Terms of service

VERSION 3.1 · EFFECTIVE 2026-04-01 · LAST UPDATED 2026-04-15

TL;DR

Vulmont runs a sealed-bid marketplace. By using it, you agree to bid honestly, honor awarded contracts, and accept that sealed bids are binding once submitted (you can withdraw or edit only within posted windows). We provide the platform; the contract for the actual materials is between you and your counterparty. Read the rest if you're using this professionally — you should be.

1. Scope & acceptance

These terms govern your use of Vulmont. By creating an account, posting an RFQ, submitting a bid, or otherwise interacting with the platform, you accept these terms. If you're using Vulmont on behalf of a company, you represent that you have authority to bind the company.

2. Your account

You're responsible for keeping your credentials secure and for all activity under your account. You may not share login credentials. Org owners may invite, remove, or change roles for members of their org. We may suspend or terminate accounts for material breach (see §6 and §10).

3. Sealed bidding mechanics

This is the section that matters. By posting an RFQ or submitting a bid you accept:

  • Sealed values are binding within the bid window. Once submitted, a bid cannot be retracted before the close time except via the explicit Withdraw flow, which is logged and visible to the buyer.
  • Edits are allowed only within the posted edit window (set by the buyer; default 50% of the bid window). After that, your bid is locked.
  • Awards are final on confirmation. When a buyer awards, both parties enter a binding agreement to transact at the awarded terms — subject to the supplier's standard contracting documents (PO, certs, etc.). Withdrawing after award is a material breach (see §6).
  • You will not coordinate, signal, or share bid information with peers with the intent to influence pricing. Doing so violates §6 and may be unlawful.
  • You will not attempt to circumvent the firewall — including by inferring sealed values, scraping, or pressuring counterparties to reveal information.

4. Fees & subscriptions

Suppliers pay subscription fees per the plan selected. Fees are billed monthly or annually in advance and are non-refundable except as required by law. We may change pricing on 60 days' notice. Buyers do not currently pay platform fees; this may change with 60 days' notice. Failed payments may result in suspension after a 14-day cure period.

5. Your content

You retain ownership of everything you upload (specs, documents, messages, certifications, images). You grant us a limited license to host, display, and transmit your content as needed to operate the platform. We may use de-identified, aggregated data to publish market statistics. We do not claim ownership of your bids, RFQs, or business data.

6. Prohibited conduct

You may not:

  • Submit fraudulent bids (bids you cannot or will not honor)
  • Coordinate bids with peers, share sealed-bid information, or otherwise undermine the firewall
  • Impersonate another entity or misrepresent your certifications, capacity, or insurance
  • Post RFQs you have no intent to award, including to harvest competitive intelligence
  • Scrape, reverse-engineer, or programmatically extract data outside the published API
  • Upload malware, attempt unauthorized access, or disrupt the service
  • Use Vulmont for transactions prohibited under applicable law (sanctions, money laundering, etc.)

7. Service availability

We work to keep the production app continuously available, but we do not currently offer a contractual uptime guarantee. Planned maintenance is announced in advance.

8. Warranties & disclaimers

EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY STATED, VULMONT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT BIDS WILL BE COMPETITIVE, AWARDS WILL BE PROFITABLE, OR THAT THE MARKET WILL BEHAVE PREDICTABLY.

9. Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, VULMONT'S AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE IS LIMITED TO THE GREATER OF (A) THE FEES YOU PAID US IN THE 12 MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM AROSE, OR (B) ONE THOUSAND USD ($1,000). IN NO EVENT WILL WE BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES.

10. Termination

You may close your account at any time via Account → Delete. We may suspend or terminate accounts that materially breach these terms, with notice and a cure period where reasonable. Open RFQs and bids at termination are wound down per posted process.

11. Disputes & arbitration

Disputes between you and Vulmont are resolved through binding arbitration in New York, NY under AAA Commercial Rules, governed by New York law. Disputes between buyers and suppliers about awarded transactions are not handled by us; we provide the audit trail and dispute filing UI but the underlying contract is between you. Class actions are waived to the extent permitted by law.

12. Miscellaneous

Severability, no waiver, no assignment without consent, entire agreement, force majeure, headings for convenience only. The standard close-of-doc plumbing.