These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the ticketing platform operated at buzzhive.info (the "Platform") by Smoking Gun Collective LLC ("BuzzHive", "we", "us", or "our"), a Washington state limited liability company. By accessing the Platform, creating an account, purchasing a ticket, or selling tickets through the Platform you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Platform.
1. Acceptance and eligibility
By using the Platform you represent that you are at least 18 years old, or that you are a minor at least 13 years old using the Platform with the supervision and consent of a parent or legal guardian who agrees to these Terms on your behalf. The Platform is not directed to children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.
If you are accepting these Terms on behalf of a company or other legal entity, you represent that you have the authority to bind that entity to these Terms, in which case "you" refers to that entity.
2. Description of the Platform
The Platform is a marketplace and tool set that lets independent event promoters ("Promoters") sell tickets to live events and lets buyers ("Buyers") discover and purchase those tickets. BuzzHive is not the seller of any ticket sold by a third-party Promoter; the Promoter is the seller, and BuzzHive operates only as a technology and payments-facilitation provider with respect to those tickets. When BuzzHive itself is the Promoter of an event, BuzzHive is both the operator of the Platform and the seller of those particular tickets.
3. Promoter accounts
To list events and sell tickets, you must register a Promoter account, complete identity verification through our payment processor (Stripe Connect), and agree to Stripe's Connected Account Agreement. You are responsible for the accuracy of the information you provide and for maintaining the security of your account credentials. You must notify us immediately via our contact form if you suspect unauthorized access to your account.
Each Promoter account is a separate legal entity for purposes of these Terms. You may invite team members under your account in roles we provide (owner, admin, scanner). You remain responsible for the actions of anyone you invite.
4. Buyer terms
By purchasing a ticket through the Platform, you (as Buyer):
- Authorize BuzzHive and Stripe to charge the payment method you provide for the total amount shown at checkout, including the ticket price and any service fee disclosed on the checkout page;
- Agree that the seller of the ticket is the Promoter, not BuzzHive (except where BuzzHive is the Promoter), and that the terms of admission, refund eligibility, and any age, content, or venue rules are set by the Promoter and the venue;
- Agree to comply with the venue rules and applicable laws while attending the event;
- Acknowledge that tickets are issued in the Buyer's name and are not transferable except as expressly allowed by the Promoter, and that the QR code or ticket code we deliver may be used only once for admission;
- Agree that you will not resell tickets above face value plus any actual transfer fee unless the Promoter and applicable law expressly allow it.
Text messaging (SMS)
If you provide a mobile phone number at checkout and complete a purchase, you agree to receive a transactional text message from BuzzHive delivering the link to the tickets you purchased, together with related order and account notifications for that order. This is a transactional messaging program only; we do not send marketing or promotional text messages.
Message frequency: approximately one message per order. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to any message to unsubscribe from further texts, or reply HELP for help; you can also reach us through our contact form. Opting out of text messages will not affect the ticket link and receipt we send you by email. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.
We do not share, sell, or provide your mobile phone number or your SMS/text-messaging consent to any third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. Your mobile number and messaging consent are handled as described in our Privacy Policy.
5. Promoter terms
By using the Platform to sell tickets, you (as Promoter):
- Represent that you have the legal right to sell tickets to the events you list and that all event details (date, venue, lineup, descriptions, images) are accurate and not misleading;
- Are solely responsible for producing the event, honoring the tickets, complying with all applicable laws (including liquor licensing, age restrictions, fire-code capacity, ADA accommodations, sales tax, and venue contracts), and handling refunds and disputes with your Buyers in accordance with the published Refunds Policy and any additional terms you publish on your event page, and are financially responsible for refunds, chargebacks, and related costs as described in Section 8;
- Authorize BuzzHive to collect and remit ticket payments on your behalf through Stripe Connect, with the applicable platform fee deducted as described in Section 6;
- Grant BuzzHive a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to display the event information, images, and Promoter branding you upload solely for the purpose of operating the Platform and marketing your event on the Platform's public marketplace and promotional channels;
- Agree that BuzzHive may suspend or remove an event listing if it materially violates these Terms, the law, the rights of third parties, or our content guidelines.
6. Fees and payments
For Buyers
The price displayed at checkout is the total amount you authorize. Stripe processes the payment and may charge its own processing fees (separately disclosed in Stripe's terms); Stripe's processing fees are deducted from the Promoter's payout, not from the Buyer.
For Promoters
BuzzHive's platform fee is the amount described on the Platform's pricing page in effect at the time of sale. The free tier charges no monthly subscription fee; BuzzHive retains only the per-ticket platform fee on tickets actually sold. An optional paid subscription with a lower per-ticket fee is available inside the Promoter dashboard. Ticket payments are processed directly on the Promoter's own connected Stripe account: the Promoter is the merchant of record for the charge, Stripe's processing fees are deducted by Stripe from each payment before funds settle in the Promoter's Stripe balance, and BuzzHive's platform fee is collected as an application fee on each charge. The "Buyer service fee" you choose to pass through to Buyers, if any, is also described on the Platform's pricing page.
All fees are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated. Fees may change with notice; changes apply to events created or tickets sold after the change takes effect.
7. Refunds and cancellations
Refunds are governed by the Refunds Policy published on the Platform, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. In general: tickets are final sale unless the event is canceled or materially rescheduled by the Promoter. Promoters may grant refunds at their discretion for individual situations. BuzzHive does not refund the Stripe processing fee on a Promoter-discretion refund unless the event is canceled.
8. Chargebacks, refund funding, and recovery
This section applies to Promoters. Because ticket payments are processed directly on your connected Stripe account and you are the merchant of record (see Section 6), you — not BuzzHive — bear the financial responsibility for the payments you accept.
Your financial responsibility
As between you and BuzzHive, you are solely financially responsible for: (a) all refunds issued on your ticket sales, whether initiated by you, required by the Refunds Policy, or required by law; (b) all chargebacks, payment disputes, and payment reversals on your ticket sales, in the full disputed amount; (c) all dispute, chargeback, and inquiry fees assessed by Stripe or the card networks in connection with your sales; and (d) all losses arising from fraudulent, unauthorized, or misrepresented transactions connected to your events or your account.
Debit authorization
You authorize Stripe and BuzzHive to deduct any amount described in this section from your Stripe account balance and, where your balance is insufficient, you authorize the debit of the external (bank) account linked to your connected Stripe account for the shortfall, in accordance with Stripe's Connected Account Agreement. This authorization continues after termination of your account for amounts arising from sales made before termination.
Right of offset
If any amount owed under this section cannot be recovered from your Stripe balance or linked bank account, BuzzHive may offset that amount against any current or future sales proceeds otherwise payable to you on any of your events, until the amount is recovered in full.
Reserves and payout holds
BuzzHive may withhold, delay, or hold in reserve payouts or sales proceeds, in whole or in part, where BuzzHive reasonably determines that: (a) your account or transactions are under review for suspected fraud or a violation of these Terms; (b) an elevated level of refunds, chargebacks, or disputes has occurred or is reasonably expected on your sales; (c) an event has been canceled, postponed, or materially changed; or (d) a hold is required by law or by Stripe. Held amounts are released when the underlying risk has, in BuzzHive's reasonable judgment, passed, less any amounts applied under this section.
Canceled events
If you cancel or materially reschedule an event, you are responsible for funding refunds to all entitled Buyers in full. You authorize BuzzHive to apply any held or reserved amounts, your Stripe balance, and the debit and offset rights above to fund those refunds.
Collection
Any amount described in this section that remains unrecovered constitutes a debt you owe to BuzzHive, due on demand. You are responsible for BuzzHive's reasonable costs of collecting that debt, including reasonable attorneys' fees, to the extent permitted by law.
9. Intellectual property
BuzzHive retains all right, title, and interest in and to the Platform, including all software, designs, trademarks, logos, and content other than User Content (defined below). We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the Platform solely for its intended purpose under these Terms. You may not copy, modify, scrape, reverse-engineer, create derivative works of, or commercially exploit any part of the Platform without our express prior written consent.
10. User content
"User Content" means any content (event titles, descriptions, images, flyers, lineups, promoter blurbs, custom CSS, etc.) you upload, post, or transmit through the Platform. You retain ownership of your User Content. You grant BuzzHive a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify (for technical reasons such as image resizing), publish, and display your User Content solely to operate, market, and improve the Platform. You represent that you have all rights necessary to grant this license and that your User Content does not violate any third party's rights or any law.
11. Prohibited conduct
You agree not to:
- Use the Platform to sell counterfeit or unauthorized tickets, or to engage in scalping in violation of applicable law;
- Misrepresent the nature of an event, its lineup, age policy, venue, or refund terms;
- Use bots, scrapers, or any automated means to access the Platform without our express written permission, except for well-behaved search-engine crawlers that respect robots.txt;
- Probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of the Platform, or attempt to bypass any authentication or rate-limiting measures;
- Upload malware, run denial-of-service attacks, or do anything that could harm the Platform's integrity or availability;
- Use the Platform to harass, defame, threaten, or discriminate against any person;
- Use the Platform to send spam or unsolicited commercial messages.
12. Third-party services
The Platform integrates with third-party services including, without limitation, Stripe (payments), the U.S. Postal Service and other delivery providers where applicable, mapping providers, and email delivery services. Your use of those third-party services is governed by their own terms and privacy policies. We are not responsible for the acts or omissions of any third-party service.
13. Suspension and termination
We may suspend, restrict, or terminate your access to the Platform at any time, with or without notice, if (a) you violate these Terms, (b) your conduct creates legal or commercial risk to BuzzHive or other users, (c) we are required to do so by law or a court order, or (d) you have made no use of your account for an extended period. You may close your account at any time by contacting us via our contact form. Termination does not relieve you of obligations arising before termination, including payment of accrued fees and indemnification.
14. Disclaimers
THE PLATFORM IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, BuzzHive DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. BuzzHive DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE PLATFORM WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR SECURE, OR THAT ANY EVENT LISTED BY A THIRD-PARTY PROMOTER WILL OCCUR AS DESCRIBED. WE DO NOT WARRANT THE QUALITY, SAFETY, OR LEGALITY OF ANY EVENT LISTED BY A THIRD-PARTY PROMOTER.
15. Limitation of liability
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW: (A) BuzzHive SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO YOUR USE OF THE PLATFORM, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES; AND (B) BuzzHive'S AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR YOUR USE OF THE PLATFORM SHALL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (i) THE AMOUNTS YOU PAID TO BuzzHive IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM OR (ii) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100). SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
16. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless BuzzHive and its officers, directors, employees, contractors, and agents from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to (a) your User Content, (b) your use or misuse of the Platform, (c) your violation of these Terms, (d) your violation of any law or third-party right, (e) for Promoters, any claim by a Buyer arising out of an event you listed, and (f) for Promoters, any refund, chargeback, payment dispute, or payment reversal arising out of tickets you sold, including associated fees described in Section 8.
17. Dispute resolution and binding arbitration
Please read this section carefully. Except for claims that may be brought in small-claims court and except for claims seeking injunctive or equitable relief for intellectual-property infringement, any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or your use of the Platform shall be resolved by binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules then in effect.
Class action waiver. You and BuzzHive agree that any arbitration or court proceeding shall be limited to the dispute between us individually. To the fullest extent permitted by law: (a) no arbitration or proceeding shall be joined with any other; (b) there is no right or authority for any dispute to be arbitrated or resolved on a class-action basis or to utilize class-action procedures; and (c) no dispute may be brought as a purported class, representative, collective, or private-attorney-general action.
Right to opt out. You may opt out of this arbitration provision by sending a written notice via our contact form within 30 days of first accepting these Terms, stating that you wish to opt out and providing your full name and the email associated with your account.
18. Governing law and venue
These Terms and any dispute arising out of or relating to them are governed by the laws of the State of Washington, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles. Subject to the arbitration provision in Section 17, any judicial proceeding shall be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in King County, Washington, and the parties consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts. Nothing in these Terms waives any rights you may have under the Washington Consumer Protection Act, RCW 19.86, or other non-waivable rights under Washington law.
19. Changes to these Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top reflects the current version. If we make a material change we will provide reasonable notice by email or by posting a prominent notice on the Platform before the change takes effect. Your continued use of the Platform after the effective date of a change constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms.
20. Contact
For questions about these Terms, please use our contact form and a real person will reply within one business day. Legal notices may also be sent to:
Smoking Gun Collective LLC
Attn: Legal
Seattle, WA