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Terms of service

Last updated 29 October 2026

1. Who we are

Merchella is run by Northstar Ridge Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (company number [COMPANY NUMBER]). Our registered address is [REGISTERED ADDRESS].

In these terms, "we", "us" and "our" mean Northstar Ridge Ltd. "You" means the business or person who opens a Merchella account. "Shoppers" means the people who buy from your shop.

You can contact us at hello@merchella.com, or support@merchella.com for help with your shop.

2. What these terms cover

These terms cover your use of Merchella: the hosted shop, the Command admin area, and the tools that come with your plan. They also include our Acceptable use policy, Subscription and refund policy and Data processing agreement, which form part of this agreement.

Merchella is a service for businesses. By opening an account you confirm you are acting for your business, not as a consumer, and that you are at least 18 and able to agree to these terms. If you sign up on behalf of a company, you confirm you have authority to bind it.

3. Your account

  • Give us accurate details when you sign up and keep them up to date.
  • Keep your sign-in details private. Every account uses 2-step sign-in; please keep it switched on for your team.
  • You are responsible for everything done through your account, including by team members you invite.
  • Choose carefully what each team member can see and do, and remove people who no longer need access.
  • Tell us straight away at support@merchella.com if you think someone has got into your account without permission.

4. Free trial

New accounts get a 30-day free trial. You do not need to give card details to start. During the trial you can set up and try your shop.

At the end of the trial you can choose a plan to keep your shop running. If you do not, your shop is paused. We do not charge you for the trial, and we do not take payment automatically when it ends unless you have chosen a plan.

We may limit trials to one per business, and we may end a trial early if it is being misused.

5. Plans and billing

Our plans are Basic at £29.99 a month and Full at £89.99 a month. The current prices and what each plan includes are shown on our pricing page.

  • Plans are billed monthly in advance, starting on the day you choose a plan.
  • Prices are shown in pounds sterling. Where VAT applies, we will show it on your invoice.
  • Merchella does not take a fee on your sales.
  • You can move between plans. How upgrades and downgrades are charged is explained in our Subscription and refund policy.
  • If a payment fails, we will let you know and try again. If it still cannot be taken, we may pause your shop until it is paid.

We may change our prices. We will give you at least 30 days' notice by email before a new price applies to you, so you have time to change plan or cancel.

6. Cancelling

You can cancel at any time from the Command admin area. Your plan stays active until the end of the billing period you have already paid for, and then stops. You will not be charged again.

We do not refund part-months, except where the law says we must. See our Subscription and refund policy for the details, including how to export your data.

7. Your shop and your responsibilities

Your shop is your business. Merchella gives you the tools, but you decide what you sell, how you describe it and how you deal with shoppers. You are responsible for:

  • The products you sell, and everything you put in your shop: text, images, prices, reviews and claims.
  • Making sure your products are safe, legal and correctly described in every country you sell to.
  • Following consumer protection law, including shoppers' rights to information, cancellation, returns and refunds.
  • Your own terms of sale, returns policy, privacy notice and cookie settings for your shop.
  • Charging, collecting and paying the right taxes, including VAT and any customs duties, and keeping proper records.
  • Following marketing rules, including getting consent before sending marketing emails.
  • Dealing with shoppers' orders, questions, complaints, refunds and chargebacks.
  • Content you create with our AI writing help. Check it before you publish it; it can be wrong.

8. Acceptable use

You must follow our Acceptable use policy. It lists the products and activities that are not allowed on Merchella, such as illegal or counterfeit goods, misleading health claims, fraud and spam. If you break it, we may remove content, pause your shop or close your account.

9. Payments from shoppers

Shoppers pay through PayPal at checkout. PayPal is a separate company, and you need your own PayPal business account. Your use of PayPal is under PayPal's own terms and fees, which are between you and PayPal.

  • Money from sales goes straight to your PayPal account. It does not pass through us.
  • We are not responsible for PayPal's decisions, such as holds on funds, account limits, disputes or chargebacks.
  • Which payment methods appear at checkout depends on what PayPal offers in each country.

10. We are not part of your sales

When a shopper buys from your shop, the contract of sale is between you and the shopper. Northstar Ridge Ltd is not a party to it, is not the seller, and is not responsible for the products, delivery, returns or refunds.

The same applies to warehouses, couriers and other services you connect to your shop. We pass order details to them as you have set up, but your arrangement with them is your own.

11. Your data and your shoppers' data

  • You own your shop's content and data, including your products, orders and customer lists.
  • You give us permission to host, copy, display and process that content only so we can run the service for you.
  • For shoppers' personal data, you are the controller and we act as your processor. Our Data processing agreement sets out how we handle it.
  • Our Privacy policy explains how we handle personal data about you, your team and visitors to our website.
  • You can export your data while your account is open. What happens after you close your account is set out in our Subscription and refund policy.

12. Our intellectual property

Merchella, our software, designs, templates, help articles and brand belong to Northstar Ridge Ltd or our licensors. While your account is active, we give you a non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use them to run your shop.

You must not copy, resell, reverse engineer or try to get the source code of the service, except where the law allows. If you send us ideas or feedback, we may use them without owing you anything.

13. Availability and changes to the service

We use reasonable efforts to keep your shop and the Command admin area running and secure. We do not promise that the service will always be available, error-free or uninterrupted.

  • We may need to carry out maintenance, which can cause short breaks. Where we can, we will do this at quieter times.
  • Things outside our control, such as problems with hosting, payment or internet providers, can affect the service.
  • We improve the service over time and may add, change or remove features. If we remove something important to your plan, we will tell you first.
  • Keep your own copies of important content and data.

14. Suspension and closing accounts

We may pause or restrict your shop, or close your account, if:

  • you break these terms or our Acceptable use policy;
  • you do not pay what you owe;
  • we reasonably believe your shop puts shoppers, us or others at risk, for example through fraud or a security problem; or
  • we are required to by law, a court or a regulator.

Where it is reasonable to do so, we will tell you first and give you a chance to put things right. In serious cases we may act straight away. We may also end this agreement for any reason by giving you at least 30 days' notice.

15. Our liability to you

Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot be limited by law.

Apart from that:

  • We are not liable for loss of profits, sales, business, revenue, goodwill or data, or for any indirect or consequential loss.
  • We are not liable for the acts of PayPal, warehouses, couriers, AI providers or other third parties you choose to use.
  • Our total liability to you in any 12-month period is limited to the fees you paid us in the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim.

The service is provided as described on our website. We do not give other promises about it, except those the law requires.

16. Your liability to us

You agree to cover our reasonable losses and costs if a claim is brought against us because of your products, your shop's content, your dealings with shoppers, or your breach of these terms or the law.

17. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. If a change matters, we will email you at least 30 days before it takes effect. If you do not agree, you can cancel before then. If you keep using the service after the change, the new terms apply.

Small changes, such as fixing typos or making something clearer, may apply straight away. The date at the top shows when these terms were last updated.

18. General

  • You may not transfer this agreement to someone else without our written agreement. We may transfer it to another company, for example if our business is sold, and will tell you if we do.
  • If any part of these terms is found to be unenforceable, the rest still applies.
  • If we do not enforce a right straight away, we can still enforce it later.
  • These terms, with the policies they mention, are the whole agreement between us about the service.
  • Nobody else has rights under these terms.

19. Governing law

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. Any dispute will be dealt with by the courts of England and Wales.

If you have a problem, please contact us first at support@merchella.com. Most things can be sorted out quickly.