Question 1

What is Lumavel?

Accepted Answer

Lumavel is a people-first ecosystem focused on helping individuals, families, creators, and communities through practical tools, community spaces, and mission-driven projects.

Live today: Shopping Plaza (community-centered marketplace), Community Projects (Prayer Wall, Blessing Board, Glimmer Board), and creator tools (SEO, QR, printable generators). The marketplace is one path in Lumavel's broader people-first mission.

Question 2

Who runs Lumavel? Are you a big corporation?

Accepted Answer

Lumavel is operated by Lumavel LLC — an independent, family-rooted company in the United States, established in 2026. Tracy Oppermann founded Lumavel; his mother serves as Director of Operations, and the rest of the family is part of why the company exists.

When you buy from a Plaza shop or apply to sell, you are dealing with real people who answer email and care how the platform treats partners.

Question 3

Where is Lumavel located?

Accepted Answer

We are based in the United States and operate online at lumavel.co. We do not run a public walk-in retail store; Shopping Plaza shops are independent makers with their own shipping and policies.

Legal entity: Lumavel LLC. For formal contact, use the email on our Contact page.

Question 4

When was Lumavel founded?

Accepted Answer

Lumavel grew out of years of family projects — printables, community spaces, and partner tools. Shopping Plaza is one live path inside a larger mission. We are actively building in 2025–2026 with a long-term view, but we only call something live when you can use it today.

If you want the human story, visit About Us. If you want what we believe, read Who We Are at lumavel.co/stand.

Question 5

How does Lumavel make money?

Accepted Answer

On Shopping Plaza we earn a 3% platform maintenance fee on sales when Stripe Connect is set up (we only win when partners win). Founding Partners lock in 1.5% forever. Product listings are free. Lumavel credits pay for optional tools — Listing AI, Prism, QR analytics, SEO packs, and more.

Lumavel ecosystem tools (QR analytics, Prism downloads, and more) use one-time Lumavel credit packs — not subscriptions. Shopping Plaza checkout stays normal card payments like any marketplace. We do not sell your data. We do not run predatory ads on partner shops.

Question 6

How do I contact Lumavel?

Accepted Answer

Use the contact form at lumavel.co/contact for platform questions, applications, or partnerships. Messages go to our team internally.

For a specific order (tracking, damaged item, refund), contact the partner shop first — their email is on your receipt and shop page. Lumavel hosts the marketplace; each shop fulfills their own orders unless stated otherwise on the listing.

Question 7

Why did you build Shopping Plaza instead of just using Etsy?

Accepted Answer

Because too many creators are tired of rising fees, mystery algorithms, and platforms that treat shops like ad inventory. We wanted a place where a mom making candles or a dad printing shirts keeps more of each sale and owns the customer relationship.

Every partner completes a human-reviewed application to verify identity, protect buyers, and uphold community values. We grow with partners we are proud to stand behind.

Question 8

Is Lumavel a "faith-based" company?

Accepted Answer

Lumavel is a Christian company founded on Christian values of faith, service, integrity, compassion, stewardship, and community. While our faith shapes who we are, we welcome people of all backgrounds, beliefs, and walks of life. You do not have to share our faith to participate, belong, or build alongside us.

Shop applications ask how your goals align with Lumavel values (people first, no exploitation, sustainable success). That is about fit and trust.

Question 9

What is "Who We Are"?

Accepted Answer

Who We Are is our public statement of what we refuse to compromise on: fix what is broken, heal what is hurtful, keep promises, and build technology that serves humans instead of farming them.

It is the moral backbone behind Lumavel, separate from day-to-day FAQ mechanics. Read it at lumavel.co/stand.

Question 10

Why do partners apply before opening a shop?

Accepted Answer

Applications verify identity, business legitimacy, and alignment with community values. That protects buyers and serious partners and upholds community trust.

Apply at lumavel.co/lumavelshoppingplaza/apply. Every application follows the same inclusive process and is reviewed manually by a Lumavel moderator. You need a free Lumavel account to submit. If a shop is not the right fit, we decline politely and explain our faith and family reasons — we do not publish a pre-approval blacklist of product types.

Question 11

What is Lumavel Shopping Plaza?

Accepted Answer

Shopping Plaza is our handmade-focused online marketplace. Each approved partner gets a shop page at lumavel.co/lumavelshoppingplaza/your-shop-name with products, optional blog posts, policies, and checkout powered by Stripe.

Think of it as your booth in a shared hall — you control your brand, prices, and customer emails; Lumavel provides the building, tools, and fair fee structure.

Question 12

What is the difference between Shopping Plaza and Emporium?

Accepted Answer

Shopping Plaza is for independent partner shops (like Etsy shops). Emporium is Lumavel's own product lines and print-on-demand catalog — Lumavel as the merchant.

If you bought from a named shop page, that is Plaza. If you are browsing Lumavel-branded goods or POD templates, that is Emporium.

Question 13

How do I find shops and products?

Accepted Answer

Start at lumavel.co/lumavelshoppingplaza to browse the directory, featured shops, and search. Each shop has its own URL you can bookmark or share.

Search looks across listings so you can find items without knowing the shop name first.

Question 14

How do I apply to sell?

Accepted Answer

Create a free Lumavel account, then complete the shop application at lumavel.co/lumavelshoppingplaza/apply. Tell us about your shop, how you found us, and how your work fits our values.

After approval you will get a welcome email with your shop link and steps to open the shop dashboard, customize your shop, connect Stripe for payouts, and list products.

Question 15

What is the Shopping Plaza platform fee?

Accepted Answer

When your shop has Stripe Connect active, Lumavel collects a 3% maintenance fee on the gross sale (item + shipping charged in checkout, before Stripe's own card processing). On a $50 sale that is about $1.50 to Lumavel — still well below platforms charging 6% or more.

Founding Partners (Founder Program entry tier) lock in 1.5% forever — about $0.75 on a $50 sale. Until Connect onboarding is finished, payments may temporarily flow through platform hold mode; finish Stripe setup in your dashboard so payouts land in your connected account and the fee splits correctly.

Question 16

Are there listing fees on Shopping Plaza?

Accepted Answer

No. Product listings are free on lumavel.co. Lumavel credits are optional and power Listing AI, Prism downloads, QR analytics, SEO packs, and other ecosystem tools — one universal balance across apps. Buy credit packs from your shop dashboard or /pricing; larger packs include bonus credits.

Question 17

How do I get paid on Shopping Plaza?

Accepted Answer

Buyers pay by card through Stripe Checkout. You connect your own Stripe account in the shop dashboard (Stripe Connect). Money flows to you according to Stripe's payout schedule minus Stripe processing and the Lumavel platform fee (6% standard; the first 25 approved independent shops lock in 3%; Founding Partners lock in 1.5%).

After Connect is complete, payouts flow to your Stripe account on Stripe's schedule. You are the merchant of record for your handmade sales.

Question 18

How do Lumavel referrals work?

Accepted Answer

Any signed-in Lumavel account — partner or customer — can refer at lumavel.co/refer. You get a personal link to share with makers and community members.

Partner Circle (while Founder Program is open): cash bounties when a referred shop passes curation and buys a Founder Pass ($5 / $15 / $40 by tier), paid via Venmo, Cash App, or Zelle after a 14-day hold — no Stripe Connect needed.

Town Hall (permanent): earn Citizen through Ambassador ranks by growing the community — stewardship, proposals, Community Project pipeline participation, Pioneers recognition, and Discord roles. Everyone can suggest; Patrons and Ambassadors help choose community missions. See /town-hall. No cash payout on this track.

Open your profile menu → Refer & grow Lumavel, or visit /refer while signed in.

Question 19

How does Founder Program governance work?

Accepted Answer

Founder tiers are participation, not gatekeeping. Anyone can suggest ideas for software and community missions.

Product voting: Patrons set strategic direction, Stewards prioritize features, Founding Partners align on final Plaza and partner-tool priorities.

Community Project Pipeline: Partners and Stewards endorse and refine mission initiatives (food drives, supply campaigns, cleanup, etc.); Patrons and Ambassadors hold the final vote on what Lumavel rallies behind.

Compare tiers at /lumavelshoppingplaza/founder-program. Town Hall referral ranks (Citizen → Ambassador) add proposals and stewardship — Ambassadors share community-project final votes with Patrons.

Question 20

What is a Pioneer Seller?

Accepted Answer

The first 25 external sellers approved through full onboarding become Pioneer Sellers (#1–#25): a public badge, a permanently locked 3% platform fee, and unlimited QR analytics forever. There is no date deadline; the offer ends when all 25 slots are assigned. Lumavel team shops do not consume these slots.

Pioneer Seller is separate from the Founder Program. Founding Partners lock in a 1.5% platform fee. Listings are free for every shop.

Every approved shop also receives $5 in credits at approval, $25 in credits after the first sale, one free QR analytics slot (Pioneers get unlimited instead), and the standard referral program.

Question 21

Can I customize my shop page?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Upload a banner and logo, add a short tagline under your shop name, and set contact and policy details in Setup & policies. Your creator profile page covers your longer story, photos, and social links.

Go to Shop dashboard → Customize storefront after approval.

Question 22

Can I offer discount codes?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Partners can create percentage, fixed amount, free shipping, or BOGO-style codes with optional usage limits from the dashboard Discounts section.

Codes apply at Stripe checkout on your listings.

Question 23

Does Lumavel include email marketing?

Accepted Answer

Plaza partners get tools to collect buyer emails (with opt-in at checkout), send campaigns, and recover abandoned carts. You own the list for your shop — export and use it responsibly per our policies and applicable law (CAN-SPAM, etc.).

Question 24

How do I buy something on Lumavel Shopping Plaza?

Accepted Answer

Open a product page, add to cart or buy now, and pay securely through Stripe. You will receive a confirmation email when the shop's checkout completes.

Shipping and returns follow each shop's policies — read the shop Policies section before you order.

Question 25

Who ships my order?

Accepted Answer

The individual shop ships (or fulfills digitally) unless the listing clearly says otherwise. Lumavel provides the marketplace; partners handle fulfillment, tracking, and customer service for their goods.

Question 26

How do returns and refunds work?

Accepted Answer

Each shop sets its own return policy on its Policies page. Contact the shop through the email on your receipt for damaged items, wrong sizes, or refunds.

If you cannot reach the shop, contact Lumavel support and we will help route the issue — but the shop is responsible for their goods in most cases.

Question 27

Can I leave a review?

Accepted Answer

Where reviews are enabled on a listing, verified buyers can rate and comment. Shop owners may respond publicly. Reviews help the community trust handmade shops.

Question 28

What are Lumavel QR tools?

Accepted Answer

We give partners free QR code generation for shop links, product links, or any URL you choose. Print them on business cards, table tents, packaging, or show posters so in-person customers can jump straight to your online shop.

Access QR tools from the public lumavel.co/qr hub or from your Plaza shop dashboard.

Question 29

How does a Lumavel QR code work when someone scans it?

Accepted Answer

Scanning opens the destination you encoded — usually your Plaza shop or a product page. Lumavel-hosted short links can route through our redirect service so you can change the destination later without reprinting (when using dynamic codes from your account).

Basic scan counts may show on free codes. Deeper analytics are optional (see next question).

Question 30

What are QR analytics slots?

Accepted Answer

Analytics slots let you turn on detailed tracking per saved QR code: scan counts over time, geographic area (when available), device type, and a per-code analytics view in your dashboard.

Each code with analytics turned on uses one slot. QR generation stays free; unlock slots individually with Lumavel credits in your dashboard (from 50 credits per slot, with 5- and 10-slot volume options). No subscription.

Question 31

What data do QR analytics collect?

Accepted Answer

We record scan events — timestamp, which code was hit, and technical info like browser/device type and coarse location derived from the network (not GPS from your phone camera). We use this so partners know whether a flyer at a craft fair actually drove traffic.

We do not sell scan data to ad brokers. Use analytics to improve your marketing, not to spy on individuals.

Question 32

Are QR codes included for Plaza partners?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Approved partners get 1 free QR analytics slot when their shop is approved, plus unlimited code generation from Tools → QR codes in the seller dashboard (lumavel.co/qr/dashboard). Pioneer Sellers (#1–#25) get unlimited analytics on every code forever. Everyone else can unlock more slots with Lumavel credits from the QR dashboard.

Question 33

What SEO tools does Lumavel offer?

Accepted Answer

Plaza shops get SEO-friendly URLs, structured data, sitemaps, per-shop blogs, and keyword suggestions in the shop SEO dashboard. The broader lumavel.co/seo app helps audit sites — crawl issues, indexability, metadata — for creators who want to improve search visibility.

SEO is a long game: good photos, clear titles, honest descriptions, and regular blog posts beat tricking an algorithm.

Question 34

How does the shop blog help SEO?

Accepted Answer

Each partner can publish blog posts on their shop subdomain path. Posts create extra indexable pages linking to your products — great for storytelling, tutorials, and seasonal keywords.

RSS feeds are available for readers and tools that follow your shop.

Question 35

Where do I get help with Lumavel SEO?

Accepted Answer

Use lumavel.co/seo for free PageSpeed audits and indexability checks. Saved runs appear on your SEO dashboard when you are signed in.

For Shopping Plaza SEO, billing, QR, generators, and everything else in the ecosystem, use this site-wide FAQ at lumavel.co/faq — one organized place for all products.

Question 36

What is Prism?

Accepted Answer

Prism is Lumavel's digital library — PDFs, printables, and creative assets we produce or license for partners and customers. It supports the ecosystem but is not our main marketplace.

Shopping Plaza is one revenue path in the ecosystem; Prism is a growing digital archive — separate lanes, same people-first mission.

Question 37

Should I sell on Prism or Shopping Plaza?

Accepted Answer

If you sell physical handmade goods or your own shipped products, Shopping Plaza is the right home. Prism is for browsing Lumavel-made or licensed digital goods; partner-uploaded digital marketplaces are not the current focus.

Plaza partners can still use Prism resources where offered as part of the ecosystem.

Question 38

How do Prism downloads work?

Accepted Answer

Prism is Lumavel's digital archive — printables and assets priced in Lumavel credits per item (free items stay free). Credits are the same universal balance used for Listing AI, QR analytics, SEO site packs, and more. Plaza product listings are free.

Buy credit packs on the Pricing page. Prism uses Lumavel credits per download — not bundled with other products.

Question 39

What happened to the Printable Generator Suite?

Accepted Answer

The public Generator Suite on lumavel.co has been sunset. Those printable engines now live as proprietary Lumavel software inside the 3 C Creative book builder for producing books for 3CL Interactive — they are no longer offered as a public website product.

For free business tools on the site, use the Business Toolkit at /business/tools. For shopping and selling, use the Shopping Plaza.

Question 40

What are Lumavel portfolios?

Accepted Answer

Portfolio pages at lumavel.co/portfolio showcase creators (artists, authors, etc.) with a Lumavel-hosted presence. They are separate from Shopping Plaza shops but share the same design values.

For commerce-specific needs, apply for a Plaza shop; for a personal creative hub, explore portfolio hosting via our portfolio inquiry flow.

Question 41

What is custom print / print-on-demand?

Accepted Answer

Custom print lets you upload a design and order Lumavel-fulfilled merchandise (like tees) through our POD partners. It is Lumavel as merchant, similar to Emporium physical goods — not your independent Plaza shop unless you list your own products there.

Question 42

What is the Explore page?

Accepted Answer

Explore is the curated index of active lumavel.co routes — Shopping Plaza, Prism, generators, QR, SEO, and company pages.

If a link redirects you to Plaza or About, that experiment is archived in favor of our current focus.

Question 43

Is it safe to pay on Lumavel?

Accepted Answer

Checkout uses Stripe, a major payment processor used worldwide. We do not store your full card number on Lumavel servers.

Look for HTTPS and Stripe branding on checkout. If anything feels wrong, stop and contact us.

Question 44

How do you handle my personal data?

Accepted Answer

Read our Privacy Policy and Policy & Trust pages for details. Short version: we collect what we need to run accounts, shops, and orders; we do not sell personal data to ad networks.

Shops receive fulfillment contact info for orders they fulfill. Promotional email lists are separate — buyers must opt in per shop at checkout.

Question 45

Why do I need a Lumavel account?

Accepted Answer

Accounts (powered by Clerk) let you apply to sell, manage a shop, save QR codes, and sign in across tools. Buyers can often checkout as guests for small purchases, but partners must sign in with the email they used to apply.

Question 46

How do I report a shop or listing that violates policy?

Accepted Answer

Use the in-site report form at lumavel.co/lumavelshoppingplaza/report. Paste the shop link, optional listing link, and describe what is wrong (counterfeit, hate, illegal goods, etc.). Reports are saved to our moderation queue and reviewed in the admin portal — we take acceptable use seriously.

Question 47

I did not find my answer here — what now?

Accepted Answer

Use lumavel.co/contact for general questions, or lumavel.co/lumavelshoppingplaza/report if a shop or listing breaks policy. Everything routes to our team internally.

For order-specific issues, always try the shop first — they know your package.

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