Amish Products Association Membership Agreement

Plain-English summary: Core agreement members accept to participate in Amish Products Association and use the private member marketplace.

Amish Products Association Membership Agreement

1. Agreement and voluntary application

This Agreement governs an application for membership in Amish Products Association and, if approved, the applicant's continuing membership.

Membership is solely with Amish Products Association, the private membership and governance body referred to in this Agreement as the Association.

By submitting a Membership Application, selecting a membership level, accepting the required documents, and paying the applicable dues, the applicant agrees to this Agreement, the By-Laws, the Current Membership Dues Schedule, and the other incorporated documents that apply.

Payment is part of the Membership Application. Payment does not by itself create approval, good standing, or product purchasing access.

2. Separate organizations and responsibilities

2.1 Association

The Association controls Membership Applications, approval, Member status, good standing, Member rules, Producer approval, Producer Standards, governance, suspension, and termination.

2.2 Merchant of Record

Amish Products Association, LLC is the authorized marketplace company and Merchant of Record for purchases processed through the Member marketplace.

The Merchant accepts product orders, receives checkout payments, issues transaction receipts, maintains transaction records, administers refunds and chargebacks, enters commercial agreements with approved Producers, and pays Producer settlements.

2.3 Operations Administrator

Amish Products Fulfillment, LLC administers the ecommerce platform, application and Member workflows, catalog operations, order routing, support, logistics coordination, reporting, security, and telephone, paper, fax, and print-shop workflows.

2.4 Producers

Approved Producers are independent suppliers. The Association approves Producers and governs Producer Standards. The Merchant contracts commercially with approved Producers and pays Producer settlements. Fulfillment administers the related operating workflows.

Producer attribution identifies the source of a product. It does not make the Producer the Member-facing seller for a purchase processed through Merchant checkout.

A Member does not need to join a separate Producer association, herdshare, club, or membership merely because a product is supplied by a particular Producer.

3. Membership levels and dues

The current public membership levels are:

1. Monthly Member — $4.99 per month.
2. Annual Member — $39.99 per year.
3. 1776 Law Center Supporter — $99.99 per year.

The Current Membership Dues Schedule controls billing periods, renewals, refund treatment, and other dues terms.

Membership dues are separate from product purchases and Producer revenue.

4. Membership Application and payment

To apply, an applicant must:

1. provide truthful and complete required information;
2. select a current membership level;
3. accept this Agreement and the other required documents;
4. acknowledge the no-resale and non-distribution rules;
5. pay the applicable dues;
6. provide any additional information reasonably required for review.

The Association may use electronic, paper, mail, telephone-assisted, personal-delivery, or fax-supported application procedures.

Submitting the application and paying dues does not guarantee approval.

5. Association review

After submission, the Association or its authorized reviewer may:

1. approve the application;
2. deny the application;
3. request more information;
4. place the application on Administrative Hold; or
5. take another action authorized by the By-Laws or adopted rules.

The Association may consider whether the applicant provided complete and accurate information, accepted required documents, paid applicable dues, complied with application requirements, and satisfied other adopted membership criteria.

6. Pending applications

A paid application remains pending until the Association records a decision.

A pending applicant may be allowed to:

• sign in;
• view application status;
• update permitted account information;
• receive notices;
• contact support;
• use other features specifically allowed for pending applicants.

A pending applicant may not complete product checkout or represent that the applicant is an approved Member in good standing.

Any approved visibility of product information, pricing, or cart-building during review does not create purchasing access.

7. Approval and purchasing access

Product purchasing access is granted only when all of the following are true:

1. the Association approved the application;
2. membership dues are current;
3. current required documents are accepted;
4. required information remains accurate;
5. the Member is not suspended or terminated;
6. no checkout-blocking Administrative Hold or manual review applies.

Account creation, application submission, dues payment, or active billing alone does not grant product purchasing access.

8. Denial, withdrawal, and application dues

8.1 Exclusive denied-application refund

A full refund of the membership dues paid with the application is required only when both conditions are true:

1. the Association denies the Membership Application; and
2. the applicant never received or used approved Member services.

Approved Member services are benefits reserved for approved Members, including Member-only pricing, Member product checkout, Member-only programs, voting rights, or another approved Member-only benefit.

Application review, application-status access, requests for more information, ordinary application support, denial notice, refund processing, public browsing, and public information do not count as approved Member services.

An eligible denied applicant receives a full refund of the dues paid with that application. The refund should be returned through the original payment method when reasonably available or through another approved documented method when the original method cannot be used. No other membership-dues refund is created by withdrawal, cancellation after approval, nonuse after approval, plan change, expiration, past-due status, suspension, termination after approval, dissatisfaction after approval, or a request to refund a renewal or completed billing period.

8.2 No other ordinary dues refund

Except for the denied-application refund in Section 8.1, membership dues are not refundable merely because an applicant or Member:

• withdraws an application;
• cancels after approval;
• does not use an approved membership;
• changes plans;
• allows membership to expire;
• becomes past due;
• is suspended or terminated after approval;
• is dissatisfied after approval;
• fails to use available Member services;
• seeks a refund of a renewal or completed billing period.

This Section does not prevent a refund required by a separate signed agreement, a payment reversal required by the payment processor, or another binding legal obligation.

8.3 Required refund records

The application and payment record must preserve:

• the amount paid;
• the membership level selected;
• the application status;
• the decision date and authorized decision reference;
• whether approved Member services were ever made available or used;
• the evidence supporting that finding;
• the refund-eligibility decision;
• the payment disposition;
• refund amount, date, method, and processor reference when applicable;
• notice date and delivery method;
• the operator or automated workflow completing the disposition.

An eligible denied application must remain marked <code>refund_required</code> until the full refund is completed and then be marked <code>refunded_denied_application</code>.

A denied applicant has no product purchasing access unless a later application is approved and all access requirements are satisfied.

9. Good standing

A Member in good standing is an approved Member who:

1. is current on dues;
2. has accepted current required documents;
3. maintains accurate required information;
4. is not suspended or terminated;
5. is not under a checkout-blocking Administrative Hold or manual review;
6. complies with Member duties and applicable Program Rules.

Good standing may be lost because of failed payment, payment reversal, missing acceptance, inaccurate information, account misuse, unauthorized resale or distribution, support abuse, chargeback abuse, policy violation, suspension, hold, or termination.

10. Billing, renewal, and failed payments

The applicant authorizes dues billing according to the selected membership level and accepted billing disclosures.

Monthly membership renews monthly. Annual Member and 1776 Law Center Supporter membership renew annually unless canceled, suspended, terminated, changed, or otherwise ended under the governing documents.

A failed, reversed, disputed, or overdue dues payment may result in past-due status, loss of good standing, checkout lock, Administrative Hold, cancellation, expiration, suspension, or termination.

Product refunds and credits are separate and are governed by the Marketplace Terms of Sale and the Refund, Credit, and Issue Resolution Policy.

10A. Support APA contributions (optional; not membership)

Members and other visitors may make optional Support APA support contributions through the Association’s Support APA surfaces. Support contributions are voluntary and separate from Membership Dues and product purchases.

A support contribution does not create purchasing access, does not replace Membership Dues, and does not guarantee product availability, order priority, or special access. Support contributions support general Association operations unless a specific campaign states otherwise.

Support contribution refund requests may be reviewed under the Refund, Credit, and Issue Resolution Policy. Product refunds do not automatically refund support contributions unless separately reviewed and approved.

11. Member benefits and limits

Subject to approval, good standing, availability, and Program Rules, benefits may include:

• Member communications and education;
• Producer information;
• Member pricing visibility;
• cart and product checkout access;
• Member support;
• notices of material updates;
• voting where authorized;
• other approved programs.

Membership does not guarantee a particular product, Producer, price, quantity, category, route, shipping method, pickup method, delivery window, payment service, or uninterrupted platform operation.

12. Marketplace purchases

Product purchases are governed by the Marketplace Terms of Sale and transaction-specific terms shown at checkout.

The product-purchase contract is with the Merchant unless a specific approved transaction expressly states otherwise.

Products may be restricted by location, product category, shipping or pickup method, Producer capacity, availability, carrier limitations, weather, operational conditions, or Program Rules.

Adding an item to a cart does not guarantee final availability, price, eligibility, acceptance, shipment, pickup, or fulfillment.

13. Member responsibilities

A Member or applicant must:

• provide accurate information;
• protect account access;
• pay authorized dues and product charges;
• follow product, shipping, pickup, storage, and handling instructions;
• use approved support and issue-reporting procedures;
• communicate respectfully;
• cooperate with reasonable verification, fraud-prevention, support, and incident review.

A Member or applicant may not:

• use a false identity;
• create duplicate accounts to bypass a restriction;
• share account credentials;
• use another person's account;
• resell, redistribute, broker, or publicly market Member-only products without authorization;
• misuse support, refunds, credits, payments, or chargebacks;
• bypass approval, account, product, location, or checkout restrictions;
• misuse Member-only or Producer information;
• interfere with Association, Merchant, Fulfillment, Producer, or technology operations.

14. Administrative Holds, suspension, and termination

The Association may impose a warning, information request, Administrative Hold, account restriction, suspension, termination, denial of reapplication, or other authorized action.

The Association may act promptly when reasonably necessary to protect Members, applicants, Producers, personnel, records, systems, legal interests, marketplace operations, or continuity.

Membership action does not automatically cancel an accepted order, payment obligation, refund review, chargeback, confidentiality duty, dispute process, or obligation that should continue.

15. Cancellation, expiration, and reinstatement

A Member may request cancellation through an approved support method. Cancellation stops future renewals according to the applicable cutoff and does not create a refund except for the exclusive denied-application refund in Section 8.1 or another binding requirement expressly described in Section 8.2.

Reinstatement may require:

• payment of current dues;
• reacceptance of current documents;
• updated information;
• resolution of account issues;
• Association review;
• new approval;
• other conditions adopted under the governing documents.

16. Privacy, records, and acceptance evidence

Information is collected, used, retained, shared, and protected under the Privacy Policy, Data Governance and Records Policy, System Access and Credential Control Policy, and applicable governing rules.

Records may include:

• identity and contact information;
• application data;
• membership level;
• dues and billing records;
• approval, denial, hold, suspension, expiration, cancellation, and termination records;
• approved Member services availability and use evidence;
• refund eligibility and payment-disposition records;
• document version or hash;
• acceptance method and time;
• orders, refunds, credits, chargebacks, support, and communications records;
• security and access records where authorized.

Producer access to Member information is limited to what is reasonably required for approved fulfillment, support, or issue resolution.

17. Notices

Notices may be delivered by account notice, website notice, email, mail, telephone, fax, support ticket, personal delivery, or another approved method.

The applicant or Member must keep contact information current.

Essential notices may concern application status, approval, denial, denied-application refund, dues, failed payment, document updates, holds, suspension, termination, orders, shipping, pickup, support, or voting.

18. Updates and reacceptance

The Association may update this Agreement under the approval process established by the By-Laws and document-governance rules.

The Association may require reacceptance before renewal, purchasing, voting, continued participation, or access to a Member-only feature.

Acceptance records may include the Member or applicant name, account identifier, document version or hash, acceptance method, date and time, membership level, application status, approval status, refund rule acknowledgment, and reacceptance history.

19. Support and disputes

Applicants and Members should first use approved support and issue-resolution channels for application, membership, dues, denied-application refund, product, order, shipping, refund, credit, or account matters.

The Association, Merchant, and Fulfillment may coordinate a response according to their separate responsibilities and may involve a Producer, carrier, payment provider, professional adviser, or other authorized participant when relevant.

Formal dispute terms are governed by the adopted By-Laws, this Agreement, and any expressly incorporated approved policy.

20. Entire agreement, hierarchy, severability, and waiver

This Agreement, the By-Laws, the Current Membership Dues Schedule, incorporated policies, Program Rules, and accepted transaction terms form the governing membership framework.

If documents conflict, the specific adopted document governing the subject controls, subject to the By-Laws and authorized Association decisions.

If a provision is invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue to the extent permitted. A waiver must be written and applies only to the matter stated.

21. Incorporated documents

The following are incorporated or related where applicable:

1. Amish Products Association By-Laws.
2. Current Membership Dues Schedule.
3. Membership Application and Approval Rules.
4. Membership Status and Approval Rules.
5. Member Code of Conduct.
6. Marketplace Terms of Sale.
7. Shipping, Pickup, and Delivery Policy.
8. Refund, Credit, and Issue Resolution Policy.
9. Product Restrictions and Availability Rules.
10. Privacy Policy.
11. Data Governance and Records Policy.
12. System Access and Credential Control Policy.
13. Program Rules adopted under authorized procedures.

22. Acceptance statement

By accepting this Agreement, the applicant acknowledges that:

1. the application is for membership in the Association;
2. dues are paid with the application;
3. payment does not guarantee approval or purchasing access;
4. a full refund is required only if the Association denies the application and the applicant never received or used approved Member services;
5. application review, status access, information requests, ordinary application support, denial notice, refund processing, public browsing, and public information do not count as approved Member services;
6. withdrawal, cancellation after approval, nonuse after approval, renewal, expiration, past-due status, suspension, or termination does not create an ordinary dues refund;
7. product purchasing requires approval, current dues, current required acceptance, and clear administrative status;
8. product purchases are processed by the Merchant;
9. Fulfillment administers operating workflows;
10. Producers remain independent suppliers;
11. membership dues are separate from product purchases;
12. the no-resale, account-security, conduct, support, and product-handling requirements apply;
13. the Association may maintain versioned application, payment, acceptance, approval, Member-service-use, refund, and membership records.

Applicant or Member name: ______________________________________

Signature or accepted electronic, paper, or fax acknowledgment: __________________________

Date: __________________

Document version or hash: __________________

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