Acceptable Use Policy

1. About This Policy

This Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP" or "Policy") governs your access to and use of the websites, applications, listings, tools, and services made available at https://mercoly.com (collectively, the "Platform") operated by Mercoly ("Mercoly," "we," "us," or "our"). It applies to everyone who uses the Platform, including buyers, customers, visitors, registered users, and the independent third-party businesses and sellers who list products and services ("Sellers"). This Policy is incorporated by reference into, and supplements, our Terms of Service. Capitalized terms not defined here have the meaning given in the Terms of Service.

Mercoly is a neutral online business directory, multi-vendor marketplace, and lead-generation platform. We provide the venue and tools that connect customers and buyers with independent third-party Sellers who list and sell their own products and services. Mercoly is an intermediary only. We are not a party to any transaction between a buyer and a Seller; we are not the seller, manufacturer, importer, distributor, or provider of any product or service; we do not take title to goods; and we do not vet, endorse, guarantee, or warrant Sellers, listings, products, services, reviews, or other content. All transactions, communications, fulfillment, support, warranties, refunds, and disputes are solely between the buyer and the Seller. You — not Mercoly — are responsible for your own content and conduct, and Sellers are solely responsible for their listings, goods, services, and full legal compliance.

By accessing or using the Platform, you agree to comply with this Policy. If you do not agree, you must not use the Platform.

2. General Standards of Conduct

You agree to use the Platform only for lawful purposes and in a manner consistent with this Policy, all applicable Mercoly policies, and all applicable local, state, federal, and international laws and regulations. You are responsible for ensuring that everything you post, transmit, upload, list, or otherwise make available through the Platform ("Content") complies with this Policy and with the rights of third parties.

3. Prohibited Content and Conduct

You may not use the Platform — and may not allow any third party using your account to use the Platform — to do, attempt, facilitate, or encourage any of the following:

• Illegal activity. Engage in or promote any activity that violates any applicable law, regulation, sanctions program, or court order, or that would expose Mercoly or others to legal liability.
• Fraud and deception. Engage in fraud, phishing, deceptive, misleading, or manipulative practices; impersonate any person or entity; misrepresent your identity, affiliation, or the source, nature, origin, condition, price, or availability of any product or service; create fake or duplicate accounts; or use stolen, unauthorized, or fraudulent payment instruments.
• Intellectual property infringement. Post, list, sell, or transmit Content or goods that infringe or misappropriate any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, publicity, privacy, or other proprietary right; sell counterfeit, pirated, replica, or unauthorized goods; or use another party's brand, logo, or protected work without authorization.
• Harmful code. Upload, transmit, or distribute viruses, worms, trojans, ransomware, spyware, malware, or any other malicious or destructive code, files, or programs.
• Security and integrity violations. Attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Platform, accounts, systems, or networks; probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of any system; circumvent authentication, rate limits, or security measures; or interfere with, disrupt, overload, or degrade the Platform (including denial-of-service activity).
• Scraping and data harvesting. Use any robot, spider, scraper, crawler, or other automated means to access, monitor, copy, harvest, or extract data, listings, reviews, or other Content from the Platform without our prior written consent; aggregate or republish Platform Content; or collect users' personal information without a lawful basis and proper disclosures.
• Harassment and harmful content. Post Content that is harassing, threatening, abusive, defamatory, libelous, obscene, hateful, or that promotes violence, self-harm, terrorism, or discrimination against any individual or group based on a protected characteristic.
• Exploitation and minors. Post, request, or transmit any Content that sexually exploits or endangers minors, or any child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Mercoly will report apparent CSAM to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and to law enforcement as required by law. The Platform is not directed to children under 13, and you may not collect data from children under 13 in violation of COPPA.
• Spam and unsolicited messaging. Send spam, chain messages, pyramid or multi-level marketing schemes, or unsolicited bulk communications; send messages that violate the CAN-SPAM Act, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), or other anti-spam, telemarketing, autodialer, or do-not-call laws; or harvest contact information for unsolicited outreach. Sellers and users are solely responsible for obtaining all consents required to contact buyers or leads.
• Off-platform circumvention. Use the Platform to solicit users to transact off-Platform in order to evade fees, policies, or buyer/seller protections, where prohibited by the Terms of Service.
• Privacy violations. Post or distribute another person's private, personal, or confidential information without authorization ("doxxing"), or otherwise violate any individual's privacy rights.
• Misuse of the Platform. Reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble any portion of the Platform except as permitted by law; frame or mirror the Platform; or use the Platform in any way not expressly authorized.

4. Prohibited, Illegal, and Regulated Goods and Services

Sellers are solely responsible for ensuring that every product and service they list is legal to sell and is offered in full compliance with all applicable laws, licensing, age, and labeling requirements. The following are prohibited or strictly restricted, and may not be listed, offered, sold, or facilitated through the Platform except where expressly permitted by Mercoly in writing and in full compliance with all applicable laws (this list is illustrative, not exhaustive):

• Illegal drugs, controlled substances, narcotics, drug paraphernalia, and unapproved or misbranded pharmaceuticals or supplements.
• Firearms, ammunition, explosives, weapons, and components or accessories prohibited by law or restricted from online sale.
• Counterfeit, replica, pirated, or otherwise IP-infringing goods.
• Stolen goods or property, or goods obtained or trafficked unlawfully.
• Tobacco, vaping, nicotine, e-cigarette, cannabis, CBD/THC, and related products where prohibited or sold without required licenses and age verification.
• Alcohol, where sold without applicable licenses, age verification, and compliance with shipping laws.
• Human remains, body parts, organs, and protected or endangered wildlife, animal parts, or products violating CITES or similar laws.
• Hazardous, toxic, radioactive, or otherwise dangerous materials, and recalled products.
• Items that promote or facilitate illegal activity, hate, terrorism, or violence.
• Sexually explicit material involving minors or non-consenting persons; prostitution or human-trafficking services.
• Gambling, lottery, sweepstakes, or betting products and services offered unlawfully.
• Government documents, identification, financial accounts, personal data, or credentials offered for unlawful purposes.
• Goods or services subject to U.S. export controls, embargoes, or sanctions, or offered to sanctioned persons or jurisdictions.
• Any other goods or services that are illegal, regulated, recalled, or that Mercoly determines, in its sole discretion, are inappropriate for the Platform.

Many products and services are regulated and may require licenses, permits, certifications, disclosures, or age verification. It is the Seller's sole responsibility to determine and satisfy all such requirements before listing.

5. Accurate Listings and Review Integrity

Sellers must ensure that all listings are accurate, complete, and not misleading, including descriptions, images, pricing, fees, availability, condition, specifications, shipping, and their own returns, refund, warranty, and other policies. Sellers must honor the terms of their listings and applicable consumer-protection law, including any implied or express warranties governed by the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). Bait-and-switch, hidden fees, deceptive pricing, and false scarcity claims are prohibited.

You must not manipulate reviews, ratings, or feedback in any way. Prohibited conduct includes: posting fake, fraudulent, incentivized-but-undisclosed, or deceptive reviews; writing reviews for your own listings or competitors' listings; offering or accepting compensation in exchange for reviews; coordinating review campaigns; gating, filtering, suppressing, or selectively removing genuine reviews; and posting reviews that are not based on a genuine experience. Reviews must reflect honest, first-hand experiences and must comply with applicable Federal Trade Commission guidance on endorsements and testimonials.

6. Compliance With Laws; Taxes; Seller Responsibilities

You are responsible for complying with all laws applicable to your use of the Platform. Sellers are solely and exclusively responsible for their products, services, listings, pricing, fulfillment, customer service, returns, refunds, warranties, data handling, marketing, and full legal compliance — including obtaining all required licenses, permits, and registrations; collecting and remitting all applicable taxes; and maintaining their own returns, refund, shipping, warranty, privacy, and age/legal-restriction policies. Mercoly does not provide legal, tax, or regulatory advice and does not assume any of these responsibilities. As a neutral venue and intermediary, Mercoly is not the seller or provider and is not responsible for, and disclaims all liability arising from, any user's or Seller's acts, omissions, products, services, or content, consistent with applicable intermediary protections (including Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, 47 U.S.C. § 230).

7. Intellectual Property and DMCA Notices

Mercoly respects intellectual property rights and complies with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), 17 U.S.C. § 512. If you believe Content on the Platform infringes your copyright, you may submit a notice to our designated agent at support@mercoly.com with all information required by 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3), including identification of the copyrighted work and the allegedly infringing material, your contact information, a good-faith statement, a statement under penalty of perjury that the information is accurate and that you are authorized to act, and your physical or electronic signature. We may remove allegedly infringing Content and terminate repeat infringers. Counter-notices may be submitted to the same address.

8. Reporting Abuse

If you encounter Content, conduct, a listing, a product, a service, or an account that you believe violates this Policy or the law, please report it to support@mercoly.com. Include the relevant URL(s), listing or account identifiers, a description of the issue, and any supporting information. Mercoly reviews reports but is not obligated to investigate, act on, or respond to any particular report, and reserves the right to determine, in its sole discretion, what action (if any) to take.

9. Enforcement and Consequences

Mercoly may, at its sole discretion, with or without notice and without liability, take any action it deems appropriate for any actual, suspected, or alleged violation of this Policy or applicable law, or for any other reason, including:

• Removing, editing, disabling, de-indexing, or restricting access to any listing, review, or Content;
• Issuing warnings; suspending, limiting, or terminating any account, listing, or access to the Platform;
• Withholding, freezing, or reversing payouts in accordance with the Terms of Service;
• Removing, suspending, or refusing to create auto-generated or claimed business listings;
• Reporting violations and cooperating with law enforcement, regulators, and affected rights holders; and
• Pursuing any other remedy available at law or in equity.

Mercoly may also modify, suspend, or remove any listing, content, or account at its sole discretion, with or without cause and with or without notice. Mercoly's decision not to enforce any provision of this Policy in a particular instance does not waive our right to enforce it later. Auto-created business listings are generated from public and open data sources; a business may claim, edit, or request removal of its listing at any time by contacting support@mercoly.com.

10. Disclaimers; No Liability for Other Users

The Platform is provided on an "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" basis. Mercoly does not screen, vet, endorse, or guarantee any user, Seller, listing, product, service, review, or transaction, and disclaims all warranties to the fullest extent permitted by law. Mercoly is not responsible or liable for the conduct, content, products, or services of any user or Seller, or for any dispute, damage, or loss arising between buyers and Sellers. You are solely responsible for evaluating, and assume all risk relating to, any user, Seller, listing, product, service, or transaction. Nothing in this Policy creates any agency, partnership, joint venture, employment, or fiduciary relationship between you and Mercoly. These disclaimers, together with the limitation of liability, indemnification, and release provisions in our Terms of Service, apply to your use of the Platform and to this Policy.

11. Changes to This Policy

Mercoly may update or modify this Policy at any time in its sole discretion. Changes are effective when posted to the Platform unless otherwise stated. Your continued use of the Platform after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised Policy. This Policy is governed by the laws of the State of Florida, USA, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles, as further set out in our Terms of Service.

12. Contact

Questions, reports, and legal, DMCA, or privacy requests relating to this Policy may be sent to support@mercoly.com.