Payment, Sales Tax & Checkout Policy

This Policy applies to payments made through the Hope For Paws Foundation Marketplace.

1. Use Official Marketplace Checkout

All Marketplace purchases must be paid using an authorized payment method displayed through the official Hope For Paws Foundation Marketplace checkout.

DO NOT SEND PAYMENT TO AN INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEE, VOLUNTEER, DONOR, OR OTHER PERSON.

Hope For Paws Foundation will not ordinarily request Marketplace payment through:

• personal payment accounts;
• gift cards;
• cryptocurrency;
• wire transfers to individuals;
• cash mailed to an individual;
• payment links supplied by another Marketplace user; or
• another payment method outside official Marketplace checkout.

Report suspicious requests to redirect a Marketplace payment to Marketplace Support.

2. Accepted Payment Methods

The payment methods accepted for a transaction are the methods displayed at checkout.

Depending on availability, these may include eligible:

• credit cards;
• debit cards;
• digital wallets;
• accelerated checkout methods; or
• other methods supported by the Marketplace's authorized payment processor.

If a payment method is not offered during checkout, do not assume Hope For Paws Foundation accepts it.

Marketplace transactions are processed in U.S. dollars (USD) unless expressly stated otherwise.

3. Payment Security

Hope For Paws Foundation and its authorized payment processors may use reasonable payment-security, identity-verification, and fraud-prevention measures.

These may include:

• payment authorization;
• billing-address verification;
• card-security verification;
• identity verification;
• payment authentication;
• transaction-risk screening; and
• manual review when appropriate.

A transaction may be delayed, declined, held, or cancelled when reasonably necessary because of suspected fraud, unauthorized payment credentials, account takeover, payment-processor warnings, or another legitimate security concern.

If Hope For Paws Foundation cancels a fully paid transaction, the appropriate refund will be issued according to Marketplace policy and applicable law.

4. Never Send Complete Payment Credentials by Message

HOPE FOR PAWS FOUNDATION WILL NOT ASK YOU TO SEND YOUR COMPLETE CARD NUMBER, CARD SECURITY CODE, ONLINE-BANKING PASSWORD, OR ONE-TIME SECURITY CODE THROUGH ORDINARY EMAIL, TEXT MESSAGE, SOCIAL MEDIA, OR MARKETPLACE MESSAGING.

If someone claiming to represent Hope For Paws Foundation asks for this information through one of those methods:

DO NOT SEND IT.

Use only the official Hope For Paws Foundation Marketplace checkout or contact Marketplace Support through the official website.

5. Auction Payment Deadline

WINNING AUCTION BIDDERS MUST COMPLETE PAYMENT WITHIN FORTY-EIGHT (48) HOURS AFTER THE MARKETPLACE SYSTEM FINALIZES THE AUCTION AND CREATES THE WINNING BIDDER'S ORDER, unless the listing or order expressly provides a different deadline.

The 48-hour period begins when the Marketplace system finalizes the auction and creates the winning bidder's order.

Winning bidders are responsible for monitoring auctions in which they participate and completing payment before the deadline.

Failure to receive or read an email, text, push notification, or other reminder does not automatically extend the payment deadline.

6. Winning an Auction Creates a Payment Obligation

A winning auction bid is not an opportunity to decide later whether you still want the item.

Under the Auction Rules, bidders should bid only when prepared and financially able to complete the purchase if they win.

Once the auction sale is completed and you are the winning bidder, payment is required according to the Auction Rules and this Policy.

7. Failed or Declined Payments

A payment may fail or be declined because of:

• insufficient funds;
• expired payment method;
• incorrect payment information;
• bank decline;
• payment-processor decline;
• authentication failure;
• transaction limits;
• fraud-prevention review; or
• another payment-related issue.

A DECLINED OR FAILED PAYMENT DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY EXTEND AN AUCTION PAYMENT DEADLINE.

You are responsible for providing another eligible payment method and successfully completing payment before the applicable deadline.

8. Payment Is Not Complete Until Confirmed

Entering payment information or attempting payment does not necessarily mean the transaction has been paid.

Payment is considered completed for Marketplace purposes when the authorized payment system confirms successful payment.

A pending authorization, unsuccessful attempt, declined transaction, or abandoned checkout is not completed payment.

9. Unpaid Auction Orders

If a winning auction order remains unpaid after the applicable deadline, Hope For Paws Foundation may take action permitted by the Auction Rules.

This may include:

• cancelling the unpaid transaction;
• releasing the item from the winning bidder;
• relisting the item;
• recording the auction as unpaid;
• restricting bidding privileges; or
• suspending or terminating bidding privileges for repeated or abusive nonpayment.

Once an unpaid auction transaction has been properly cancelled, the original winning bidder has no continuing right to demand the item.

Repeated nonpayment may result in permanent loss of bidding privileges.

10. No Automatic Nonpayment Penalty

Hope For Paws Foundation does not impose a separate punitive fee merely because a winning bidder fails to pay unless such a charge has been lawfully adopted and clearly disclosed before bidding.

Ordinary consequences of nonpayment are transaction cancellation, relisting, return of the item to Marketplace inventory, and account restrictions.

This does not prevent Hope For Paws Foundation from taking lawful action involving fraud or other intentional misconduct.

11. Combined Shipping and Payment Deadlines

Auction wins may remain separate orders. Combined shipping is not guaranteed.

When the Marketplace provides a combined-shipping option or confirmation before shipment, eligible orders may be combined as stated in the Shipping & Combined Shipping Policy.

Combined shipping does not automatically extend the 48-hour auction payment deadline.

UNLESS THE LISTING OR ORDER EXPRESSLY PROVIDES A DIFFERENT DEADLINE, EACH AUCTION ORDER REMAINS SUBJECT TO ITS ORIGINAL PAYMENT DEADLINE.

Do not intentionally leave an auction unpaid because you hope to win another item later.

12. Buy Now Payments

Unless the Marketplace expressly provides another option, Buy Now merchandise must be paid for through checkout when the order is placed.

Placing merchandise in a shopping cart does not, by itself, guarantee that it has been reserved.

Starting secure checkout may temporarily reserve available inventory for that checkout session. If payment is not completed before the checkout reservation expires or checkout fails, the reservation may be released and the merchandise may become available to other customers.

13. Review the Final Checkout Amount

Before submitting payment, review the complete checkout total.

As applicable, checkout will identify:

Merchandise / Winning Bid: $_____
Shipping & Handling: $_____
Applicable Mandatory Fees: $_____
Sales Tax: $_____
Round Up for Rescue: $_____
Other Optional Contribution: $_____
ORDER TOTAL: $_____

Required charges and optional charitable contributions will be distinguishable.

No optional charitable contribution is required to complete an otherwise eligible Marketplace purchase.

14. No Silent Additional Charges

Hope For Paws Foundation will not intentionally increase a completed order amount after payment and silently charge the customer's payment method for the difference unless the customer previously provided valid authorization for that type of adjustment and the charge is otherwise lawful.

If a material additional payment becomes necessary, Hope For Paws Foundation may request the customer's authorization before collecting it.

If an incorrect amount is charged because of a Marketplace or payment-system error, Hope For Paws Foundation will investigate and make an appropriate correction.

15. Sales and Use Tax

Hope For Paws Foundation Marketplace will calculate and collect applicable sales or use tax when required by law.

Tax treatment may depend on factors including:

• merchandise type;
• transaction type;
• delivery destination;
• applicable state and local law;
• valid tax exemptions; and
• jurisdictions in which the Marketplace has a legal collection obligation.

The applicable tax amount will be displayed during checkout based on the transaction information available at that time.

16. Nonprofit Status and Sales Tax

Hope For Paws Foundation's nonprofit status and federal tax-exempt status do not automatically make Marketplace merchandise purchases exempt from sales or use tax.

Applicable sales tax will be collected when legally required.

17. Tax-Exempt Purchases

A buyer's personal or organizational tax-exempt status does not automatically make a Marketplace transaction tax exempt.

When tax-exempt purchasing is available, the buyer may be required to provide valid exemption documentation before completing the transaction.

Submitting an exemption request does not automatically remove sales tax.

Hope For Paws Foundation may verify exemption documentation and decline tax-exempt treatment when the claimed exemption does not apply to the transaction.

18. Optional Round Up for Rescue

The Marketplace may offer an optional charitable contribution feature identified as Round Up for Rescue. When offered, the round-up amount is calculated from the merchandise or winning-bid amount plus Shipping & Handling before sales tax.

For example:

Purchase Total Before Round Up: $27.42
Round Up for Rescue: $0.58
Subtotal After Round Up: $28.00

Participation is completely voluntary.

You may decline Round Up for Rescue and still complete an otherwise eligible Marketplace purchase.

19. Other Optional Contributions

The Marketplace may also allow a customer to voluntarily add another charitable contribution at checkout.

Any optional contribution will be:

• affirmatively selected by the customer;
• displayed separately from the merchandise purchase;
• included in the final total before payment authorization; and
• treated separately from applicable sales tax.

An optional contribution will not be silently added or preselected as a required payment.

20. Purchases and Charitable Contributions Are Different

A MARKETPLACE PURCHASE IS NOT AUTOMATICALLY A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION.

When you purchase merchandise, you receive goods or other value in exchange for your payment.

A separately identified voluntary charitable contribution may receive different tax treatment.

In certain charity-auction circumstances, an amount paid above an item's fair market value may potentially qualify as a charitable contribution under applicable federal tax rules.

Hope For Paws Foundation does not provide individualized tax advice.

Consult your own tax adviser regarding the deductibility of any payment.

21. Receipts and Charitable Acknowledgments

After successful payment, the Marketplace will provide or make available an electronic order confirmation or receipt.

As applicable, it may show:

• order number;
• merchandise or winning bid amount;
• shipping & handling;
• sales tax;
• optional Round Up for Rescue;
• other optional contribution;
• total payment; and
• payment status.

A Marketplace purchase receipt will not state that the entire purchase amount is tax deductible unless that statement is legally and factually correct.

When appropriate, Hope For Paws Foundation may provide a separate charitable-contribution acknowledgment for a separately identified eligible contribution.

22. Duplicate Payments and Payment Errors

If you believe you were charged more than once for the same transaction, contact Marketplace Support promptly.

Hope For Paws Foundation will review the applicable Marketplace and payment-processor records.

A confirmed duplicate charge or incorrect Marketplace charge will be corrected through the authorized payment system.

23. Refunds

Refund eligibility is governed primarily by the Returns, Refunds & Damaged Items Policy.

ALL SALES ARE FINAL except for the limited circumstances identified in that Policy or when applicable law requires another remedy.

Approved refunds will ordinarily be issued to the original payment method.

Hope For Paws Foundation will not ordinarily issue a refund to an unrelated card, personal payment account, cryptocurrency wallet, or another payment destination selected solely for convenience.

After a refund is submitted, the buyer's bank, card issuer, digital-wallet provider, or payment processor may require additional time to post the funds.

Hope For Paws Foundation does not control those third-party posting times.

24. Refunds and Optional Donations

A voluntary charitable contribution separately identified at checkout is distinct from the merchandise purchase.

Refunding or cancelling a merchandise transaction does not automatically determine the treatment of a separately designated voluntary contribution.

Any contribution refund will be handled according to the terms presented when the contribution was made and applicable law.

25. Chargebacks and Payment Disputes

Customers are encouraged to contact Marketplace Support about legitimate transaction problems when reasonably possible so Hope For Paws Foundation has an opportunity to investigate and resolve the issue.

Nothing in this Policy prevents a customer from exercising a lawful right to dispute a transaction with a card issuer, bank, payment provider, or other financial institution.

Hope For Paws Foundation may respond to a payment dispute using relevant transaction evidence, including:

• account records;
• bid history;
• Auction Rules acceptance;
• order information;
• payment records;
• shipping and tracking information;
• delivery confirmation;
• return and refund records;
• listing information; and
• customer communications.

26. Fraudulent or Abusive Chargebacks

Knowingly submitting false information in a payment dispute or falsely claiming that an authorized purchase was unauthorized is prohibited.

Where permitted by law, fraudulent or abusive payment disputes may result in:

• account review;
• bidding restrictions;
• suspension or termination of Marketplace privileges;
• preservation of transaction evidence; or
• referral for appropriate action when warranted.

A Marketplace account restriction does not eliminate a payment or consumer right that applicable law does not permit the Marketplace to waive.

27. Chargebacks Do Not Automatically Authorize Merchandise Retention

A payment dispute and a Marketplace return are separate processes.

Initiating a chargeback does not automatically authorize a customer to keep merchandise without payment.

Hope For Paws Foundation may provide transaction and delivery evidence to the applicable payment provider and follow its instructions concerning the disputed transaction and merchandise.

28. Policy Changes

Hope For Paws Foundation may update this Policy from time to time.

Material changes will apply prospectively as appropriate.

Unless a later change is required by law or affirmatively accepted by the customer, the Marketplace Terms and policies in effect when a customer places a bid or completes a purchase will generally govern that transaction.

29. Customer Acknowledgment

By completing a Marketplace purchase or submitting payment for a winning auction, you acknowledge that:

1. payment must be completed through an authorized Marketplace payment method;
2. auction winners generally must pay within 48 hours after the Marketplace system finalizes the auction and creates the winning bidder's order;
3. a declined or failed payment does not automatically extend that deadline;
4. unpaid auction transactions may be cancelled and the merchandise relisted;
5. repeated nonpayment may result in permanent loss of bidding privileges;
6. applicable sales tax will be collected when legally required;
7. Hope For Paws Foundation's nonprofit status does not automatically make Marketplace merchandise sales tax exempt;
8. Round Up for Rescue and other checkout contributions are voluntary;
9. merchandise purchases and optional charitable contributions are separate;
10. a Marketplace purchase is not automatically a tax-deductible charitable contribution;
11. approved refunds are ordinarily returned to the original payment method;
12. fraudulent payment activity and knowingly false chargebacks are prohibited; and
13. you agree to this Payment, Sales Tax & Checkout Policy.