TERMS OF SERVICE

By creating an account, using the dashboard or APIs, or publishing a store, you agree to these Terms of Service ("Terms") and our Privacy Policy. In these Terms, "eSooq", "we", "our", and "us" refer to eSooq; "you" refers to the person or business using the service.

If you use eSooq on behalf of a business, you must have authority to accept these Terms for that business. Do not use the service if you do not agree to these Terms.

eSooq helps merchants manage an online store, stock, and orders. Available features depend on your plan and store settings. They include:

• Online stores: Branded websites with mobile shopping, carts, and English and Amharic interfaces. Product content depends on what the merchant provides.
• Products and stock: Product descriptions, prices, images, and stock tracking for variants such as sizes and colors.
• Telegram & Email: Order notifications through configured channels, with Telegram stock and sales tools for authorized operators.
• In-Person Sales: Tools to record shop sales and update the inventory used by your online store while connected to the service.
• Payment Tracking: Recording cash and manual transfers, reviewing payment proofs, and connecting supported payment providers where configured.
• Sales Reports: Order and sales summaries to help you follow store activity. These do not replace accounting records or professional tax advice.

Create an account and complete store setup using the details requested during registration. Sign in with email and password, or with Google or Telegram where enabled. You agree to:

• Provide accurate and complete business information.
• Keep your login credentials private and prevent unauthorized access to your dashboard.
• Take responsibility for activity under your account, including product changes, order approvals, and cancellations.
• Contact [email protected] promptly if you suspect someone has accessed your account without permission.

Subscriptions are charged in Ethiopian Birr (ETB):

• Plans & Billing Periods: Available plans, billing periods, prices, and discounts are shown when you choose or renew a subscription. Only the periods offered for that plan are available. Subscription fees are payable in advance using the payment methods shown.
• Trial Offers: A free trial is not included unless explicitly offered during signup or plan selection. If offered, its duration, eligibility, and conditions are shown with the offer.
• Pricing Adjustments: Prices and offers may change for future purchases or renewals. Changes to existing subscribers’ renewal prices are scheduled with at least thirty (30) days’ advance notice through account notifications or email. New prices do not change the price already paid for your current billing period. Review the terms shown before paying for the next period.
• Cancellation & Refunds: Contact [email protected] to request cancellation. Subscription benefits continue until the end of the current prepaid billing period. Subscription fees are non-refundable for partially used periods, subject to applicable law.

As a store owner, you are responsible for your products and sales to customers, including:

• Listings: Keeping product details, prices, stock counts, options, and delivery times accurate.
• Fulfillment: Packing and delivering orders, or arranging delivery with a courier, within the time agreed with the customer.
• Customer service: Handling questions, returns, exchanges, defects, and refunds fairly and professionally.
• Tax & Regulatory Compliance: Meeting the licensing, tax, reporting, and consumer protection requirements that apply to your business and products.

You must not use eSooq to advertise or sell goods or services that violate applicable law or public policy. Prohibited listings include:

• Counterfeit, pirated, or unauthorized replica merchandise infringing on protected trademarks or patents.
• Firearms, ammunition, explosive devices, tactical weapons, or restricted military gear.
• Illegal narcotics, controlled substances, unapproved pharmaceuticals, or prescription drugs without appropriate ministry licensing.
• Pornography, explicit adult material, or content promoting hate speech, violence, or discrimination.
• Fraudulent financial schemes, pyramid programs, forged currency, or fake bank payment receipts.

Customer order payments are separate from fees you pay for an eSooq subscription. Your store may accept cash, manual bank or mobile-money transfers, or supported payment gateways, depending on its settings. A submitted receipt or transfer reference is evidence for review; it is not, by itself, confirmation that money was received.

eSooq is not a bank or payment processor. Merchants are responsible for checking manual payments against their receiving accounts. Gateway processing, fees, settlement, and reversals are governed by the payment provider’s terms; recording a payment in eSooq does not guarantee settlement.

Platform Ownership: Rights to eSooq’s software, storefront themes, interfaces, and branding remain with their respective owners and licensors. Your subscription gives you permission to use the service; it does not transfer ownership of the platform.

Merchant Ownership: You retain full title and intellectual property rights to your store name, logo, product photos, trademarks, and catalog content uploaded to our servers. By using our service, you grant eSooq a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, resize, cache, and display your assets solely for operating your digital storefront and providing platform features.

Service may be interrupted by maintenance, technical faults, network outages, or failures of third-party services. We do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free access, or a fixed uptime percentage under these Terms.

Planned maintenance notices may be shared through our available communication channels. Emergency work may require an interruption without advance notice. Contact support if you encounter an ongoing service issue.

To the fullest extent permitted under applicable law, eSooq, its operators, employees, and affiliates shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including loss of business profits, lost revenue, customer goodwill, or data corruption arising from your use of or inability to use our platform.

In no event shall eSooq’s aggregate liability for all claims arising out of or related to these Terms exceed the total subscription fees actually paid by you to eSooq during the three (3) months preceding the incident giving rise to liability.

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless eSooq against any third-party claims, liabilities, damages, or costs (including legal fees) resulting from your breach of these Terms, unlawful merchandise, or consumer disputes.

Contact [email protected] to request store or account closure. Export available product and order data from the dashboard before closure, or ask support for help. Closure and deletion requests are subject to identity verification and the retention requirements described in our Privacy Policy.

eSooq reserves the right to immediately suspend or permanently terminate any merchant account that breaches these Terms, engages in deceptive sales practices, fails to settle subscription dues following notice, or endangers platform infrastructure security.

These Terms and commercial disputes between eSooq and merchants are governed by the laws of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

The parties must first try to resolve disputes through good-faith negotiation. If no agreement is reached within thirty (30) days, the dispute is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent federal courts in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

For questions about these Terms, subscriptions, or legal notices, contact eSooq: