Last updated: October 2026
1. Purpose and incorporation
These Terms of Service for Customer Reviews (the "Review Terms") govern the BrainyMart Reputation Management System ("RMS"), which collects and publishes customer-satisfaction reviews of products sold by merchants on the platform.
The Review Terms are incorporated by reference into, and form part of, both the Merchant Account Agreement and the Customer Account Agreement. By being a merchant or a customer on BrainyMart, you agree to these Review Terms.
2. Who operates the RMS
The RMS is run by BrainyMart (the mall) to serve all merchants and all customers. Reviews are administered centrally by BrainyMart, not by individual merchants.
3. Compliance with law
The RMS is designed to comply with applicable laws in the USA and Canada. BrainyMart takes reasonable steps to avoid spoof (fake) positive or negative reviews, to avoid slander, and to keep the review process fair and consistent. Review content must be lawful and truthful.
4. Who may leave a review
Only a customer who actually purchased the item may leave a review for that item. Reviews are tied to a purchase receipt and to the customer's account.
5. Starting a review
Customer reviews begin on the "Customer satisfaction" page for each store. The review captures:
- the purchase receipt number;
- the receipt date;
- the merchant (store) number;
- the client (customer) number;
- the full description of the item and its option;
- the delivery-when, delivery-how, pay-when, and pay-how details.
Each of these fields is data-filled and locked when known, so the review is anchored to the actual purchase.
6. Rating and feedback
The customer gives a rating from 0 to 5 stars, in 0.5-star increments, and may enter text explaining the rating.
7. One review per item per receipt
Feedback about a purchased item may be left only once for that item on each purchase receipt. Once a review for a given item and receipt has been accepted, a second review for the same item on the same receipt is not permitted.
8. When a review may be left (deemed receipt)
Feedback may not be left until the customer has actually received the item. The "deemed receipt" date depends on the delivery method:
- items shipped by mail or courier: the ship date plus 3 days;
- items picked up by the customer: the date the merchant made them available plus 1 day;
- items delivered by the merchant: the date delivered plus 1 day.
Normally the customer is sent an invitation email a few days after deemed receipt inviting them to leave feedback. The feedback window stays open for 6 months after that invitation.
9. Reviews cannot be changed after acceptance
A review cannot be changed by the customer after it has been accepted by the Reputation Management System. A review can never be changed by the merchant.
10. Merchant responses
A merchant may post a public response to a review — including a bad review — to give their side of the story. A merchant may never edit or delete a customer review.
11. What to do if you are unhappy with a review
If you are a merchant and you believe a review is unfair or violates these terms, you may:
- post a public response to the review; and
- contact BrainyMart admin to ask that the review be reviewed under the moderation rules below.
BrainyMart admin will decide whether the review should be blocked, modified, or deleted according to the moderation rules. Merchants cannot delete reviews themselves.
12. BrainyMart admin moderation
A review may be blocked, modified, or deleted by BrainyMart admin if it violates these terms, including when the review:
- is fraudulent or spoof (fake);
- is based on a significant misunderstanding;
- is part of a pattern of harassment unrelated to the specific item;
- uses offensive or unacceptable language.
13. When admin modifies a review
If BrainyMart admin modifies a review, the changed wording is sent back to the customer (the originator) for approval before it is accepted. While waiting for approval, the entire review is "pending": it is not included in the reputation score and is not visible to merchants or other customers.
14. Customer options when asked to rewrite a review
If a review is returned to you for approval, you may:
- accept the changed wording;
- provide new wording (only if BrainyMart admin has permitted it); or
- delete the review entirely.
The returned review is handled on the "Customer satisfaction" page under the store's domain.
15. Reputation score
Only published (accepted) reviews count toward a merchant's satisfaction score. Pending, blocked, and deleted reviews do not count.
16. Contact
Questions about these Review Terms can be sent via the Contact Us page.