Legal / Marketplace Rules

Last reviewed: October 18, 2024

Marketplace Rules of Service

To open a studio as a seller, please review our Seller FAQs.

Marketplace Rules

The following terms of Service ("Marketplace Rules") form part of HostJane’s General Terms and govern Your ("User", "You" or "Your") use of the HostJane Marketplace for Skills found at HostJane.com (the "Service" or "Site"), including any content, payment processing, functionality and Services offered on or through the Site. HostJane’s Customer Support team is available 24/7, 365 days per year. If You have any questions regarding the Site or Terms of Service please contact Us at the bottom of this page.

We strive to make HostJane a safe and secure environment for all Users. The Services operate with free registration, free setup, free use outside of Buyer Orders, and no Listing fees for Sellers. We deliberately do not change or segregate the Site experience based on Users acting as Buyers or Sellers.

1. HostJane Marketplace Definitions

1.1 "Skill" is a User's capability to perform a task or action of value to a Buyer, that can be digitally delivered in a non-tangible (virtual) form over the internet.

1.2 "Service" is the process of delivering value to the Buyer. Services are performed by Sellers who facilitate an outcome that will be of value to the Buyer, employing specific Skills, costs, and risks that the Buyer cannot reach without paying the Seller.

1.3 "Final Work" means the coherent, ready-to-use deliverable that a Seller used their Skills to create as part of their Service. Buyers receive their unwatermarked, non-limited Final Work after Buyer leaves feedback and approves release of payment to Seller.

1.4 "Work Preview" depending on type of Work performed as given in Section 2.14, means the watermarked, abridged, or restricted audiovisual preview of the Final Work; or the confirmation of attendance in an online booking, that Sellers provide to Buyers during the Delivery Stage for the purposes of attaining Buyer's approval, feedback, and subsequent release of payment to Seller.

1.5 "Buyers" are private Users who purchase Services from other Users through HostJane.

1.5a "Freelancers" are Users who operate a public business profile located on HostJane.com

1.6 "Sellers" are Users who create Listings and offer or sell Services through HostJane. It is 100% free to Sell a Service on HostJane, there are no setup fees, no Listing fees, no monthly fees and no ongoing fees.

1.7 "Listings" are page descriptions of Skills offered and sold by Users as Services through HostJane. Each Listing must serve a Skill related to one of HostJane's five categories; (i) Web, mobile and technology; (ii) Video, voice, art and design; (iii) Online bookings and teaching; (iv) Writing and translation; (v) Business, digital marketing and accounting. The Service can be sold giving Buyer all rights to the delivered Work, or with an ad hoc License to use the delivered Work determined by the Seller before any purchase. The minimum value for the sale of any Skill through HostJane is USD $1.

1.8 "Orders" are financial considerations paid in U.S. dollars from Buyers to Sellers on HostJane to commence Work based on the legal agreement and information available on the Seller's Listing page or Custom Offer. All prices and payments on HostJane are in U.S. dollars.

1.9 "Service Cost" is the price that the Seller sets for their Service. This must include the Marketplace Fee. HostJane uses Seller-driven pricing, Seller's control the prices of their Listings.

1.10 "Base Price" is the minimum price the Buyer pays for a Seller's Listing. The Base Price is made up of the Service Cost and the Handling Fee. The Base Price excludes Service add-ons and Licensing costs, which are both priced by the Seller, and, if applicable, Non-Disclosure Agreement admin fees.

1.11 "Profiles" are non-publicly accessible member pages for Users who have not set up a Listing. Profiles can only be accessed by current HostJane members.

1.12 "Studios" are Seller portfolios of offered Services or public business profiles operated by Freelancers. After User has set up at least 1 Listing, the User's profile is transformed into a publicly-accessible Studio at the address based on the Seller's Username and located at: www.hostjane.com/marketplace/username

1.13 "License" is a legal agreement between the Buyer and Seller for how the deliverable Final Work can be used by the Buyer.

1.14 "Delivery Time" is the deadline specified by the Seller on the Listing page by which time the Service must be delivered to the Buyer otherwise the Buyer receives a refund less the Handling Fee.

1.15 "Online Bookings" are orders based on Listings where the Seller offers a Skill to be provided over one-to-one video call such as Zoom, Google Meet, WhatsApp, Telegram or Skype, for example, an online lesson. Buyers and Sellers liaise using HostJane's messaging system to schedule a booking based on their timezones, which must be held within the delivery time of the Service as given by the Seller on the Listing or Booking page.

1.16 "Boards" are interactive collaboration tools that are fully integrated with site messaging to assist Buyers and Sellers to collaborate on tasks. Boards feature a cloud-based system of lists and sticky notes called cards that can be mutually organized by both Buyer and Seller with work notifications of changes delivered to each User's email and account. Each card stores documents, files, comments, attachments, photos, checklists and text. Each order including custom orders and online bookings are assigned 1 Board that becomes available after a Seller accepts a Buyer's order.

1.17 "Buyer Payment Protection" means the holding of Buyer funds by HostJane until Seller delivers purchased Service, on time, and meeting the Buyer's Satisfaction. If Work Preview is delivered late by Seller or is not unsatisfactory, the Order is eligible for a refund to Buyer under HostJane's Purchase Protection in 2.1.2. HostJane acts as Sellers' limited authorized payment collection agent.

1.18 "Completed Order" is an Order where Buyer has successfully received their Final Work from Seller, having approved release funds to the Seller and left public feedback for the Seller.

1.19 "Custom Orders" are customized Orders created by Sellers for Buyers through the HostJane internal messaging system. The same terms and conditions on regular Orders apply to custom Orders.

1.20 "Tips" are voluntary payments sent by Buyers to Sellers in appreciation of Work performed on HostJane. Tips can be initiated from the Messaging system.

1.21 "Seller Percentage" is the fraction of the Service Cost that the Seller retains per order. The standard Seller Percentage is 95% of the Service Cost which is set by the Seller.

1.22 "Earnings" are net funds that Sellers retain from Completed Orders for withdrawal to Seller's bank or use for purchase of other Seller's Listings offered on HostJane.

1.23 "Waiting Period" is the five (5) days period of time between the date the Buyer approves release of funds to Seller in a Completed Order, to the date the specified net funds can be withdrawn from the Site to Seller's bank.

1.24 "HostJane Balance" is the total amount of net Earnings in US dollars that a User has accumulated through Sales of listings, or other payments, added to the net amount of returned payments from cancelled orders. If User balance is in credit, User can at any time request a refund of existing monies to User's bank or payment source less any owed funds.

1.25 "Payment Services Provider(s)" mean financial service providers that supply the Service with a method for HostJane to collect US dollar payments from Buyers on behalf of Sellers, and for Sellers to receive their net Earnings in US dollars.

1.26 "Marketplace Fee" is the fee charged by HostJane to the Seller each time the Seller's Balance is credited with funds from a completed sale of Listing, Custom Order or Tip. The standard Marketplace Fee is 5% on the Service Cost of Listings and Custom Orders and on Tips. The Marketplace Fee helps HostJane pay for marketing, hosting and all card payment fees between Buyers and Sellers.

1.27 "Handling Fee" is a per-order, non-refundable, administrative and management fee of $1.99 USD charged by HostJane to the Buyer when the Buyer orders a Seller's Listing or accepts a Custom Offer by placing funds on hold with HostJane. Handling Fee is $1.99 USD irregardless of the amount of the transaction or the final status of the resulting Order. Handling Fees are not charged on Tips. The Handling Fee helps HostJane pay for platform costs including marketing, hosting and 24/7, 365 days customer service.

1.28 "Disputes" are arbitrated disagreements between Buyers and Sellers resulting from an Order in any status. The Disputes process follows the procedures and rules described in 2.7. Both sides are asked to engage in the process and provide information or evidence before a fair decision is reached by HostJane within three (3) business days of the Dispute being raised. Both parties can initiate disputes from a past or present Order with no time limits. Disputes are assigned a case ID while they are being investigated and resolved by HostJane.

1.29 "Random Acts of Kindness" are selfless good deeds provided by Buyers to Sellers or Freelancers to benefit Seller or Freelancer's mental health well-being and assist with her or his living costs (i.e. rent, gas, groceries) as an end in itself, without requiring any form of reciprocation.

2. How Buying Services Works

2.0.1 Buyers places funds on hold with HostJane to create an order (with a unique identification number) based on a Seller's Listing page or Custom Offer received through HostJane's messaging system. Sellers do not have access to the Buyer's payment until the Buyer approves their Work.

2.0.2 Listings can be offerings for a Service that gets delivered by the Seller sending the Buyer created or edited files or code, or by for Service in which the Seller completes a virtual task for the Buyer like teaching in an online booking or building a website or software on a server.

2.0.3 Buyer pays a non-refundable Handling Fee of $1.99 to HostJane upon placing the Order, irregardless of the Order amount or subsequent progress. Buyer may not offer payments using any other method than placing an order through HostJane.com. Disqualification of 1.15 Buyer Payment Protection and suspension of closure of account may result if HostJane business is conducted outside HostJane.

2.0.4 The Seller can accept or reject the Order. Buyer is advised to contact Seller prior to placing order. On Seller acceptance, a Board and chat opens in a private workspace between the Buyer and Seller for the professional purpose of their mutual collaboration on the Buyer's project or task.

2.0.5 HostJane partners with Payment Services Providers for purposes of collecting Listing-related payments from Buyers, transferring such payments from Buyers to Sellers, and holding funds in connection with HostJane Balances. All payments services in connection with the collection of funds on the Site are performed by HostJane’s Payment Services Providers.

2.0.6 For purposes of these Terms, the HostJane process for how a Listing is ordered by a Buyer is considered to be performed over three stages: (i) Pre-Delivery stage, (ii) Delivery stage, and (iii) Completion stage as defined in the decision tree below, known as the HostJane Roadmap.






2.1 Holding; Transfer of Funds from Buyer to Seller

2.1.1 If You have a HostJane account You can buy any Listing offered by any Seller with any available Payment Service Provider, including using Your Balance as a method. This ordering area can found by using the "Continue" function on a Seller’s Listing page.

2.1.2 Purchase Protection: Buyer can only purchase Services offered on HostJane by using one of the available on-Site payment methods, which guarantees You Buyer Purchase Protection to safeguard Your funds. If Seller fails to deliver Work Preview within time frame on Listing page or delivers Work Preview of unacceptable quality, Buyer is entitled to refund less non-refundable Handling Fee.

2.1.3 HostJane serves as Seller's limited authorized payment collection agent solely for the purpose of accepting payments (via its Payment Services Provider, if applicable) from Buyer, and remitting those payments to Seller.

2.1.4 Buyer's payment obligation to Seller will be satisfied upon receipt of payment by HostJane (or its Payment Services Provider, as applicable), and HostJane (via its Payment Service Provider, as applicable) is responsible for remitting the funds to the Seller in the manner described in these Terms of Service. In the event that HostJane (via Payment Services Provider) does not remit any such amounts to Seller, the Seller will have recourse only against HostJane and not the Buyer directly.

2.1.5 You may not offer to pay any Seller on HostJane by another third-party method outside of the Payment Service Providers available on the Site's checkout area.

2.1.6 If You are asked by a Seller to make payment by an outside method, this is a serious violation by the Seller of our policies and procedures and will forfeit all unreleased earnings in Seller's account. Please report any suspected violations immediately to the HostJane customer service team at the bottom of this page.

2.1.7 By using the Site, You agree that HostJane can suspend Your account without notice if it is found to be buying or selling Services through HostJane by means of a third-party or off-Site payment method in violation of these Marketplace Rules.

2.1.8 When using Buy Now (or "Order Now" or "Continue") from the Listing or Custom Offer in Messaging, You will be redirected to a Payment Service Provider who may charge an additional processing fee to make payments to Your Seller through HostJane.

2.1.9 If You choose to buy using any existing credit Balance, the total cost of Your order will be deducted from Your Balance.

2.1.10 Any applicable Service fees (including Payment Service Provider processing fees) are added at the time of purchase where a Buyer can review and accept the total amount requested to pay. These fees cover HostJane's administrative costs.

2.1.11 To protect against fraud, unauthorized transactions (such as money laundering), claims or other liabilities, Your payment information is not exposed to HostJane at any time, and is subject to the privacy policy applicable to the Payment Service Provider. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information at: https://www.hostjane.com/legal/privacy/

2.1.12 Local Currency conversion costs: If You are paying for a HostJane Listing from a payment source that is not in US dollars, You are responsible for all costs of currency conversion relating to the transaction on HostJane Marketplace. This currency conversion will include any additional fees and exchange rate fluctuations charged by Your bank or financial institution which You acknowledge and accept that HostJane does not have any control over. This policy includes funds returned to Buyer from Site through cancellation or refund of an order.

2.2. Your Responsibilities as a Buyer:

When You use a Payment Service Provider on HostJane to pay for a Seller's Listing, You represent and warrant to Us and Your Seller that:

  1. You are legally authorized or have permission to provide payment details to the Payment Service Provider
  2. You are purchasing the Service in good-faith with a legal, valid payment source that belongs either to Yourself or to an employer or agent of a person who owns the payment method who has legally authorized You to use;
  3. That the source of funds and Your use of the payment method used to remit payment to HostJane does not violate any local, state or federal law. We require ID verification through all Payment Service Providers and reserve the right to ban offenders on a lifetime basis.
  4. All transfer and assignment of intellectual property to the Buyer shall be subject to full payment for the Listing and the delivered Work Preview and Final Work may not be used if payment is cancelled for any reason.
  5. That by using the Site You will not attempt to illegally gain unpaid Work Previews or Final Work from Seller without legal payment for the order as defined by Seller's Listing, which results in immediate account suspension and potential lifetime banning.
  6. That You have carefully considered the suitability of Your chosen Service and associated License if applicable, and that You have chosen appropriately. HostJane encourages buyers to read and leave reviews and feedback.
  7. After You have released funds to the Seller, You must use the Site's dispute system to request cancellation of a completed purchase of a Service within five (5) days of the date of the order completion. Except in exceptional circumstances where there has been a breach of HostJane's policies, disputes on completed orders that are raised after the five (5) day Waiting Period has expired are practically non-refundable.
  8. That HostJane may provide relevant, non-payment details to Seller of the Service in order for her or him to facilitate Your transaction, for example for invoicing and customer support services. HostJane keeps Your payment information confidential.
  9. HostJane and Seller have the right to enforce against You the terms of the License that You have acquired from the Seller in the delivery of the Work.
  10. As part of our General Terms of Service on User Content, HostJane retains the right to use all delivered Works for HostJane marketing and promotion purposes.

2.3 Warranties that HostJane makes:

2.3.1 HostJane warrants to You that the HostJane Marketplace will be suitable for the purposes described on the sites, and that we will provide payment and customer support services to You with reasonable skill and care.

2.3.2 That upon receiving successful payment for a Buyer order that HostJane will notify applicable Seller of the order by email and the Site notification system when Seller is logged in;

2.3.3 HostJane otherwise does not make any express or implied warranties about the quality, fitness for purpose, or reliability of any Services sold through HostJane or the Skills of the Seller offering those services.

2.3.4 HostJane does not monitor User Content. We do not read or vet the quality of any Listing offered through our Marketplace.

2.3.5 HostJane will not be liable for any claims, or incidental, consequential or other damages arising out of use of the Site, or the delivery through the Site or use of a Work Preview or Final Work.

2.3.6 HostJane is not a bank, fiduciary, trustee, financial service provider, licensed escrow agent, or licensed deposit taker in the U.S. or elsewhere, and Your payments to Us are not deposits under U.S. banking legislation, excluding You from the benefit of any deposit insurance or guarantee under current law.

2.3.7 We care about Your privacy. You can read our Privacy Policy by going to https://www.hostjane.com/legal/privacy/. The Privacy Policy is a part of these Terms of Service and incorporated herein by reference.

2.4 Warranties that Sellers make:

The Seller of a Service You buy warrants to You that:

  1. Their Service is of acceptable quality and fit for the purpose for which it is 'sold';
  2. They retain the necessary Skills to perform and supply You with the Service
  3. Their Service matches the description as given by the Seller on the Listing page at the time of the purchase;
  4. They will on-time deliver a Work Preview to You for approval within the agreed timeframe (that Seller sets for delivery during Listing setup), and within twenty-four (24) hours deliver the Final Work to You pending Your approval of the Work Preview;
  5. The un-watermarked or unrestricted Final Work released after Buyer has released payment and left public feedback will match the watermarked or restricted Work Preview that the Buyer approved;
  6. Seller will honor any express warranties given to You that are not contained in these terms;
  7. Seller holds all the right necessary to perform the Service as described in Listing either on basis of it’s their own intellectual property or on the terms of applicable License;
  8. Your use of the Service in accordance with the terms of the applicable License does not infringe the intellectual property rights of someone else;
  9. the Service and its description is not false, inaccurate, copyright infringing, misleading, fraudulent, or otherwise unlawful or defamatory;
  10. the Service and its description does not violate HostJane’s General Terms of Service or Acceptable Use Policy or any applicable law or regulation (including those governing export control, consumer protection, unfair competition, criminal law, pornography, anti-discrimination, trade practices or fair trading);
  11. the Seller’s delivered Work will not contain any viruses or other computer codes, files or programs which are designed to limit or destroy the functionality of other computer software or hardware; as described in our General Terms of Service neither HostJane nor Sellers will not be held accountable for damages to You that result from Site usage, User Content or files transferred.
  12. the Seller will support Your use of the delivered work to the extent described on the Listing page at the time of purchase
  13. the Seller will process Your data in accordance with applicable privacy law and data protection regulations

2.5 Applicable Taxes:

2.5.1 U.S. Sales Tax; European VAT; Australian GST. Prices and fees for services provided to You (whether by HostJane or Sellers) in connection with these terms generally exclude US Sales Tax, European VAT or Australian GST, unless stated otherwise on our Site. If a supply is made to You under or in connection with these terms on which US Sales Tax, EU VAT, or AU GST is imposed, any applicable fee that is charged for that supply is increased by, and You must also pay, an amount equal to the GST, VAT or US Sales Tax payable (by HostJane or the Seller) on that supply.

2.5.2 Other Taxes. Prices, fees and charges are otherwise inclusive of other applicable taxes unless stated otherwise on the Site. You are responsible for paying all such taxes and imposts associated with Your use of HostJane wherever levied. Your responsibility includes withholding tax if it applies, unless we already process that withholding tax. We may collect geographical location information to determine Your location, which may be used for tax residency purposes.

2.5.3 Sellers are responsible for paying any direct or indirect taxes, including any European VAT or Australian GST or otherwise, which may apply to them depending on residency or location. Sellers represent and warrant that they comply, and will comply at all times, with their obligations under income tax provisions in their jurisdiction.

2.6 Revisions

2.6.1 The amount of revisions to delivered Work Preview offered by Seller is determined before the purchase of any order. Seller must complete revisions offered for a Listing as stated on their Listing page at the time the order was placed.

2.6.2 Sellers must offer at least 1 revision to delivered Work Preview.

2.6.3 Buyers request revisions to the Work Preview through the Order page during the delivery stage of the order.

2.6.4 Abuse of the system to gain unpaid revisions or more Work from seller than was originally merited by the Seller's Service is strictly prohibited and may result in temporary or permanent suspension of Buyer’s account.

2.6.5 Sellers warrant to Buyers under section 2.4(5) that the Final Work will match the Work Preview the Seller used to gain Buyer's approval. Requests to revise Final Work are therefore assessed by HostJane to be disputes.

2.7 Disputes

2.7.1 HostJane requires Buyers and Sellers to resolve disputes before escalating the dispute to our customer service team. You can escalate a dispute by using the link in the Order Center or the "Contact Us" link in the Order page or by Contacting Us at the bottom of this page. You can open a dispute at any time from the date of purchase.

2.7.2 After a Dispute is opened it is assigned a Case Number and can be accessed through the Disputes Center located at: https://www.hostjane.com/marketplace/disputes

2.7.3 Both parties are asked to engage in the Dispute and submit their side with information and evidence to the process.

2.7.4 Disputes will be fairly assessed by HostJane's customer service team on the evidence of (i) total interaction between the Buyer and Seller in Order and any messages, (ii) Work Previews and Final Work files sent and received through the Site, and (iii) information and evidence submitted in the Disputes process. During this time we encourage Users to engage with the Disputes process to uphold and protect the integrity of the final outcome.

2.7.5 Orders can be mutually cancelled by Buyers and Sellers, or cancellation can be initiated by HostJane to protect the integrity of the Site as described below under sections 2.9, 2.10 and 2.11.

2.7.6 Raising of a provably fraudulent dispute may result in account suspension or permanent banning of User from Site.

2.7.7 HostJane will notify Buyer and Seller of the initial outcome of assessment within three (3) business days of the dispute being raised.

2.7.8 HostJane's assessment can be appealed whereby a supervisor will reassess the evidence and confirm or reject the original assessment providing a final outcome which will be notified to Buyer and Seller within a further two (2) business days.

2.7.9 If an order is cancelled by outcome of HostJane's dispute resolution assessment, the full funds associated with that order less credit card processing fees and Handling Fee will be returned to the Buyer's Balance or the Payment source used to pay for the order.

2.7.10 Disputes lodged with payment agents: If, as a buyer via Your HostJane Marketplace account, You lodge a dispute with a Payment Service Provider without previously notifying HostJane of the dispute, this will result in a disabling of Your HostJane account until the dispute raised with the Payment Service Provider has been cancelled or resolved. We encourage Buyers to contact Us directly first to prevent account suspension.

2.7.11 HostJane (via applicable Payment Services Providers) reserves the right to cancel orders, temporarily or permanently disable accounts, and ban Users for any suspected fraudulent activity or violation of HostJane's General Terms of Service or Acceptable Use Policy found at: https://www.hostjane.com/legal/use-policy/

2.8 Mutual Cancellations

If an order is cancelled by mutual agreement, the full funds associated with that order less Payment Service Provider processing fees and Handling Fee will be returned to the Buyer's Balance or the Payment source used to pay for the order.

2.9 HostJane Initiated Cancellations in Pre-Delivery Stage

HostJane will cancel orders in the pre-delivery stage, which means before the Seller has delivered the Work Preview, under the following conditions:

2.9.1 There has been a violation of HostJane's General Terms of Service or Acceptable Use Policy by either party

2.9.2 The Seller has failed to deliver Work Preview to Buyer within the agreed time frame for delivery while failing to contact Buyer with a remedy or time extension request within twenty four (24) hours of the failure

2.9.3 If a non-delivered order is cancelled by HostJane, the full funds associated with that order less Payment Service Provider processing fees and Handling Fee will be returned to the Buyer’s Balance or the Payment source used to pay for the order.

2.10 HostJane Initiated Cancellations in Delivery Stage

HostJane will cancel delivered orders, where Seller has delivered a Work Preview and prior to Buyer's agreement to release funds and provide public feedback, under the following conditions:

2.10.1 There has been a violation of HostJane's General Terms of Service or Acceptable Use Policy by either party

2.10.2 The Seller's Work Preview has been deemed by HostJane's customer service team to be unacceptable, unsatisfactory, or unduly inadequate in relation to the original Service offered by Seller in their Listing irrespective of whether Buyer has raised a dispute; this may result in Seller suspension and banning by HostJane.

2.10.3 If a delivered order is cancelled by HostJane at Work Preview stage, the full funds associated with that order less Payment Service Provider processing fees and Handling Fee will be returned to the Buyer's Balance or the Payment source used to pay for the order.

2.11 HostJane Initiated Cancellations of Completed Orders

HostJane will cancel completed orders, where Seller has delivered the Final Work and Buyer has approved that Work and released funds, under the following conditions:

2.11.1 The Seller has failed to deliver the Final Work to the Buyer inside the twenty-four (24) hour delivery period in 2.4(4) which commences at the time Buyer completes the Order by approving the Work Preview and releasing funds with public feedback. If this failure to deliver Final Work is found to be in relation to an attempted Review manipulation by the Seller or as a violation of HostJane's General Terms or Acceptable Use Policy, the Seller risks being permanently banned.

2.11.2 If after an investigation by HostJane there has been found to have been a violation of HostJane's General Terms of Service or Acceptable Use Policy by either party, before or after the five (5) day Waiting Period elapses and irrespective of whether net earnings have been paid out to Seller.

2.11.3 In the rare event a completed order is cancelled by HostJane before the five (5) day Waiting Period has elapsed, the full funds associated with that order less Payment Service Provider processing fees and Handling Fee will be returned to the Buyer's Balance or the Payment source used to pay for the order.

2.11.4 If cancellation of a completed order occurs after the seller has been paid out the net funds from the order, HostJane will bear costs of refund to Buyer and a corresponding deduction of net fees related to refund will made to the Seller's Balance. If the Seller has not retained enough funds in their Balance to cover the deduction, the Seller will be given three (3) business days to return the payout associated with the cancelled order, before further action is taken.

2.12 Buyer Refunds; Credit Requests

2.12.1 HostJane will assess the merits of all refund or credit requests on a case-by-case basis. There is generally no obligation to provide a refund or credit in situations like the following:

  • You have changed Your mind about a completed, approved order;
  • You bought the Service by mistake;
  • You do not have the sufficient expertise to use the Final Work;
  • The Seller who provided the Service is no longer available on HostJane
  • The Seller has stopped responding to Your messages or has blocked You, unless the Seller’s original Listing at the time You placed the order promised You future support

2.12.2 Sellers cannot initiate reversals or refunds for completed orders without the prior written approval of HostJane

2.12.3 Fees associated with Payment Service Provider(s) processing of Buyer payments can generally not be refunded.

2.12.4 HostJane cannot be held responsible for losses associated with local currency exchange fluctuations determined by Payment Service Provider(s) when original payment source was held in a currency other than US dollars.

2.13 Reviews

We believe an honest, transparent review and feedback system is core to the safety and integrity of HostJane, and the health of the marketplace as a resource for Buyers paying for freelance services.

2.13.1 To complete orders, Buyer must leave public feedback when they approve the Work Preview which releases payment to Seller pending the five (5) day Waiting Period.

2.13.2 Feedback is public and can only be left in response to the completion of a valid, legally authorized order. Sellers can publicly respond to feedback.

2.13.3 Historical Buyer feedback and past Seller responses cannot be edited or removed by Buyer or Seller to protect the integrity of the feedback system.

2.13.4 Negative feedback is not removed by HostJane unless it contains unlawful, doxxing, copyright infringing or otherwise vexatious content or material in violation of HostJane's General Terms of Service or Acceptable Use Policy.

2.13.5 Buyers are encouraged to communicate their full and honest reviews of every aspect of their experience dealing with Sellers.

2.13.6 Unless Buyer links to Final Work, the publishing of Work Previews or Final Work cannot be attached to public feedback.

2.13.7 HostJane takes alleged abuse of the feedback system seriously and will investigate any and all concerns raised by Users or visitors, including allegations of false or paid reviews designed to unfairly advantage a Seller's Listing. Appropriate action is taken if any abuse is proven to have occurred.

2.13.8 Any delaying or withholding of the delivery of Final Work to Buyer in return for a better review is considered a serious violation of both the Buyer's trust and HostJane's policies and can result in permanent banning of the Seller.

2.13.9 Review manipulation by Buyers in attempt to coerce or secure future Services from Seller at a lesser cost is also strictly prohibited and can result in Buyer account closure.

2.14 Ownership of Work Previews

2.14.1 During Delivery stage, Work Previews are expected to be delivered from Seller to Buyer for inspection with certain restrictions based on the type and category of Work performed:

  1. Software / Web / Mobile Development Works: Preview should be view-only access to a staging server owned by Seller where Buyer can inspect requested Work without download access;
  2. Audio / Music Works: Preview should be in a restricted, abridged format or produced with an audible background copyright notice that repeats every 10 seconds; rendering previewed track unusable;
  3. Image-based Works: Preview should contain a permanent non-removable watermark that renders Work unusable in previewed format;
  4. Text-based Works: Preview should be in a restricted, partially redacted or abridged format;
  5. Online Bookings: Preview should be notice of confirmed appointment at beginning of the booking (for example during Skype, Zoom video or FaceTime chat); Buyer should accept and release funds and leave feedback while still connected in the booking or within 1 hour of the booking ending;

2.14.2 The Seller retains all intellectual property rights of the delivered Work Preview until the Buyer completes the order, unless otherwise specified by the Seller under applicable License agreements or represented in the Listing content.

2.14.3 HostJane encourages (but does not enforce) Seller to initially deliver an unusable preview of the Work and not the ready-to-use Final Work until Buyer has approved and left public feedback.

2.15 Ownership of Final Work

2.15.1 Unless clearly stated by the Seller on the Listing page or under applicable License agreements, Buyer is granted all intellectual property rights, title, and interest in the delivered Final Work upon release of payment to Seller and submission of public feedback.

2.15.2 Buyer agrees to choose the appropriate License (Personal, Limited or Unlimited) if Seller only sells Service on licensed basis. Any use of the Final Work outside the terms of the License is strictly prohibited and a violation of HostJane's General Terms and Marketplace Rules. This can lead to banning or account suspension.

2.15.3 If the Buyer changes intended or actual use of a licensed Final Work after order completion, Buyer agrees to contact Seller with 7 business days of the decision to pay the difference if applicable for a limited or unlimited License.

2.15.4 Under US Copyright law, the Final Work is generally deemed a 'work-for-hire' unless it's conditions fail the requirements of work-for-hire or the U.S. Copyright Act is not applicable, in which cases the Seller expressly agrees to assign to Buyer the copyright in the delivered Final Work.

3. SELLERS

We need talented, skilled people to join HostJane and we welcome new sellers with an array of support resources to grow their freelance businesses.

Sellers create fixed-price listings ("User Content") on HostJane which abides by the Acceptable Use Policy and General Terms of Use. Listings enable Buyers to benefit from the Seller's particular Skills through the Final Work that is delivered after purchasing Seller's Listing.

3.1 Requirements for Selling

3.1.1 To become a Seller, You need to create a valid Listing on the Site using text, audio, or video content that You warrant abides by Section 2.4 and does not conflict with any provision of HostJane's General Terms or Acceptable Use Policy. Listing creation is considered by HostJane to form part of the Pre-Delivery Stage.

3.1.2 Seller agrees to represent and abide by the list of warranties that Seller is required to make Buyer and HostJane, as given in Section 2.4 and 2.6 including the requirement to release Final Work to Buyer within twenty-four (24) hours of the Buyer completing order by releasing funds and leaving public feedback.

3.1.3 Limited Payment Collection Agent Agreement: Seller agrees to appoint HostJane as Seller's limited authorized payment collection agent solely for the purpose of accepting payments (via its Payment Services Provider, if applicable) from Buyer, and remitting those payments to Seller.

3.1.4 Seller agrees that payment from Buyer to HostJane is legally deemed to be the same as payment made directly to Seller. HostJane (via its Payment Services Provider, as applicable) is responsible for remitting the funds to the Seller in the outbound payment method described in these Marketplace Rules.

3.1.5 Buyer's payment obligation to Seller will be satisfied upon receipt of payment by HostJane (or its Payment Services Provider, as applicable)

3.1.6 Seller agrees not to accept payments using any method other than by through HostJane that leads to an Order, Custom Order or Tip. HostJane is not a directory or online portfolio service. Account suspension or closure may result if HostJane business is conducted outside HostJane.

3.2 Earnings; Withdrawals

3.2.1 Any order Seller receives is deemed to be successfully completed (with a timestamp for Completion given) when the following conditions have been met:

  • Buyer has formally released funds to Seller after receiving Work Preview
  • Buyer has left public feedback for Seller
  • Seller has delivered Work Preview to the Buyer
  • No open dispute exists between Buyer and Seller
  • Both Buyer, Seller and Order are in compliance with HostJane's General Terms of Service, Acceptable Use Policy and any other applicable law.

3.2.2 HostJane will accredit Seller's account with Earnings of 95% of the fixed-priced amount paid by the Buyer for the Listing.

3.2.3 HostJane's standard Marketplace Fee is 5% of the cost of listings and custom order prices set by the Seller, and tips. The Marketplace Fee covers hosting, marketing and all associated platform costs.

3.2.4 For the Earnings to be available to the Seller's account, a Waiting Period of 14 business days must elapse from the time stamp of Order Completion.

As an example, if the Order is deemed complete at 00:01 on Monday, January 3, 2028, the funds will be available in Seller's account on Friday, January 7, 2028 at 23:59.

3.2.5 After the five (5) day Waiting Period has elapsed, Seller may provide their details for one (1) Payment Services Provider method for withdrawal of funds to Seller's receiving account or financial institution (“Payout Method”), through the security-protected Settings area of Your account.

3.2.6 Fees associated with use of Payment Services Provider(s) are given in the Settings area of Your account.

3.2.7 To request a withdrawal, Seller must have successfully saved a valid Payout Method in their HostJane account settings and initiated an outbound payout through their HostJane Balance page which generates a unique Payout Reference ID.

3.2.8 All funds are remitted in U.S. dollars.

3.2.9 Minimum payout thresholds vary based on Payment Service Provider.

3.2.10 HostJane's customer service team will remit payment to the Seller's account between 3-5 business days of a Payout request being received from the Seller.

3.2.11 HostJane cannot be held responsible for delays, extra costs or financial loss that arises from being provided incorrect financial account information by Seller.

3.2.12 Insurance; Sellers are responsible for obtaining a general liability insurance policy with coverage amounts that are sufficient to cover all risks associated with the performance of their Services.

3.3 Random Acts of Kindness

3.3.1 Sellers and Freelancers as defined in 1.6 and 1.5a respectively can be recipients of Random Acts of Kindness as defined in 1.29 as a charitable good deed to assist with living costs in the following categories:

  • Donations towards rent and accomodation costs
  • Donations towards gas (car petrol)
  • Donations towards groceries like protein, dairy, fruit and veg, pantry staples
  • Donations towards meal costs

3.3.2 HostJane will automatically add donated costs given as a Random Act of Kindness to Seller or Freelancer's "HostJane Balance" as described in 1.24.

3.3.3 Donations resulting from Random Acts of Kindness can be withdrawn after an expedited 48 hour waiting period and are paid to the Seller or Freelancer in full (for the charitable purpose of living cost asssitance) to honor the spirit of the Act of Kindness.