Transactions

The auntieChef.com Marketplace is completely free for buyers. Buyers simply pay the prices sellers set for food and delivery.

auntieChef buyers are eligible for protection under the Amazon Payments' "A-to-z Guarantee." Amazon guarantees qualified purchases  and helps resolve disputes. Please refer to Amazon A-to-z Guarantee for more details. Buyers or sellers who have questions or concerns about any transaction should contact the auntieChef team.

Buyers pay sellers in advance of receiving their food.  When a seller confirms an order, the buyer's account is charged.

auntieChef cannot provide specific legal advice to our sellers regarding sales tax. It's up to each seller to research their local laws regarding collecting and reporting applicable taxes for their auntieChef sales. Tax regulations can vary greatly by location. If you are unsure about the tax laws in your region, we encourage you to consult an accountant or other expert in your area. If local tax laws require you to itemize taxes, the auntieChef interface enables you to indicate the percentage sales tax applicable in your location, and collect this sales tax from your buyers as a separate line in their shopping cart.

Ordering

Sellers must confirm an order within 24 hours of when the order is submitted by the buyer, otherwise, it is automatically cancelled

While confirming an order, the seller must also confirm buyers' special instructions (e.g., "please make extra spicy").  If the seller declines some special instructions, this may result in the order or dish being cancelled (depending on the buyer’s specifications).

Buyers and sellers may cancel an order, or request rescheduling a delivery/pick-up, up to 48 hours prior to the original delivery/pick-up window.  Last-minute requests (less than 48 hours in advance) should be sent directly to auntieChef; these requests will only be accepted if the other party consents.

Pricing

auntieChef is completely free to try out - you don't pay anything until you start selling!

• We charge a 12% transaction fee on every order (to cover credit card fees, and to keep our marketplace running)
• There is a monthly subscription fee of $29.00. For a limited time we're offering a 6 month free trial period. The trial starts when you first enable the kitchen to accept orders. Subscription payments are waived during the trial period. Since auntieChef.com is not yet accepting orders from buyers, the trial period for any kitchen that's already set to accept orders will only start once we allow purchases.

Want more details?  Here’s the nitty-gritty:

Seller Fee Schedule

Monthly Marketplace Subscription Fee (MSF)

• auntieChef’s MSF is only $29.00 per kitchen per month
• As a limited-time introductory promotion, auntieChef is waiving the MSF for new sellers for a 6 month free trial period
  • The period starts when you first enable your kitchen to accept orders
  • Once the trial period is over, auntieChef will begin charging MSF via Amazon Payments
  • Since auntieChef.com is not yet accepting orders from buyers, the trial period for any kitchen that's already set to accept orders will only start once we allow purchases
• MSF is charged on a monthly basis (i.e., 12 times a year) at the beginning of a billing cycle.  This means that auntieChef sellers pay the MSF in advance for a month’s service.  auntieChef charges the MSF from sellers automatically through Amazon Payments
• Sellers can stop paying MSF at any time, simply by closing their kitchen(s)
  • Terminations must occur no less than 5 days prior to the renewal date to be effective for the following billing period. Upon termination, the seller’s kitchen will no longer be visible to buyers
  • For the period of time in which a kitchen is not open, the MSF is not charged (except if termination occurs less than 5 days prior to the renewal date, in which case the next billing period’s MSF will be charged)
  • Upon re-opening the kitchen, the MSF will be charged, pro-rated for the partial billing cycle
• Sometimes, the auntieChef team must temporarily suspend a kitchen’s operations to address a particular issue.  The MSF for subsequent billing cycles will not be charged while the kitchen is suspended.  MSF billing resumes automatically upon resolution of the issue (to be determined by the auntieChef team)
• MSF payments are non-refundable

Transaction Fee (TF)

auntieChef charges the seller a Transaction Fee (TF) equivalent to 12% of each transaction conducted on auntieChef.com.  This fee will be deducted from the seller’s Amazon Payments account automatically, once the buyer pays the seller.

This fee schedule may be changed anytime upon 30 days’ prior notice, which may be effected by posting such changes to the Fee Schedule, sending an email to the email address contained in a seller’s account settings or by any other method determined reasonable by auntieChef.

Kitchen operations

General

• Sellers on auntieChef may not post their contact information (e.g. phone number, email address, website address) on any area of the auntieChef website; doing so is a violation of the auntieChef Terms of Use and the spirit of the marketplace
• If sellers sell their food via other channels (e.g., restaurant, bakery), they must offer their dishes to online auntieChef customers at the same prices (or lower)

Opening and closing kitchens

• An open kitchen is accessible and visible to buyers
• A kitchen that’s not open can either be:
  • Closed – A seller can close his/her kitchen for any reason (like taking a vacation). Additionally, auntieChef can automatically close kitchens that do not have enough information to operate (e.g., no dishes on menu, no availability slots in delivery/pick-up schedule, cancellation of payment authorization). When a kitchen is closed, no new orders are processed; however, the seller is still responsible for previously confirmed orders that are to be delivered/picked up
  • Suspended – from time-to-time, auntieChef will suspend kitchens due to various issues (e.g., violations of terms of use, complaints against the kitchen)
• When a kitchen becomes non-operational (e.g., inaccessible by buyers), owners will receive email notification, and instructions on how to re-open
• Resuming kitchen operations may or may not require action by the seller
  • Re-opening a closed kitchen requires action by the seller
  • Re-opening a suspended kitchen will be triggered by auntieChef upon satisfactory resolution of the underlying issue(s)

If you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to contact us. We’re always glad to help!