The master service agreement — the MSA — is the binding agreement between your company and Merch. An MSA is required for account access unless there's a custom agreement in place. Until it's signed, your account doesn't open. Once it's countersigned, you're set up and ready to work.
#What the MSA is
The MSA is the contract that governs your relationship with us. It incorporates the public terms plus anything specific your company negotiated — payment terms, volume considerations, custom storage arrangements, IP language, or any other provisions tailored to your account. The MSA is the single document that ties all of that together for your account.
#How signing happens
During onboarding, your account team sends you the MSA for electronic signature. You sign, we countersign, and once both signatures are in place, your account access is provisioned. Most customers sign and start the same week.
#Custom agreements
For some accounts — typically larger or enterprise relationships — a custom agreement is negotiated in place of the standard MSA. If your company has a custom agreement, that document governs your relationship with us instead of the standard MSA, and the public terms apply only to the extent the custom agreement says they do. Your account team will let you know which path you're on before any signature is needed.
#What's covered
At a high level, your MSA covers:
- Payment terms — how invoices are issued and when they're due
- Fulfillment — order processing, shipping, risk of loss
- Storage — how inventory is stored and the notice for required removal
- Intellectual property — ownership of designs and artwork warranties
- Returns and defects — the inspection window and what counts as a defect
- Confidentiality — how each side handles the other's confidential information
- Data handling — incorporated through our privacy policy and data policy
- Term and termination — how the relationship is renewed or wound down
The specifics for your account depend on what was negotiated. Your MSA defines your specific terms.
#Where to find your signed copy
We don't surface signed agreements in your portal today. Your account team can send you a copy of your countersigned MSA — or your custom agreement, if you have one — anytime you ask.
#Amendments
If something material changes — a new payment term, an updated rate, a new line of business — we amend the MSA. Amendments are signed the same way as the original: electronically, by both sides.
#Scope
The MSA covers your overall relationship with Merch. It doesn't replace the privacy policy or data policy, which cover data practices specifically, and it sits alongside per-order documents like sales orders and statements of work that describe specific transactions.
See the terms for the binding language that the standard MSA incorporates. For your specific MSA or any custom agreement, ask your account team for a copy.