Merchant Policy
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Merchant Accounting Policy

You expressly agree and acknowledge that the terms and conditions contained in this Accounting Policy are incorporated within the Creationshop Terms and Conditions and you expressly acknowledge that you have read this Accounting Policy and agree to comply with and be bound by all of its terms and conditions as a requirement of creating and maintaining an account with Creationshop. If at any time you do not agree with any part of this Accounting Policy, you agree that your sole remedy is to cease any further use of the Creationshop Services and terminate your account, in which case You agree that any activity that transpired prior to the date of such termination shall be governed in full by this Accounting Policy.

For information about specific terms of the Creationshop Accounting Policy refer to the appropriate section below:

  • Payment Method and Payment Frequency
  • Pay Period End Time
  • Payment Distribution
  • Direct Deposit (United States)
  • Direct Deposit (International)
  • Wire Payment (International)
  • Payment Change Deadlines
  • Payment Threshold
  • Returned Direct Deposits and Wires
  • Retail & Wholesale Pricing
  • Currencies
  • Sales Tax
  • VAT Tax
  • Returned Sales
  • Charged Back Sales
  • Debit Backdating
  • Return Allowance
  • Determination of Affiliate
  • Account Closure
  • Customer Distribution Requirement
  • Dormant Accounts
  • Taxpayer ID Number Requirement For U.S. Based Affiliates Earning Over $600
  • Legal Limitations

Payment Method and Payment Frequency

Creationshop offers Direct Deposit and Wire as payment methods for clients to receive their funds. Accounts receiving direct deposit and wire payments (US or International) are eligible for once per two week or once per month (each thirty days) payments. 

Pay Period End Time

Pay period end times and payment send dates are dependent upon your selected Payment Frequency. For accounts receiving payments weekly, pay periods end at 12:00:00 a.m. Eastern time every Wednesday. For accounts receiving payments once every two weeks, pay periods end at 12:00:00 a.m. Eastern time every other Wednesday. For accounts receiving payment monthly, pay period ends at midnight of the last day of the month. Changes to your selected Payment Frequency will go into effect in accordance with the Payment Change Deadline.

Changing your Payment Frequency from once per week to once every two weeks or to monthly (or vice-versa) may result in overlap between pay periods and the amount settled. Due to the overlap the first pay period on your new schedule could be longer or shorter than standard. In the case of overlap, Creationshop always settles your open sales since your last pay period ended.

Payment Distribution

Payments are distributed to clients two weeks after period-end.

Direct Deposit (United States Merchants)

Creationshop offers Direct Deposit (ACH) of your Creationshop account payment to U.S. bank accounts. This is the fastest and easiest way to receive your funds. Direct deposits may take 1-2 business days to reach your account.

Direct Deposit (International Merchants)

Creationshop offers International Direct Deposit (SEPA) of your Creationshop account payments into certain international bank accounts. SEPA offers a fast and reliable method for direct deposit of your account payments in your local currency.

Creationshop may charge a nominal percentage above its competitive, negotiated currency conversion rates. This amount represents a portion of the difference between the wholesale exchange rate we are able to obtain and the available spot rate on the day at or near your payment date.

Once sent, SEPA based payments generally take only a few days to reach your account, depending on what country your account is in.

SEPA deposits are available to bank accounts in participating European countries.

Wire Payment (International)

For those clients that reside in a country in which we do not currently offer International Direct Deposit, Creationshop does offer direct wire payment to your bank account. The additional cost for a wire payment is $35 per wire sent. An unlimited number of Creationshop accounts with the same payee name can be included in a single wire. Wire payments are sent in your home currency and may be converted by Creationshop. 

Payment Change Deadlines

All changes to payment details, including address or payee changes, and changes between payment methods, must be made at least one week prior to the payment date.

Payment Threshold

The “Payment Threshold” is a predetermined minimum amount of money you must have in your account before we generate a payment. You may select an amount from $100 to $1,000,000 as your Payment Threshold amount. The default setting is $100. Wires must be in an amount of at least $100. A $2.50 processing charge is assessed against each payment we issue. To change your Payment Threshold, login to your account and select the “Settings” tab. Click “Edit” to the right of the “Payment Information” section. Select the “Payment Threshold” of your choice, and click the “Save Changes” button.

Returned Direct Deposits and Wires

Payments that are sent via direct deposit and wire that are returned to us due to invalid banking information are subject to a$20 reprocessing fee.

Retail & Wholesale Pricing

Products sold through Creationshop have a retail and wholesale price. Merchants recommend a suggested retail price for their Products (within limits defined by Creationshop) during Product creation. Creationshop also defines the maximum price for a Product when a Merchant submits the Product for approval. Once Creationshop reviews the suggested retail price from the Merchant, the final retail price is set.

At the time of purchase by a customer, Creationshop purchases the Product from the applicable Vendor at a wholesale price, which can vary by Product type, price, and currency, and resells the Product to the customer.

The wholesale price Creationshop pays Merchants for standard Products, and initial payments for recurring subscriptions is typically 92.5% of the suggested retail, less 1.00. However, for recurring billing subscriptions where the rebill price is less than 40, Creationshop purchases the rebills for the subscription from the Merchant at a wholesale price equal to 90.1% of retail. For free trial transactions, Creationshop charges the Merchant 0.50 per transaction.  

If an Affiliate generated the sale, the wholesale price is automatically split between the Merchant and Affiliate according to the commission percentage set by the Merchant. Amounts are credited to the Merchant and Affiliate at the time of sale.

Currencies

If a Merchant chooses to sell a Product in a currency other than U.S. dollars, Euros or British Pound, an exchange rate is used to convert the purchase.

Creationshop processes sales in the following currencies:

ARS – Argentinean PesoAUD – Australian DollarBRL – Brazilian RealCAD – Canadian DollarCHF – Swiss FrancCLP – Chilean PesoCNY – Chinese YuanCOP – Columbian PesoCZK – Czech KorunaDKK – Danish KroneEUR – EuroGBP – British PoundHKD – Hong Kong DollarHUF – Hungarian ForintIDR – Indonesian RupiahINR – Indian RupeeJPY – Japanese YenKRW – South Korean WonMXN – Mexican PesoMYR – Malaysian RinggitNOK – Norwegian KronerNZD – New Zealand DollarPHP – Philippines PesoPLN – Polish ZlotyRUB – Russian RubleSEK – Swedish KronaSGD – Singapore DollarTHB – Thai BahtTRY – Turkish LiraUSD – US DollarZAR – South African Rand

All transactions are applied to your account in your selected settlement currency. For products priced in U.S. Dollars, EUR or British Pound , the amount applied to your account will always be based on the U.S. Dollar, Euro or British Pound price – the currency the customer chooses to purchase in does not affect the USD, EUR or GBP amount applied to your account. For products priced in a currency other than USD, EUR or GBP, transactions are converted to your settlement currency and applied to your account using an exchange rate acquired by Creationshop in conjunction with our foreign currency partners at the time of the purchase. This exchange rate is updated once per day. Returns and revokes utilize the same exchange rate that was associated with the original purchase. Creationshop’s determination of exchange rates is final.

Sales Tax

As the retailer of record, Creationshop may be responsible for collecting and remitting tax on sales to end customers. These taxes are assessed based on the location of Creationshop and the jurisdiction in which it is operating.

VAT Tax

Under European laws, Creationshop may be required to collect and remit Value Added Tax (VAT) on sales of electronic services and electronic intangible products. 

Returned Sales

As part of our commitment to quality customer service and satisfaction, Creationshop may approve a return in accordance with our Return and Cancellation Policy. When a sale is returned the customer receives a 100% refund and payouts from that sale are debited back out of the corresponding Merchant and Affiliate accounts. Product returns are evidence of customer dissatisfaction with product quality or lack of support and Creationshop wants to encourage Merchants to identify and fix any problems to minimize the number of returned sales. In addition, Creationshop incurs direct processing costs and other costs in connection with returned sales. Therefore, Creationshop assesses the following return fees: 1.00 for each returned sale where the product price plus shipping equals or exceeds 10.00; 0.50 for each returned sale where the product price plus shipping is less than 10.00. This fee is assessed only on returned initial sales and not on upsells, rebills, or other partial returns. This fee also is not assessed on returns processed on the same calendar date as the sale. Merchant accounts that maintain a refund rate in excess of 20% may also be subject to Creationshop retaining its transaction processing margin (as discussed in Retail & Wholesale Pricing above), and may be subject to additional fees.

Refunds and chargebacks may also result in a negative balance in your account. If your account experiences a negative balance for any reason, Creationshop may withdraw funds from any other accounts you control, may seize any available funds to cover the deficiency, and/or may invoice you for the deficiency. All of these remedies are in addition to Creationshop’s other rights under the Contract, which are fully reserved.

Charged Back Sales

A purchase is “charged back” when a customer disputes a charge through their bank or credit provider, usually because the customer claims that the purchase was unfunded, unauthorized or fraudulent. Chargebacks cost Creationshop money and harm its valuable reputation as a reliable Internet retailer. When a Merchant is the subject of a chargeback, the Merchant is assessed a fee based on the chargeback rate of the Merchant account. The chargeback fee assessed to the Vendor is:

  • 35.00 if the account’s chargeback rate is less than 1.0%.
  • 50.00 + Creationshop’s margin if the account’s chargeback rate is between 1.0%-1.49%.
  • 75.00 + Creationshop’s margin if the account’s chargeback rate is greater than 1.5%.

Overall, sales processed by Creationshop traditionally have a chargeback rate of less than 1%, which is quite low for an internet retailer.

Creationshop may, in its sole discretion, dispute chargebacks by re-presenting the sale to the relevant card brand or payment provider.  A successful representment that results in the reversal of a chargeback does not constitute a sale for purposes of this Accounting Policy or the Contract.  Creationshop reserves the right to keep the full amount recovered from any successfully re-presented transaction (in addition to any chargeback fee assessed pursuant to this section) and has no obligation to pay any amount to any Merchant or Affiliate relating to the original sale or the successful representment.

As a merchant, you can take a number of easy steps to prevent Returned and Charged Back Sales:

  • Use Creationshop’s Dynamic Billing Descriptor functionality which allows the use of 14 alphanumeric characters that will appear on the customer’s credit card statement to describe your product. Example CREATION*yourproduct.
  • Remind the customer of the product descriptor they will see on their credit card statement either “CR8SHOP*COM” or CREATION*yourproduct.
  • Make it very easy for customers to contact you for technical support. Prominently display your email address on the page so that they can write it down. If you have a business phone number, provide them with that too. Of course, you should respond to customers in a timely fashion and take every possible step to resolve any concerns and save the sale.
  • Add your customer service email address and customer service phone number (if you have one) within your Creationshop account, as well, so that Creationshop can refer customers back to you if they contact us directly.
  • Let customers know that Product is backed by Creationshop’s guarantee of quality customer service and that Creationshop will be happy to help them if there is any problem with their purchase.

Debit Backdating

Returns and chargebacks are backdated 7 days for accounting purposes. For example, if a return is processed on a Thursday after pay period end, the debit is applied to the previous pay period.

Return Allowance

Creationshop withholds a fraction from each payment that is credited back to your account after 26 weeks (about 180 days). These funds are used to manage quality issues that may arise with Products you publish or promote, including delayed refunds or charged back sales. The standard return allowance is 10%. Creationshop may adjust your return allowance at any time.

Determination of Affiliate

The Affiliate (if any) associated with any Creationshop sale is determined by an automated customer tracking system. Any decision made by this system is final and not subject to petition or appeal. Though we believe our tracking system to be more fair and accurate than any alternative, we make no representation regarding the ability of the system to track any specific customer, for any specific length of time.

Account Closure

You may close your account at any time. Any closing balance under $100 will be forfeited.

Customer Distribution Requirement

Creationshop will withhold payment of any balance until an account shows a minimum of 5 sales using at least two of the following payment methods:

  • American Express
  • Carte Bleue
  • Diners Club
  • Discover
  • ELV (European Direct Debit)
  • JCB
  • Maestro
  • MasterCard
  • PayPal
  • Visa

This requirement is in place to help prevent Affiliates from abusing the Creationshop Affiliate program by using their accounts for the sole purpose of fraudulently collecting rebates and/or discounts on their own purchases.

Once you have met the Customer Distribution Requirement, your account will begin issuing payments normally, in accordance with our Accounting Policy, beginning on the next payment issuing date.

Dormant Accounts

Accounts with a positive balance but no earnings for an extended period of time are considered dormant. Dormant accounts are subject to a charge of 1 per pay period after 90 days of no earnings, 5 per pay period after 180 days of no earnings, and 50 per pay period after 365 days of no earnings. It is your responsibility to manage your account to prevent dormant fees. Creationshop will not notify you when your account is dormant.

Taxpayer ID Number Requirement For U.S. Based Affiliates Earning Over $600

U.S. based Affiliate and some merchant accounts earning over $600 may be required to have a taxpayer ID number linked to their account.

The taxpayer ID number input in the account must match the payee listed on the account.

This means:

  • If you have a business name as the payee, you must input the EIN into your account that matches the payee. Be sure to use the proper 9-digit format including dashes: 12-3456789
  • If you have an individual name as the payee, you must input the SSN into your account that matches the payee. Be sure to use the proper 9-digit format including dashes: 123-456-789
  • If you are utilizing a business name but reporting under an individual SSN, you will need to provide an IRS form W-9 to us.
  • If you are a foreign citizen utilizing a US address, but a beneficial resident of a different country, you will need to provide us with an IRS form W-8BEN.

W-9 and W-8BEN forms may be submitted by email to our accounting department. Be sure to note your account nickname on the form.

Legal Limitations

This document is not a warranty. For more details please consult the Creationshop legal agreements, terms and conditions , which governs this Accounting Policy and of which this Accounting Policy is a fully incorporated part.