Frequently asked questions

General information only. Not legal advice. For full policy detail see Returns, Shipping, Terms, and Privacy. Questions not answered here? Contact us.

Buying & refunds

What is the refund policy when I buy a work?

Refund Policy: Our platform follows a minimum protection refund policy. This means refunds are only available if an item is not delivered, arrives damaged or defective, or is not as described. This applies to every listing. See Returns — platform refund policy for the full policy page and Returns — refund request window for when you can start a request in the app.

What is the refund policy for sellers?

All listings apply the platform minimum protection policy. Refunds are available if an item is not delivered, arrives damaged, or is materially not as described. Outside of these cases, sales are final. See Returns — seller refund policies.

Can I cancel my order before the seller accepts it?

Yes. While your order status is pending or paid and the seller has not yet accepted, you can cancel from your Dashboard for an unconditional full refund — no reason required.

• Once the seller accepts the order, cancellation is subject to the seller's refund policy.
• See Returns — buyer cancellation window for the full policy.

Buyer: how long can I request a refund after delivery?

Platform rule for starting a refund request in the app (artist shop and collector resale):

• 7 calendar days from delivery confirmation — not from the day you paid.
• Delivery confirmation = you confirm receipt on your Dashboard, or automatic confirmation 7 calendar days after the seller marks the order shipped if you never confirm.
• During those 7 days, you can open a refund request through the order tools if your reason matches the platform's minimum protection refund policy and our Returns — refund request window / Returns overview.
• When that window ends, new refund requests for that order are not accepted.
• Listing for resale on the Platform can permanently block refunds on that same purchase order — see resale vs. refunds below.

How many times can I open a dispute on an order?

Each party has an independent dispute quota per order:

• Buyer — up to 2 disputes per order.
• Seller — up to 2 disputes per order.
• The two quotas are independent: the buyer using both of theirs does not affect the seller's quota, and vice versa.
• Your remaining quota is shown directly on the Dispute button in your Dashboard (e.g. "Dispute (1 left)").
• Once your quota is exhausted, the Dispute button is disabled. At that point, platform admin makes a binding decision to resolve the case — contact Support if you believe the case needs review.
• Disputes opened by platform admins for mediation purposes do not count toward either party's quota.
• Inactivity: If either party does not respond or take a required action within 7 calendar days of a platform notification, the Platform may proceed with resolution based on available information. Admin decisions made under this policy are final within the platform and do not affect any rights you may have under applicable law.

If I file a card chargeback, what happens to my in-app options?

Filing a chargeback with your card issuer is your legal right and these Terms do not restrict it. However, when a card chargeback is active on an order, the Platform's in-app refund request and dispute features for that order may be limited. If the card issuer resolves the chargeback in the seller's favor, the Request refund button will not be available for the remainder of your order protection period — though the in-app Dispute option may still be available during that window. We recommend trying the Platform's dispute tools first: they are typically faster and may reach a resolution without involving your bank.

Buyer: simultaneous purchase limit

How many item units you can have in open orders and the total USD of those orders at once (from checkout through completion on your dashboard). Both limits scale with your completed purchases on the platform.

• 0 completed purchases — Up to 2 item units in flight, $200 total USD across those open orders.
• 1 completed — Up to 3 units, $500.
• 2 completed — 4 units, $800.
• 3 completed — 5 units, $1,000.
• 4 or more completed — 6 units, $1,200.
• At a limit — If you hit the item cap or the next purchase would push you over the USD cap, Purchase may be hidden or checkout will explain the block until capacity frees.
• Admin adjustment — Support may set a different per-account item maximum when needed (USD tiers still follow completed purchases).
• Separate from seller limits — This is your buyer limit. Sellers and resellers still have their own tier limits.

How do reviews work?

After your order is delivered, a review window opens so you can leave a star rating (1–5) and optional written review on the listing.

• When you can review: from delivery confirmation until 30 calendar days after. Delivery is confirmed when you confirm receipt on your Dashboard, or automatically 7 days after the seller marks the order shipped.
• Visibility: reviews are public and appear on the listing.
• After a refund: if a refund completes, tier and inventory effects may roll back, but reviews already published are not removed by the platform.
• Abuse: leaving false or retaliatory reviews may result in removal and account action. See Terms of Service.

Resale

If I list a piece for resale, can I still get a refund on the purchase I used to acquire it?

No. Once the Platform has a resale listing record tied to that order's collection item, refund requests and in-app refund/dispute flows for that same checkout order are blocked server-side — whether you bought from the original artist or another collector on resale. Removing the listing or selling it on resale does not restore refund eligibility for that order. Admin-assisted refunds on that order are also blocked for the same reason. This is separate from your rights on a different resale order you may have made later—those use that order's own refund/dispute tools. See Returns — purchase order after a resale listing and Terms — resale vs. refunds.

Can I list for resale while a refund or dispute is open on the purchase that gave me the item?

Generally no. While that purchase order has an open refund request, platform dispute, seller-rejection follow-up that is still in progress, or Stripe card chargeback, you cannot create a new resale listing from that item or re-activate a paused listing, and checkout for that resale may be blocked. The system may also deactivate (freeze) resale storefront rows tied to that purchase when a refund/dispute pipeline event occurs. After the case is closed and rules allow, you can list again if you still own the item. See Terms — resale vs. refunds.

Can the original artist buy their work on resale?

No. If you were the original artist (primary seller) for a piece on The DropMuse, you cannot purchase it again when someone else lists it on collector resale. Purchase is not shown and checkout is blocked. This keeps resale trades between collectors and avoids the original seller acting as buyer on the same work in that channel. See Terms — artist buyback on resale.

Resale listing price: original artist tier vs. collector (reseller) tier

When you list a work for collector resale, two different caps apply. They are easy to mix up because both use the word "tier," but they answer different questions.

• Per listing (one artwork's ask): The price cannot exceed the original artist's current shop-tier maximum price per artwork for that piece — not your reseller tier. If the artist's tier changes later, the enforced cap follows their current tier when you save or activate the listing.
• Across all your active resale listings: Your collector / reseller tier caps the sum of list prices of everything you have active for resale at once.

Reference — artist shop tier → max price per artwork (per-listing resale ceiling):

Reference — reseller tier → max total active resale list value:

• You: Novice reseller · Artist: Novice ($80 cap). That one resale listing cannot exceed $80. The sum of all your active resale listings cannot exceed $240.
• You: Emerging reseller ($750 combined) · Artist: Established ($200 cap). Each listing for that artist's work is limited to $200. You can run several active listings as long as their prices add up to $750 or less.
• Tighter of the two wins: the ask must satisfy both the artist's per-artwork maximum and your reseller combined cap.

Selling & listings

Can I list the same artwork twice in my shop?

No. The same identical physical piece (or the same edition run presented as duplicate storefront entries) should have one shop listing. Each listing is one unique item—there is no multi-quantity "stock" field for the same listing. If you truly have another physical copy to sell, create a new listing for that different object, not a duplicate entry for the same piece. Duplicate listings may be removed or merged; you can report suspected cases with Report this listing → Duplicated listing. See Terms — duplicate listings.

How many units can I sell per shop listing?

One physical unit per listing. Primary (artist) shop listings follow a unique-item policy: each listing corresponds to a single physical item. Inventory is tracked internally (e.g. available until sold). You confirm at upload/edit that the listing is not a duplicate of another existing listing. See Terms — duplicate listings & unique items.

What happens when I archive a listing after it has sales history?

Archived works are not displayed on Explore, landing pages, or artist profiles. They do not count toward upload limits, but they are still included in your active listing cap when the archived row is set to Listing. Listing status remains valid, and direct links to the work page still open. In Dashboard → Seller → Archived, you can manage Price edit, Listing/Delisting, and Restore.

Seller dashboard: Revenue, Payout complete, Payout pending, Adjustment

Revenue is the sum of buyer payments (price_paid) on your non-cancelled primary shop orders and on your non-cancelled resale orders (where you are the reseller) — gross before the platform fee / your net share split. Payout complete is the sum of your net seller amounts on orders marked paid out to your connected account. Payout pending is your net share for orders that are payment-captured but not yet paid out, including amounts held for disputes/refunds until those resolve. Adjustment tracks amounts we may recover from your future payouts after refunds and fees (see Terms — seller adjustment balance). If you owe a net balance, do not open another account to avoid it — see the same Terms section and one account policy.

Seller: Who pays card dispute fees?

When a buyer's card issuer opens a chargeback, Stripe may bill the platform for dispute fees and related processing costs on top of reversing the payment. For disputes tied to your sale (fulfillment, condition, authenticity, etc.), those costs are generally treated as seller-attributable under our Terms: we may record them against your seller ledger (including under Adjustment), recover from future payouts, and your account may show a negative balance until amounts are cleared. Exact Stripe lines vary by case. See Terms — issuer chargebacks & dispute fees.

Seller: How do I clear my adjustment balance?

Your adjustment balance (shown on the seller dashboard under Stats) represents amounts owed back to the Platform from chargebacks and fees. There are two ways to clear it:

• Automatic payout offset — future payouts are reduced by the outstanding amount until the balance reaches zero. No action needed; this happens automatically.
• Direct payment — pay immediately from your dashboard using a card. Click Pay now on the balance banner to enter a payment amount and card details. A confirmation email is sent when payment is applied.

$300 threshold — listings temporarily hidden. If your balance reaches $300 or more, all of your active listings (artist shop and collector resale) are automatically hidden until the balance drops below that amount. Once your balance is reduced — via payout offset or direct payment — your listings are automatically restored. Existing accepted orders and their payouts are not affected. See Terms — listing suspension threshold.

Notifications. You'll receive an email and an in-app notification each time an adjustment is added to your account. If your balance reaches the $300 threshold, the notification will include details about the listing suspension and how to restore your listings.

Tiers & payouts

Artist shop tiers

Tier climbs by how many distinct collectors have purchased from your primary shop, after each order is finalized for tier (buyer protection over with no open dispute, or a dispute closes with the sale kept). Repeat buyers from the same account count as one collector. Emerging and above require Stripe Identity or Connect verification.

Payout window = calendar days from delivery confirm (or auto-confirm after ship+7). If a refund/dispute ran and closed with the sale kept, the day-count restarts from resolution. After your first Stripe Connect, add a 24-hour platform cooldown — see payouts & Connect.

Verification and early order cap. Until you complete Stripe Identity or Connect verification, your shop can accept up to 2 primary orders. Once you reach that limit, new purchases on your listings are paused until verification is done. Resale listings are not affected by this cap.

Collector resale tiers

A separate ladder based on distinct buyers of your resale listings. Tops at Pro — no Star or Crown on the resale track. Same verification requirement for Emerging and above. For resale price caps see Resale listing price.

Resale requires Stripe Identity or Connect for Emerging and above, same as artist shop.

Payouts, identity check, and Stripe Connect

When it runs. Right after you finish Stripe Connect (payout onboarding), our systems run an identity review before we treat payouts as allowed — even if your order would already be past the tier-based payout window.

• 24-hour cooldown after Connect. Even if your order's tier-based payout window has already passed, completing Stripe Connect does not make payouts instant — our systems apply a short cooldown period before payout eligibility takes effect.
• If a linked account is found: we may review or restrict the account and hold pending seller payouts pending admin resolution. There is no automatic payout or fixed unlock window; reviews may take 30+ days or longer depending on the case.
• Legal detail: Terms — one account per person, Terms — Connect timing.

How do I update my bank account or other payout details?

Bank, tax, and identity for payouts are collected and updated in Stripe (Connect / Express). The DropMuse does not store your bank account number; we link you to Stripe's secure flow.

• In the app (after you have completed Stripe Connect and at least one sale that counts toward your shop or resale tier): go to Profile, scroll to Stripe — Payouts & bank (below Bio for Artist profile), and click Update bank account to open your Stripe Express dashboard. There you can change the connected bank, tax information, and other details Stripe requires.
• Before your first tier-counted sale: you will not see that block yet. After your first qualifying sale, use the Set up payouts (Connect) prompt on your Dashboard to finish onboarding first; then the Profile section above will stay available for later updates.
• Extra document check: on the same Profile block, Extra identity verification runs an optional Stripe Identity session if you need an additional ID check beyond Connect. See also Payouts, identity & Connect.

Accounts & trust

Accounts: can I have more than one account?

No — one person, one account. The Platform expects each user to maintain a single account. Summary:

• You may create and use only one account for yourself on The DropMuse.
• Operating or controlling multiple accounts for the same person (for example to bypass limits, fees, or enforcement) is not allowed.
• If multiple accounts are identified, we may restrict, suspend, or terminate any or all of them, as described in the Terms — one account per person.
• Where the law and payment-provider rules allow, we may withhold, offset, claw back, or reverse amounts tied to abusive multi-account activity.
• We may also merge duplicate accounts or close redundant ones at our reasonable discretion when needed for marketplace integrity or compliance.

Why was my account restricted?

Restrictions may occur when our systems detect unusual activity, policy violations, or elevated risk. Where access is limited, we generally aim to allow you to complete existing transactions that are already in progress, when permitted by law and our policies. See Terms — suspension and termination.

Shipping

Shipping questions

For a full overview of how shipping works on The DropMuse, see the Shipping policy. Quick answers:

• Who ships? For primary (artist) orders, the artist ships directly. For resale orders, the collector (reseller) is responsible — not the original artist.
• Tracking: Sellers should provide a tracking number in your order view once shipped. Tracking is the primary evidence used for delivery confirmation and dispute resolution.
• Lost package (not delivered by carrier): Open a dispute through your Dashboard within 14 days of the seller marking shipped — the system auto-confirms at day 7 if you haven't confirmed receipt, and your 7-day refund window runs from that point. Don't wait for delivery if the package hasn't arrived. If the carrier shows "delivered," contact your local post office or carrier directly — packages confirmed delivered by the carrier are outside platform dispute scope.
• Wrong address: Ensure your address is accurate at checkout. Orders shipped to incorrect addresses you provided may not be eligible for refunds. See Shipping — wrong address and Returns — address accuracy.
• U.S. only: All current orders ship within the United States.

More topics

Quick reference to platform topics — click the links for full detail.

• Marketplace role — The DropMuse connects buyers and sellers; sellers are responsible for listings, fulfillment, shipping, taxes, and legal compliance. The platform does not warrant the physical item or delivery timing. See Terms for the full marketplace disclaimer.
• One account per person — See FAQ — one account and Terms.
• Artist shop tiers — ○ Novice (0) → 🌱 Emerging (1–3) → 🛡️ Established (4–9) → 🎀 Pro (10+) → ✨ Star → 👑 Crown. Emerging+ requires Stripe verification. See the artist tier table for payout windows and Star/Crown conditions.
• Collector resale tiers — Separate ladder based on distinct resale buyers, ○ Novice → 🌱 → 🛡️ → 🎀 Pro (tops here, no Star/Crown). See resale tier table. Resale price caps are capped by the original artist's tier, not yours.
• When a sale counts toward tier — Order increments your count when finalized for tier (buyer protection over with no open dispute, or dispute closed with sale kept). Fully refunded outcomes roll counts back where applicable.
• Verification vs tier benefits — Emerging and above unlock only after Stripe Identity or Connect. Until then display tier stays Novice and payouts are not available.
• Platform fees by tier — Platform fees can vary by seller tier; check the dashboard and listing flows for the rate shown on your account.
• Featured artists — Featured placement (when available) is admin-controlled based on account standing and activity.
• Stripe Identity vs payout (Connect) — On the dashboard, verification and payout setup prompts appear when your account is eligible. Profile also offers identity verification anytime for high-value checkout.
• Collection: resell & edit lock — Reselling or editing a collected item from a purchase may stay locked until the order is delivered and any post-delivery protection period has finished.
• Getting started — creating an account; artist vs collector; phone verification; identity verification for high-value orders or payouts.
• Browsing & buying — sizes and options; what "Resell (pre-owned)" means; saving works; checkout and payment (including holds). See buyer simultaneous purchase limit and artists & resale buyback.
• Orders & delivery — order status; shipping timelines; tracking; buyer confirm / auto-confirm; wrong or damaged item.
• Cancellations — buyer cancel window; seller-side suspicious-order flow; how repeated cancellations affect ordering limits.
• Returns & refunds — eligibility; starting a return; return shipping; refund timing; dispute overview (see also Returns). Resale vs. original order: listing for resale ends original-order refund eligibility (FAQ); open refund/dispute/chargeback blocks new resale (FAQ).
• Artists — listings & shop — uploads, tiers, pricing; one unique physical item per listing; editing listings after a sale; archive vs delist. No duplicate listings — see FAQ — unique item, FAQ — archived listing visibility, FAQ — duplicates, and Terms.
• Collectors — collection & resale — collection items; listing a piece for resale; condition and photos; resale earnings vs primary artist sales. Original artists cannot buy their own work on resale — see FAQ and Terms.
• Payouts — Stripe Connect onboarding; pending vs eligible vs on hold; platform fees; tax reporting expectations (general info only). Updating your bank / payout details: FAQ — update bank account.
• Messages — buyer–seller threads; what content is discouraged (e.g. off-platform payment); reporting.
• Trust & safety — risk flags; reports; account warnings, suspensions, or bans — see Why was my account restricted? and Terms — suspension and termination.
• Privacy & data — summary pointer to Privacy policy.

Deleting your account

You can delete your account at any time from Profile settings under Delete Account. Deletion permanently removes your personal information (name, email, phone, address) from our systems. Order and transaction records are anonymised and kept only as required for accounting and legal purposes — artwork and purchase history remain intact for other users (e.g. resale chain) but are no longer linked to your identity.

Can I re-register after deleting? No. Once deleted, neither the Google account nor the phone number associated with your account can be used to sign up again on The DropMuse. This is to protect platform integrity and prevent abuse (e.g. escaping adjustment balances or enforcement actions). If you believe your account was deleted in error, contact support.

Can I delete if I have open orders? No. Deletion is blocked while you have any pending, paid, or in-transit orders as a buyer or seller. Complete all active transactions first.

Can sellers delete their account if they have unsettled earnings or an outstanding balance? No. Deletion is blocked if you have pending earnings not yet paid out, or an outstanding platform balance owed (e.g. from a lost dispute or fee). The outstanding balance is automatically deducted from your next payout — once cleared, deletion becomes available. Contact support if you need help resolving it.