Frequently Asked Questions

Artos is Kingdom First Commerce: a curated marketplace where anyone can buy products from trusted Eastern Orthodox Christian sellers. Every purchase supports Orthodox makers, businesses, families, parishes, and monasteries.

No. Anyone can shop on Artos. The Guild requirements apply to sellers, not buyers. Artos shops are operated by eligible Orthodox makers, businesses, parishes, monasteries, and other organizations.

Icons, books, incense, liturgical items, handmade goods, food, gifts, everyday essentials, and digital downloads. Browse by category, search for specific items, or follow your favorite shops.

Start with this FAQ, visit our contact page, or open a support request when signed in. You can also message sellers directly about specific orders.

No. You can browse, add items to your cart, and check out as a guest. Enter your email address at checkout, or sign in to use your saved account details.

Sign in to save products to wishlists or save shops to revisit later. Create multiple product lists, organize items, and share public wishlists with friends and family.

After payment, signed-in buyers can find their files in Account → Downloads. Guest buyers can download files from the secure order link sent by email. To add guest purchases to your account, sign in or create an account and verify the same email address used at checkout.

Yes. Sign in to message sellers about products or orders. Conversations are saved in your account. If you checked out as a guest, use a verified account with the same checkout email to access your order and message the seller.

In your Account area, you can track orders, manage addresses, view downloads and messages, and adjust profile and notification settings. Guest buyers can view their order through the secure link sent by email. Payment settings manage cards for platform billing and fees.

Review the return policy on the product listing before buying. Contact the seller first if something goes wrong. If needed, sign in to open a dispute from your order page, or contact support. Guest buyers can access these account tools by verifying the same email used at checkout. Digital sales are ordinarily final once accessed or downloaded, unless the seller agrees otherwise or applicable law requires a remedy.

Applicants must be at least 18 and baptized or chrismated Eastern Orthodox Christians in good standing. Businesses, parishes, monasteries, and other organizations apply through an eligible authorized representative. The Guild reviews the parish and priest information supplied by the applicant. Admitted members may operate shops in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.

Create an Artos account and begin the Guild membership application from your account. You’ll provide your Orthodox affiliation, agree to the Guild Bylaws, consent to the required religious-data processing, and describe the shop you propose to operate. If admitted, complete payout and storefront setup before opening your shop. You are responsible for filing and remitting any sales tax you collect.

Complete payment setup, Guild eligibility verification, and the required storefront details in Dashboard → Setup, and confirm that you file and remit the sales tax you collect, to activate your shop. Stripe Tax is optional: it collects tax at checkout, and you still file and remit it. Before publishing products, configure the shipping or fulfillment options those products need.

For most sellers, Artos charges a 10% Artos fee on the pre-tax sale amount, including shipping and any collected import duties. There are no listing fees and no required monthly plan for the base marketplace. Shop Builder is optional at $27/month or $270/year in USD, and Email Marketing is a separate product at $12/month or $120/year in USD. Both start with a 30-day free trial. Annual billing is one upfront yearly charge. Verified custom-domain orders have a 5% Artos fee. Stripe payment-processing fees are separate, and currency-conversion fees can also apply to cross-currency sales. Share & Save links and other eligible programs may reduce your Artos fee further.

Share tracked links for your shop and products. When buyers purchase through those links, eligible orders can receive a reduced Artos fee. This rewards sellers who bring trusted buyers into the marketplace.

Shop Builder gives your Artos shop an independent storefront on your own domain. You can visually arrange sections, choose layouts and branding, publish pages and blog content, connect consent-aware Google Analytics and Meta Pixel tracking, and use an automatic Google-compatible product feed without writing code. The feed is for your own custom-domain Merchant Center setup; Artos marketplace listings remain in Artos’s separate marketplace feed. Email Marketing is a separate subscription. Shopify and Etsy migration, exports, multiple inventory locations, ShipStation, and gift cards are core seller tools with no feature subscription.

Connect your bank account through Stripe during setup. Payout timing depends on your payout schedule, available balance, and account status. Review balances and payouts in Dashboard → Finance.

Dashboard → Finance shows your balance, payout history, tax reports, and important documents so you can track earnings and stay organized for tax season.

Physical items such as icons, books, liturgical supplies, handmade goods, food, gifts, and everyday essentials. Digital downloads like e-books and printables are supported too. Products should be Orthodox-made or otherwise fit Artos marketplace standards and the life of the Church.

No. The primary product must not be AI-generated, including artwork, icons, writing, audio, video, and digital downloads. Limited AI assistance for incidental content, such as descriptions, packaging mockups, or ebook covers, may be allowed for lawful, human-made products. It must not mislead buyers, infringe intellectual property rights, or involve Orthodox liturgical, iconographic, devotional, or sacramental subject matter.

Upload files to your digital product listings. You can attach different files to different variants, such as formats. After payment, buyers download them from their account or secure guest order link. No shipping is required.

Go to Dashboard → Products. Add photos, write descriptions, set prices, manage inventory, and create variants (like sizes or colors). You can save drafts and publish when ready.

Eligible sellers can offer fine art prints, posters, framed prints, canvas, ceramic mugs, T-shirts, sweatshirts, stickers, cards, notebooks, badges, hardcover books, softcover books, and magazines. Create the physical product, then open its Fulfillment tab to select the Prodigi item, upload production artwork, and enable print on demand. Artos automatically sends paid orders to Prodigi for white-label printing and shipping while the Artos shop remains the customer-facing seller.

At checkout, Artos obtains a destination-specific supplier quote and withholds the quoted production and shipping cost plus a reserve from seller proceeds: 15% for US destinations and 5% elsewhere. The US reserve accounts for supplier sales tax missing from the quote as well as cost changes; it is not a tax rate or an extra buyer charge. Unused funding is credited to the seller’s supplier balance when the actual charge is reconciled. If the final cost exceeds the funding, Artos records the difference and may recover it from future proceeds or pause new print-on-demand orders until it is resolved.

Shipping profiles define rates and delivery options for products you ship yourself. You set the prices buyers pay, per item, by total weight, or by order subtotal. Entering package weight and dimensions does not generate live postage quotes; weight-based shipping selects a price from the ranges you configure. Prodigi print-on-demand products do not need a shipping profile; their live rates and optional seller-funded shipping are managed separately. Create ordinary profiles in Dashboard → Settings → Shipping.

Open Dashboard → Orders. For items you ship yourself, pack and ship them, then mark them shipped and add tracking if available. Use the pickup or delivery actions for local orders. Digital files become available after payment, and Artos print-on-demand items are sent to Prodigi automatically when ready for fulfillment.

Contact the buyer promptly through order messaging, or email them if they checked out as a guest. Use the order page to refund a paid order or cancel a preorder as appropriate. Contact support if you need help.

Set your default return policy in Dashboard → Settings → Shop. Individual products can have their own policy or final-sale terms. Coordinate returns with the buyer and process eligible refunds from the order page. Applicable consumer rights still apply.

Manage orders, products, and inventory. Message buyers, handle reviews, and resolve disputes. Track finances, use Share & Save links, and customize your shop settings. Some features unlock after you complete setup.

Go to Dashboard → Settings → Shop, enable Vacation Mode, optionally add a message, and save your changes. Customers can still browse a visible shop but cannot place new orders until you turn Vacation Mode off. Existing orders still need to be fulfilled.

Yes, in Dashboard → Settings → Shop. Note: Your shop URL will not change automatically.

Yes. Artos supports delivery to the US, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and supported European countries. Configure international destinations and rates in Dashboard → Settings → Shipping. Availability depends on the product, fulfillment method, and delivery address. Buyers can use automatic currency selection or choose a supported currency.

Artos handles applicable sales tax for orders in its marketplace-facilitator jurisdictions. Elsewhere, sellers remain responsible for any applicable registration, collection, filing, and remittance obligations. Optional Stripe Tax setup calculates and collects tax at checkout where you are registered. That tax is paid out to you, and you file and remit it; Stripe Tax does not handle your registrations, filing or remittance. Review seller-managed taxes in Dashboard → Finance → Tax Reports and confirm your obligations with the relevant tax authority or a tax professional.

No, except in states where Artos is the marketplace facilitator; there Artos collects and remits the tax and it is not paid out to you. Everywhere else, sales tax that Stripe Tax collects through your own Stripe account is paid out to you with your sales. Neither Stripe nor Artos files returns or remits that tax for you: you are responsible for filing and remitting it to each state where you have an obligation.

It depends on where your business operates, what you sell, your sales activity, and marketplace-facilitator rules. Selling through Artos does not automatically mean you must register everywhere you have buyers. Check the relevant tax authority or a tax professional before registering or collecting tax.

Check the rules where your business, inventory, and customers are located. Physical presence, sales thresholds, and marketplace-facilitator rules can affect registration. Artos tax reports show seller-managed tax activity, not a complete registration assessment. Confirm your requirements with the relevant tax authority or a tax professional.

File with the tax authorities where you have a filing obligation. Dashboard → Finance → Tax Reports shows seller-managed tax totals separately from excluded platform-managed taxes. Marketplace sales may still need to be reported even when Artos remits the tax. Confirm filing requirements and deadlines with the relevant authority or a tax professional.

If you fail to collect tax you are legally responsible for, you may owe the tax plus penalties and interest. This is different from sales where Artos is responsible for collecting and remitting tax. Keep required registrations and tax settings current, and get advice if you are unsure of your obligations.