Apothecary Shelf Rental Terms & Conditions

SHELF SPACE RENTALS
Shelf prices vary depending on size and location, ranging from about $20-$50. Shelf rental rate shall be per month. Vendors are required to submit a one-month rent security deposit. The deposit is used first for any damage, and second towards your last month of rent. The security deposit will be refunded at the time the Dealer vacates the space and if there are no outstanding debts. Deposits will not be returned if Vendor(s) move out without the 30 day written notice to Owner, unless approved by Owner. Outstanding booth rental amounts must be paid in full by the 12th of each month, or a $25.00 penalty will be added to the amount currently due and any sales ongoing on the designated booth will be set-off to pay past due and current outstanding booth rentals.

COMMISIONS
A ten percent (10%) commission will be charged on all sales.

TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT
The term of this Agreement is 90 days. After 90 days, this Agreement shall be on a month-to-month basis. If The Mercantile On Gault LLC, an Alabama limited liability company (herein referred to as the “Owner”) determines a Vendor is in violation of the intent of this Agreement, vis-a-vis type of merchandise, upkeep, maintenance of space, or nonpayment of rent, Owner may terminate this Agreement without further notice to Vendor.

DEALERS SHARING SPACES
This Agreement is between Owner and the signatory of this Agreement only. If more than one Vendor occupies a space, it remains the responsibility of the Vendor who signed this Agreement to pay the security deposit, monthly rent due and any other fees that may apply. Payment for sales will be made to the Vendor who signed this Agreement. If two or more Vendors are sharing a space and one Vendor chooses to leave, it is the remaining Vendor’s responsibility to continue to occupy the space and to pay any additional rent and fees associated with that space.

SALES TAX
Owner will be responsible for the collection and payment of sales taxes to the State of Alabama. The Alabama sales tax will be collected on all sales unless the customer is taxed as exempt and has provided Owner with its tax-exempt letter. Vendor may not use the owner’s sales tax number for their own personal use.

PAYMENTS TO DEALERS FOR SALES
Owner will make available to each Vendor a running Google Sheets report of sales accessible via private login. The statement will include details such as any identifying dealer number, the amount of the sale and the sales tax collected. Vendors are paid once each month for each calendar month. Money will be paid by PayPal, Venmo, or company check.

RENT PAYMENTS
If Vendor’s sales for a given month are less than the Vendor’s monthly rent, then payment to owner will be due by the 12th of the following month. This amount owed may be paid by personal check, PayPal, Venmo, or credit card. Credit cards will be subject to a 3% surcharge.

RENT INCREASES
Occasionally rent increases may be necessary to accommodate Owner’s costs. Any increase will be promulgated to Vendors at least three months prior to going into effect.

IDENTIFYING YOUR MERCHANDISE
All merchandise must be clearly marked with your dealer identification number, description of item and price. No merchandise will be sold without proper tag. All tags will be saved and will be available to vendors upon request.

THEFT AND DAMAGE OF MERCHANISE
We anticipate this being a high-traffic store, especially on the weekends. Because of this fact, we are unable to monitor every customer who enters the store. Owner shall not be responsible for theft or damage to merchandise. On the occasion that an item is damaged, Owner’s policy is as follows: Generally, Owner will not charge a customer for an item that has been damaged by accident. However, Owner will occasionally, and at the discretion of Owner, charge the customer if the item is of significant value and/or if Owner feels the customer was negligent. Owner will request that the Vendor take into consideration the circumstances and accept a fair discount on the damaged item. While unfortunate, accidents do happen, and it is a legitimate deductible business loss. Owner expects the Vendors to build this in as a cost of doing business.

MAINTAINING YOUR SPACE
Oftentimes “more” is not always better when making consistent sales. Owner’s experience has been that if customers cannot see merchandise beyond clutter, sales will likely suffer. Owner asks that Vendors not fill their spaces excessively. Vendors are required to refresh and clean their spaces no less than once a month. This will help your sales and will improve the overall look of the store.

QUALITY OF MERCHANDISE
While this may be a matter of individual taste, Owner finds it necessary to state our position and request your cooperation. For the benefit and profitability of all Vendors, Owner wishes to maintain a reasonable standard of quality of offering only high quality, natural or sustainable products. Please exercise good judgment. Owner wants the public to know that our shop has unique and quality goods at a fair and reasonable price. Items must be safe for use of purchaser. Potential Hazards should be noted on the item or sales tag. Owner retains the right to have Vendor remove an item at Owner’s sole discretion and judgment.

UNACCEPTABLE MERCHANDISE
Drug paraphernalia, tobacco products, firearms, ammunition, fireworks or explosives, prescription drugs, food or consumables, and pornographic materials are not allowed to be sold by the Vendor in the space. Also no “MERCANTILE” merchandise or souvenirs may be sold by Vendor unless it is of an “apothecary” nature. Any fines levied for selling improper goods are the responsibility of the Vendor. Items will be removed by the Owner, in Owner’s sole discretion, if Vendor does not remove them immediately upon notification.

DISCOUNT POLICY
In this business, and as you know, many customers expect to negotiate a discount. Individual merchandise priced below $50 will be considered firm. Further discounts will be at the discretion of the Vendor. These further discounts will be addressed prior to sale to avoid calling Vendors for random discounts.

SHOP-WIDE SALES
The Owner will hold periodic shop-wide sales during which a 10% discount will be advertised as applying to all items unless the item is marked “firm”. Vendors will be notified of such sales in advance and may choose to participate at a higher overall space discount, or increase discounts on selected items. Vendors must come to the Property and mark their items accordingly.

BOOTH-WIDE SALES
Owner understands that periodically dealers will want to do their own sale. All signage for sales will be provided by owner. No perpetual or excessive sales are allowed.

RETURN POLICY
“All sales are Final” and this statement will be posted at the Checkout desk. On rare occasion and only on certain higher priced items management may ask dealer if a 24-hour return policy may be granted.

CREDIT CARDS
Owner will accept payment from customers by MasterCard, Visa, Discover and American Express credit and debit cards, as well as PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Venmo. Credit card charges will be processed and paid by Owner.

INDEMNIFICATION AND HOLD HARMLESS
Vendor agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Owner, and its officers, members, managers, agents, related companies and employees from any and all loss, damage or liability occasioned by, growing out of, or arising from any default, error, accident, tortious or negligent act on the part of Vendor, its agents, invitees, customers or employees. The Vendor expressly acknowledges and confirms that it is an independent contractor/renter and is not an employee of Owner.

NON-PAYMENT/LATE PAYMENT TERMINATION
After 45 consecutive days of non-payment of rents by the Vendor, Owner will consider all of Vendor’s merchandise and fixtures to be abandoned and will dispose of such items as reasonably determined, with no payment or compensation whatsoever to the Vendor. After 90 days, either party may terminate this Vendor Agreement by providing the other with 30 days’ prior written notice of intent to terminate. Owner may terminate this Agreement upon written notification to Vendor if Vendor fails to comply with all terms of this Agreement. Vendor agrees to remove all items from the booth within 48 hours after written termination or non-renewal of this Vendor Agreement. In the event Owner enforces such lien by obtaining possession of any property originally belonging to the Vendor, and if the Vendor does not redeem said property by paying the amount owed within 15 days after such seizure, Owner shall have the right to sell such property and apply all proceeds to the cost of removing and storing the property and all other reasonable costs of the sale until the amount of rent due in that order. Any amounts so remaining after the proceeds of such sales will be returned to the Vendor.

NOTICES
Any notice which either party may or is required to give, may be given by email or by U.S. mail, postage pre-paid, to Vendor at the address shown above, or at such other places as may be designated by the parties from time to time.

ATTORNEY'S FEES AND COSTS
In any action or proceeding involving a dispute between Owner and Vendor, arising out of the execution of this Vendor Agreement, or to collect amounts due, or to enforce the terms and conditions of this Agreement, or to recover possession of the premises, the Owner shall be entitled to receive from the Vendor a reasonable attorney’s fee, expert fees, appraisal fees and all other costs incurred in connection with such action or proceeding, to be determined by the court, mediator, or arbitrator.

ARBITRATION/MEDIATION
All disputes arising under or relating to this Agreement or any conduct of the parties in the performance or non-performance hereof shall be submitted to mediation or to binding arbitration by the parties pursuant to the Rules of the American Arbitration Association, except that the hearing locale shall be in Fort Payne, Alabama. Discovery shall not be allowed by the arbitrator as provided in such Rules. The award of the arbitrator herein shall be entitled to enforcement in any court as a judgment on the merits.

HEIRS, ASSIGNS AND SUCCESSORS
This Agreement is binding upon and inures to the benefit of the heirs, assigns and successors in interest to the parties.

RULES & REGULATIONS

Owner will provide:
Technical support and assistance
Clean and sanitary restrooms
Clean, organized and clutter-free common areas
Clean and attractive sales environment

Vendor will provide:
Sales tags
Any tools needed

Hours of Operation:
Thursday - Friday 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM CT
Saturday 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM CT
Sunday 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM CT

These Vendor Rules and Regulations are an integral part of the Vendor Agreement and may be changed, added to, or deleted at any time, by Owner, without notice.