Seller Terms & Marketplace Guidelines

Last Updated: September 2026

Easel & Ink Studios was created by artists who wanted something a little more flexible than the usual collection of rules telling creative people which parts of their creative lives they were allowed to share.

Artists make art. Artists make supplies. Artists sell originals. Artists design products. Artists recommend materials they love. Artists destash the things they no longer need. Artists teach, experiment, collaborate, and build businesses in dozens of different ways.

We wanted room for all of it.

These Seller Terms & Marketplace Guidelines establish the basic expectations for artists, makers, sellers, and creative businesses participating in the Easel & Ink Studios marketplace and associated marketplace communities.

Our goal is not to create unnecessary barriers. It is to keep the marketplace useful, trustworthy, creative, and fair for everyone participating in it.

1. Agreement to These Guidelines

By listing, advertising, promoting, offering, or selling products or services through an Easel & Ink Studios marketplace feature or participating in an associated marketplace community, you agree to follow these Seller Terms & Marketplace Guidelines together with our applicable Terms & Conditions and other published policies.

Additional rules may apply to particular groups, marketplace features, promotional opportunities, events, or selling programs.

When you complete a transaction through an independent ecommerce platform, payment processor, retailer, or other third-party service, you are also responsible for complying with that service’s terms and policies.

2. Who May Sell

Our marketplace is intended primarily for artists, makers, independent creative businesses, and people offering legitimate art-related products, supplies, resources, or services.

Depending on the marketplace area and current community rules, sellers may include:

• Artists
• Illustrators
• Watercolorists and painters
• Printmakers
• Handmade paint makers
• Palette makers
• Art supply makers
• Independent creative businesses
• Designers and craftspeople
• Teachers and creative educators
• Artists destashing studio supplies
• Other creative sellers whose products reasonably fit the community

Easel & Ink Studios may determine whether a seller, product, service, or promotion is appropriate for a particular marketplace space.

3. What You May Sell

Depending on current marketplace rules, appropriate offerings may include:

• Original artwork
• Prints and reproductions
• Illustrations
• Artist-designed products
• Handmade watercolor paints
• Hand-mulled pigments
• Hand-poured paints
• Curated paint palettes
• Handmade palettes
• Brushes and artist tools
• Sketchbooks and journals
• Art storage and studio accessories
• Artist-made ceramics and mixing surfaces
• Digital art resources
• Tutorials and educational materials
• Patterns, templates, or printable resources you are legally authorized to sell
• Commissioned artwork and custom creative services
• Studio destash and pre-owned art supplies
• Other art-related handmade, independently produced, curated, or creative goods

We know artists do not always fit neatly into categories.

If something is genuinely connected to your creative work and is appropriate for the community, there may be a place for it.

Bring it. We’ll sort it out.

4. Commercially Manufactured Products

Not every useful art supply is handmade.

Sellers may, where permitted by current marketplace rules, offer or recommend commercially manufactured products when there is a legitimate connection to art, creativity, studio practice, or the seller’s creative business.

Commercial products must be represented honestly.

Do not describe a commercially manufactured product as handmade by you, and do not create the impression that you manufactured or formulated a product when you did not.

Curating, assembling, packaging, or recommending commercially manufactured products does not give a seller ownership of the manufacturer’s trademarks, branding, photographs, or other intellectual property.

5. Handmade Means Handmade

If you describe something as handmade, hand-poured, hand-mulled, hand-painted, hand-bound, artist-made, or otherwise personally produced, that description should accurately reflect the product.

We recognize that artists may use commercially manufactured components, tools, blanks, pigments, binders, pans, packaging, printing services, or production partners as part of their creative process.

Using appropriate tools or production partners does not automatically make a creative product illegitimate.

The important thing is transparency.

Represent what you actually make, design, assemble, curate, or produce accurately enough that a reasonable buyer understands what they are purchasing.

6. Print-on-Demand and Production Partners

Artists may use print-on-demand services, professional printers, manufacturers, or other production partners to reproduce their original designs where permitted by current marketplace rules.

If you designed the artwork but another company prints it onto a shirt, mug, print, notebook, sticker, or other product, you may describe yourself as the artist or designer.

You should not imply that you personally manufactured the physical product if you did not.

Sellers are responsible for ensuring they possess the rights necessary to reproduce their designs through a production partner.

7. Studio Destash

Sometimes the most important artistic technique is admitting that the seventeen tubes of paint you were absolutely going to use someday have become permanent residents of a drawer.

Where permitted by current marketplace rules, artists may offer studio destash items including:

• Unused supplies
• Partially used supplies
• Surplus materials
• Duplicate supplies
• Discontinued products
• Pre-owned tools
• Palettes
• Brushes
• Books and educational resources
• Studio equipment
• Other appropriate art materials

Destash listings must clearly and accurately describe the condition of the item.

When relevant, disclose:

• Whether the product has been opened
• How much product remains
• Visible wear or damage
• Missing components
• Known contamination
• Unusual storage conditions
• Approximate age when materially relevant
• Any other condition that could reasonably influence a buyer’s decision

Do not represent used products as new.

8. Accurate Listings

Sellers are responsible for accurately representing what they offer.

A listing should provide enough information for a reasonable buyer to understand what they are purchasing.

Depending on the product, useful information may include:

• Product name
• Description
• Price
• Quantity
• Dimensions or size
• Materials
• Condition
• Processing time
• Shipping information
• Return or refund terms
• Relevant safety information
• Customization options
• Whether the product is handmade, curated, commercially manufactured, or produced through a production partner

Do not knowingly use false descriptions, misleading photographs, deceptive pricing, or material omissions to encourage a sale.

9. Product Photography

Whenever practical, sellers should use photographs that accurately represent the product being offered.

Stock or manufacturer images should only be used when the seller has the right to use them and when doing so does not misrepresent the actual product.

For original artwork, handmade products, and destash items, photographs of the actual item are strongly encouraged.

Reasonable editing for exposure, cropping, background cleanup, or presentation is acceptable, but images should not be altered in a way that materially misrepresents the product.

10. Color Accuracy

We’re artists. We know the argument between the photograph, the monitor, the scanner, the printer, and the actual paint never truly ends.

Sellers should make reasonable efforts to represent colors accurately, but exact digital color matching cannot be guaranteed.

Lighting, photography, editing, device settings, monitor calibration, pigments, surfaces, and printing methods may all affect how colors appear.

If color variation is especially important to a product, sellers should consider mentioning that in the listing.

11. Handmade Paints and Pigments

Sellers offering handmade paints, pigments, inks, binders, mediums, or similar materials are responsible for providing accurate information about their products.

When reasonably known and relevant, sellers should disclose information such as:

• Pigment identity or pigment code
• Binder type
• Significant additives
• Known toxicity or safety concerns
• Known staining or granulating characteristics
• Known lightfastness information
• Whether lightfastness claims are based on manufacturer data, published testing, or the seller’s own testing
• Any unusual handling or storage requirements

Do not make unsupported safety claims.

A product should not be represented as non-toxic, food-safe, cosmetic-safe, child-safe, pet-safe, archival, or suitable for another specialized use unless the seller has a reasonable basis for making that representation.

12. Safety and Responsible Selling

Sellers are responsible for determining whether their products require warnings, labels, instructions, age restrictions, ingredient disclosures, safety documentation, or other information under applicable law.

Products that present unreasonable safety risks or violate applicable law may be removed from Easel & Ink Studios marketplace spaces.

Sellers remain responsible for the safe manufacture, packaging, labeling, storage, shipment, and use instructions associated with products they create or sell.

13. Pricing

Sellers determine their own prices unless participating in a specific program with separately established terms.

We encourage artists to price their work in a way that recognizes their materials, labor, experience, creativity, overhead, and business expenses.

Easel & Ink Studios does not require artists to compete by becoming the cheapest person in the room.

Pricing must nevertheless be presented honestly and comply with applicable laws concerning advertising, discounts, sales, and pricing practices.

14. Shipping

Independent sellers are responsible for establishing and communicating their own shipping practices.

Sellers should provide reasonable information concerning:

• Processing time
• Shipping charges
• Available destinations
• Shipping methods
• Tracking when available
• International shipping when offered

Sellers should package products appropriately for the item being shipped and make reasonable efforts to fulfill orders within the timeframe communicated to buyers.

15. Returns, Refunds, and Exchanges

Independent sellers are responsible for establishing return, refund, exchange, and cancellation policies that comply with applicable law.

These terms should be communicated clearly enough for buyers to understand them before purchasing.

Custom, commissioned, personalized, digital, destash, original, or made-to-order products may have different return conditions than ordinary retail products.

Additional general information is available in our Shipping, Returns & Refunds Policy.

16. Customer Service

Independent sellers are responsible for communicating with their customers and handling reasonable questions concerning their products and transactions.

We expect marketplace participants to communicate respectfully, even when a transaction does not go as planned.

Disagreement is not automatically misconduct. Harassment, threats, fraud, discrimination, deliberate deception, or abusive behavior may result in marketplace restrictions.

17. Seller Fulfillment

If you accept payment for a product, you are responsible for making reasonable efforts to provide what the buyer purchased.

Repeated failure to fulfill paid orders, provide refunds when legally or contractually required, or communicate with customers may result in restrictions or removal from Easel & Ink Studios marketplace spaces.

18. Commissions and Custom Work

Artists offering commissions or custom work should establish the important terms of the project before beginning.

Depending on the commission, this may include:

• Price
• Deposit requirements
• Payment schedule
• Subject matter
• Size and materials
• Expected completion timeframe
• Number of revisions
• Approval stages
• Shipping
• Cancellation terms
• Refund conditions
• Reproduction or commercial-use rights

Unless Easel & Ink Studios is specifically identified as a party to the commission, agreements between an independent artist and client remain between those parties.

19. Digital Products

Sellers may offer digital products when permitted by current marketplace rules and when they possess the necessary rights to distribute them.

Digital products should clearly explain what the buyer receives and any relevant license or usage restrictions.

Sellers should not offer pirated software, unauthorized scans, copied tutorials, stolen artwork, unlawfully distributed books, or other digital material they do not have the right to distribute.

20. Copyright and Intellectual Property

You may only sell, reproduce, distribute, or promote creative material that you own or are legally authorized to use.

Do not copy another artist’s artwork, photographs, writing, designs, tutorials, product photography, branding, or other protected material and present it as your own.

Credit does not replace permission.

Additional information is available in our Copyright & Intellectual Property Policy.

21. Fan Art and Third-Party Intellectual Property

Artists are responsible for determining whether they have the legal right to sell work based on copyrighted characters, entertainment properties, logos, trademarks, celebrity likenesses, or other third-party intellectual property.

The fact that similar products are sold elsewhere does not establish that a particular use is authorized.

Easel & Ink Studios may remove material when we receive a credible intellectual property complaint or reasonably believe a listing violates our policies or applicable law.

22. Affiliate Links

Artists may recommend products and use affiliate links where permitted by current community rules.

Affiliate links must be disclosed clearly and appropriately.

Do not disguise affiliate relationships or intentionally mislead community members about whether you may receive compensation from a recommendation.

Additional information is available in our Affiliate Disclosure.

23. Reviews and Recommendations

Recommendations should reflect genuine experiences, opinions, or reasonable research.

If you received a product for free, were paid to discuss it, have an affiliate relationship, own the company being recommended, or have another material connection that could reasonably influence how a reader interprets the recommendation, disclose that relationship appropriately.

Do not submit or arrange knowingly false reviews of your own products or a competitor’s products.

24. Self-Promotion

This is a marketplace.

You are allowed to tell people what you make.

Artists should not have to whisper about their businesses in a space specifically created to help artists discover one another.

Appropriate self-promotion, shop links, product launches, new collections, commissions, sales, tutorials, affiliate recommendations, and creative business announcements may be welcome where permitted by current posting rules.

That freedom comes with one expectation: participate like a person, not a spam bot.

Repeated, disruptive, deceptive, irrelevant, or automated promotional behavior may be restricted.

25. Community Participation

We want sellers to be part of the creative community, not merely advertisers passing through it.

You are encouraged to:

• Share what you’re creating
• Talk about your process
• Answer questions when you can
• Celebrate other artists
• Share useful discoveries
• Participate in discussions
• Recommend resources honestly
• Support fellow makers

You do not need to participate constantly or meet activity quotas simply to belong here.

Artists have businesses, families, jobs, health needs, creative blocks, deadlines, and lives outside the internet.

26. No Forced Engagement

Easel & Ink Studios does not believe meaningful community can be manufactured through forced comments, mandatory sharing, engagement pods, or artificial interaction.

Marketplace participation should be genuine.

Individual promotions or events may have their own voluntary participation requirements, but sellers should not manipulate community engagement or pressure other members into artificial interactions.

27. Prohibited Listings and Conduct

Sellers may not knowingly use Easel & Ink Studios to offer, promote, or facilitate:

• Stolen goods
• Counterfeit goods
• Pirated digital products
• Fraudulent products or services
• Unauthorized reproductions
• Products that unlawfully infringe intellectual property rights
• Deceptively represented products
• Illegal products or services
• Listings intended primarily to defraud or mislead buyers
• Malware, phishing, or malicious links
• Other products or conduct prohibited by applicable law or current marketplace rules

Easel & Ink Studios may establish additional restrictions as the marketplace develops.

28. Respectful Competition

There is room for more than one watercolor maker, more than one painter, more than one palette maker, more than one teacher, and more than one artist who happens to love the exact same shade of blue.

Competition does not require hostility.

Do not use the marketplace to harass competitors, sabotage listings, submit knowingly false reports, impersonate other sellers, steal creative work, manipulate reviews, or interfere with another artist’s legitimate business.

29. Privacy

Sellers may receive personal information from buyers when necessary to complete a transaction, such as names, email addresses, shipping addresses, or order information.

Sellers are responsible for handling customer information responsibly and in accordance with applicable privacy laws.

Do not use marketplace transaction information to harass customers, publish private information, or add people to unrelated marketing lists without an appropriate legal basis or consent where required.

30. Taxes and Business Requirements

Independent sellers are responsible for determining their own tax, registration, licensing, reporting, insurance, consumer protection, product safety, and other business obligations.

Easel & Ink Studios does not provide individualized legal, tax, accounting, or financial advice to marketplace participants.

Requirements vary according to location, product type, sales volume, business structure, and other circumstances.

31. Independent Seller Relationship

Participation in Easel & Ink Studios does not by itself create an employment relationship, partnership, joint venture, franchise, agency relationship, or other formal business relationship between an independent seller and Easel & Ink Studios.

Independent sellers control their own businesses and remain responsible for their products, representations, customers, and legal obligations unless a separate written agreement specifically provides otherwise.

32. Fees and Future Marketplace Services

Some Easel & Ink Studios marketplace features may currently be free while other present or future services may involve listing fees, transaction fees, commissions, memberships, promotional fees, or other charges.

Any applicable fees will be disclosed before a seller agrees to participate in the applicable paid service.

We may introduce, modify, or discontinue marketplace programs as the platform develops.

33. No Guarantee of Sales

Easel & Ink Studios provides opportunities for artists and buyers to discover one another.

We cannot guarantee that participation will result in:

• Sales
• Commissions
• Customers
• Affiliate income
• Followers
• Website traffic
• Exposure
• Business growth
• Profit

We can build the marketplace. We can invite people through the doors. We cannot promise which paintings they will fall in love with.

34. Marketplace Moderation

Easel & Ink Studios may moderate marketplace spaces to protect the community and enforce applicable policies.

Depending on the circumstances, we may:

• Request additional information
• Ask a seller to correct or clarify a listing
• Remove inappropriate content
• Restrict promotional privileges
• Temporarily restrict marketplace participation
• Remove a seller from a marketplace space
• Take other reasonable action necessary to protect the community

Moderation decisions may consider the seriousness of the issue, prior conduct, available evidence, applicable law, and the safety and integrity of the community.

35. Reporting Problems

If you believe a marketplace listing involves fraud, intellectual property infringement, serious misrepresentation, prohibited products, or another significant violation of these guidelines, please report the concern to Easel & Ink Studios.

Provide enough information for us to understand and locate the issue.

Please do not weaponize the reporting process against competitors or artists with whom you simply disagree.

36. Buyer and Seller Disputes

Buyers and independent sellers should make a reasonable effort to resolve ordinary transaction problems directly.

When a transaction was processed through a third-party payment processor or marketplace, the parties may also use any dispute procedures provided by that service.

Easel & Ink Studios may review behavior affecting the integrity of our community, but we are not automatically responsible for mediating, refunding, or resolving private transactions between independent parties.

37. Changes to Marketplace Guidelines

Easel & Ink Studios is still growing, and these guidelines will grow with it.

We may update marketplace rules as we introduce new seller tools, ecommerce systems, affiliate programs, marketplace categories, payment methods, community features, or other services.

We may also revise these guidelines when experience teaches us that something works differently in practice than it did on paper.

When substantive changes are made to this policy, the “Last Updated” date may be revised.

38. Our Marketplace Philosophy

There are plenty of places on the internet where artists are handed a complicated list explaining all the things they are not allowed to do.

Easel & Ink Studios began because we wanted to try something different.

We want artists to be able to paint something beautiful and sell it.

We want the person who makes the paint to be able to tell us about it.

We want someone who discovers a wonderful brush to be able to recommend it and use an affiliate link if they have one.

We want artists to be able to clean out their studios and send neglected supplies somewhere they might actually be loved.

We want independent makers to meet customers, artists to meet teachers, beginners to meet mentors, collectors to meet creators, and creative people to stumble across things they did not know they were looking for.

That freedom only works when it is paired with honesty, transparency, respect, and reasonable responsibility.

Sell what you make. Share what you know. Recommend what you love. Tell people when you earn from a link. Describe things honestly. Respect other artists’ work. Treat buyers like people. Treat sellers like people.

And then make something wonderful.

Contact Us

If you have questions about these Seller Terms & Marketplace Guidelines, marketplace participation, or whether a particular product or service is appropriate for Easel & Ink Studios, please contact us through our website.

Easel & Ink Studios
easelandinkstudios.com

These Seller Terms & Marketplace Guidelines provide the general framework for participation in the Easel & Ink Studios marketplace. They should be reviewed and updated as the site’s final marketplace structure, seller accounts, payment processing, commissions, fulfillment systems, ecommerce tools, and other marketplace features are implemented. Sellers remain responsible for complying with laws and regulations applicable to their own businesses, products, and locations.