Placement rules

How ranking works

There are five sponsor positions. Sponsors are ranked from highest to lowest bid. The highest bid is rank #1, and each following bid occupies the next available position. Ties break by earlier verified payment, then stable sponsor ID.

How to claim a position

1. Choose an available position or select a sponsor to outbid.
2. Enter company details and a bid that meets the minimum shown at checkout.
3. Complete payment through Dodo Payments hosted checkout.
4. Your placement becomes active only after the payment webhook is verified on our servers.

No account is required. If you are already on the board, enter the same site URL or X handle again with a higher total bid. Checkout charges only the difference from your current amount (minimum $1.00 payment).

Raising your existing placement

Example: you are on the board at $20 and you want your listing to show $30. Open the sponsor form again, use the same link or handle, set your bid to $30, and pay $10 at checkout. Your displayed total becomes $30 and your rank is recalculated when payment is confirmed.

Final rank is decided at payment confirmation. If someone else pays more while you are checking out, you may land lower than the rank you were aiming for.

Bid and replacement rules

• A bid must meet the current minimum for its selected rank (at least one cent above the incumbent when outbidding).
• Higher bids rank above lower bids automatically.
• When a new sponsor enters the top five, the lowest-ranked placement is removed from the active leaderboard.
• Payments are one-time sponsor placement payments; they do not create a recurring subscription.
• Sponsor bids and donations are subject to published minimum and maximum amounts at checkout.

Content and eligibility

Sponsor names, descriptions, destinations, and logos must be accurate and lawful. StayLokal may reject or remove content that is deceptive, illegal, harmful, infringing, or unrelated to a legitimate product or service.

• Destination links must be valid HTTPS URLs or supported social handles as shown in the form.
• Logos must be PNG, JPEG, or WebP and within the size limit shown in the sponsor flow.
• Do not upload another party's trademark or imagery without permission.

Payment and activation

Dodo Payments handles checkout and payment receipts. A browser return does not activate a placement by itself; activation occurs only after a verified payment event is received and processed.

Failed, disputed, or reversed payments may result in a listing not going live or being removed after review. StayLokal does not guarantee refunds for completed sponsor placements except where required by law or explicitly agreed in writing.

Charity pledge

StayLokal pledges that 50% of net amounts received from donations and sponsor placement payments will go to charitable causes. Nonprofit partners may change over time. If you know a charitable organization we should consider, please reach out on X (see contact below).

This pledge is a commitment of the project operator, not a separate legal entity or donor-advised fund. For how we handle personal data in payments, see our privacy policy.

No traffic guarantee

StayLokal does not guarantee traffic, conversions, clicks, or a specific number of impressions from a sponsor placement. Placements are visible on the public site when active; actual views depend on normal site usage.