Listing Policy
Listing Policy
Trusty Tech has established a set of listing policies to ensure that items listed adhere to a minimum standard, making it easier for everyone to transact on the Trusty Tech website. To promote a safe, fair, and enjoyable trading experience for all users, Trusty Tech has created this policy to ensure that all listings maintain these standards.
This Listing Policy is referenced in clause 4.4.4 of the Site’s Terms and Conditions of Use, and all users must follow it. All listings are subject to the following policies:
1. Listings of Items That Are Not Allowed
1.1. The items stated in this section may not be sold on Trusty Tech, and it is the seller’s sole obligation to ensure that their listings do not include any of the following:
1.1.1. Stolen goods.
1.1.2. Illegally imported goods.
1.1.3. Goods and services that could be considered harmful or dangerous to people or property, either directly or indirectly, according to their nature.
1.1.4. Any product that is unrelated to electronics, technology, or items intended for resale in the tech industry.
1.1.5. Any goods and services deemed inappropriate for sale on this site at the sole discretion of Trusty Tech.
1.1.6. Goods and services of which the sale and/or export would violate South African law.
1.1.7. Offers to give away products or services for free.
1.1.8. Mystery items or any product where the final item received is not clearly described in the listing.
1.1.9. Any grey or parallel imports, or any product not purchased through the correct local suppliers, where applicable.
1.1.10. Any tech products where the sale is prohibited by the brand or manufacturer.
2. Categories That Items Are Listed In
2.1. Items should be listed in the correct category that caters to the type of item being sold.
2.2. Listing the same product in multiple categories is not allowed.
3. Item Condition
3.1. The item’s listed condition should always be a true reflection of the item’s actual state.
3.2. Under no circumstances is it permissible to misrepresent the item’s condition, such as listing an item as new when it is used.
4. Titles, Descriptions, and Images
4.1. The titles and descriptions of the items for sale must accurately reflect what is being sold.
4.2. It is not permitted to misrepresent brand names or other words in order to attract purchasers to listings.
4.3. The information in the listing description must be clear and simple to comprehend:
4.3.1. Exclusions or missing pieces of items sold in the listing must be explicitly indicated in the description. For instance, selling a laptop without a charger (a charger is usually provided when purchasing a laptop).
4.3.2. Keyword spamming or the use of keywords inappropriately to manipulate search results or listing ranks is not permitted.
4.3.3. Profanity, abusive language, and inappropriate imagery are not permitted.
4.4. The use of images in listings:
4.4.1. When selling new items, the sole use of stock photos in item descriptions is permitted.
4.4.2. Original photos of the actual item must be included in the description of secondhand goods listings, and the only use of stock images is not permitted.
4.4.3. Images used must not violate copyright or trademark laws, and users must have permission to use copyrighted images.
4.4.4. In the photographs connected to each item, all dents, scratches, and defects must be visible. Only brand-new items can be categorized as new, and no damage evidence is required because there should be none.
5. Pricing
5.1. Anything that tries to avoid paying Trusty Tech fees is prohibited, such as catalog sales, cross-selling, and upselling.
5.2. It is not permitted to sell items for pennies on the dollar in order to avoid paying Trusty Tech fees or to obtain the buyer’s contact information. Trusty Tech defines nominal amounts as R0.01, R0.10, R1.00, or any other amount deemed nominal by Trusty Tech.
5.3. It is not permitted to advertise items for free in order for the customer and seller to boost their favorable rating score.
5.4. It is not permitted to list items that require an additional purchase, swap, or trade-in.
6. Shipping Terms and Charges
6.1. Shipping charges should not be included in the listing because shipping is calculated and payable by the buyer at the time of purchase.
6.2. To maintain the lowest costs for all parties involved, deliveries will only be made on business days.
6.3. Electronically distributed goods may not be subject to shipping or handling expenses.
6.4. No items may be shipped from or to South Africa from outside of the country’s borders.
6.5. All other terms and conditions are as stated in Annexure A of The Courier Guy’s terms and conditions.
7. Links and Contact Details
7.1. Contact information, such as email addresses, website addresses, phone numbers, or physical addresses, may not be included in auction or Buy Now listings.
7.2. External links on listings that navigate outside of the TrustyTech.co.za domain are not authorized, with the exception of links to manufacturer web pages that provide customers with more product information (independent third-party information pages).
7.3. Links to websites where a product can be purchased are not permitted.
7.4. Links to sites where the buyer can access the seller’s contact information to complete the transaction outside of the Trusty Tech platform are not permitted.
8. Payment
8.1. Trusty Tech guarantees payments received through the Tradesafe payment service, and sellers may not withhold shipping until Trusty Tech processes a payout request.
8.2. After winning an auction or placing an order for a “Buy Now” item, buyers have 48 hours to pay in full. If full payment is not received within this time frame, the item will be relisted and made available to other potential buyers.
9. Listing Abuse and Manipulation
9.1. A seller may not manipulate or exploit the listing service in order to increase the visibility of their listings or to spam the Trusty Tech website. This includes, but is not limited to, the following:
9.1.1. Item relisting with short listing durations on a regular basis.
9.1.2. Keyword spamming to manipulate search results or listing ranks.
9.1.3. Spamming categories by listing many items that are the same or similar.
9.1.4. Having the same items listed in several categories.
9.2. Sellers who are found to be abusing the listing service will be warned and may be charged an excess listing fee of R10 for each listing that exceeds the free listing threshold.
9.2.1. The free listing allowance is calculated as the greater of:
a) 100 listings per week calculated from Sunday to Saturday; or
b) The maximum number of sales by a seller in a week over the past six weeks multiplied by five.
10. Shill Bidding
10.1. It is not permitted to bid on your own listings or items to inflate or manipulate the price or the auction.
10.2. It is not permitted to have family members or friends bid on items to manipulate pricing.
10.3. Accounts involved in shill bidding will be disabled.
10.4. Accounts of sellers who engage in shill bidding may be limited or disabled.
10.5. To have the account restriction reviewed, restricted seller accounts may be required to pay an R500 administration fee.
11. Charity and Competition Listings
11.1. Items requesting entries for a competition or charitable donations must be approved by Trusty Tech before being listed.
11.2. When creating an account to list products, sellers must provide their charity and non-profit fundraising numbers.
11.3. Approved charities may list items in the charity section with Trusty Tech’s permission.
12. Market Prices
12.1. Market pricing may not be artificially raised to give the illusion of savings.
12.2. Only use market prices if they can be easily validated with real-world examples.
13. Stock Availability and Drop-Shipping
13.1. All items listed must be in stock and ready to ship.
13.2. Items sold that are out of stock or cannot be shipped by the vendor may result in negative ratings and rejection of future listings.
13.3. Sellers who wish to list drop-shipped items must first get authorization from Trusty Tech and agree to payouts and listing counts being limited at Trusty Tech’s discretion.
13.4. Pre-order listings are only permitted with Trusty Tech’s full permission. Sellers posting unauthorized pre-order items risk having their listings removed and losing their listing fees.
14. Discretion
14.1. Trusty Tech reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to remove any listing deemed necessary without notifying the seller.
