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BlackSpace Seller Members Policy

This policy was published on February 22, 2026 and it will take effect on February 22, 2026. It was last updated on March 21, 2026.

The BlackSpace Network is a curated private expressive association where Seller Members represent the African Diaspora. Membership in the Network is a form of collective speech, and BlackSpace LLC reserves the right to select and retain only those Seller Members whose presence contributes to the Network’s specific expressive message.

The Network Clause: BlackSpace is a brand of BlackSpace LLC. All commerce on this platform is conducted within the BlackSpace Network, a private, mission-aligned, and expressive association of Seller Members. The Network operates as a private forum for the collective exercise of the First Amendment rights of its members and the platform. All policies herein are subordinated to the Network’s Statement of Curatorial Intent and the LLC’s right to control its expressive message.

This policy is a part of our Terms of Use. By using the services, you’re agreeing to this policy and our Terms of Use.

1. Selling Basics

Keeping in mind these basic requirements will set you up for success on BlackSpace. 

What can be sold on the BlackSpace Network

Buyers come here to purchase items that they might not find anywhere else and to support Black owned businesses they may otherwise not have access to. Everything listed for sale on BlackSpace must be handmade, vintage, a craft supply, or marketed for resell.

In addition to meeting category requirements (handmade, vintage, or craft), all listings must align with the Network’s Curatorial Rubric for mission-aligned storytelling. Compliance with the Curatorial Rubric is determined solely by BlackSpace LLC’s subjective editorial judgment. These curatorial determinations are final and are not subject to the Dispute Resolution or Arbitration provisions of the Terms of Use.

Handmade items are items that are made and/or designed by you, the Seller Member.

If you sell handmade items, you agree that: 

  1. All handmade items are made or designed by you. If you work with a production partner, you must disclose that production partner in your relevant listings.
  2. You accurately describe every person involved in the making of an item in the item description. 
  3. You are using your own photographs or video content —not stock photos, artistic renderings, or photos used by other Seller Members or sites. 

If you are selling personalized or made-to-order items in the Handmade category, you agree that:

  1. All listings are available for purchase at a set price. 
  2. If you are using photographs of previous work with options for customization (like color choices) included in the listing, it is clear in your description that the photos shown are just examples. 

Vintage items must be at least 20 years old. 

Craft Supplies are tools, ingredients, or materials whose primary purpose is for use in the creation of an item or special occasion. Craft supplies may be handmade, commercial, or vintage. Party supplies may also be sold as craft supplies. 

We encourage you to be transparent about how your craft supplies were made and where your materials come from. You can disclose whether your items have social or environmental attributes, such as organic or recycled. You can also select the location of manufacture.

What can’t be sold on the BlackSpace Network

Even if they otherwise meet our marketplace criteria, prohibited items, services, and items that violate our intellectual property policies are not allowed to be sold on BlackSpace. All listings must offer an item for sale (which includes digitally delivered items, and can also include reserved listings). You may not create an BlackSpace listing for the purpose of sharing a referral code, posting a want ad, or similar activity that does not offer a physical or digital item for sale. 

Reselling is not allowed in the handmade category on BlackSpace. Reselling refers to listing an item as handmade when you were not involved in designing or making that item. 

Keep in mind that members or, in some cases third parties, may flag listings that appear to violate our policies for BlackSpace’s review. BlackSpace may remove any listings that violate our policies. Note that any fees collected by BlackSpace are non-refundable. BlackSpace may also suspend or terminate your account for any violations. You’ll still be on the hook to pay any outstanding fees on your BlackSpace statement.

Managing Your BlackSpace Store

Your store represents your Seller Membership within the BlackSpace Network. We reserve the right to audit your membership status at any time to ensure ongoing compliance with our ownership and mission-alignment standards. Seller Members acknowledge that their association with the Network is a privilege that may be revoked if their conduct or content, in the sole judgment of BlackSpace LLC, undermines the Network’s expressive mission or reputational integrity.

By selling on BlackSpace, you agree that you will: 

  1. Provide honest, accurate information to BlackSpace and in your public facing biographical section.
  2. Honor your Store Policies. 
  3. Ensure your store content, such as any text, photos or videos used to represent yourself, your store or your listings, abide by BlackSpace’s policies, including our Anti-Discrimination Policy.
  4. Accurately represent your items in listings and listing photos. 
  5. Respect the intellectual property of others. 
  6. Not engage in fee avoidance. 
  7. Not create duplicate stores or take any other action (such as manipulating clicks, carts or sales) for the purpose of shilling, manipulating search or circumventing BlackSpace’s policies. 
  8. Not coordinate pricing with other Seller Members.

Seller Member Standards

By listing a product for sale on BlackSpace you understand and agree that you are responsible for complying with all applicable laws and regulations for the products you list for sale, including any required labels and warnings. BlackSpace assumes no responsibility for the accuracy, labeling, or content of your listings.

Meeting Service Level Standards

As a Seller Member, you must provide great customer service and maintain trust with your buyers. These requirements are called our Seller Member Service Level Standards. BlackSpace may reach out to you if your store fails to meet BlackSpace’s Seller Member Service Level Standards. 

By selling on BlackSpace, you agree to:

  1. Honor your shipping and processing times. Seller Members are obligated to ship an item or otherwise complete a transaction with a buyer in a prompt manner, unless there is an exceptional circumstance. Please be aware that legal requirements for shipping times vary by country. 
  2. Respond to Messages in a timely manner.
  3. Honor the commitments you make in your store policies.
  4. Resolve disagreements or order issues directly with the buyer.
  5. If you are unable to complete an order, you must notify the buyer and cancel the order.

Selling Fees

Seller Members may be charged for using some of BlackSpace’s services. There are fees associated with listing, selling, advertising, and certain other BlackSpace products and features. 

2. Being a Member of the BlackSpace Community

At BlackSpace, everyone is expected to treat fellow members of the BlackSpace community with respect. As a Seller Member, you have additional responsibilities to safeguard personal information and communicate promptly with buyers in order to provide a great customer experience. 

Creating and Uploading Content

As a member of BlackSpace, you have the opportunity to create and upload a variety of content, like listings, Messages, text, photos, and videos. In order to keep our community safe and respectful, you agree that you will not upload content that:

  1. Contains hateful or derogatory language or imagery, or any content that is subject to our Anti-Discrimination and Hate Speech Policy;
  2. Contains threats, harassment, extortion, or violates our rules about interference;
  3. Violates someone else’s intellectual property rights;
  4. Is false, deceptive, or misleading;
  5. Contains unsolicited advertising or promotions, requests for donations, or spam;
  6. Contains private information, whether it is your own, or someone else’s; 
  7. Encourages or facilitates a transaction that evades the BlackSpace checkout process; 
  8. Contains prohibited medical drug claims;
  9. Violates any of the rules described in our Prohibited Items Policy.

Some content on BlackSpace is subject to additional requirements. Please see below for more details. 

Privacy and Protecting Personal Information

You are responsible for protecting members’ personal information you receive or process, and you must comply with all relevant legal requirements. This includes applicable data protection and privacy laws that govern the ways in which you can use BlackSpace user information. These laws may require that you post and comply with your own privacy policy, which must be accessible to BlackSpace users with whom you interact. Your privacy policy must be compatible with this policy and BlackSpace’s Terms of Use, and BlackSpace’s Privacy Policy. 

In particular, when you sell using our Services (subject to this Policy), you may receive and determine what to do with certain personal information, such as when communicating with users and entering into transactions with buyers. This means you process personal information (for example, buyer name, email address, and shipping address) and, to the extent you do so, under EU law, you are an independent controller of data relating to other users that you may have obtained through the Services. For more information on the General Data Protection Regulation, see more resources at https://gdpr-info.eu and http://gdprandyou.ie. As a data controller (that is someone who decides what personal data is collected and the purpose you’ll use the data for) to the extent that you process user personal information outside of the Services, you may be required under applicable data protection and privacy laws to honor requests received from such users for data access, portability, correction, deletion, and objections to processing. Also, if you disclose personal information without the buyer’s proper consent, you are responsible for that unauthorized disclosure. This includes, for example, disclosures you make or unintentional data breaches. For example, you may receive a buyer’s email address or other information as a result of entering into a transaction with that buyer. This information may only be used for BlackSpace-related communications or for BlackSpace-facilitated transactions. You may not use this information for unsolicited commercial messages or unauthorized transactions. Without the buyer’s consent, and subject to other applicable BlackSpace policies and laws, you may not add any BlackSpace member to your email or physical mailing list, use that buyer’s identity for marketing, or obtain or retain any payment information. Please bear in mind that you’re responsible for knowing the standard of consent required in any given instance. If BlackSpace and you are found to be joint data controllers of personal information, and if BlackSpace is sued, fined, or otherwise incurs expenses because of something that you did in your capacity as a joint data controller of buyer personal information, you agree to indemnify, defend and hold BlackSpace (and its employees, agents, consultants, subsidiaries, partners, affiliates, and licensors) harmless against any claims, costs, losses, damages, liabilities, judgements and expenses (including reasonable attorney fees) in connection with your processing of buyer personal information.

For more information, please see our Privacy Policy. 

Communication Standards

Messages

With BlackSpace’s “Messages”, you have the ability to communicate directly with your buyers or other BlackSpace members. Messages are a great way for buyers to ask you questions about an item or an order.

Messages may not be used for the following activities:

  1. Sending unsolicited advertising or promotions, requests for donations, or spam;
  2. Harassing or abusing another member or violating our Anti-Discrimination Policy;
  3. Contacting someone after they have explicitly asked you not to; or
  4. Interfering with a transaction or the business of another member.
  5. Exchanging personal contact, financial or other information for the purposes of evading the checkout process on BlackSpace, including phone number, address, email, social media handles, external URLs, instructions for money transfer, etc. 

Interference

Interference occurs when a member intentionally interferes with another member’s store in order to drive away their business. Interference is strictly prohibited on BlackSpace. Examples of interference include:

  1. Contacting another member via Messages to warn them away from a particular member, store, or item;
  2. Posting in public areas to demonstrate or discuss a dispute with another member;
  3. Purchasing from a Seller Member for the sole purpose of leaving a negative review;
  4. Maliciously clicking on a competitor’s ads in order to drain that member’s advertising budget, also known as “click fraud.”
  5. Creating or using an independent buyer account to maliciously upvote another store’s negative reviews in order to position those reviews more prominently. 

Harassment and Discrimination 

Any use of Messages to harass other members is strictly prohibited. Similarly, Messages may not be used to support or glorify hatred or otherwise violate our Anti-Discrimination Policy.

2. Communicating Cancellations

If you are unable to complete a transaction, you must notify the buyer via Messages and cancel the transaction. If the buyer already submitted payment, you must issue a full refund. You are encouraged to keep proof of any refunds in the event a dispute arises.

European Union Right of Withdrawal Buyers in the European Union (EU), and in parallel buyers in the UK, may be entitled to a 14-day “right of withdrawal” after receiving an item, during which they may return an item for any reason. The details of this right vary by EU member state or in the UK. The right of withdrawal may not apply to certain items like custom items or perishable goods. Rights with respect to digital items vary by EU member state or in the UK. 

Please be aware that in addition to this policy, each country has its own laws surrounding shipping, cancellations, returns, and exchanges. Please familiarize yourself with the laws of your own country and those of your buyers’ countries.

Seller Members may still cancel an order and work toward a resolution with a buyer as they see fit for policies applied to their stores, such as the digital items policy.

3. Feedback, Cases and Your Success

Reviews

Reviews are a great way for you to build a reputation on BlackSpace. Buyers can leave a review, including a one to five star rating, within approximately 100 days after the latter date of their item’s estimated delivery date. If an estimated delivery date is not available, the review window opens after the order’s processing time and shipping time have elapsed. Buyers can edit their review any number of times during that approximate 100 day period.

On the rare occasion you receive an unfavorable review, you can reach out to the buyer or leave a response. 

In addition to our rules for Creating and Uploading Content in Section 2, reviews and your response to reviews may not:

  1. Contain graphic, mature, or obscene language or imagery, or any content that is subject to our mature content policy;
  2. Be about things outside the Seller Member’s control, such as a shipping carrier, BlackSpace or a third party;
  3. Include shilling or otherwise falsely inflate a store’s review score; or 
  4. Undermine the integrity of the Reviews system.

Issue Resolution

Buyers must contact Seller Members directly and attempt to resolve any outstanding issues before reaching out to BlackSpace. For this reason, it is important that you fill out your store policies and regularly respond to Messages from your buyers. Once a buyer contacts you to notify you of a problem with an order, you will have 48 hours to resolve the issue. If the issue is unresolved in this time frame, the buyer may contact BlackSpace. Once BlackSpace has been contacted, BlackSpace will assist in the resolution of the case between the buyer and Seller Member. This may include, but is not limited to, automatically resolving the issue and issuing a refund to the buyer, or reviewing the issue further to help the buyer and Seller Member resolve it as quickly as possible. 

BlackSpace reserves the right to resolve an order issue before the 48-hour window for circumstances including, but not limited to, Seller Member inactivity, harassment, refusal of service, manipulation, and undermining the integrity of the issue resolution approach.

Buyers may request issue resolution for items that never arrive, arrive damaged, or do not match the listing description as part of BlackSpace’s Purchase Protection Program. BlackSpace may request your assistance in resolving an issue against your store. By using BlackSpace, you understand that BlackSpace may use your personal information for the purpose of resolving disputes with other members. For more information on our privacy policy, click here.

This section governs interactions between Seller Members and buyers; it does not limit BlackSpace LLC’s overarching right to refuse its Services to any Seller Member as part of its curatorial and expressive discretion.

Your Seller Member Account and BlackSpace’s Terms

In order to keep BlackSpace safe and improve our Services, we may take actions that limit the visibility of your store, listings or ads, or that impact your payment account. In the event a store sees unusual order activity, or we otherwise believe that your actions or store may result in buyer disputes, chargebacks, increased risk of fraud, counterfeiting, or other claims, BlackSpace may take actions such as limiting visibility of your account, or placing restrictions or reserves on your payments account, in accordance with our Terms of Use, and this Policy. When appropriate and permitted by law, BlackSpace will communicate information to the affected Seller Member about the issue. 

In addition, we may limit the visibility of listings or ads in the interest of keeping BlackSpace safe, and improving our Services. For example, listings or ads may have decreased visibility because they include terms that represent a prohibited item or based on third party policies. These listings or ads may also be restricted from appearing in one or more features of the Services. While these listings or ads may have limited visibility, they are still discoverable in search. 

BlackSpace may make changes to onboarding or authentication processes for Seller Members at our sole discretion. Completion of these processes may be required for Seller Member account activation or continued access and usage.

If BlackSpace has reason to believe you, Your Content, or your use of the Services violate our Terms, including this Seller Member Policy, we may deactivate Your Content to some or all users, or suspend or terminate your account (and any accounts BlackSpace determines is related to your account) and your access to the Services. Generally, BlackSpace will notify you that Your Content or account has been suspended or terminated, unless you’ve repeatedly violated our Terms or we have legal or regulatory reasons preventing us from notifying you.

4. Mission Alignment & Verification Standards

BlackSpace’s ownership criteria are reviewed annually in connection with the Network Advocacy & Impact Report.

Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Policy, including ‘Individual of African Descent,’ have the meanings given to them in the Terms of Use, of which this Policy forms a part.

Overview of Mission Alignment: To maintain the integrity of our expressive message, all Seller Members must demonstrate a dual-alignment with the BlackSpace Network: Heritage-Based Ownership and Expressive Consistency. We utilize a “Verify-on-Demand” model, meaning while we empower you to launch quickly, we reserve the right to audit these criteria at any time to ensure the Network remains “Unapologetically Black Forward”.

Verification Criteria: Seller Members are evaluated based on the following three pillars:

  1. Ownership Threshold: The business must be at least 51% owned by one or more Individuals of African descent.
  2. Operational Control: The Black owners must exercise substantial operational freedom and management control over the daily business and long-term strategy.
  3. Expressive Alignment: The brand narrative, product selection, and store content must reinforce the Network’s mission to celebrate the brilliance and resilience of the Black community.


Required Documentation for Audit: If your store is selected for a Membership Audit, you will be required to provide documentation within seven (7) business days to maintain your Seller Membership Level.

A. Legal & Ownership Evidence: To verify the 51% ownership threshold, you must provide at least one of the following:

  • Articles of Organization/Incorporation: Official state filings listing owners or members.
  • Operating Agreement or Bylaws: Internal documents detailing ownership percentages and voting rights.
  • Schedule K-1 or Tax Returns: Documents showing the distribution of profits/losses to owners.
  • Identity Verification: Completion of the Stripe Identity process to confirm the physical identity of the majority owner(s).

B. Control & Mission Evidence: To verify operational control and expressive alignment:

  • Brand Narrative Statement: A brief description of how your business supports the economic advancement of the Black community.
  • Product Authenticity: Evidence that products are either handmade, vintage, or curated in alignment with the Statement of Curatorial Intent.
  • Decision-Making Authority: Documentation showing the Black owner(s) have the legal authority to sign contracts and manage finances independently.


Adjudication & Appeals: The BlackSpace Network exercises sole curatorial discretion in evaluating these documents.

  • Compliance: If the documentation meets the standards, the membership is marked “Verified” .
  • Revocation: Failure to provide documentation or failure to meet alignment standards results in the immediate revocation of Seller Membership.
  • Appeal: Revoked members have 14 days to submit additional evidence to the Membership Committee to contest the decision.

5. Member Governance Rights

The BlackSpace Network is a private expressive association, and Seller Members are participants in a collective enterprise, not merely customers of a commercial service. In recognition of this, BlackSpace provides the following governance rights to active Seller Members in good standing.

Annual Community Investment Vote

BlackSpace directs a portion of its annual net revenue toward organizations that advance financial literacy, economic empowerment, and wealth-building within Black communities. As an expression of the Network’s collective voice and mission, all active Seller Members in good standing as of the annual vote eligibility date are entitled to participate in the Annual Community Investment Vote.

Each year, BlackSpace will identify no fewer than three (3) and no more than six (6) mission-aligned nonprofit organizations as candidates for that year’s Community Investment allocation. Candidate organizations must demonstrate a primary focus on financial literacy, Black entrepreneurship, or economic empowerment within communities of color, and will be evaluated by BlackSpace against the Network’s Curatorial Rubric prior to inclusion on the ballot.

Each eligible Seller Member will receive one (1) vote, which may be cast through the Seller Member dashboard during a voting window of no fewer than fourteen (14) calendar days. The organization or organizations receiving the plurality of votes will receive that year’s Community Investment allocation. BlackSpace will publicly disclose the vote outcome, the recipient organization(s), and the allocation amount through the Network Advocacy & Impact Report and on the BlackSpace Community Impact page.

BlackSpace LLC retains sole discretion to determine the total amount of the annual Community Investment allocation, to establish voting procedures and eligibility requirements, and to disqualify any candidate organization that no longer meets the Network’s mission standards. The outcome of the vote is the governing advisory expression of the Seller Member community, and BlackSpace commits to honoring the member vote outcome absent extraordinary circumstances, which will be disclosed to members in the event they arise.

Policy Input Mechanism

BlackSpace will solicit Seller Member input on proposed material changes to the Seller Member Policy through a comment period of no fewer than seven (7) calendar days prior to adoption. Member comments are advisory and do not create a veto right, but BlackSpace commits to publishing a summary of member feedback received and its response prior to finalizing any material policy changes.

Seller Member Advisory Council

BlackSpace maintains a Seller Member Advisory Council consisting of three (3) to five (5) active Seller Members selected through an application or nomination process administered annually by BlackSpace. The Advisory Council advises BlackSpace on matters including mission alignment, candidate organization vetting for the Annual Community Investment Vote, and proposed modifications to the Curatorial Rubric. Council members serve one-year terms and may serve no more than two consecutive terms. Advisory Council recommendations are non-binding, but BlackSpace commits to considering them and acknowledging them in its policy record.

Seller Member Forum

BlackSpace maintains a private Seller Member Forum accessible to all active Seller Members in good standing. The Forum serves as a space for members to engage in collective discussion, share advocacy positions, provide feedback on Network policy, and contribute to the Network’s expressive voice. The Forum includes a designated Policy Feedback subforum for structured input on proposed Network rule and mission changes. Participation in the Forum is subject to the Network’s conduct standards as set forth in the Anti-Discrimination and Hate Speech Policy.