Market policy
Version v1.1 · Effective 2026-08-25
Dot Market is for comfort and craft goods made or resold by members. Nothing sold here is a treatment, and nothing here is medical advice. Dot does not endorse or verify any product.
Dot Market is a member-to-member marketplace for comfort and craft goods. It is deliberately not a health-product marketplace. The rules below are enforced automatically where they can be, and by a person where they can't.
Prohibited & restricted items
Supplements and anything ingestible Never allowed
Ingestibles sold alongside symptom talk are regulated as drug marketing, whatever the label says. Dot does not host them.
- Vitamins, minerals, capsules, softgels, gummies, powders
- Herbal remedies, tinctures, adaptogens, black cohosh, maca, DIM
- Detox teas, cleanses, meal-replacement or weight-loss products
- CBD, THC, kratom, nicotine, alcohol
- Homemade food and drink of any kind
Hormones and prescription medicine Never allowed
Reselling prescription products is illegal in most jurisdictions and is an instant, permanent ban here.
- HRT, estrogen, estradiol, progesterone, testosterone in any form
- Bioidentical, compounded or pellet hormone products
- GLP-1 medicines (Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and similar)
- Any prescription-only medicine, new or leftover
- Pharmacy samples or anything marked not for resale
Medical devices and tests Never allowed
Regulated devices carry manufacturer liability and post-market obligations no individual seller can meet.
- Hormone, saliva, blood or lab test kits
- CPAP machines, TENS units, pelvic wands, red-light therapy devices
- Anything described as FDA-cleared, FDA-approved or medical grade
- Used personal-care items that touch mucous membranes
Outcome and efficacy claims Never allowed
A listing is advertising, not conversation. Say what a thing is, not what it does to a symptom.
- Cures, treats, heals, prevents, reverses, "stops your hot flashes"
- "Balances your hormones", "boosts estrogen", "natural alternative to HRT"
- "Clinically proven", "doctor recommended", "guaranteed results"
- Before-and-after imagery implying a medical result
- Naming a diagnosis as the reason to buy
Clinical and diagnostic services Never allowed
Care belongs with licensed clinicians in a real clinical relationship, not in a marketplace listing.
- Diagnosis, treatment plans, prescribing, lab interpretation
- Therapy, counselling or anything requiring a clinical licence
- Referral fees for routing members to a clinic or telehealth service
General marketplace prohibitions Never allowed
Standard for any marketplace, and non-negotiable for ours.
- Weapons, ammunition, hazardous materials
- Counterfeit, stolen or recalled goods
- Live animals, human tissue, bodily fluids
- Adult content, sexual services, used underwear
- Financial instruments, gift-card resale, crypto, MLM recruitment
- Personal data, member lists, scraped contacts
Allowed, with conditions Conditions apply
These are fine when the conditions are met — and removed when they are not.
- Cosmetics and skincare: ingredients listed, no anti-ageing or symptom claims
- Sealed, unopened, in-date consumer goods only — never opened personal care
- Handmade goods: you made it, and you say so
- Coaching, styling, organising and other non-clinical services: scope stated up front
- Digital goods: yours to sell, delivered by you, no medical protocols
- Gifted or commissioned items: disclosed with the toggle on the listing
Seller rules
Who can sell
Selling is a Dot Pro benefit. You need an active Pro subscription, a verified email, and an account at least seven days old.
You must be 18 or over and legally able to sell the items you list where you live.
One shop per person. Shops opened to get around a suspension are removed along with the original account.
How to write a listing
Describe the item, not the outcome. First-person experience is welcome — "this is what I sleep in" — while product claims about symptoms are not.
Photos must be of the actual item, taken by you. No stock imagery, no borrowed catalogue shots.
Price, shipping cost, condition and where it ships from must be accurate at the moment you publish.
Disclose gifted items and any commission you earn. The toggle exists so buyers can see it at a glance.
No off-platform payment requests in the listing body. Keep the conversation in Dot until you agree terms.
Fulfilment and buyer care
Respond to a purchase request within three days. Ship within five business days of agreeing terms unless the listing says otherwise.
Provide tracking for anything shipped, and mark the order shipped in Dot so the buyer can see it.
Accept returns for items materially not as described, for 14 days after delivery. You may set your own policy for change-of-mind returns, stated in the listing.
You are the merchant of record. Shipping, returns, warranties and sales tax are yours to handle.
Fees and payouts
Dot takes no commission on your sales. There is no listing fee and no monthly shop fee beyond Pro. Any third-party payment processor you use may still charge its own fees.
Until in-app checkout is switched on, buyer and seller agree payment directly and Dot records the order for both sides.
Dot never holds your money in that arrangement, and cannot recover funds sent outside the platform. Use a payment method with buyer protection.
Buyer rules
Buying on Dot
Every item is sold by an individual member, not by Dot. Dot does not stock, inspect, endorse or guarantee anything listed.
Read the listing and ask questions before you commit. A purchase request is a commitment to buy at the stated terms once the seller accepts.
Confirm receipt in Dot when your item arrives, so the seller's record reflects it.
Conduct
No harassment, pressure, or contacting a seller off-platform after she has declined.
No fraudulent claims of non-delivery, and no using the report tool to punish a seller for a disagreement.
Report anything that breaks these rules. Reports are read by a person, and reporting in good faith never counts against you.
What Dot can and cannot do
Dot can remove listings, suspend sellers, and share order records with either party in a dispute.
Dot cannot refund money that moved outside the platform, and does not act as an escrow or payment agent today.
If you paid outside Dot and something goes wrong, raise it with your card issuer or payment provider first, then report it here so the seller record is updated.
Strikes, suspensions & bans
The same ladder applies to sellers and buyers. What differs is what it takes away.
| Level | What triggers it | What happens | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warning | A first, minor slip — a vague claim, a missed disclosure, a slow reply. | The listing is edited or removed and you get a note explaining why. No strike recorded. | Clears immediately once fixed |
| Strike 1 | A repeat of the same issue, or one clear policy break — an efficacy claim, a misleading photo, a late shipment with no contact. | Listing removed. Strike recorded on your shop. Selling stays open. | Expires after 180 days |
| Strike 2 | A second policy break inside 180 days. | Listings hidden and new listings blocked. Existing orders must still be fulfilled. | 7-day selling suspension |
| Strike 3 | A third break inside 180 days, or a pattern of unresolved buyer complaints. | Shop closed. Buying and community access continue. | 30-day suspension, reinstatement on review |
| Immediate ban | Prohibited goods (hormones, prescriptions, test kits, weapons, counterfeits), payment fraud, taking money and not shipping, harassment, or evading a suspension. | Shop closed permanently, listings and orders voided, account referred for community removal. | Permanent, no reinstatement |
Appeals
Every enforcement action tells you which rule it cites and when it expires. You can see your full record any time under Shop → Standing.
To appeal, reply to the notice or email support within 30 days with anything that shows the action was wrong.
A person reviews appeals, not a model. Automated blocks on prohibited goods are reviewed too, but almost never overturned.
Permanent bans for fraud or prohibited goods are final.
Questions
Why can't I sell supplements when everyone else does?
Because Dot is a midlife health platform. The same bottle sold next to symptom tracking reads as a drug claim to regulators, whatever the label says. Keeping ingestibles off the Market is what lets Dot stay a straightforward subscription product with clean payment processing.
Can I say a product helped me?
Yes — in your own words, about your own experience, in past tense. "This is the pillowcase I slept on all summer" is fine. "This pillowcase relieves night sweats" is a claim about the product and will be blocked.
What does Dot charge?
Nothing. Dot takes 0% of your sales — you keep what you earn. Selling requires a Dot Pro subscription, and any payment processor you use may charge its own fees.
Who handles shipping, returns and tax?
You do. You are the merchant of record for everything you sell. Dot records the order, notifies both sides, and keeps the dispute record.
How do I report a listing?
There is a Report link on every listing. Choose a reason, add anything useful, and a person reads it. Reporting in good faith never counts against your account.
How long does a strike last?
180 days. Three inside that window closes the shop for 30 days. Prohibited goods and fraud skip the ladder entirely.