Terms of Service

• “Service” means Merkvex websites, apps, APIs, and related features we operate under merkvex.com and successor domains.
• “Bazaar” means peer-to-peer listing, offer, trade, chat, rating, and related marketplace features.
• “User Content” means content you submit (listings, photos, messages, profiles, notes, and similar).
• “Paid Features” means subscriptions, Ciphers and Blanks, and other paid products we sell through Stripe.
• “Operator” means the person or entity operating Merkvex (currently Choxxy / ChoxxyVerse, Saskatoon, SK, Canada).
• “Policies” means the Community Guidelines, Dispute Policy, and Privacy Policy, each incorporated into these Terms.
• “Digital Content” means non-tangible content and services delivered electronically, including account access, market tools, Mailbox features, cosmetics, and balances credited to your account.

By creating an account, clicking to accept, or using the Service, you agree to these Terms of Service (“Terms”). If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

You consent to form this agreement electronically and to receive notices electronically (in-Service, email, or Mailbox).

These Terms apply to free and paid users worldwide, subject to mandatory local law that cannot be waived.

Incorporated Policies (part of these Terms):

• Community Guidelines
• Dispute Policy
• Privacy Policy

Hierarchy: Terms control over Policies if they conflict. Policies may be more specific about trading practice; they cannot reduce rights we expressly reserve here or expand our liability beyond these Terms.

How-to pages (for example the Trading Guide) are educational. If a how-to page conflicts with Terms or Policies, Terms and Policies control.

Merkvex may include, without limitation:

• Market intelligence (Board, Price Guide, Sealed Value, grading-related analysis; free/Pro depth varies)
• Bazaar peer-to-peer tools
• Account cosmetics, Hideout, seasons, Mailbox, and related features
• Ciphers, Blanks, and in-Service shops where offered

Informational only. Prices, ROI, EV, rankings, and similar outputs are not financial, investment, tax, or collecting advice. You alone decide trades and purchases.

Beta / experimental features may be incomplete, change without notice, or be withdrawn. They are provided “as is.”

We may modify, suspend, or discontinue features with reasonable commercial effort to avoid unnecessary disruption of Paid Features you already purchased for the current billing period.

You must be at least 18 years old and able to form a binding contract under the laws of your place of residence. The Service is not directed to children.

COPPA & minors. Consistent with the US Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and analogous laws, we do not knowingly collect or process personal information from anyone under 13. Separately, trading features, Paid Features, and Bazaar use require that you are 18+. If we learn that an account is used by a person under 18 (or under 13), we will close or restrict that account and delete or de-identify associated personal information as described in the Privacy Policy, except where retention is required by law.

You must provide accurate registration information and keep credentials confidential. You are responsible for activity under your account unless you prove unauthorized access after prompt notice to us.

One person, one trading reputation. Creating multiple accounts to evade restrictions, sanctions, ratings, or limits is a material breach.

Authentication is provided via third-party infrastructure (currently Supabase Auth: magic link and/or supported OAuth providers).

We may refuse, reclaim, or require change of handles that impersonate others, imply official status, or violate law or these Terms.

4.1 Subscriptions

• No free trials unless we expressly advertise one for a specific SKU (default: none). Annual plans may include a list-price discount; they bill at checkout.
• Auto-renewal until you cancel.
• Cancel any time from Membership (merkvex.com/membership.html: "Manage plan / billing" opens the Stripe billing portal). Access continues through the paid period.
• Refunds: No partial-period refunds except where required by law or where we confirm a billing error. Contact billing@merkvex.com.
• Currency: Default display and settlement currency is CAD unless checkout shows another currency. Foreign cards may incur bank FX fees.
• Price changes: ≥30 days’ notice before renewal-price increases for subscriptions.

4.2 Founding / promotional rates

Founding membership, Founder’s Hand, and similar promotions are defined by in-Service rules at the time you qualify. Measurement may be automated. We may change future qualification rules prospectively to prevent abuse. We will not claw back a rate already earned under the rules then in force solely because qualification rules later change, while the subscription remains continuously active as stated in-product.

4.3 Ciphers and Blanks

Ciphers (and Blanks that stamp into Ciphers with your equipped coin face) are a limited licence to use virtual balance inside the Service. Unless we expressly offer a regulated cash-out product: they have no cash value, are not legal tender, are non-transferable outside the Service, and are not redeemable for money. Cosmetic sell-back or similar features, if offered, pay in Ciphers only under in-product rules. We may reverse obvious errors, fraud, or unauthorized grants. Ciphers are not a security, commodity, or stored-value instrument under these Terms.

4.4 Stripe as ledger

Stripe processes payments. You also agree to Stripe’s applicable terms. We do not store full PAN/CVC. Stripe’s records are authoritative for Merkvex-processed purchases. After outages we reconcile entitlements against Stripe (normally 24–48 hours). Keep charge IDs for support.

4.5 Cross-border tax & VAT (Stripe Tax)

Digital goods, subscriptions, and purchases:

• Are billed in CAD or in a local currency shown at checkout;
• May include, where required and enabled, applicable US sales/use tax, Canadian GST/HST/PST/QST, EU/UK VAT, or other regional consumption taxes calculated via Stripe Tax or equivalent tooling; and
• May show tax exclusive or inclusive pricing as displayed at checkout.

You are responsible for taxes we do not collect. Tax rates and registration obligations can change; checkout is the source of truth for a given purchase. Business customers may be asked for a valid tax ID (for example VAT ID) where reverse charge or exemption applies.

4.6 EU/UK consumer cancellation (digital content): 14-day cooling-off

If you are a consumer in the European Union or United Kingdom, you may have a statutory right to cancel certain distance contracts within 14 days without giving a reason (Consumer Rights Directive / Consumer Contracts Regulations and successors).

Immediate performance / waiver of withdrawal for Digital Content. Paid Features and Digital Content (including subscriptions that begin access immediately, packs credited on purchase, and cosmetics delivered to your account) are made available as soon as payment succeeds. By completing checkout and receiving access or credit, you expressly request immediate performance and acknowledge that you lose the statutory right of withdrawal once delivery of Digital Content has begun or been completed, to the extent permitted by applicable EU/UK law. We will present an acknowledgement at checkout where required.

This section does not affect non-waivable statutory remedies for defective digital content or services under mandatory EU/UK consumer law.

5.1 Software rails only. On the Bazaar you deal with other users. Merkvex provides software (listings, offers, chat, tracking fields, ratings, dispute flags, profile signals). Merkvex is not the buyer or seller of cards in a user-to-user trade and is not a party to the contract between users.

5.2 No escrow; no payment guarantee. Unless we launch an expressly described Merkvex-held payment/escrow product, payment and shipping are solely between users. We do not hold trade funds, guarantee payment or delivery, or insure parcels.

5.3 Counterparty risk. You choose counterparties, verify photos/condition, use tracking, and document deals. Ratings, trade counts, Avatar Card / frame signals, and badges are informational trust aids, not warranties of honesty or future performance.

5.4 Conduct & disputes. Bazaar use is governed by the Community Guidelines and Dispute Policy.

5.5 Release. To the maximum extent permitted by law, you release Merkvex and the Operator from claims arising out of user-to-user transactions (including non-payment, non-delivery, condition disputes, and shipping loss), except to the extent caused by Merkvex’s wilful misconduct. This release does not limit non-waivable consumer rights where applicable.

5.6 Export controls & sanctions (OFAC / Canada / BIS). The Service may not be accessed, used, exported, or re-exported:

• Into any country, territory, or region subject to comprehensive sanctions administered by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Canada’s Consolidated Autonomous Sanctions List framework, or equivalent Canadian orders; or
• By any person or entity listed on OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, the US Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) denied-party lists, Canada’s Consolidated Autonomous Sanctions List, or any similar restricted-party list; or
• In any manner that violates export control, re-export, or trade-sanctions laws applicable to you or to Merkvex.

You represent that you are not located in a comprehensively sanctioned territory and are not a restricted party. We may suspend or terminate access to comply with sanctions and export laws. You will not list or trade illegal items or use the Service to facilitate prohibited trade.

You will not: scrape or bulk-extract beyond ordinary personal use; attack or overload the Service; bypass rate limits, tier gates, or sanctions; reverse engineer except where mandatory law forbids restriction; resell access; submit fraudulent content (fake tracking, false condition, stock photos as the listed copy); harass or threaten; or use the Service to build a competing dataset using non-public access.

Fair use: Scanning and similar heavy features may be limited. We disclose limits in-product where material. Contact hello@merkvex.com if you believe a limit is wrong.

Automated access requires our prior written consent except for ordinary browsers and documented public endpoints.

You retain ownership of User Content. You grant Merkvex a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable (to a successor operator) licence to host, store, reproduce, display, transmit, and process User Content to operate, secure, improve, back up, and enforce the Service (including fraud and safety review).

You represent you have all rights needed to submit User Content and that it does not infringe law or third-party rights.

We may remove, hide, or restrict User Content that violates Terms/Policies or creates legal or safety risk. We are not obligated to pre-screen all content.

Feedback you send about the Service may be used by us without obligation to you.

Service software, UI, original copy, design systems, and original cosmetics are owned by Merkvex/ChoxxyVerse or licensors. You receive a limited, revocable, non-transferable right to use the Service as offered.

Third-party market data remains subject to upstream licences.

Pokémon and related marks are trademarks of Nintendo, Game Freak, Creatures Inc., and/or The Pokémon Company and affiliates. Merkvex is independent and not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by those parties. We use names nominatively to describe the category of genuine goods users research and trade. We do not claim ownership of third-party card art, characters, or set IP. User-uploaded photos are the uploader’s responsibility.

Purchasable Service cosmetics are original Merkvex/ChoxxyVerse designs (or otherwise licensed as stated) and are not official Pokémon Company products.

8.1 Canada. Notice-and-Notice (Copyright Act)

Where Canada’s Notice-and-Notice regime applies to alleged copyright infringement on our systems, we will process valid notices as required by law (including forwarding compliant notices to the alleged poster when required and retaining records as prescribed). Contact: hello@merkvex.com with subject “Copyright Notice. Canada”.

8.2 United States. DMCA Safe Harbor

If you believe material on the Service infringes your copyright under US law, you may send a notice under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. § 512) to our Designated Copyright Agent:

• Designated Agent: Merkvex Copyright Agent (Choxxy / ChoxxyVerse)
• Email: hello@merkvex.com (subject: DMCA Notice)
• Mail (jurisdiction of service of process for this purpose): Merkvex / ChoxxyVerse, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada (request a physical mailing address by email if required for formal service)

DMCA takedown notice contents (must substantially include):

1. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act for the copyright owner;
2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed (or a representative list if multiple works);
3. Identification of the material claimed to be infringing and information reasonably sufficient to locate it (URL, listing ID, username, screenshot as needed);
4. Your name, mailing address, telephone number, and email address;
5. A statement that you have a good-faith belief that use of the material is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;
6. A statement that the information in the notice is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

Upon receipt of a compliant notice, we may remove or disable access to the material and, where appropriate, notify the poster.

Counter-notice. If your material was removed and you believe it was removed by mistake or misidentification, you may send a counter-notification to the same Designated Agent including: your signature; identification of the material and where it appeared; a statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good-faith belief the material was removed by mistake or misidentification; your name, address, and telephone number; and a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court for the judicial district in which your address is located (or if outside the US, any judicial district in which Merkvex may be found) and that you will accept service of process from the person who filed the original DMCA notice. We may restore material as permitted by 17 U.S.C. § 512(g).

Repeat infringers. It is our policy, in appropriate circumstances, to terminate accounts of users who are repeat copyright infringers in a manner consistent with the DMCA and our Community Guidelines.

Other IP complaints (trademark, publicity, etc.): Email hello@merkvex.com with “IP Notice” in the subject, your contact details, the material, and a good-faith statement of rights. We may remove material and, where appropriate, notify the poster.

Personal information is handled under the Privacy Policy (Canada PIPEDA baseline; US state privacy rights; EU/UK GDPR where applicable).

We may send transactional messages (auth, security, billing, trade/dispute/enforcement). Marketing email, if any, will follow applicable consent rules (including CASL for Canadian recipients and equivalent rules elsewhere). You can unsubscribe from marketing; transactional mail may continue while you have an account.

The Service depends on third parties (for example Stripe, Supabase, Netlify, email providers, carriers users choose). Their terms govern their services. We are not responsible for third-party outages beyond our reasonable control. External links are provided for convenience; we do not control third-party sites.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE,” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE OPERATION, ACCURATE OR CURRENT PRICING DATA, OR THAT TRUST SIGNALS PREDICT USER CONDUCT.

WE DO NOT WARRANT SUCCESSFUL PAYMENT, DELIVERY, OR CONDITION OF GOODS BETWEEN USERS.

EU/UK and other non-waivable guarantees. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits any statutory guarantee, warranty, or remedy that cannot be excluded under the laws of your country of residence (including, for EU/UK consumers, mandatory rights relating to digital content and digital services under applicable consumer law). Where those rights apply, our disclaimers apply only to the extent permitted.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, MERKVEX AND THE OPERATOR WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR LOST PROFITS, LOST DATA, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, OR TRADING LOSSES, WHETHER BASED IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY.

Liability cap: Except where prohibited, our total aggregate liability arising out of or related to the Service is limited to the greater of (a) amounts you paid to Merkvex for Paid Features in the three (3) months before the claim, or (b) CAD $100 if you paid nothing in that period.

Nothing excludes liability that cannot be excluded under applicable law (including fraud or wilful misconduct where exclusion is forbidden, and any non-waivable consumer rights).

12.1 US residents. Class Action Waiver

If you reside in the United States, to the fullest extent permitted by law you and Merkvex agree that each may bring claims against the other only in an individual capacity, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class, collective, consolidated, or representative proceeding. A court may not consolidate more than one person’s claims or preside over any form of representative or class proceeding without the consent of all parties.

12.2 US residents. Jury Trial Waiver

If you reside in the United States, to the fullest extent permitted by law you and Merkvex waive any right to a jury trial in any action arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service, and any such action will be tried by a judge without a jury.

12.3 30-day opt-out

You may opt out of §§12.1 and 12.2 (Class Action Waiver and Jury Trial Waiver) by sending written notice to hello@merkvex.com with subject “Opt-Out of Class/Jury Waivers” within 30 days of first accepting these Terms (or of the effective date of this version if you already had an account). Include your account email and handle. Opt-out does not affect other Terms. If you opt out, §§12.1–12.2 will not apply to you; the remainder of these Terms still applies, including governing law and venue in §16 subject to mandatory consumer law.

You will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Merkvex and the Operator from claims, damages, losses, and reasonable legal fees arising from: (a) your User Content; (b) your trades or disputes with other users; (c) your violation of these Terms, Policies, or law; or (d) your misuse of the Service: except to the extent caused by our wilful misconduct. This indemnity does not apply to the extent prohibited for consumers under mandatory local law.

We may investigate suspected violations. We may warn, temporarily restrict trading without publicly labelling you as “under investigation,” suspend, or permanently ban accounts for breach of Terms/Policies, fraud, abuse, multi-accounting, sanctions risk, or other legitimate operational reasons, with notice where practicable.

Quiet trading freezes protect the community while remaining fairer than public shaming. Bypass via new accounts is a ban-level offense.

On suspension/termination you may lose access. Data export: see Privacy Policy.

Appeals: Within 14 days of notice, email hello@merkvex.com subject “Appeal: @yourhandle” (or reply to staff notice) with decision ID/context and evidence. One appeal per decision unless we request more. We may uphold, reduce, or reverse. Frivolous appeals may be closed. Details: Community Guidelines.

We are not liable for delays or failures caused by events beyond reasonable control (including outages of major cloud/payment providers, strikes, war, epidemic, natural disaster, or legal prohibition).

These Terms are governed by the laws of Saskatchewan and applicable federal laws of Canada, without conflict-of-law rules that would require another jurisdiction’s law.

Subject to mandatory consumer protections that cannot be waived, exclusive venue for disputes arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service is the courts in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

US residents: §§12.1–12.3 apply in addition to this section. Nothing in this §16 requires you to waive non-waivable rights under US federal or state consumer protection statutes; where exclusive venue is prohibited for a particular claim, that claim may proceed in a forum permitted by that statute, and only that claim is so limited.

EU/UK and other consumers: If you are a consumer in a jurisdiction that prohibits exclusive venue, choice of law, or certain limitations, those mandatory rules prevail only to the required extent. You may also benefit from mandatory consumer forums or ADR schemes available in your country of residence.

We may update Terms and Policies. We will update the version/effective date. For material changes we will provide notice by email or in-Service notice when practicable. Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance, except where mandatory law requires a different method of acceptance.

You may not assign these Terms without our consent. We may assign them to an affiliate or successor operating the Service.

Sections that by nature should survive (including IP, DMCA, disclaimers, liability limits, class/jury waivers, indemnity, governing law, and enforcement history we retain under Privacy) survive termination.

These Terms plus the Policies are the entire agreement regarding the Service and supersede prior online terms on the same subject. Failure to enforce is not a waiver. If any provision is unenforceable, the remainder remains in effect; the unenforceable provision will be modified to the minimum extent required.

Merkvex, by ChoxxyVerse · Operated by Choxxy · Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
General / DMCA / privacy / appeals: hello@merkvex.com
Billing: billing@merkvex.com

Document control: Terms v2026.08.02-S · Paired with Community Guidelines and Dispute Policy v2026.08.02-S, and with the Privacy Policy, which carries its own version and effective date on its face.
Hierarchy: Terms control over Policies. Educational guides are subordinate.