Terms of Service

These Terms govern your use of TCGTerminal. This is a working draft to be reviewed and finalized by counsel — including the governing-law and dispute-resolution sections — before the platform goes live. The binding version will be posted here with an effective date. Last updated: pre-launch.

1. Acceptance & eligibility

By creating an account or using TCGTerminal ("we", "the platform"), you agree to these Terms and our Privacy Policy. You must be at least 18 years old and able to form a binding contract. If you use the platform on behalf of a business, you represent that you're authorized to bind it.

2. What TCGTerminal is

TCGTerminal is a peer-to-peer marketplace where buyers and sellers trade physical Pokémon cards through a live bid/ask order book, with funds held in escrow until delivery. We are a venue and a payments facilitator (via Stripe) — not a broker-dealer, securities exchange, investment adviser, or investment product. Cards are collectibles, not securities, and nothing here is investment advice. Prices and any market data are informational and not guarantees of value.

3. Accounts

Keep your account information accurate and your credentials secure; you're responsible for activity under your account. Sellers must complete identity verification (KYC) through Stripe before listing or receiving payouts. We may refuse, suspend, or terminate accounts that violate these Terms or that we reasonably believe are engaged in fraud or abuse.

4. Buying & selling

• Sellers set their own prices; a trade clears when a bid and ask match. You can also buy multiple listings from one seller together in a single cart order.
• Fees: the seller pays 7% of the sale price (minimum $0.50). Buyers pay no marketplace fee — you pay exactly the listed price, plus any shipping the seller sets (one shipping charge per seller, which may be free above a threshold the seller chooses).
• Escrow: your payment is held until the card is delivered and you've had an inspection window to confirm it matches the listing.
• Payments, escrow, and payouts are processed by Stripe under its own terms; you authorize the resulting charges, holds, and transfers.

5. Seller obligations

• List only genuine cards you own and can ship, described accurately (condition, grade, authenticity).
• Ship on time (within the deadline shown on the order) with tracking, either directly to the buyer or into the Vault for fulfillment. Missing the deadline may cancel the order and refund the buyer.
• You warrant your cards are authentic. Counterfeit, altered, or misrepresented cards will be removed and may result in refunds to the buyer, withheld payouts, and account termination.
• You are responsible for any taxes on your sales.

6. Buyer protection, disputes & refunds

After delivery you have an inspection window to report a card that is not as described. Eligible disputes are reviewed and may result in a refund. Before a card ships, either party may cancel per the order's status. Refunds are returned to your original payment method. Once you accept a card or the inspection window closes, the sale is final and escrow releases to the seller.

7. The Vault (optional)

Sellers may consign cards into our Vault for authentication and fulfillment. Cards held in the Vault are in our custody until sold, shipped, or withdrawn. Vault services, custody, and any authentication are provided on a best-efforts basis and are subject to separate operational terms.

8. Prohibited conduct

Don't: list counterfeit, stolen, or misrepresented items; bid on or buy your own listings, or otherwise manipulate prices (shill bidding, wash trading); circumvent fees or take transactions off-platform to avoid buyer protection; abuse the order book, disputes, or refunds; scrape, overload, reverse-engineer, or attack the platform; or use it for any unlawful purpose.

9. Intellectual property

The TCGTerminal name, site, and software are ours or our licensors'. Card images and listing content belong to their respective owners; you grant us a license to display content you upload for the purpose of operating the marketplace. TCGTerminal is an independent marketplace and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Nintendo, The Pokémon Company, or Game Freak. Pokémon and all related names are trademarks of their respective owners.

10. Disclaimers & limitation of liability

The platform is provided "as is," without warranties of any kind, including as to a card's future value or resale price. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages, and our total liability for any claim is limited to the fees we earned on the transaction giving rise to it. Some jurisdictions don't allow certain limitations, so parts of this may not apply to you.

11. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify TCGTerminal against claims arising from your listings, your cards, your use of the platform, or your breach of these Terms.

12. Suspension & termination

You may close your account at any time. We may suspend or terminate access for violations of these Terms, fraud or abuse, or legal/risk reasons. Obligations tied to completed or in-flight transactions (payment, delivery, disputes) survive termination.

13. Governing law & disputes

[To be set by counsel — governing law, venue, and any arbitration/class-waiver terms.] Until finalized, disputes should be raised with us first via the contact channels below so we can try to resolve them.

14. Changes & contact

We may update these Terms; we'll post changes here with a new effective date, and continued use means you accept them. Questions? Reach us through the channels linked in the site footer.