Vibecity Seller Policy
Introduction
Vibecity is an ecommerce platform for creative businesses to showcase their products & reach out to customers who would love their products. Our platform takes great pride & care in introducing these products to customers all over the world. We do so by enabling sellers to grow their online business without any hassles.
We are for the sellers, they define Vibecity.
However, to enable growth for the creative sellers, we have to create amazing discovery & shopping experiences for customers. And with the world addicted to online shopping, customer's expectation for a great shopping experience is at its peak.
Please take a moment to review all the guidelines mentioned below. These guidelines have been created taking in feedback from sellers & advice of experts. They are designed for safeguarding customer experience while being convenient for sellers to work with comfortably.
As a seller listed on Vibecity, you agree & abide by the guidelines to sell your products on Vibecity Marketplace & Vibecity Partner network. Violation of policy will lead to delisting & suspension of your account on the Vibecity platform.
Managing Orders
When a customer places an order, you'll receive the order with details for fulfilling it. Timely communications will be sent for taking due actions. Follow guidelines here:
- Upon receiving orders, confirm or cancel them as soon as possible. Due within 24 hours.
- Ship orders before the marked Dispatch Date. Timely reminders will be sent.
- Delays of more than 7 days for confirming or shipping orders will result in automatic cancellation and a penalty of 5% on every Vibecity Order
Cancellation & Refunds
Customers are given an option to cancel the order within 24 hours of placing the order or before it is shipped, whichever is earlier. Sellers get an option to cancel the order when they receive the order before confirmation. Some key points:
- Cancelling an order will initiate a refund to the customer immediately. This should reflect in their bank account within 5-7 business days.
- Order cancellation by the seller is supported for marketplace orders anytime before the order is picked up. Please reach out to vibecity support in case any help is needed.
- Cancellation requests from customers of any order containing customisations will not be accepted after order confirmation. However, post confirmation, cancellation can be done at the discretion of the seller.
- Vibecity will apply a 5% cancellation penalty fee for each Vibecity order that is cancelled by the seller
Shipping & Fulfilment
For delivering a richer shipping experience for customers, it's important to have reliable fulfilment services with timely communication. To do so, we've partnered with multiple courier companies, which helps run things smoothly & avail best shipping charges. The service is available as Vibecity Shipping via the seller app.
For Marketplace Orders
- Prepaid Orders can be shipped using Vibecity Shipping or your preferred local courier partner.
- It is mandatory to use Vibecity Shipping for Cash on Delivery Orders.
- Orders could be prepaid or cash on delivery. The type of order does not impact a seller.
- If you are facing trouble trying to ship orders via Vibecity Shipping, please contact vibecity support.
For Seller's Shop Orders
- Orders can be shipped either via Vibecity Shipping or using any courier service of the seller's choice.
- No support regarding shipping will be provided for self-shipped orders. Seller needs to contact the courier company for any such issues
Vibecity Commission & Fees
VibeCity employs a hybrid commission model which enables sellers to use their Vibecity Shop & other tools freely with nominal service charges.
Meanwhile, Vibecity marketplace can promote sellers and charge a referral fee for connecting a seller with a new customer on a per order basis.
Types of Fees
Service Charge - Base fees charged on each order for enabling ecommerce infrastructure like payments, shipping & cloud services.
Advertising Charge - Fees charged on each order, only when a new customer finds your brand through the Vibecity Marketplace.
Shipping Charge - Fees charged on each shipment only on using Vibecity Shipping services.
Commission Structure
Vibecity charges nominal fees as laid out in the table below. These charges are applicable Nov. 21, 2022 onwards. Please note that no charges will apply on cancelled, rto, lost & returned order.
Your Customer
- All new customers you bring via your own promotions & sharing are referenced as “Your Customer”
- A customer marked as “Your Customer” for a seller will be marked so for their entire lifetime on Vibecity Platform.
- The orders from these customers will be marked as ordered from “Shop”
Vibecity Customer
- Only when a New Customer discovers your brand through Vibecity marketplace it is referenced as a “Vibecity Customer” for a seller.
- Vibecity invests in marketing to get your brand more visibility and orders
Retained Customer
- A retained customer is one who places an order with a seller within 90 days of their previous purchase from that seller.
Fee Avoidance
Any action by a seller to avoid paying a fee is considered “fee avoidance” and is strictly prohibited by Vibecity. This includes, for example,
- encouraging buyers to purchase an item in your Vibecity shop through another venue.
- a transaction initiated on Vibecity may but completed off of Vibecity platform.
The price stated in each listing description must be an accurate representation of the sale. Sellers may not alter the item's price before or after a sale for the purpose of avoiding Vibecity fees, misrepresent the item's location, or use another user's account without permission.
Taxes
A seller is responsible for collecting and paying any taxes associated with using and making sales through Vibecity's services.
Earnings & Payout
Sellers' earnings from an order is credited to their earnings wallet based on the following conditions. They are credited as soon as possible to allow for better cash flow for sellers. Detailed breakdown of your earnings can be seen in the earnings section for an order.
Earnings from an order is credited to the wallet only when the orders are delivered.
- If you use Vibecity Shipping for shipping, when the item gets delivered, the order status will be automatically updated & earnings will be credited.
- If you use your own shipping method, earnings will be credited to your wallet when the order is explicitly marked delivered with a valid Proof of Delivery (POD). A valid Proof of delivery needs to have a tracking number from a genuine courier partner with a clear marking that order is delivered.
Earnings credited to your wallet is calculated deducting platform fees from the realised order amount as per the following reference:
- For Marketplace & Partner Network Orders, the customer will be referenced as “Vibecity Customer” & you will be charged a referral fee plus service charge
- For orders from Seller's Shop, the customer will be referenced as “Your Customer” & you will be charged only the service charge in perpetuity for that customer.
Goods and Services Taxpayer Identification Number (GSTIN)
Vibecity requires mandatory eKYC to be done by business sellers for them to avail payouts from their Vibecity earnings wallet. As part of eKYC, business sellers are required to provide PAN and GSTIN for their businesses. GSTIN is currently optional for individual sellers and sole proprietors. Vibecity will collect GST on all seller fees. To reduce your tax liability, it is recommended to register and provide GSTIN to Vibecity at the earliest. As per Indian government norms, GSTIN will become mandatory soon for all sellers regardless of individual or business status.
Return, Exchange & Refund Policy
All products listed on Vibecity are to follow a site wide policy. The policy is stated in the table below. It is designed to deliver great customer convenience yet being convenient for sellers to follow. Customers can raise a request for return in the stipulated time frame as mentioned below. No returns will be accepted for customised orders.
How return requests will be handled:
- Return requests raised by customers will be communicated and resolved on a case by case basis.
- Please take photos and videos of products and packages before shipping to ensure smoother resolution.
- Return shipping charges will be borne by the seller.
Standard Reconciliation Policies
Shipping operations require reconciliations to resolve unfortunate situations, cases of which are mentioned below. This will be done on a frequent basis by Vibecity. It may lead to changes in your earnings & will be communicated to you.
Non Delivery (NDR) / Return to Origin (RTO)
These cases arise when a courier partner is not able to deliver the order package. This can happen for multiple reasons. In this case:
- Customer is refunded the complete amount for prepaid orders. No refund for Cash on Delivery Orders
- Order package is returned to the seller, any amount credited as earnings will be debited back.
- Vibecity platform pays for total shipping fees (Onwards & Return, COD Handling if any).
- No service charge or referral charges will be applied
Lost
The case arises in case the courier partner loses the order package. In this case:
- Customer is refunded the complete amount by Vibecity.
- Seller earnings stay unchanged. No deduction or credit will be done due to this.
- No service charge or referral charges will be applied.
Shipping Weight Discrepancy
The case arises when there is a difference between the weight mentioned for the package before pickup and weight measured at the warehouse of the courier partner. The difference could be less or more. In this case:
- Seller is charged the discrepancy charges. This could be a debit or credit based on the difference.
Customer Data Usage
By using Vibecity seller app, a seller agrees that they will not use the customer information for unauthorised purposes.
Last Updated: 20 June, 2023