1. ABOUT THE COMPANY
1.1 Thrifts.co.za is a virtual buying and selling portal (hereinafter the Portal), which allows logged-in users to buy and sell goods and services and open their own e-shop.
1.2 The portal is managed by Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd, registration number 2020/855103/07, 1c Raglan Street, Oakdale, Bellville, 7530, [email protected]
1.3 By registering as a user of the portal (hereinafter User), the User confirms that they have read and agree to the terms and conditions of this User Agreement (hereinafter the Terms and Conditions) and undertake to comply with them.
2. USER ACCOUNT
2.1 To use the Portal, the User must register and log in by using their Facebook or Google account.
2.2 The User keeps the data used for logging in to the Portal confidential and prevents them from becoming known to third parties.
2.3 The User is responsible for all activities that occur on a registered and logged-in user account. If there is any doubt about the misuse of the User’s account, a relevant notification must be sent immediately to the address [email protected]
3. HOW DOES THRIFTS WORK?
3.1 The portal allows:
3.1.1 Opening a web store on the Portal;
3.1.2 Selling goods and services on the Portal;
3.1.3 Browsing, saving to favorites, and buying products from other users;
3.1.4 Communicating with other portal users through private messages;
3.1.5 Sharing the ads of selling goods and services on various social media channels.
3.2 Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd provides the money deposit service for the performance of sales contracts concluded by the Users in which the Buyer transfers the money to the account of Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd when making a purchase either via an EFT Payment, by using a credit card or the Thrifts wallet balance.
3.3 It is only possible to make purchase and sales transactions in Rands on the Portal.
3.4 Description of the purchase/sales process:
3.4.1 The Buyer finds the product or service of interest and makes the payment through an EFT Payment, with a credit card or using the Thrifts wallet balance;
3.4.2 The money is transferred to the account of Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd;
3.4.3 The Seller sends the goods to the Buyer with Aramex Parcel or in another manner agreed upon between the Buyer and the Seller;
3.4.4 The Seller confirms the shipping or delivery of goods to the Buyer via the Portal;
3.4.5 The Buyer confirms the receipt of the goods through the Portal; the Buyer confirms that they are satisfied with the goods or services and agrees to release the money to the Seller’s Thrifts wallet.
3.4.6 Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd releases the payment to the Seller’s Thrifts wallet and the sales transaction is deemed to be completed.
3.4.7 In order to transfer the money to a bank account, the Seller must initiate a payout by clicking on the 'Payout to bank account' button. After the payout has been initiated, Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd will make the transfer to the Seller's bank account in 1-3 business days provided that the banking details are correct.
4. SERVICE FEES
4.1 User pays a commission fee of 10% calculated from the total price paid by the Buyer (including delivery);
4.1.1 Opening a shop and adding items to the Portal is free;
4.1.2 If the user cancels the order after the payment, then Thrifts has the right to deduct the commission fee from the user's account before payout;
4.1.2.1 If the user cancels the order in accordance with 8.1.1 (Buyer has the right to return the item) then Thrifts does not deduct the commission fee from the user's account.
4.2 The Seller chooses shipping service provider(s) when listing items to the Portal.
5. TRANSACTION SECURITY
5.1 In order to protect the interests of the Users of the Portal, the entire sales process must take place in the Portal environment. The Buyer must use only the payment methods and methods of transportation provided in the Terms and Conditions. The Buyer can pay for the goods with an EFT payment, using a credit card/debit card or the Thrifts wallet balance.
5.2 The Portal protects both the Buyer and Seller from potential fraud as follows:
5.2.1 After the purchase is made, the amount paid for the product or service is deposited on the account of Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd until the Seller has confirmed the shipping or delivery of the goods by clicking the ‘Item transferred’ button in that order.
5.2.2 After the goods have been shipped or the service has been provided, Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd will wait for the Buyer to confirm the receipt of the goods.
5.2.3 If the Buyer has confirmed the receipt of the goods by clicking on the ‘Item received’ button in the corresponding order, Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd will release the amount paid for the goods or service to the Seller’s Thrifts wallet.
5.3 In order to avoid any disagreement between Buyer and Seller, we encourage the Seller and Buyer to communicate with each other on the Portal, and before making a purchase, make all relevant queries about the goods or services and answer them.
6. DEADLINES FOR SHIPPING AND RECEIVING GOODS AND TRANSFERRING MONEY
6.1 The Seller has up to 7 days from the receipt of the purchase order to ship the goods. In order to confirm the shipping of the goods, the Seller of the goods has to click on the ‘Item transferred’ button in that order.
6.2 The Buyer has up to 10 working days after receiving the notification of the shipping of goods to confirm the receipt of the goods on the Portal. In order to confirm the receipt of the goods, the Buyer has to click on the ‘Item received’ button in that order.
6.3 Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd will release the payment made by the Buyer to Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd’s deposit into the Seller's Thrifts wallet right after the Buyer confirms the receipt of the goods or the provision of the service. The Seller can choose between using the money for future purchases on Thrifts or paying it out to the chosen bank account. The Seller can initiate a payout to the bank account by clicking on the 'Payout to bank account' button. The Seller enters the account details where they want the payment for the goods to be transferred in the Settings section on the Portal. Once the Seller has initiated a payout, Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd will transfer the money to the Seller within 1-3 working days.
6.4 If the Seller has not shipped the goods within 1 month from the receipt of the purchase order, indicating it by clicking the ‘Item transferred’ button or the order has been in the "In-transit" status for over 1 month, then Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd has the right to cancel or complete the order respectively.
7. DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY
7.1 Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd is not the owner of the goods nor services sold on the Portal and does not participate in sales, purchases, or other transactions that occur between the Users of the Portal.
7.2 Sales agreements are concluded between the Users of the Portal without the representation and mediation of Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd. Users are fully responsible for the execution of their sales agreements.
7.3 Complaints, queries, and claims regarding the goods or services on the Platform must be submitted directly to the Seller by using the message system on the Portal. Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd is not responsible for resolving any differences between the parties to the sales transaction.
7.4 Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd does not expect nor ensure the guarantee of the goods or services sold and does not review nor check the quality of the goods or services sold or the compliance with the description entered by the User.
7.5 Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd is not liable for the truthfulness and lawfulness of the information published by the User on the Portal or for the User’s inappropriate or unlawful behavior.
8. RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF THE USER
8.1 The User confirms that they are a person with active and passive legal capacity who has the right to make the transactions provided on the Portal.
8.2 When using the Portal, the User undertakes to provide completely correct information, including true data on the quality and condition of the goods or services sold, as well as other details which may affect the Buyer’s decision to purchase a good or service.
8.3 To use the Portal, including to make sales transactions, the User undertakes to enter their valid e-mail address to the Portal and be available via e-mail.
8.4 The User undertakes to conduct only legal purchase and sales transactions through the Portal.
8.5 The User undertakes to ensure that their activities do not violate the property rights or moral rights (including intellectual property) of third parties.
8.6 The User undertakes to ensure that their activities comply with laws and other legislation, including legislation regulating consumer protection, competition, and export and import of goods/services.
8.7 The User undertakes to ensure that their activities are in accordance with good manners.
8.8. The User undertakes to ensure that the items uploaded to their shop are done so in accordance with the law and good practice. Prohibited items include:
8.8.1 Medicines, medical devices, and healthcare products
8.8.2 Motorised vehicles
8.8.3 Counterfeit items, replicas, and unauthorized copies
8.8.4 Drop-shipping
8.8.5 Food & drinks, including alcohol
8.8.6 Tobacco
8.8.7 Offensive material
8.8.8 Firearms, weapons, and military items
8.8.9 Adult only material and nudity
8.8.10 Advertisements
8.8.11 Vouchers, gift cards, digital and non-material goods
8.8.12 Drugs and drug paraphernalia
8.9 The User undertakes to ensure that the item description and the pictures of the item, uploaded to the user’s shops, do accurately describe the item. There should be no information that does not relate to the item on sale, this includes advertisement, spam hashtags, spam brands, spam text, directing conversation/sales outside of Thrifts, etc.
8.10 The User, in the role of a Seller, undertakes to ensure that the item fits the parcel of the delivery option made available for the Buyers (excl. bundling) and is safely packed. Taking full responsibility in case the item is broken in transit.
8.11 The User confirms that they are aware that the obligation to declare and pay taxes (including VAT and income tax) on all service transactions lies with the User.
8.12 The User confirms that they are aware of the fact that if third parties gain access to the User’s information technology equipment so that the user is logged into the Portal, third parties may assume obligations that are binding to the User and the performance of which is the responsibility of the User.
8.13 Users are responsible for the execution of their sales agreements. Complaints and queries related to the goods or services to be sold must be submitted directly to the Seller using the Portal’s messaging system.
8.14 When concluding a sales agreement, the Seller undertakes to take back the goods if the User (Buyer) who made the purchaser wishes to, within 7 days from the receipt of the goods, return the goods because the goods differ significantly from the description in the sales ad or from the photo of the product (see clause 10.2).
9. RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF Madondo Digital (PTY) LTD
9.1 Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd is justified, at its own choice, to restrict or revoke the User’s access to the Portal, including changing the information published by the User on the Portal or stopping the sale or closing their User account and not allowing them to re-register as a User if the User:
9.1.1 violates these Terms and Conditions;
9.1.2 has submitted information that is incorrect, misleading, or inaccurate when logging in to the Portal or using the Portal;
9.1.3 knowingly and intentionally disseminates false information on Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd’s website, insults any other User in any way, or acts in bad faith;
9.1.4 the purchase or sales offers entered by the User are in violation of the Terms and Conditions, good manners, or applicable law;
9.1.5 at least three complaints from other Users have been received about the User’s activity.
9.2 At any time, Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd is entitled to monitor the activities on the Portal, including the purchase and sale offers made by the Portal Users.
9.3 The thrifts.co.za website and all its contents are copyrighted by Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd. When uploading copyrighted product photos/sales ads on the website, the User transfers to Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd the proprietary rights of the author that apply to the product photos/sales ads. Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd has the exclusive right to, in any way, use, permit and prohibit their use, including reproducing, distributing, translating, adapting, adding them to collections or databases, or communicating to the public the product photos/sales ads provided by the User.
10. RETURN AND CLAIMS OF GOODS
10.1 If the User has a complaint about the service of Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd, please contact us at [email protected] submit your name and contact details, and briefly describe the content of the complaint. Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd will respond to the complaint as soon as possible, but no later than within 5 working days.
10.2 If the goods differ significantly from the description given in the sales ad or the photo of the product and the Buyer, therefore, wishes to return the goods to the Seller, the following must be done:
10.2.1 The Buyer must send a message to the Seller, indicating their wish to return the goods, via the Portal within 48 hours of receipt of the goods, and agree on the place and way of returning the goods. There is no right of return if it is prohibited by South African law for a particular type of good or service.
10.2.2 The right of return cannot be executed if the Buyer has received the goods and confirmed their satisfaction with the goods on the Portal or if more than 48 hours have passed from the receipt of the goods.
10.2.3 The Buyer undertakes to return the goods in the same condition.
10.2.4 The money will remain in the account of Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd until the goods are returned to the Seller. The cost of returning the goods is borne by the Buyer unless the Seller and the Buyer agree upon otherwise.
10.2.5 To confirm the return of the goods, the Seller must, after they have received the goods from the Buyer, click on the ‘Cancel order’ button on the Portal for the specific sales order. In this case, Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd will return the money to the Buyer's Thrifts wallet.
10.2.6 After the order has been canceled and money returned to the Buyer's Thrifts wallet, the Buyer can choose between using the money for future purchases on Thrifts or paying it out to the chosen bank account. The Buyer can initiate a payout to the bank account by clicking on the 'Payout to bank account' button. The Buyer enters the account details where they want the payment for the goods to be transferred in the Settings section on the Portal. Once the Buyer has initiated a payout, Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd will transfer the money to the Buyer within 1-3 working days.
10.3 After the Buyer and the Seller have agreed upon returning the item, the Buyer must ship the item within 72h unless agreed upon otherwise.
10.4 In the event of unresolvable disputes between the Buyer and the Seller, Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd may assist in resolving the disputes as follows:
10.4.1 To resolve disputes between the Buyer and Seller, it is possible to turn to Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd 21 days after submission of the purchase order at [email protected].
10.4.2 To resolve the dispute between the Seller and the Buyer, Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd has the right to request additional information from both parties and to use the information on the Portal about the communication between the Buyer and the Seller, including the content of the messages sent on the Portal.
10.4.3 To resolve the disputes as quickly as possible, the Buyer and Seller undertake to actively cooperate and respond to inquiries made by Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd within 48 hours. If one of the parties to the dispute does not cooperate and does not respond to the submitted requests within 48 hours, Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd has the right to make a decision in favor of the other party to the dispute.
10.4.4 If the Buyer submits a claim for the purchased goods, the Seller must be ready to prove the shipping of the goods by presenting a document (such as a waybill/proof of shipment) certifying the operation of the selected mode of transport or proving the shipping of the item in another verifiable way. If the Seller fails to prove the shipping of the goods, Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd may settle the claim in favor of the other party.
10.4.5 If the Buyer claims that the goods are not in conformity with the description in the sales ad and the Buyer and the Seller do not reach an agreement on the return of the goods, Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd will decide, based on the available information, in whose favor the claim is settled.
10.4.6 The decisions to settle a claim may, depending on the willingness of the parties to settle the claim promptly, include:
10.4.6.1 The claim is settled in favor of the Buyer and the money is returned to the Buyer’s Thrifts wallet right after the respective decision has been made; the prerequisite of the decision is the return of the goods to the Seller and the Seller’s confirmation of receipt of the goods at [email protected].
10.4.6.2 The claim is settled in favor of the Seller and the money is released to the Seller’s Thrifts wallet right after the respective decision has been made; the Buyer keeps the goods of the claim.
10.4.6.3 The claim cannot be resolved regardless of the efforts of Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd. In this case, the money will remain in the account of Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd until the Buyer and the Seller confirms that they have reached an agreement at [email protected]. If, within 30 days, the Buyer and Seller have not reached an agreement and the respective confirmation is not sent to [email protected], Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd will decide, based on the available information, the amount of money returned to the Buyer and/or Seller or whether the money will remain in the account of Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd.
10.4.6.4 If an agreement is not reached in any of the ways listed above, the User has the right to turn to the National Consumer Commission http://www.thencc.gov.za/ when buying goods or services from an economic or professional trader. If the private Seller operates outside the economic and professional field, the Users can turn to the court to resolve the dispute.
10.5 After resolving disagreements between Buyer and Seller, Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd has the right to close the User account, inter alia, if:
10.5.1 The User has not fully cooperated with the complaint process and has not shown a willingness to contribute to the resolution of the claim;
10.5.2 It becomes evident that the Seller has confirmed the shipping of the goods but has not actually shipped the goods to the Buyer;
10.5.3 The Buyer has not paid for the goods/services to be purchased despite the conclusion of the purchase agreement;
10.5.4 The User has filed an unsubstantiated claim against another User or provided false information;
10.5.5 There are repeated complaints about the Seller’s goods.
10.5.6 There is a suspicion of recurrently selling goods that do not correspond to the description and suspicion of deliberate fraud.
11. PROCESSING PERSONAL DATA AND PRIVACY POLICY
11.1 Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd collects only such personal data from the User that arise during the use of the Portal pursuant to the User’s activities on the Portal. Such data is, for example, data in the User’s profile, the information provided during the sale of a product, and data saved from all other activities provided on the Portal (saving a product/another User, making a purchase, sending messages, etc.).
11.2 Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd has the right to process data that Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd has received from the User when logging into the Portal and that Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd has asked during the use of the Portal or which is collected about the User when otherwise using the Portal for the purposes and to the extent specified in the Terms and Conditions.
11.3 The User consents to Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd processing their personal data for the purposes and to the extent specified in the Terms and Conditions. The User has the right to withdraw the consent at any time, request the termination of the processing of personal data and the deletion or closure of the collected personal data, as well as the closure of the user account.
11.4 Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd uses the User’s personal data to provide, develop, and personalize the Portal’s service.
11.5 Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd has the right to use the User’s personal data and transfer them to third parties selected by Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd to cooperate with them to ensure the quality and availability of Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd services, as well as expand, improve, and otherwise develop the services offered by Thrifts.
12. AMENDING THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS
12.1 Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd has the right to unilaterally amend the Terms and Conditions at any time due to the development of the Portal and the services offered and in the interest of their better and safer use.
12.2 Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd undertakes to notify the User of any amendments to the Terms and Conditions by means of notices, messages, or e-mails published on the Portal.
12.3 Amendments to the Terms and Conditions take effect upon the publication of the corresponding amendment on the Portal, about which the Portal sends a notification to the User.
12.4 The User confirms their acceptance of the amendments to the Terms and Conditions by continuing to use the Portal after the respective amendments become effective.
13. FINAL PROVISIONS
13.1 Legal relations between the User and Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd arising from the use of the Portal are governed by the laws of South Africa.
13.2 The User and Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd will try to resolve disputes arising from the use of the Portal through negotiations. If an agreement is not reached, then depending on the nature of the case, the dispute will be resolved by the South African Small Claims Court or Local Magistrates Court.
13.3 The Terms and Conditions are valid upon acceptance by the User and will remain in force during the validity of the legal relations between the User and Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd. The User has the right to terminate the legal relations regulated by the Terms and Conditions at any time by fulfilling their existing obligations to Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd and other Users beforehand.
13.4 All messages and information between the User and Madondo Digital (Pty) Ltd are exchanged electronically at [email protected].