Terms of Service & Privacy Policy

§1

Platform Role & Scope of Services

Tack & Trade operates exclusively as a marketplace software platform. We provide the technology infrastructure that connects independent buyers and sellers of performance sailing equipment and marine hardware. We are not a party to any transaction, consignment, or sale that occurs on the platform.

No Physical Inspection

Tack & Trade does not physically inspect, certify, store, handle, or ship any item listed on the platform. All descriptions, photographs, and condition representations are made solely by the seller. Buyers purchase in reliance on the seller's representations, not on any assessment by Tack & Trade.

No Warranty of Seaworthiness or Performance

THE PLATFORM MAKES NO REPRESENTATION THAT ANY ITEM LISTED IS FIT FOR USE AT SEA, IS SEAWORTHY, COMPLIES WITH ANY RACING RULE OR CLASS RULE, OR IS SAFE FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Sailing and racing carry inherent risk. Buyers bear full responsibility for independently evaluating the condition, legality, and suitability of any item before use.

No Escrow or Financial Services License

Payment processing and fund holding are performed by Stripe, Inc., a licensed money-services operator. Tack & Trade does not hold, transmit, or disburse funds in its own capacity. By using the platform you also agree to Stripe's Terms of Service.

§2

Seller Inventory & Listing Standards

By creating a listing, the seller makes the following representations and warranties to Tack & Trade and to every prospective buyer.

Accurate stock levels. You will not list inventory you do not possess or cannot ship within the stated handling time. Listing an item after it has been sold elsewhere or destroyed is a material breach of these Terms.
Accurate condition descriptions. You must disclose all known defects, repairs, delamination, UV damage, modified dimensions, or deviations from the manufacturer's original specification. “Like new” or “excellent” condition claims are binding representations.
Clear title and right to sell. You represent that you are the lawful owner of the item (or are duly authorised to sell it), that the item is free from liens, security interests, or encumbrances, and that the sale will not infringe any third-party intellectual property rights.
Lawful goods only. You may not list counterfeit goods, stolen property, items subject to export controls without the required licences, or items whose sale is prohibited by applicable law.
Inventory synchronisation. You are responsible for maintaining accurate inventory counts in the platform dashboard. Tack & Trade will decrement your on-hand quantity by one unit upon each confirmed checkout. If your quantity reaches zero, the listing will be hidden from public search automatically.

Tack & Trade reserves the right to suspend or permanently remove any listing that violates these standards and to suspend or ban seller accounts with repeated violations.

§3

Escrow & the 3-Day Inspection Window

All payments made through the Tack & Trade checkout are routed through Stripe and held in escrow until the inspection window has closed or a dispute has been resolved.

3-Day Inspection Window (Buyer Protection Period)

Upon carrier confirmation of delivery to the buyer's shipping address, the buyer has exactly 72 hours (three calendar days) to inspect the item and file a dispute if the item is broken, counterfeit, or materially not as described. If no dispute is filed within this window, the escrowed funds are permanently and irrevocably released to the seller and the sale becomes final. No refunds, chargebacks, or returns may be initiated after this window closes, except where required by applicable consumer-protection law.

Private Offer Payments

Items purchased via the private offer system follow the same escrow and 3-day inspection rules. The agreed offer price — not the listing price — is the binding sale price for all fee and payout calculations.

§4

Seller Fees & Payouts

Tack & Trade charges a two-part fee on every completed transaction. The fee is deducted automatically from the seller's item price before payout; shipping collected from the buyer is passed through in full to the seller.

§4.1 — Fee Formula

The total platform fee charged to the seller is: marketplace commission + (gross charge × 2.9% + $0.30 Stripe processing fee). The marketplace commission is 5% of the item price, with a minimum of $5.00 — it is therefore a flat $5.00 for items priced at or below $100, and transitions to 5% for items priced above $100. “Gross charge” means the item price plus any shipping collected from the buyer (or the item price alone for local-pickup orders). The Stripe processing component is passed through at cost and retained by Stripe, not by Tack & Trade. All amounts are rounded to the nearest whole cent. The fee schedule may be revised with 14 days' notice under §9 (Changes to These Terms).

Estimated Payout Preview

An estimated net payout is shown in the listing form before you publish. The estimate is based on item price alone and excludes shipping; the final payout will reflect the actual shipping amount collected at checkout. Both the estimated and final breakdowns are visible in your Seller Dashboard.

Seller Payouts

Funds released from escrow are credited to your Tack & Trade seller balance in USD cents. You may request a payout to your connected Stripe account at any time once funds become available. Payout timing is governed by Stripe's standard transfer schedule.

Non-Refundable on Completed Sales

Platform fees are non-refundable on completed sales. If a buyer files a successful dispute within the inspection window and a refund is issued, the platform fee will be waived or refunded at Tack & Trade's sole discretion.

§5

Dispute Resolution & Returns

Tack & Trade supports returns only under the following limited circumstances, initiated within the 3-day inspection window.

Eligible Dispute Grounds

Item arrived broken or damaged — structural damage that was not present in listing photos and was not disclosed by the seller.
Counterfeit goods — the item is a fake, replica, or copy of a branded product and was not listed as such.
Materially not as described — the item differs significantly from the listing in a way that a reasonable buyer would consider material (e.g., wrong size, wrong model year, undisclosed repairs, missing components shown in photos).

How to File a Dispute

Buyers must submit a dispute via the Tack & Trade messaging system within 72 hours of confirmed delivery. The dispute must include: (i) a written description of the discrepancy; and (ii) clear photographic evidence taken upon receipt. Tack & Trade will review evidence from both parties and issue a binding decision within 5 business days. Our decision is final.

Return Shipping

If a dispute is upheld, the buyer must return the item in the condition received, using a tracked shipping method. Tack & Trade will provide a prepaid return label where possible. Refunds are issued only after the seller confirms receipt of the returned item or after 14 calendar days from label generation, whichever is sooner.

Ineligible Claims

The following are not eligible for dispute or refund: buyer's remorse; normal wear and tear consistent with the disclosed condition; minor cosmetic imperfections visible in listing photos; items damaged after delivery; and disputes filed outside the 72-hour window.

§6

Prohibited Conduct

The following conduct is strictly prohibited and constitutes grounds for immediate account suspension, permanent ban, and possible legal action.

Fee evasion. Arranging, soliciting, or completing the sale of any item that was discovered through Tack & Trade outside of the Tack & Trade checkout in order to avoid platform fees. This includes “taking it offline” after initial contact on the platform.
Sharing external payment links. Sending or soliciting PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, Cash App, wire transfer, or any other external payment method via the Tack & Trade messaging system.
Sharing personal contact information for transaction purposes. Sharing phone numbers, personal email addresses, WhatsApp handles, or other direct contact details via the messaging system for the purpose of completing or circumventing a transaction.
Fraudulent listings. Misrepresenting item condition, ownership, provenance, or legality in a listing.
Shill bidding and fake inquiries. Using multiple accounts or third parties to artificially inflate interest in a listing or to manipulate pricing.
Harassment and abuse. Using the messaging system to harass, threaten, defame, or discriminate against other users.
Scraping and automated access. Using bots, crawlers, or automated scripts to access the platform in a manner that degrades service for other users.

§7

Limitation of Liability & Governing Law

AS IS — Maritime Disclaimer

THE PLATFORM AND ALL CONTENT, LISTINGS, AND SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, SEAWORTHINESS, COMPLIANCE WITH CLASS RULES, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. TACK & TRADE DOES NOT WARRANT THAT ANY ITEM LISTED ON THE PLATFORM IS SAFE, LEGAL, OR SUITABLE FOR USE IN OPEN-WATER OR RACING CONDITIONS. YOU ASSUME ALL RISK ASSOCIATED WITH THE USE OF EQUIPMENT PURCHASED THROUGH THE PLATFORM.

Liability Cap

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, TACK & TRADE'S TOTAL CUMULATIVE LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS OR THE PLATFORM SHALL NOT EXCEED THE TOTAL PLATFORM FEES ACTUALLY PAID BY OR COLLECTED FROM YOU IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM. IN NO EVENT SHALL TACK & TRADE BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF DATA, OR PERSONAL INJURY, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Tack & Trade, its officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, or expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or in any way connected with your access to or use of the platform, your listings, your transactions, or your violation of these Terms.

Governing Law & Venue

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California, County of San Francisco, without regard to its conflict-of-law provisions. Any dispute not resolved through the platform's dispute process shall be submitted to binding arbitration under the rules of JAMS in San Francisco, California, on an individual basis. Class actions and class arbitrations are expressly waived.

§8

Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy describes how Tack & Trade collects, uses, and shares information about you when you use the platform.

Information We Collect

Account data: name, email address, password hash, profile photo.
Transaction data: shipping addresses, order history, payment method tokens (held by Stripe — we never store raw card numbers).
Usage data: pages viewed, search queries, IP address, browser type, and device identifiers collected automatically via server logs and first-party analytics.
Communications: messages exchanged through the platform messaging system.
Agreement records: the timestamp at which you accepted these Terms, retained for legal compliance.

How We Use Your Information

We use your information to operate the marketplace, process transactions, resolve disputes, send transactional emails, prevent fraud, comply with legal obligations, and improve the platform. We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

Data Sharing

We share data with: Stripe (payment processing), Shippo (shipping label generation), Cloudflare (DDoS protection, Turnstile CAPTCHA), Resend (transactional email), and Pusher (real-time messaging). Each sub-processor is bound by appropriate data-processing agreements. We may disclose data to law-enforcement agencies when required by law or valid legal process.

Data Retention & Deletion

You may request deletion of your account and associated personal data by emailing [email protected]. We retain transaction records for seven years as required by financial regulations. Agreement timestamps are retained indefinitely for legal-compliance purposes.

Cookies

We use strictly necessary session cookies for authentication and preference cookies for dark-mode state. We do not use third-party advertising cookies or tracking pixels.

§9

Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms at any time. If we make material changes we will notify registered users by email at least 14 days before the changes take effect, and we will update the effective date at the top of this page. Continued use of the platform after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree to the revised Terms, you must close your account before the effective date.