Dear friends, co-workers, customers and colleagues - in light of some
disturbing news regarding a fellow music/media mailorder whose credit card
provider suddenly banned them from their service without explanation, I am
simply taking the time to review the PayPal Acceptable Use policy for the
first time in the almost 4 years we've been open, and am forwarding the
following commentary and highlights simply for your own edification, and to
pass on to anyone you know who might be in a similar position. I will also
be sending a copy to my newly retained entertainment attorney for her review
and advice. Best, -je

PayPal Acceptable Use Policy
https://www.paypal.com/aup
This Policy was last modified on January 14, 2005.

PayPal does not allow its service to be used for illegal activities. PayPal
reserves the right to take preventative or corrective actions to protect
itself and its users. Thus, PayPal has developed an Acceptable Use Policy
("AUP"), as part of the User Agreement to which each customer agrees at the
time of initiation of service. This policy help customers identify
activities that are illegal or may be illegal under certain circumstances,
and to identify certain types of activities for which PayPal has decided not
to process payments, even if the activities may be legal. PayPal reserves
the right to revise the AUP, in order to reflect changing customer and
business needs. Notice of such changes will be posted in the Policy Update
section on PayPal's website, https://www.paypal.com, and the current AUP is
available at https://www.paypal.com/aup.

Despite PayPal's active enforcement of its Policies, ultimately it is the
responsibility of the user to ensure that all transactions comply with the
Acceptable Use Policy and the below guidelines.

Transactions Covered by the Acceptable Use Policy.
The Acceptable Use Policy covers all PayPal transactions including
donations, purchases, and sale of all goods and services, on eBay, another
online marketplace, through the seller's own website, or any other forum.

Violations of the Acceptable Use Policy.
Violating PayPal's Acceptable Use Policy may result in temporary or
permanent limitation of a customer's account. This includes the inability to
send and/or receive payments, to remove financial information from an
account, and for users to close their accounts as a way of evading the
policy. Additionally, users whose accounts are permanently limited for
violating the Acceptable Use Policy are barred from future use of PayPal and
its services, and such users are not permitted to open new or additional
PayPal accounts.

Catagories that apply to TESCO USA and may apply to you:

Autographed Items
This may apply to us, but I'm not too worried about verifying the
authenticity of our autographed items.

Bootleg Recordings
Should not apply to us - we have given away publicly-available live
recordings of certain bands, but not for sale and not anywhere on the
website.

Contracts and Tickets
Does not apply to us selling tickets for our own concerts - see below.

Event Tickets
Primary Ticket Sales
You may use PayPal to sell primary sales tickets as they are exempt from our
ticket resale policy. To qualify as a "primary sale" of an event ticket, the
ticket must be sold by the artist, team, promoter or organizer of the event,
and the seller must clearly and explicitly state in the website that the
seller is authorized to first sale the tickets directly to the public.

Faces, Names, and Signatures
You may not sell an item containing the image, likeness, name, or signature
of another person unless the product was made or authorized by that person.
Examples - The following items may not be sold or advertised on websites
listed in PayPal Shops:
-A key chain bearing a picture of a rock star (even if you took the picture
yourself at a concert)
-A scanned copy of an original picture of a baseball player where the
original was signed by that player
-A mouse pad bearing a picture of a movie star
-A CD containing pictures of a singer taken from various sources on the
Internet. Even if you had permission to download the pictures, you probably
don't have the right to sell them for a profit
-A light switch cover bearing a musician's name

Importation of Goods Into the United States
I am figuring this does not apply to us, since all the labels and copyright
issues are solely contained within a small niche of Tesco Distribution and
independen artists and labels.

Industrial Solvents
Hehe - check out any GENOCIDE ORGAN album...can we not make INDUSTRIAL
SOLVENTS a searchable genre?

International Trading - Sellers
If you plan on selling internationally you need to ensure that your
transactions will not violate laws that may govern such sales. These laws
are complex and issues will vary depending upon the item involved and the
countries where the buyer and seller reside.

Generally, you won't encounter difficulties occasionally shipping small
dollar value items to buyers in most countries and in many cases, the
mailing service you use to send the item (such as the U.S. Postal Service or
UPS) can help you fill out the necessary paperwork. Certain types of items,
however, can cause unexpected problems in some countries and some planning
can avoid unexpected problems even with simple transactions.

PayPal's policy on items from Cuba - never had one, but they are welcome of
course...
In general, you may use PayPal to sell items from Cuba if they are
"informational," "pre-embargo," or "licensed." You may sell any Cuban item
of an "informational" nature, such as books, movies, artwork, photographs,
music, and similar materials without restrictions.

Mature Audiences - this whole section concerns me as being too vague...
You may not use PayPal in the purchase or sale of, or receipt of donations
for, any obscene or sexually oriented goods or services.

In determining what goods or services are prohibited under the Mature
Audiences Policy, PayPal will consider some or all of the following factors:

-Whether the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual
conduct.
-Representations or descriptions of intercourse, masturbation, excretory
functions, or lewd exhibition of the genitals.
-Dominant theme of the material or website.
-Literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
-Safety and protection of its customers, both buyers and sellers.
-Medical or educational usage of the product or service.
-Any sexually oriented goods or services involving minors, or made to appear
to involve minors, will automatically be treated as violations of the Mature
Audiences Policy.

PayPal will not include sexual preferences or viewpoints as a factor in
determining what goods or services are prohibited under the Mature Audiences
Policy.

Offensive Material - again, this whole section concerns me as being way too
vague...
You many not use PayPal in the purchase or sale of items or support of
organizations that promote hate, violence, or racial intolerance. PayPal
also prohibits a person convicted of a violent felony, or his or her
relatives or associates, from using PayPal to benefit financially from the
convicted criminal's notoriety or crime.

In determining what goods or services are prohibited under the Offensive
Material Policy, PayPal will consider some or all of the following factors:
-Promotion or glorification of hate, violence, or racial intolerance
-Graphic portrayal of violence or victims of violence
-History of user activity
-Financial exploitation of a crime

Furthermore, such organizations outlined above may not be listed in PayPal
Shops, nor may any website listed in PayPal Shops advertise or support such
organizations.

Pre-Selling Products
You may not use PayPal to sell "pre-sale" items. Pre-sale items are items
advertised for sale before the seller has control or possession of the
items. These generally consist of items that are sold prior to the item's
availability to the general public, or that are sold by the seller with the
intention of using the payment to go out and purchase the item being sold.

PayPal does permit pre-sales on a limited basis, as long as the seller
guarantees and reasonably expects that the item will be shipped within 20
days from the date of purchase, and that he clearly inform the buyer that
the item is a pre-sale item.

Such a policy ensures that buyers can pay for an item and still have the
option to use PayPal's Buyer Complaint process in the event there is a
problem with the transaction.

Additional Requirements for Seller Protection Policy
Sellers wishing to take advantage of PayPal's Seller Protection Policy must
ship within 7 days of the sale as well as comply with the other terms of
that Policy.

Promotional Items
We occasionally give away promotional items for free, but I figure that the
size and exclusivity of the merchandise involved precludes us from this
provision.

Unauthorized Copies
Should be the same as "Bootlegs" above.

If you have a question about whether your proposed or existing business
violates the Acceptable Use Policy, you can email PayPal's AUP Compliance
Department at: aupviolations@....

My question is, how safe do you feel calling attention to a potentially
"unacceptable" item, with such irrevokable consequences as noted above? In
your lay opinion, is there anything that you can think of that TESCO USA
offers for sale on its website, that violates conventional mores, and/or,
i.e. the PayPal Acceptable Use Policy?

Jane Elizabeth
Tesco Distribution USA
http://store.tesco-distro.com
We now accept phone orders!