Terms of Use

1. Who these terms are with

These Terms of Use (“Terms”) are the agreement between you and EarthIt for the EarthIt website and globe city-bidding service (the “Service”). EarthIt is the operator of the Service. By using EarthIt you accept these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

Contact EarthIt through the site. We do not list a postal address, company registration number, or a separate legal-entity name on this page.

2. The Service

EarthIt is a globe city-bidding site. Users bid in United States dollars (USD) to claim a city. The highest bid on each continent is shown as a pin listing on the 3D globe.

A listing may include:

• a title (EarthIt also derives a public handle from the title)
• an optional image
• an optional link
• optional context
• an optional email

Holding a city is not the same as appearing on the globe. Only the leading bid on a continent is pinned as that continent’s listing. Other city claims may still appear in boards and listing views.

A bid is not real estate, not a property right, not an investment, and not EarthIt’s endorsement of you, your city, or anything you promote.

3. Eligibility

You must be old enough to form a binding contract where you live, and you must not use the Service where it would be unlawful. You are responsible for the information you submit and for any bid placed from your device.

4. Bidding

Bids are in whole USD, starting at $1, and must be at least one dollar higher than the current bid on that city. Submitting a bid does not guarantee you will hold the city: someone else may outbid you, including while you are checking out.

EarthIt may refuse, reverse, or cancel a bid that appears unpaid, fraudulent, erroneous, or in breach of these Terms. Continent pins, city lists, and bid totals may lag or be corrected if a payment fails or is reversed.

5. Payments and Polar

Live payments go through Polar (Polar Software, Inc.), which is EarthIt’s merchant of record. You pay the bid amount on Polar’s checkout. EarthIt may send Polar your listing title, city, bid amount, and optional email so the payment can be completed. Card details are handled by Polar, not stored by EarthIt as a full card number.

Local demos without Polar keys may run a mock checkout that is not a real charge. earthit.cc does not use mock checkout.

6. No refunds once paid

Once a bid is paid, it is final. EarthIt does not refund bid amounts because you were later outbid, because your listing was removed or replaced, because you changed your mind, because the globe display changed, or because you dislike the result.

If Polar or a card issuer later reverses a charge (including a chargeback), EarthIt may remove or reverse the related listing and city claim. If checkout ran in mock mode and you were not actually charged, there is nothing to refund.

7. User-generated listings

Listings are user-generated. You grant EarthIt a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host, store, reproduce, display, and distribute your listing on the Service — including title, derived handle, image, link, context, optional email, city, bid amount, and timestamps — on the globe, pins, boards, and related views.

You represent that you have the rights to everything you submit and that it does not violate these Terms or the law.

If you provide an email on a listing, that email is public. Anyone who can see the listing can see it. Do not submit an address you want to keep private.

Listing images are stored on our servers and treated as public. Do not upload an image you do not have the right to use. You are responsible for any site you link to.

8. Prohibited content

You may not submit, host, or promote:

• illegal content or activity
• sexual content involving minors, or any child sexual abuse material — this is strictly prohibited, will be removed, and may be reported to authorities
• malware, exploits, phishing, or other harmful code or links
• impersonation of another person, brand, public official, or EarthIt
• spam, scams, or deceptive schemes
• content that infringes others’ intellectual property or privacy rights
• attempts to interfere with the Service, including payment bypass or bidding abuse

9. Removal and moderation

EarthIt may remove listings, withhold globe placement, block bids, or otherwise moderate the Service at any time, with or without notice — including for prohibited content, unpaid or reversed payments, or operational reasons. We are not obliged to keep a listing online merely because it was paid for.

10. Cookies and local storage

EarthIt uses cookies, local storage, and similar browser storage as needed to run the Service, including remembering the city you selected and any handle or similar preference stored on your device. Hosting and CDN providers, including Cloudflare, may also set cookies that are strictly necessary for security, performance, and routing. Details are in the Privacy Policy.

11. Hosting and other services

The Service is hosted on infrastructure that may include Cloudflare and other hosting providers. Payments are processed by Polar. Those providers handle data under their own terms. EarthIt is not responsible for third-party sites opened from a listing link.

12. Changes and availability

The Service is provided as available. Globe data, city lists, continent champions, and bid totals may be delayed, incomplete, or reset. EarthIt may change, suspend, or discontinue the Service, including bidding rules, at any time.

We may update these Terms. The “Last updated” date will change. Continued use after an update means you accept the revised Terms.

13. Disclaimers

The Service is provided “as is” and “as available,” without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement, to the fullest extent permitted by law. EarthIt does not warrant that a bid will succeed, that a listing will remain on the globe, or that the Service will be uninterrupted or error-free.

14. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, EarthIt is not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for lost profits, lost data, or lost bid amounts, arising from your use of the Service. EarthIt’s total liability for any claim relating to the Service is limited to the greater of (a) the amount you paid to EarthIt for the bid giving rise to the claim in the three months before the claim, or (b) ten US dollars (USD 10).

Some places do not allow certain limitations. In those places, our liability is limited to the fullest extent permitted. Nothing in these Terms limits rights you cannot waive under mandatory consumer law.

15. Contact

Questions about these Terms: contact EarthIt through the site. See also the Privacy Policy.