before the change binds the affected user. Otherwise, continued use after the stated effective date constitutes acceptance to the extent permitted by law. If you reject changes, you may stop using the Services and cancel your subscription subject to these Terms and applicable law.

11.3 No retroactive alteration. Changes to these Terms do not retroactively amend an existing Author–Bookseller Consignment Agreement, discharge an accrued settlement obligation, or impair nonwaivable legal rights.

12. Ownership, User Content, and intellectual property

12.1 Platform ownership. ConsignWrite and its licensors retain all rights in the Services, software, names, marks, designs, documentation, and other platform materials, except User Content owned by users or third parties. Subject to these Terms and applicable plan limits, we grant you a limited, nonexclusive, nontransferable, revocable right to access and use the Services for your lawful internal consignment administration.

12.2 User Content ownership. You retain whatever ownership and other rights you lawfully hold in User Content. Providing it to ConsignWrite does not transfer ownership of books, copyrights, trademarks, or other intellectual property to us.

12.3 Limited license to operate the Services. You grant us and our authorized service providers a nonexclusive license to host, store, reproduce, format, display, process, transmit, and back up User Content only as reasonably necessary to operate, maintain, secure, troubleshoot, and support the Services, provide features and information you request, comply with law, and carry out the disclosures in our Privacy Policy. This license ends when content is deleted from our systems, subject to lawful retention and backups.

12.4 Shared records. You acknowledge that records of an Author–Bookseller relationship may be visible to both parties as part of the Services. Neither party may use the other’s nonpublic records outside the lawful purposes for which access was provided, subject to applicable law and their Consignment Agreement.

12.5 Feedback. If you voluntarily suggest improvements, you permit ConsignWrite to use those suggestions to improve the Services without payment to you, but this does not permit disclosure of your confidential information contrary to these Terms or law.

13. Third-party services and integrations

13.1 Integrations. The Services may connect with third-party applications such as Shopify and Stripe. Your use of those providers remains subject to their own terms, privacy notices, and permissions. You authorize us to exchange the data needed to operate an integration you enable, subject to our Privacy Policy.

13.2 Shopify and imported records. Shopify sales, inventory, pricing, refunds, tax, and other records may be incomplete, delayed, corrected, or inconsistent with Consignment Agreement terms. You remain responsible for checking imports, avoiding duplicate records, and reconciling discrepancies.

13.3 Stripe subscription billing only. Stripe is currently used for ConsignWrite subscription billing, not live Author settlement payouts. Any existing test-mode settlement capability does not authorize live payments. Future settlement integration would be governed by Section 5.7 and separate approved terms.

13.4 Third-party outages and changes. We are not responsible for a third party’s independent operations or decisions, but this provision does not excuse any responsibility we have under these Terms or law for our own conduct.

14. Privacy, confidentiality, and security

14.1 Privacy. Our Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, share, protect, and retain personal information. It is available at https://consignwrite.com/privacy.

14.2 Confidential information. Each user must use reasonable care to protect nonpublic business, sales, inventory, contact, settlement, and other confidential information belonging to other users and disclosed through the Services. Information is not confidential to the extent it is publicly available without breach, independently developed without misuse, or lawfully received without restriction. Disclosure required by law is permitted, with notice when lawful and practicable.

14.3 Security responsibility. We will maintain safeguards appropriate to the nature of the information we process, consistent with our disclosed practices and applicable law. Users must secure their devices, credentials, connected accounts, and authorized-user access. No internet service can be guaranteed free of security incidents.

14.4 Legal preservation. We may preserve or disclose information as required by valid legal process or applicable law, subject to applicable privacy protections.

15. Availability, support, and service changes

15.1 Features and changes. We may maintain, update, or change the Services and their integrations. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to give advance notice of a material discontinuation of a paid feature when practicable, subject to security, legal, and operational needs.

15.2 No uptime guarantee. Unless the parties separately agree in a written service-level agreement, we do not promise any specific availability percentage, response time, or recovery time. Section 8 governs applicable disclaimers.

15.3 Administrative records. Users should maintain appropriate independent backups or exports of records needed for tax, accounting, or legal purposes and should not rely exclusively on the Services as a permanent legal records repository.

16. General terms

16.1 Entire agreement and priority. These Terms, together with any separately accepted plan-specific terms and feature-specific supplements, form the agreement between you and ConsignWrite concerning the Services. They do not replace or override an independent Consignment Agreement between an Author and Bookseller. If a separately accepted ConsignWrite feature supplement expressly conflicts with these Terms, the supplement controls solely for that feature, subject to law.

16.2 Notices. We may send operational and legal notices to the email address associated with your account or through the Services, as permitted by law. Notices to ConsignWrite about legal disputes or contractual claims must be sent to legal@consignwrite.com and ConsignWrite, LLC, 14405 Reeds St., Overland Park, KS 66223. Notice is effective as determined by applicable law; posting a notice alone does not replace a method that law requires.

16.3 Assignment. You may not assign your rights or obligations under these Terms without our prior written consent, not to be unreasonably withheld where applicable law requires. We may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, restructuring, sale of substantially all relevant assets, or other lawful business succession, subject to applicable law and privacy commitments.

16.4 Severability and waiver. If a provision is unenforceable, the remainder remains effective to the extent the agreement’s essential purpose can still be carried out. Failure to enforce a provision on one occasion is not a waiver of the right to enforce it later.

16.5 Relationship of parties. The relationship between you and ConsignWrite is that of independent contracting parties. These Terms do not create a partnership, employment relationship, joint venture, or general agency relationship.

16.6 Force majeure. Neither party is responsible for delays in nonmonetary obligations caused by events outside its reasonable control, provided it uses reasonable efforts to mitigate the impact. This provision does not excuse subscription fees already due or any separate Author–Bookseller payment obligations.

16.7 No general third-party beneficiaries. Except where expressly stated or mandated by law, these Terms do not confer enforceable rights on a person who is not a party to the agreement with ConsignWrite. This does not affect the parties’ rights under their separate Consignment Agreements.

16.8 Contact. Questions about these Terms or the Services may be sent to support@consignwrite.com. Contractual and legal notices should use the contact details in Section 16.2.