Terms and conditions

2. What these Terms cover

eco grade is a B2B marketplace. We provide software that lets registered businesses list surplus and B-grade food products, browse approved listings, and request contact with other registered businesses.

We sell access to that platform. We do not buy, sell, or deliver the products listed on it. A contract for goods is made only between the buyer and the seller. We are not a party to that contract, and we do not guarantee that a listing will lead to a sale, a reply, or a delivery.

3. Business customers only

The platform is for businesses (Unternehmer under § 14 of the German Civil Code). By registering, the customer confirms that it is acting in the course of its trade or profession, and that the person creating the account is authorized to bind the organization.

These Terms are not written for consumers. If a consumer uses the platform anyway, mandatory consumer rights remain in force.

4. Account and approval

Registration requires a business email, organization details, and acceptance of these Terms and the Privacy Policy.

We may approve, refuse, or later suspend an account, a listing, or a charity plan where information is incomplete, inaccurate, or inconsistent with these Terms. Access to paid features starts only after approval and, where a paid plan applies, after successful payment.

The customer keeps its login credentials confidential and is responsible for activity under its account, including users it invites.

5. Plans and fees

Fees are for platform access, in euro, and exclusive of statutory VAT. Current self-service plans:

• Basic: buyers €54 per month, sellers €199 per month, 1 included user.

• Standard: buyers €99 per month, sellers €349 per month, 5 included users.

• Pro: buyers €499 per month, sellers €499 per month, unlimited users.

• An extra user seat is €30 per month. Extra seats are not discounted.

• Monthly billing: no discount.

• Quarterly billing: 5% off the plan base.

• Half-yearly billing: 10% off the plan base.

• Yearly billing: 15% off the plan base.

The cycle discount applies to the plan base only. The price, cycle, and seat count shown at checkout or in the account are the ones that apply.

Charity access is free, limited to one user, and only after we verify charity status.

Basic with a single user may start with a three-month trial at no charge, with Basic limits for the selected role (buyer or seller, not both). When the trial ends, the paid Basic plan begins unless the customer cancels before the trial ends.

6. Payment

Paid plans are charged through Stripe, or by another method we agree in writing, such as direct debit or invoice. The customer authorizes recurring charges for the selected cycle until the subscription ends.

If a payment fails, we may suspend access until it is settled. Fees already due remain payable.

7. Term, changes, and cancellation

A paid subscription runs for the selected billing cycle and renews for the same cycle until the customer cancels.

The customer may cancel at any time in the account billing portal. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the period already paid. We do not refund that period, except where the law requires it.

Upgrades, including added seats, take effect immediately. Downgrades, including fewer seats or a lower plan, take effect at the end of the current paid period. Reducing seats is possible only down to the number of users still on the account.

We may change fees or plans with effect from the next renewal. We will tell the customer in advance. If the customer does not accept the change, it may cancel before the renewal date.

8. Marketplace rules

Sellers are responsible for their listings: description, price, quantity, origin, documents, certifications, and compliance with food law and any rule that applies to placing that product on the market. Listings go through an approval review before they are public. Approval means the listing met our review at that time. It is not a certification of the product, and it is not legal, safety, or quality advice.

Buyers are responsible for checking the product, the seller, and the documents before they buy. Product information on the platform is provided by users. Packaging and documents supplied with the goods control if they differ from the listing.

Contact requests, messages, and any later sale stay between the users involved. We may limit contact requests and active listings according to the plan.

9. Acceptable use

The customer will not:

• Post false, misleading, or unlawful listings or documents.

• Use the platform to trade with consumers, or for products it is not allowed to sell.

• Scrape, overload, or attempt to access another account or non-public parts of the service.

• Share login details outside its organization.

We may remove content and suspend or end an account that breaches these Terms. Fees for the current period stay payable where the suspension is caused by the customer's breach.

10. Availability

We aim to keep the platform available, but we do not promise uninterrupted access. Maintenance, security work, or failures at a hosting or payment provider may interrupt the service. We will restore access within a reasonable time.

11. Intellectual property

We own the platform, the eco grade name, and our content. The customer keeps ownership of the text, images, and documents it uploads, and grants us a non-exclusive right to host and display them for as long as needed to operate the account and the listing.

12. Liability

We are liable without limit for intent, gross negligence, and injury to life, body, or health, and where a guarantee or the German Product Liability Act applies.

For a slightly negligent breach of an essential contractual duty, our liability is limited to the typical, foreseeable damage, and in any event to the fees the customer paid to us in the twelve months before the claim.

We are not liable for the products, for the performance of a contract between users, or for decisions a user makes based on a listing. Statutory rights that cannot be waived remain unaffected.

13. Privacy

We process personal data as described in the Privacy Policy. That policy and the Cookies Policy sit alongside these Terms.

14. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms. We will notify registered customers of material changes before they take effect. Continued use after that date means the customer accepts the new Terms. If the customer does not accept them, it may cancel before they take effect.

15. Final provisions

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.

If the customer is a merchant, a legal entity under public law, or a special fund under public law, the courts of Münster have exclusive jurisdiction.

If a clause is invalid, the remaining clauses stay in force.

If these Terms are translated, the German text prevails.

Working draft: October 2026.