Terms & Conditions for Makers
Please read these Terms and Conditions carefully before you complete any transactions via the Website as these Terms and Conditions will apply to your transactions and bookings as a Maker. If you do not agree with these Terms and Conditions, you must not use our Website.
Defined terms:
“The Seam” / “We” / “Us” / “Our” (The Seam UK Ltd.) is a web-based communications platform which enables bookings between Customers and Makers. “Customers” are individuals and/or businesses seeking to obtain alterations, repair, restoration, made to measure, customisation and cleaning services for clothing, shoes, accessories, jewellery, homewares and textile products. “Makers” are individual freelancers or businesses seeking to perform services for customers.
The terms “booking”, “job” and “project” are used interchangeably to refer to the service provided by the Maker to the customer.
Conditions:
1. Independence of Makers:
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A Maker’s relationship with The Seam is that of an independent individual or entity and not an employee, agent, joint venturer or partner of The Seam.
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Makers are free to accept or reject any job they are assigned.
2. Communication:
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Makers are responsible for communicating with customers in a friendly, respectful and professional manner at all times.
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The Seam booking platform matches Makers with customer bookings. All communication between Maker and customer should take place within The Seam’s chat.
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Where verbal communication takes place (I.e. a phone call or in-person fitting), Makers should summarise the outcome of verbal communication in The Seam platform chat – including but not limited to decisions around services, (for example the types of repair or alterations work to be carried out), costs quoted, and/or measurements taken at a fitting.
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Makers should respond to customer messages within 24 hours. Where a Maker is unresponsive to a customer for greater than 48 hours, The Seam reserves the right to re-assign the booking to a new Maker.
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Where Makers are unresponsive to a customer for more than 72 hours after payment has been made and/or work has commenced on the booking, The Seam reserves the right to withhold payment and reassign the booking to a new Maker.
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Makers should respond to any communication from The Seam team within 24 hours (48 hours on the weekend).
3. Pricing & Earnings:
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The Seam platform allows Makers to set prices for all bookings. The price set by Makers is equal to the amount they will be paid. Customers are charged an additional 20% service fee, which is paid to The Seam.
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Makers are required to price projects based on The Seam’s price guide. The price guide is a baseline for services, and Makers should determine their own pricing based on the complexity of each individual project. For example, The Seam’s price guide set the cost of a skirt hem at £17.50. This price is for a standard skirt hem, and if a Maker were required to perform a more complex version of this task, such as a hem to a bias cut skirt, a delicate material like satin, or a skirt with an additional layer, such as a lining, the Maker should reflect the increased effort in the price they charge.
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Whenever hesitation or uncertainty around pricing arises, Makers should contact The Seam at: Lollo@theseam.uk
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The Seam charges a 20% service fee on top of the Maker price to cover the costs of technology, marketing, customer service, Maker support and any other business fees.
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Occasionally, The Seam and our brand partners give discount codes to customers. These discount codes affect the service charge paid by the customer, they do not under any circumstances affect the earnings of Makers. Makers always earn the amount equal to the price they set.
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We work with Stripe to manage our payments and secure transactions. Makers agree to create and manage a Stripe account, and share information with Stripe required to take payments.
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Makers are solely responsible for any payments on their earnings from The Seam, including but not limited to income taxes and VAT.
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Payments from The Seam to Makers are triggered when a Maker marks a project as complete, which they are only permitted to do when the job is finished and the item(s) have been returned to the customer. Payments are held in Stripe and deposited to Makers within 10 business days of the date a project is completed.
4. Turnaround times:
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Makers should strive to complete a booking within the following timeframes:
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Simple projects: 3-5 business days (I.e. hemming, simple tapering, seam repairs, zipper replacements)
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Standard projects: 7-10 business days (I.e. fit adjustments, knitwear repair, sneaker cleaning, footwear resoling, handbag restoration)
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Complex projects: 10+ business days (I.e. customisation, made to measure, and instances where additional materials or trimmings must be sourced)
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The turnaround time begins from the initial fitting or upon receiving the item(s) by post, courier, collection or drop-off.
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Highly complicated projects, for which a 10 day turnaround is not possible, should be communicated to the customer at the point of booking.
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Makers are responsible for communicating turnaround times to customers prior to taking payment, and are required to communicate with the customer and The Seam if the turnaround time changes during the project.
5. Rush fees:
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Customers may occasionally request express services with faster turnaround.
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Makers are free to accept or reject a project with an express turnaround request.
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Makers are allowed to apply up to a 40% rush fee to a booking if the turnaround time is requested by the customer to be less than or equal to 3 days (subject to project complexity).
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Maker’s are required to contact The Seam prior to charging a rush fee.
6. Cancellation & Availability:
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Makers are given the opportunity to share their availability (ideal number of projects per week, and available hours per week) with The Seam when they complete their Maker questionnaire upon joining The Seam.
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Makers must regularly keep The Seam informed of any changes to their availability, including plans to take time off. Contact The Seam at Lollo@theseam.uk.
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The Seam does not dictate the numbers of days worked by any Maker. Makers are free to choose their own working hours, time off, and availability as long as active projects are completed on time and customers are responded to within 24 hours.
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Makers should endeavour to give The Seam at least 7 days notice of any time off, and to complete all current bookings prior to taking leave longer than 5 working days, or leave which impacts ongoing project timelines.
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In any cases where a Maker needs to take leave while a project is ongoing, the Maker is required to inform The Seam. The Seam has sole discretion to determine whether the project can be delayed, or needs to be passed to a different Maker.
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In cases where a Maker delays a project beyond reason, as determined by The Seam, The Seam may withhold payment or the Maker may be liable to pay The Seam a refund equal to the booking amount.
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Makers should inform The Seam as soon as possible in cases where they need to cancel a project, or when they are assigned a project they are unable to take on.
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In cases where a Maker cancels a project after payment, The Seam may withhold payment or the Maker may be liable to pay The Seam a refund equal to the booking amount.
7. In-person Fittings:
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The Seam offers at-home fittings for customers booking alterations services when there is a nearby Maker available. Makers are encouraged to charge £15.00 per hour to cover their travel time, fitting time and expenses (I.e. bus, tube, and/or train tickets) when visiting a customer for an in-person fitting.
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For example, if a Maker visits a customer for an at-home fitting, the fitting takes 30 minutes and the commute takes 30 minutes each way on bus, the Maker can charge the customer £15 / hour x 1.5 hours + 2 bus tickets (2 x £1.65) = £24.15 for the fitting.
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Prices for in-person fittings should not exceed £50.00 per visit unless the Maker is given consent by The Seam and the customer in advance of the fitting.
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Makers are not required to offer in-person fittings. Makers who do not wish to offer in-person fittings, either visiting a customer, or inviting a customer to their studio, should notify The Seam at: Lollo@theseam.uk
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No pets are allowed in the Maker’s studio workspace or the Maker’s space where a fitting takes place.
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No smoking is allowed in the Maker’s studio workspace or the Maker’s space where a fitting takes place.
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If a Maker allows customers to come to their home or home studio for a fitting, Makers must ensure the space is presentable and professional.
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Maker’s are not permitted to hold fittings in bedrooms, and must be able to guarantee a private and contained area for the customer to change.
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The Seam is not responsible for personal injury or property damage, of any nature whatsoever, resulting from in-person fittings.
8. Repeat bookings outside of The Seam:
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The Seam Makers are freelance individuals and/or independent businesses. Therefore Makers are permitted to seek additional employment outside of their freelance relationship with The Seam. They are also permitted to seek additional freelance opportunities.
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The Seam endeavours to provide a positive freelance experience for Makers and we value Makers’ feedback on how we can offer them meaningful, well paid and balanced jobs.
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In cases where a Maker, who is active on The Seam, solicits a customer gained through The Seam for repeat business outside of The Seam’s platform, The Seam holds the right to remove the Maker from the platform.
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In cases where a customer gained through The Seam solicits a Maker for a repeat booking outside of The Seam’s platform, Makers are encouraged to liaise with The Seam so support can be offered to keep the booking on the platform. Makers should notify The Seam at: Lollo@theseam.uk.
9. Loss of goods:
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Makers are liable for all customer items whilst in their care.
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The period of responsibility commences when a Maker receives an item, whether by post, courier, collection, or during an in-person fitting.
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The period of responsibility by the Maker concludes when the item is returned to the customer, either by postage or courier (upon receipt of delivery, see section 10 ‘postage’ below) or handed to the customer at an in-person fitting or drop-off.
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If an item is lost during the period of responsibility, the Maker is liable for the full cost of the item, as determined by The Seam.
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The Seam holds the sole discretion to determine the value of any lost item, for which the Maker is liable to pay for replacement.
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In cases where a loss occurs after the customer has paid for the service, the Maker is additionally responsible for reimbursing the cost of the booking.
10. Postage:
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When a customer posts an item to a Maker, the Maker is not responsible for the item until receipt of delivery.
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When a Maker returns an item to a customer by post, they are responsible for the delivery. This means:
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Makers must choose an appropriate delivery method, with insurance to cover the total value of the item in the event of loss or damage.
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Makers must always encourage customers to use postage including insurance, however in cases where a customer refuses the recommendation and instead opts for a logistics method not covered by insurance, Makers are not held liable, however Makers are still responsible for recording tracking information and receipt of postage.
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Makers must choose a delivery method which offers tracking, and are solely responsible for recording the tracking information and making it available to the customer, as well as recording receipt of postage in the event of loss or damage.
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The Seam encourages all Makers to use Royal Mail special delivery service (tracked, signed & insured) for items worth up to £2,500. For items of greater value, The Seam encourages Makers to visit a local Post Office where additional insurance can be purchased.
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Makers can also encourage London-based customers to use our courier partner, Gophr, for high value items. Costs should be covered by the customer.
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In the event that a Maker fails to record tracking information or receipt of postage and the customer claims they have not received the item, the Maker is liable for the full value of the item, as determined by The Seam.
11. Packaging:
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Makers are required to package all postage and courier orders in The Seam branded packaging, including co-branded packaging for our brand partners.
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Video instructions for how to use The Seam’s packaging is sent to all Makers during the onboarding process. A link to the video can also be found here.
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The Seam sends out packaging in bundles to all Makers by post. Makers should contact The Seam when they are running low on packaging in order to ensure they do not run out.
12. Damage & Workmanship:
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Each Maker on The Seam is vetted for quality workmanship prior to joining the platform. However, the skills of each individual Maker may not be suited to all jobs booked on The Seam.
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The Seam endeavour to match Makers for which the correct skills are in place to complete a job to a high standard of workmanship. If a Maker is matched to a booking for which they do not have the correct skills to deliver the job, the Maker is responsible to inform The Seam as soon as possible (Lollo@theseam.uk).
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In order to ensure that the quality of workmanship is maintained, Makers are required to take the following actions:
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Makers should take before photos of all items they work on, in order to document any flaws unnoticed by the customer that are apparent on an item, including but not limited to stains, snags, rips, tears and any other flaws.
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Makers should immediately contact the customer if the item arrives with damage beyond what the customer booked on The Seam (I.e. if a customer booked a seam repair to trousers, and the trousers arrive with additional damage like stains or holes, the Maker should report this to the customer as soon as possible with photos).
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Makers should take after photos of all items they work on, in order to document the alteration/repair/restoration/etc.
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Makers should endeavour to describe to customers any considerations on how the final job will appear (I.e. if a customer books a repair to a hole or seam for which an invisible fix isn’t possible, the Maker should communicate to the customer what the repair will look like once completed, preferably with example pictures of similar repairs).
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When an event arises where the quality of workmanship is protested by The Seam or the customer, The Seam will take the following actions:
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The Seam has the sole discretion to determine if the job was completed to a reasonable standard of workmanship.
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If The Seam determines that the workmanship is below reasonable standards, The Seam will either attempt to have the work re-done to a higher standard, or reassign the project to another Maker to re-do the work.
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If The Seam determines that the work should be re-done by the initial Maker, the Maker will not be compensated twice.
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If The Seam determines that the work must be re-done by another Maker, the first Maker will be liable to reimburse The Seam for the cost of the booking, so that The Seam can pay another Maker to re-do the work.
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If The Seam determines that the workmanship is below reasonable standards and that the workmanship has resulted in further, unreasonable damage to the item (I.e. if the Maker cut off too much fabric or ripped the material), the Maker is liable for the full cost of the item, as determined by The Seam.
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The Seam will endeavour to support Makers to resolve booking and customer issues to the best of our ability. We value good intent, and will aim to support resolutions where Makers have made reasonable mistakes or faced unforeseen circumstances. Where we find that Makers have acted carelessly or executed poor judgement, we will hold Makers accountable for the value of damages.
13. Customer dissatisfaction:
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In the event that there is a discrepancy between the Maker and Customer, The Seam will endeavour to mediate the concerns and determine the liable party. Makers are encouraged to contact The Seam immediately if a dispute with a customer arises.
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Makers should take the following actions in order to reduce customer dissatisfaction and miscommunication:
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Keep all written communication between the parties in The Seam chat. Do not liaise with customers over email, text messages or any other form of communication outside of The Seam platform.
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Where verbal communication takes place (I.e. a phone call or in-person fitting), Makers are required to summarise the outcome of verbal communication in The Seam platform chat (see section 2).
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When the scope of a project exceeds the abilities or confidence of a Maker, the Maker should immediately contact The Seam so the project can be redirected (Lollo@theseam.uk).
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14. Insurance:
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All Makers must have an insurance policy covering public liability.
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The Seam endeavours to support Makers by recommending insurance policies dependent on different Makers’ professional and/or business circumstances. We recommend that Makers sign up to Direct line Public Liability & products liability insurance policy, Link here.
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The Seam is not liable for any of the policy wording in the insurance plans recommended to Makers.
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Makers are encouraged to do independent research and choose an insurance policy which covers them from liability set out in these terms.
Contact:
To discuss these Maker terms, please get in touch with our team and we’d be happy to help:
Email: Lollo@theseam.uk
Post: The Seam UK Ltd, 22 Great James St, London, WC1N 3ES.