Terms of Service
Last updated: 26 August 2026
§ 1 Scope
(1) These Terms of Service apply to the use of the Budborn platform (hereinafter "Platform").
(2) The Platform comprises a community platform for information exchange about cannabis cultivation and an integrated marketplace for the sale of goods (cannabis seeds, accessories, merchandise).
(3) By registering and using the platform, the user accepts these terms.
§ 2 Definitions
Operator: The service provider named in the Impressum who operates the Platform.
User: Any natural person who registers on the Platform.
Buyer: A user who orders goods via the Marketplace.
Seller: A commercial provider who offers and sells their own goods via the Marketplace.
Operator Shop: The shop operated by the Operator themselves on the Platform.
Third-Party Shop: A shop operated by an external commercial seller on the Platform.
§ 3 Access Requirements
(1) Use of the Platform is only permitted for persons who are at least 18 years old. By registering, the user confirms they are of legal age.
(2) False age information may result in immediate account suspension.
(3) Each user may only create one account.
§ 4 Platform Purpose & Cannabis Law
(1) Budborn is a community platform with an integrated marketplace. The community serves information exchange about cannabis cultivation. The marketplace enables the sale of permissible products by commercial providers.
(2) Each user and seller is solely responsible for complying with applicable laws, including the German Cannabis Consumer Act (KCanG) and Medical Cannabis Act (MedCanG).
(3) The Operator assumes no responsibility for the legality of individual offers in the respective jurisdictions of buyers.
§ 5 Role of the Platform
(1) Operator Shop: For orders placed in the Operator’s own shop, the purchase contract is concluded directly between the Buyer and the Operator. The Operator is the contractual partner with all associated obligations (warranty, withdrawal rights, shipping).
(2) Third-Party Shops: For orders placed in third-party shops, the purchase contract is concluded exclusively between the Buyer and the respective Seller. The Platform merely provides the technical infrastructure and acts as an intermediary. The Operator is not a contractual partner of these purchase contracts.
(3) Which shop is an Operator shop and which is a third-party shop is indicated on the respective shop page.
(4) For third-party shops, the respective seller’s own terms and withdrawal policy additionally apply, if provided.
§ 5a Editorial Content by the Operator
(1) Scope: In addition to sellers’ offers and user-generated content, the Operator also publishes its own editorial content — in particular educational and prevention pages, summaries of the legal situation, self-assessment tools and references to counselling services. § 25 applies to user-generated content, § 5 to sellers’ offers.
(2) Not medical advice: Health-related statements in editorial content are provided for information only. They do not constitute medical advice and are not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Any self-assessment offered is not a diagnostic procedure and does not replace professional assessment. The same standard applies as § 25 (2) sets for blog posts.
(3) Not legal advice: Summaries of legislation and administrative practice reflect the situation at the time of publication and do not constitute legal advice. Only the applicable statutory text is authoritative; legislation and case law may change.
(4) No promotion of consumption: Educational and prevention content serves harm reduction and the protection of third parties. It constitutes neither advertising for cannabis nor an encouragement to consume.
(5) External references: Editorial content links to third-party services such as counselling centres and official sources. The Operator does not adopt these external contents as its own; the disclaimer for links in the imprint applies. The same applies to embedded third-party map content.
(6) Maps and open data: Map displays are based on open geodata maintained by volunteers. Completeness and accuracy of individual entries are not warranted. A drawn zone is an approximation, not legal proof; the absence of a marking says nothing about whether consumption is permitted at that spot. Only the statutory text is authoritative.
(7) Respect zones: Institutions may voluntarily have themselves marked as a respect zone. Such a marking is a request for consideration and creates neither a prohibition nor any right beyond the statutory rules. It appears only once the institution itself has consented; a third party’s proposal is not sufficient. Consent may be withdrawn informally at any time, in which case the marking is removed. There is no entitlement to inclusion.
(8) Location display: On request the map can show your own location and point out when it lies within a recorded zone. That notice depends on the accuracy of your device and on the data described in paragraph 6; it is guidance, not binding information. The absence of a notice does not mean consumption is permitted at that spot.
§ 6 Seller Requirements
(1) Opening a shop on the Platform is only permitted for commercial providers with a valid business registration.
(2) The seller is obligated to provide complete and correct information in their shop settings: legal imprint, withdrawal policy, and optionally their own terms.
(3) The seller is independently responsible for compliance with all legal obligations (distance selling law, price indication regulations, packaging law, tax obligations, product-specific regulations).
(4) The Operator reserves the right to deactivate shops for violations of these terms or legal requirements.
§ 7 Permitted Products
(1) Only the following product categories may be offered on the Platform: cannabis seeds (subject to applicable laws), cultivation accessories and equipment, merchandise and lifestyle products.
(2) Expressly prohibited are: cannabis flowers, extracts or other THC-containing end products, illegal substances of any kind, weapons, tobacco, alcohol, products violating youth protection laws, counterfeit branded products.
(3) The Operator reserves the right to remove products that violate these provisions without stating reasons.
§ 8 Conclusion of Contract
(1) The display of products in the marketplace constitutes a binding offer as long as stock is available and the product is listed as "active".
(2) The buyer submits a binding declaration by placing an order ("Order with obligation to pay"). The purchase contract is concluded upon receipt of the order confirmation.
(3) The buyer’s contractual partner is either the Operator (§ 5 para. 1) or the respective third-party seller (§ 5 para. 2), depending on the shop.
§ 9 Prices & Payment
(1) All stated prices are in Euros and are final prices. The Operator is a small business under § 19 of the German VAT Act (UStG) and therefore does not charge VAT; it is not shown on invoices from the Operator’s shop. For third-party shops, VAT depends on the respective seller’s tax status and is shown on their invoice where applicable.
(2) Shipping costs are displayed separately before order completion.
(3) Depending on the shop, the following payment methods are available: PayPal, Klarna, Mollie, advance payment (bank transfer) and SEPA direct debit. Which methods are offered in an individual case is determined by the respective seller; the available options are shown to you during checkout. For PayPal, Klarna and Mollie, processing is handled by the respective payment provider, whose terms additionally apply.
(4) Advance payment: The invoice amount must be transferred within 7 days of the order to the account stated at checkout. Shipping takes place after receipt of payment. If payment is not received in time, the order may be cancelled.
(5) SEPA direct debit: By selecting this payment method you grant the seller a SEPA direct debit mandate. You will be notified in advance of the collection (pre-notification) at least 5 days before the debit date. You are entitled to request a refund within 8 weeks of the debit date; the terms agreed with your bank apply. If a chargeback occurs for reasons attributable to you, you bear the resulting bank charges.
(6) The Platform charges a sales commission per completed order. The amount is based on the current commission model and is displayed to the seller in their shop settings.
§ 10 Shipping & Delivery
(1) Shipping costs and delivery areas are determined by the respective seller and displayed on the product page and at checkout.
(2) Shipping is handled by the seller. Delivery time is indicated on the shop page. The seller is responsible for proper and timely delivery.
(3) For consumer contracts, risk of loss passes to the buyer upon delivery of the goods.
§ 11 Right of Withdrawal
(1) Consumers generally have a 14-day right of withdrawal for distance contracts pursuant to §§ 312g, 355 BGB. The full withdrawal policy is available here.
(2) For orders in the Operator Shop, the Operator is the contact for withdrawal.
(3) For orders in third-party shops, the right of withdrawal is governed by the respective seller’s withdrawal policy.
§ 12 Warranty
(1) Statutory warranty rights apply. For consumers, the limitation period for warranty claims is two years from delivery of the goods.
(2) Warranty claims are directed against the respective contractual partner (Operator or third-party seller as per § 5).
§ 13 Liability
(1) The Operator is fully liable for intent and gross negligence, as well as for damages resulting from injury to life, body, or health.
(2) For slight negligence, the Operator is only liable for breach of essential contractual obligations (cardinal duties), limited to foreseeable, contract-typical damages.
(3) The Operator assumes no liability for offers, products, and actions of third-party sellers, nor for the fulfillment of purchase contracts between buyers and third-party sellers.
(4) Liability limitations do not apply to claims under the Product Liability Act.
§ 14 User Conduct & Community Rules
The user agrees to:
• Not publish content that violates applicable law
• Not distribute instructions for illegal cultivation or procurement
• Not publish content targeting or endangering minors
• Not post offensive, discriminatory, or violence-glorifying content
• Not upload copyrighted content without authorization
• Not impersonate false identities
• Not manipulate ratings, XP, or ranking systems
• Not use automated access (bots, scrapers) without permission
§ 15 Content & Copyright
(1) Users retain copyright on their uploaded content. By uploading, the user grants the Platform a simple, non-exclusive, revocable right to display and promote the content within the Platform. This right expires upon deletion of the content or account.
(2) Sellers grant the Platform the right to display and promote product images and descriptions within the marketplace (e.g., featured listings, homepage).
§ 16 Review System
(1) Buyers can submit reviews after receiving an order. Reviews must be truthful, factual, and based on personal experience.
(2) Prohibited: False or misleading reviews, paid reviews, self-reviews, offensive content, reviews without actual purchase.
(3) The Operator reserves the right to remove reviews that violate these rules. A trust score is calculated based on verified reviews.
§ 17 XP System & Coupons
(1) Users can earn experience points (XP) through community activities. XP have no monetary value and cannot be paid out.
(2) XP can be converted into coupon codes redeemable as discounts at participating shops. The exchange rate is set by the Operator and may be adjusted at any time.
(3) XP coupons cannot be combined, are non-transferable, and have an expiration date.
(4) The Operator reserves the right to modify or discontinue the XP system at any time. There is no entitlement to redeem collected XP.
§ 17a Rankings & Podium Bonus
(1) The Operator publishes the following community rankings:
• Top Grow-Diaries (Seed2Smoke) — reactions + 5 × completed grows + 25 × „Grow of the Month" titles
• Top Buds (Rate my Bud) — upvotes − downvotes on your own uploads
• Top RootsBorn Activist — trees × 10 + meadows × 15 + trash × 3 + cache finds × 1 (verified actions only)
• Top Reviewer (Marketplace) — helpful clicks + substantial published reviews × 3
• Top Mythbuster — myth proposals accepted by moderation × 25
• Top Breeder (Breeding lab, verified breeders only) — followers + keeper votes × 2 + collaborators × 5 + keeper phenos × 10
• Top Trader (trade board) — avg rating × 20 + rating count × 2 (min. 3 ratings)
• Top Forum Poster — active days (substantial posts ≥ 200 chars only) + threads × 3 + accepted solutions × 20
• Top StrainBase Author — substantial strain entries × 5 + helpful clicks + verified purchases × 10
All rankings are visible to non-logged-in visitors as well.
(2) The order is formed by the fixed formulas listed under (1). Default window is 30 days for activity-based rankings; stock-based rankings (RootsBorn, Breeder, Trader, StrainBase Author) count the total. There is no paid placement, and farming shields are built in for every ranking (minimum thresholds, substance checks, moderator approval, BudGuard score).
(3) Whoever enters the Top 3 for one calendar day and was not on it before receives a one-off podium bonus in XP: 1st = 100, 2nd = 50, 3rd = 25. The bonus is awarded at most once per user, ranking and calendar month.
(4) Every user may pick one of their own images as a podium photo per ranking (menu „My Podium"). Without a pick the platform shows the user's top-voted own image.
(5) For the comparison with the previous day the platform stores a daily snapshot of the top-10 per ranking (user id, username, score, rank, date). Snapshots are deleted after 12 months at the latest; details are in the privacy notice.
(6) There is no entitlement to any particular rank or display. In cases of manipulation — such as multiple accounts, bought votes or invented activities — the Operator may exclude users from the ranking and revoke podium bonuses already awarded.
§ 18 Highlighted Products
(1) Sellers may have products displayed prominently. This is paid for exclusively in XP collected through activity on the Platform. Payment in euros is neither intended nor possible.
(2) Highlights are labelled as paid placement. They result in preferential sorting in the marketplace and shop views and inclusion in the "Highlighted Products" block on the homepage. Within that block there is no fixed ranking; the order is reshuffled each day. Duration and XP required are based on the model in effect at the time of booking.
(3) Booking does not guarantee any specific number of sales, clicks or impressions. XP spent are not refunded; in the event of technical platform failure the runtime is extended accordingly.
§ 18a Raffles and Giveaways
(1) Participation is free of charge. No payment and no use of XP or Green XP is required. Participation is not tied to any purchase.
(2) Eligible are registered users aged 18 or over residing in Germany. The operator as well as administrators and moderators of the Platform are excluded. This exclusion is checked when joining and again at the draw.
(3) At raffles, every participant receives one base entry. One further entry is added for each kind of contribution made during the period of the respective raffle — at most one per kind. The qualifying kinds are listed on the raffle page. Entries are determined at the time of the draw. At giveaways, every participant has exactly one chance; participation there may require a minimum level of activity, stated on the giveaway page.
(4) The draw takes place after the stated deadline among all valid entries using a cryptographically secure random generator. Each person can win at most one prize. Winners are notified via the Platform and by email and must claim the prize within 7 days of the draw. After this period the claim expires and the prize may be awarded otherwise.
(5) Prizes are not paid out in cash, exchanged or transferred. Shipping within Germany is at the operator's expense. Any taxes are borne by the winner.
(6) The operator may cancel or amend a raffle for good cause, in particular in the event of technical faults or attempted manipulation. As no stake was paid, no claim for reimbursement arises.
(7) In case of attempted manipulation — such as multiple accounts or faked contributions — the operator may exclude participants and revoke prizes already allocated.
(8) Recourse to the courts is excluded.
§ 19 Dispute System
(1) For problems with an order (e.g., non-delivery, damage, deviation from description), the buyer can open a dispute via the Platform.
(2) After a dispute is opened, the seller has the opportunity to respond and offer a resolution within a set deadline.
(3) If no agreement is reached, the Operator may intervene as mediator. The Operator’s decision is binding regarding platform usage but does not affect the parties’ legal rights.
(4) The dispute system does not replace legal recourse. Both parties may independently assert their legal claims.
§ 20 Suspension & Termination
(1) We reserve the right to suspend or delete user accounts and shops for violations of these terms or applicable law.
(2) Users can delete their own account at any time via Settings. Open orders must be completed first.
(3) When closing a shop, ongoing orders will still be processed. The seller remains obligated to fulfill existing contracts.
§ 21 Reporting Illegal Content (DSA)
(1) In accordance with the Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065), we provide reporting mechanisms for illegal content. Users can report content using the "Report" button. Reporting is available for all user-generated content — uploads, comments, forum posts, grows, trade listings, StrainBase and RootsBorn entries, breeding projects, blog posts, shop products, mentor profiles and user profiles.
(2) Acknowledgement. Receipt of a report is confirmed without undue delay; the confirmation contains a case number and is available in your notifications.
(3) Review. We review reports in a timely, diligent, non-arbitrary and objective manner. Illegal content is removed once we obtain knowledge of it. We do not commit to a fixed processing deadline; the waiting time of the oldest pending report is monitored internally.
(4) Decision. The reporter is informed of the outcome. Where content is removed or restricted, or a warning is issued, the affected person receives a statement of reasons specifying the reported ground and the measure taken.
(5) Appeal. A decision may be appealed within days — via the objection form, which is reachable without signing in, or informally by email to kontakt@budborn.com. This applies not only to reports but to every measure under these terms: warnings, removal of content, suspension of an account or a shop, and automated measures. Receipt is confirmed with a case number; the outcome is communicated with reasons. Appeals are decided by a person not involved in the original decision. This is without prejudice to out-of-court dispute settlement under Art. 21 DSA and to judicial remedies.
(6) Misuse. Repeatedly submitting manifestly unfounded reports may lead to a temporary suspension of the reporting function for the user concerned (Art. 23(2) DSA). The number of reports per user is limited.
(7) Transparency. Content-moderation metrics under Art. 15 DSA are published annually at Transparency report. Each report is frozen on 1 January for the preceding calendar year and is not modified thereafter.
§ 22 Data Protection
Please refer to our Privacy Policy for details on the collection and processing of personal data.
§ 23 Applicable Law & Jurisdiction
(1) German law applies, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).
(2) For disputes with merchants, the place of jurisdiction is the registered office of the Operator, as far as legally permissible. For consumers, statutory jurisdiction rules apply.
§ 24 Severability Clause
Should any provision of these terms be or become invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions shall not be affected. In place of the invalid provision, a regulation that comes closest to the economic purpose of the invalid provision shall apply.
§ 25 Blog & User-Generated Content
(1) Blogger Role: Writing blog posts requires activation of the Blogger role by an administrator. There is no entitlement to being granted the Blogger role. The Operator may revoke the Blogger role at any time and without stating reasons, particularly in case of repeated violations of these rules or inactivity.
(2) Content Rules for Blog Posts: In addition to the general rules of conduct (§ 14), the following provisions apply to blog posts:
• Medical statements or health tips must include a clear disclaimer that they do not constitute medical advice and are no substitute for professional medical consultation.
• Content must not violate applicable law, in particular must not contain instructions for illegal cultivation, acquisition, or consumption of cannabis.
• Copyrighted third-party content (texts, images, graphics) may only be used with appropriate authorization or in compliance with statutory limitation provisions. Source attribution is mandatory.
• Promotional content and affiliate links are only permitted with prior approval from the Operator.
• Hate speech, discrimination, glorification of violence, and political extremism are prohibited.
(3) Archiving and Deletion: The Operator reserves the right to archive, edit, or delete blog posts without prior notice, particularly when they violate content rules, are legally questionable, or must be removed following official orders. In case of serious violations, deletion may occur without prior notification.
(4) Revocation of Blogger Role: The Blogger role may be revoked in case of:
• Repeated violations of content rules (para. 2)
• Publication of illegal content
• Manipulation of the XP system through blog activities
• Extended inactivity (no new post for over 12 months)
• At the user’s request
Revocation of the Blogger role does not affect existing blog posts, provided they do not violate the content rules.
(5) Comments on Blog Posts: Comments on blog posts are subject to the general community guidelines (§ 14). In particular, comments must be factual and respectful. Spam, insults, off-topic content, and illegal statements will be removed. Blog authors may moderate comments on their posts.