Storage Terms of Service

1. Storage Services

Sterling Sire Storage ("SSS," "we," "our") provides cold storage of livestock semen and embryo specimens in liquid nitrogen at our facility. By agreeing to these terms, you ("Customer") acknowledge and accept the following conditions governing the storage of your specimens.

2. Inventory & Specimen Handling

• All inventory is measured in straws (both semen and embryo specimens).
• Straws are organized into canes (up to 10 straws per cane). Straws from different inventory lots cannot share a cane.
• SSS administers all inventory deposits, discards, adjustments, and transfers. Changes are recorded in an immutable transaction ledger for audit purposes.
• Embryo specimens require direct coordination with SSS staff for any withdrawal and cannot be self-serviced through the customer portal.
• SSS exercises reasonable care in handling specimens but does not guarantee specimen viability, genetic integrity, or fertility at any point during or after storage.

3. Monthly Storage Fees

• Storage is billed monthly on the 1st of each month for the prior calendar month.
• The current storage rate is displayed in your account dashboard and is subject to change with 30 days' written notice.
• Billing is calculated using a daily average of stored units across the billing period, pro-rated for partial months.
• Billing begins immediately when inventory is deposited into storage and ceases when inventory is withdrawn, discarded, or transferred.
• Monthly invoices are generated and available through the customer portal.

4. Payment Authorization

• By creating an account, you authorize SSS to charge your stored payment method for monthly storage fees, withdrawal-related charges (shipping, deposits, handling, and processing fees), and any other fees described in these terms.
• You are responsible for maintaining a valid payment method on file at all times. Payment information is processed securely through Stripe and is never stored on SSS servers.
• If a payment fails, SSS will attempt to retry the charge. Continued failure to pay may result in suspension of portal access and/or storage services. SSS reserves the right to assess a $25 late payment fee per failed billing cycle after 15 days past due.

5. Inventory Transfers

• Inventory may be transferred between SSS customers at the request of the originating customer or SSS administration.
• Transfers have a 30-day acceptance window. If the recipient does not accept, the inventory is returned to the originating customer's account.
• During a pending transfer, the inventory is reserved and unavailable for withdrawal.
• Upon acceptance, the recipient assumes all billing responsibility for the transferred inventory going forward.

6. Limitation of Liability

• SSS provides storage services "as is" without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
• SSS maintains commercially reasonable environmental controls for specimen storage (liquid nitrogen) but is not liable for: specimen degradation, non-viability, or loss of genetic integrity; equipment malfunction beyond our reasonable control; acts of God, natural disasters, fire, flood, power outages, or other force majeure events; or consequences of specimen use after withdrawal (breeding outcomes, fertility results, etc.).
• SSS's total liability for any claim arising from storage services shall not exceed the total storage fees paid by the Customer in the 12 months preceding the claim.

7. Account Responsibilities

• You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activity under your account.
• You agree to provide accurate and complete information (name, email, phone, farm/business name) and to keep it current.
• You must verify your email address to activate your account.

8. Account Termination

• Either party may terminate the storage relationship with 30 days' written notice.
• Upon termination, the Customer must arrange withdrawal of all stored inventory within the notice period.
• Any inventory remaining after the notice period may, at SSS's discretion, be discarded after an additional 60-day grace period and written notification.
• Outstanding fees must be paid in full before inventory is released.

9. Rate Changes

• SSS reserves the right to adjust storage rates with 30 days' advance written notice (via email to the address on file).
• Continued use of storage services after the effective date of a rate change constitutes acceptance of the new rate.

10. Dispute Resolution

• Billing disputes must be raised within 60 days of the invoice date by contacting support@sterlingsire.com.
• The parties agree to attempt resolution through good-faith negotiation before pursuing other remedies.

11. Contact

For questions about these terms, please contact us at support@sterlingsire.com.