Returns & Refunds Policy — tcgcollector.app

Version: 0.1-draft · Effective date: [TBD — on publication] Status: DRAFT — pending legal review. Not yet in force.

This Policy governs all returns and refunds for purchases made on tcgcollector.app. It forms part of the Marketplace Terms.

1. The one rule that has no exceptions

Every return is shipped to the tcgcollector.app Inspection Hub. Never to the seller. Never to the buyer. No exceptions.

The Inspection Hub address is provided only when a return is authorized (RMA). All returned items are physically inspected by tcgcollector.app — certificate serial verified against the validated listing, slab case checked for tampering, condition compared against the evidence record — before any refund is decided. This protects both sides against the most common marketplace frauds: item swaps, slab cracking and re-holdering, label swaps, and false damage claims.

Consequences of breaking this rule:

• An item sent directly to the seller (or anywhere other than the Hub) is an unauthorized return: it triggers no refund right, the order is treated as accepted (held payment releases to the seller), and all risk in the shipment lies with the buyer.
• A parcel arriving at the Hub without a valid RMA number may be refused at the door or held at the sender's cost and risk.

2. Sales are final — the default

Subject only to §3 (defect claims) and §6 (statutory withdrawal against trader sellers):

• All sales on tcgcollector.app are final.
• There is no return for change of mind, buyer's remorse, disagreement with a grading company's assigned grade, or market price movement after purchase.
• Graded-slab grades are third-party opinions fixed at certification; the grade stated on the cert is the product. "I think it's overgraded" is not a return reason.
• Purchases from private sellers carry no statutory right of withdrawal under EU law (the Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU applies only to trader–consumer contracts, Art. 3(1)). What you see in the listing and the cert record is what you buy.

3. Defect claims (all sellers): not-as-described, damage, wrong item, counterfeit

3.1 Deadline and evidence

• Open an issue from the order page within 48 hours of confirmed delivery. After 48 hours the order is accepted, the held payment releases to the seller, and the transaction is final (consumers retain mandatory rights against trader sellers, exercised against the seller).
• Required evidence: photos of the parcel, packaging, label, and the item front/back with the certificate serial legible. For orders ≥ €250, a continuous unboxing video (label visible, no cuts through to the item) is required for claims of transit damage, wrong item, or empty box; without it, such claims may be denied.

3.2 Valid claim grounds

(a) item received differs from the validated listing (wrong serial, wrong card); (b) undisclosed case damage or damage in transit; (c) tampered case or label; (d) suspected counterfeit; (e) empty or wrong parcel.

3.3 Process

1. Buyer opens issue within the window → release of the held payment is suspended.
2. Platform reviews evidence. Frivolous or evidence-free claims are denied without a return.
3. If accepted for return, the Platform issues an RMA: number, Hub address, and a shipping deadline of 5 business days.
4. Buyer ships to the Hub: tracked and insured to the order amount, sender = buyer, at buyer's cost and risk (see §5 for who ultimately pays). The item must be returned in the exact state received — the slab case must not be opened, cleaned, or "tested".
5. Hub inspection: serial match vs validated listing, tamper check (case seams, label, sonic-weld points), condition vs listing/issue evidence. The Hub's physical findings are decisive for the disposition of the held payment.
6. Verdict (target: within 5 business days of Hub receipt):
   • Claim confirmed (seller fault): buyer refunded in full from the held payment, including original shipping. Item returned to seller at seller's cost; seller may instead authorize disposal or pickup. Seller defect recorded; fraud → ToS §13 enforcement.
   • Claim rejected (item conforms): item re-shipped to buyer at buyer's cost, or — at buyer's choice — the payment releases to the seller and the Platform may offer relisting assistance. No refund.
   • Buyer fraud detected (returned item is not the purchased item, slab opened/tampered after delivery, serial mismatch attributable to buyer): no refund, the held payment releases to the seller, the item is retained as evidence where legally permitted, the buyer's account is terminated, and the matter is reported to law enforcement.

3.4 Forfeiture conditions

A refund is forfeited, regardless of the original claim's merits, if:

• the return is shipped anywhere other than the Hub, or without an RMA;
• the return misses the RMA shipping deadline;
• the return is lost in transit and was sent untracked or uninsured (the buyer is the sender and bears the return-transit risk in full);
• the slab case has been opened, cracked, resealed, or the label altered while in the buyer's possession;
• the returned item's serial does not match the order.

4. Counterfeit and tamper findings

If the Hub determines an item is counterfeit or tampered as shipped by the seller: buyer fully refunded; the item is not returned to the seller — it is retained, surrendered to authorities, or destroyed as the law allows; seller account terminated and reported. We cooperate with grading companies' fraud teams (serial blacklists).

5. Who pays what

Platform fees follow ToS §5.2 and Marketplace Terms §4.5.

6. Statutory right of withdrawal — consumer buying from a TRADER seller only

If the seller is marked Trader on the listing and you buy as a consumer, EU law gives you a 14-day right of withdrawal (Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU, Art. 9) that this Policy does not and cannot remove (Art. 25):

• Period: 14 days from the day you (or your designee) receive the item (Art. 9(2)).
• How: notify withdrawal unambiguously via the order page or info@tcgcollector.app (model form available on request). No reason needed.
• Return: ship the item within 14 days of your withdrawal notice (Art. 14(1)) to the Inspection Hub — the person authorised by every trader seller to receive returns of Platform sales (Art. 14(1)) — with the RMA we issue on your notice. You bear the direct cost of the return (Art. 14(1), disclosed here and pre-contractually per Art. 6(1)(i)) and, as sender, the transit risk of the return shipment.
• Refund: the trader (from the held payment where still held) must refund all payments including standard outbound delivery within 14 days of withdrawal (Art. 13(1)–(2)); since neither the trader nor the Platform offers to collect the goods, the refund may be withheld until the item is received at the Hub or you supply proof of dispatch (Art. 13(3)).
• Diminished value: you are liable for any diminished value resulting from handling beyond what is necessary to establish the item's nature and characteristics (Art. 14(2)). For a graded slab: inspecting the sealed case is fine; opening, cracking, or unsealing the case destroys the certification and the product as sold. The diminished value is assessed on the objectively justified loss of resale value — for a graded slab, generally the difference between the graded price paid and the market value of the raw, ungraded card, which can approach the full price. The exact amount is determined case by case on market evidence. Serial mismatch on return = not the item = no refund and §3.3 fraud handling.
• Purchases from private sellers have no withdrawal right; §2 and §3 govern exclusively.

7. Refund mechanics

• Protected Orders: refunds are issued from escrow to the original payment method via our payment provider (Online Payment Platform), normally within 5–10 business days of the verdict.
• Off-platform payments: the Platform holds no funds and cannot refund anything. Any refund is between buyer and seller. This Policy's processes do not apply to off-platform payments except that the Hub may, at the Platform's discretion, still be used for inspection by mutual agreement.

8. Abuse

Patterns of meritless claims, withdrawal abuse (e.g. serial "rentals" of high-value slabs), chargebacks filed in parallel with or after Platform refunds, and RMA violations are sanctionable under ToS §13, including account termination and recovery of costs. A chargeback filed on an order already refunded by the Platform is treated as attempted double recovery and will be contested with the full evidence record.

9. Out-of-court dispute resolution

Consumers in Belgium may contact the Consumer Mediation Service (Consumentenombudsdienst / Service de Médiation pour le Consommateur, consumerombudsman.be), the residual qualified ADR entity under Book XVI of the Belgian Code of Economic Law. EU consumers may have equivalent national bodies under Directive 2013/11/EU. (The former EU ODR platform was discontinued on 20 July 2025 and no longer exists.) This does not limit your right to go to court.