WHAT IS SECLO?

Seclo is an online intermediary hosting service that enables users to exchange, sell and purchase items on its platform (the “Site”).

Seclo facilitates these transactions and allows users to communicate via private messages. Seclo also offers additional, payable services to secure these transactions and protection of buyers (the “Buyer Protection Services”).

Seclo does not sell, buy or exchange items and is not a party to any transactions between the users.

PREREQUISITES TO BECOME A REGISTERED BUYER, SELLER OR VISITOR OF SECLO

A visitor is any person using the Site without being registered, in accordance with Seclo’s Terms and Conditions.

Buyers are either:

– individuals who have created an account on Seclo, accepted Seclo’s Terms and Conditions and act as consumers when making transactions on Seclo (the “Buyers”); or

– Dutch-based sole traders, non-profit organizations (associations or foundations) which have accepted Seclo’s Terms and Conditions, the Pro Sellers’ Terms of Use and Pro Sellers’ Terms of Sale and buy items on Seclo as part of their professional activity (the “Pro Users”). Pro Users have specific status, rights and obligations which are described in the Pro Sellers’ Terms of Use and Pro Sellers’ Guide. In particular, they have specific social and tax obligations. Pro Users are identified on the Site by a Tickmark displayed next to their name.

– Only registered Buyers or Pro Users can buy items on the Site.

Sellers are either:

– individuals who have created an account on Seclo, accepted Seclo’s Terms and Conditions and act as consumers when listing items and making transactions on Seclo (the “Sellers”); or

– Dutch-based sole traders, non-profit organizations (associations or foundations) which have accepted Seclo’s Terms and Conditions, the Pro Sellers’ Terms of Use and Pro Sellers’ Terms of Sale and list items on Seclo as part of their professional activity (the “Pro Sellers”). Pro Sellers have specific status, rights and obligations which are described in the Pro Sellers’ Terms of Use, Pro Sellers’ Terms of Sale and Pro Sellers’ Guide. In particular, they have specific social and tax obligations. Pro Sellers are identified on the Site by a Tickmark displayed next to their name.

– Only registered Sellers or Pro Sellers can list items on the Site.

All Sellers must comply with the Catalogue rules.

All Buyers and Sellers must be of legal age or be supervised by a parent or legal guardian when using the Site.

Pro Sellers/ Buyers can only register if they meet eligibility criteria described below:

– you are a sole trader or non-profit organization (association within the meaning of the Dutch Law), duly registered in the Netherlands;

– you use Seclo’s services in the context of your professional activity (i.e. act in a professional capacity when listing/selling items or using any other Seclo services); and

– you comply with the Catalogue rules and respect limitations which are imposed on you and the Item you sell (please see more in “WHAT CAN BE SOLD ON SECLO”).

For further details on the eligibility criteria, please refer to our Seclo’s Terms and Conditions, Pro Sellers’ Terms of Use and Pro Sellers’ Guide.

For further explanations on how to register, please visit our Help Centre.

If a seller presents himself / herself as a consumer or as a non-professional whereas she / he is in fact a Pro Seller or should register as such because they meet the eligibility criteria, said seller faces sanctions provided in respective laws related to misleading business practices (for more information please read section “SANCTIONS FOR MISLEADING BUSINESS PRACTICES” described below).

HOW TO SELL ITEMS ON SECLO?

Submitting items on Seclo is free of charge.

To do so, sellers must complete a questionnaire and describe the item as accurately as possible, indicate any possible faults and state the price of the item. The listed item must also be photographed. At least three good quality photographs must be uploaded. Photographs must reflect the actual quality and external appearance of the item, as well as any presence of faults with the item. One photograph of the front of the item, one of the back and one of the label of the item.

The number of items listed on the Catalogue is unlimited, but the same item cannot be listed more than once, Pro Sellers can indicate the quantity of their item.

N.B.: Uploading a counterfeit item is illegal. If something along those lines is indicated, then we will let the item be checked by an independent professional and press criminal charges when necessary.

HOW TO BUY ITEMS ON SECLO?

Buying items on Seclo comes at a commission fee of 10% + €1, to cover all our costs for our services for your security. To do so, simply use our checkout system at the top right of the screen. The purchase is initiated through our integrated payment service and several payment methods are available: valid credit cards and iDeal. For more details, please visit our Help Center.

N.B.: accusing someone of selling a counterfeit item wrongly on purpose is fraud in itself. Mistakes can be made however, so when counterfeit is assumed we plan in a video call with you, an expert and the Seller to establish the situation. If counterfeit is probable, we let the expert validate the item free of charge: if it is counterfeit you are immediately reimbursed, if it is not counterfeit you are reimbursed for all costs except our commission and we either resell it ourselves or you pay the validation costs.

WHAT KIND OF ITEMS CAN BE SOLD ON SECLO?

Sellers must be the owner of the items and have the right to sell, exchange or donate them.

Seclo seeks to ensure that the Site is a friendly and safe place. When they upload their items, Sellers and Pro Sellers must comply with our Seclo’s Terms and Conditions, Pro Sellers’ Terms of Use (if the items are sold by a Pro Seller), applicable regulations and our policies including the Catalogue rules.

This means, in particular, that:

Sellers and Pro Sellers can sell items falling in any of the below categories:

– women’s, men’s and children’s clothing, footwear;

– accessories;

N.B.: At a later stage more categories might be added.

Sellers and Pro Sellers cannot list items that:

– are prohibited or restricted by law (such as counterfeits, samples or promotional items, medication, food and drinks, etc.);

– do not comply with hygiene standards or pose a risk to one’s health;

– are either not clothing, do not relate to fashion, beauty, accessories, children, or are contrary to Seclo’s values; or

– purchased in bulk or typically sold as low-value dropshipping items.

In addition, Pro Sellers are prohibited to:

– provide service of renting Items;

– list items/ have items listed with a note such as “can be ordered”, “sold”, “currently out of stock”, “check back later”, etc.

The above lists are not exhaustive. Please refer to our Seclo’s Terms and Conditions, Pro Sellers’ Terms of Use (if the items are sold by a Pro Seller) and the Catalogue rules for more information.

HOW ARE ITEMS RANKED ON SECLO?

By default, listings presented on Seclo’s feed or in the search results are sorted by “relevance” taking into consideration the following criteria, listed below in order of importance:

for the feed: the date and time it was uploaded

– the buyer’s account preferences and profile information (such as gender, age, clothing size) and other customizable preferences;

– the preferences indicated by the buyer about the categories, e.g. women, kids, footwear, etc. (personalisation) and sizes of Items they are looking for, preferred brands, as well as the colour, condition, price and size of the items they previously purchased;

– Buyers can also choose for the listings to be sorted by price or by date. If Buyers choose for listings to be sorted by price and date, the preferences they indicated in their account will still be taken into consideration to classify listings.

DEACTIVATION OF A LISTING OR AN ACCOUNT

Seclo may take actions against Sellers or Pro Sellers if they:

– infringe or breach their obligations arising from the Seclo’s Terms and Conditions, Pro Seller’s Terms of Use, Pro Sellers’ Terms of Sale, or other rules of Seclo;

– if they sell counterfeit items;

– provide incorrect, misleading and/or incomplete information according to the Seclo’s Terms and Conditions, Pro Sellers’ Terms of Use or the Pro Sellers’ Terms of Sale, at the time of their registration or their use of Seclo;

– deliberately and intentionally disclose incorrect information on Seclo, insult other people or act in an inappropriate manner;

– use the identity of other Sellers or Pro Users, or otherwise act in an unlawful manner;

– log-in from the same IP address or from the same computer as the one that was blocked owing to violations (except Sellers who were blocked for commercial activity, but now want to register as Pro Sellers);

– sell prohibited items, engage in drop-shipping or provide item renting services;

– have received at least 1 notice from Seclo to remove items violating Clause 4.1 of Pro Sellers’ Terms of Use and detailed in our Pro Sellers’ Guide (applicable only to Seclo Pro Users).

Seclo may also take measures against:

– Pro Sellers who initiate transactions outside of the Site with Buyers of the Site;

– Sellers who have received at least 1 notice from Seclo to remove commercial items and did not comply with such request nor agreed to change their status to Pro Seller.

Actions taken by Seclo may be the following:

– removing the listing(s) uploaded by the User;

– suspending the User’s account; or

– blocking the User’s or Pro User’s account: in this case, the User or Pro User will no longer have the right to re-register on Seclo or, except individual Users who were blocked because of their commercial activities and afterwards express an intent to register as Pro Users; or

– partially blocking the Pro User’s account: in this case, the Pro User will not be able to list items or to buy and sell items, to communicate and /or participate in the forum or to follow other members or favorite items.

Listings may be brought to Seclo’s attention by simply clicking the flag symbol in the right corner of the listing screen and choosing “Report” or by sending a notice to legal@seclo.nl.

BUYER PROTECTION SERVICES

Buyers benefit from Seclo’s Buyer Protection Services when they purchase items on the Site using Seclo’s integrated payment and shipping services as follows:

Seller	Buyer	Protection
Consumer	Consumer	Buyer Protection
Consumer	Pro	Buyer Protection
Pro	Consumer	Buyer Protection Pro
Pro	Pro	Buyer Protection

Buyer benefits from our Buyer Protection Services. Accordingly, Seclo provides: (i) the proper implementation of the transaction, (ii) the organization and customer support of the shipping of the item, and (iii) after-care of the sale.

Where the buyer and the seller make the transaction on the Seclo platform, using our integrated payment and shipping services, the buyer benefits from our Buyer Protection Services. We provide the services described in the chart below and collect a fee for these additional services, which automatically and compulsorily applies to each transaction made through our integrated payment system.

The total amount of the Buyer Protection Service fee is added to the price of the order. It is shown to buyers on the site or in the app on the item page and before the completion of the order (in the checkout page). This fee consists of:

– a fixed amount of 0.99 euros; and

– 5% of the item price (including the applicable value-added tax (“VAT”)).

When Buyer is a consumer, VAT is included in the Buyer Protection fee, as well as in Buyer Protection Pro fee. If the buyer is Pro Buyer, VAT is not included and needs to be reported and paid by Pro User itself. The same applies to other payable Additional Services referred to in the Price List (such as the “Bumping” as referred in the Price List).

The services included in the Buyer Protection Services depend on whether it is the “Buyer Protection” or the “Buyer Protection Pro”, as summarised in the chart below:

“Buyer Protection” entails:

Protection of your purchases with our integrated payment service: You can shop with peace of mind. Your money is held on an escrow account and won’t be transferred to the seller until the transaction is completed. Your banking details are not shared with the seller.
Integrated shipping services that allows the Buyer, Seller, and us to track your order.
Refund if the item is significantly not as described, doesn’t arrive or arrives damaged: buyers can press the “I have an issue” button and contact us within 2 days after the order was marked as ‘delivered’, even if it doesn’t actually arrive. We’ll launch an investigation and ensure you either get your order or get refunded for your purchase.
Business identity validation: we check that when they create their Seclo account, Pro Sellers are existing traders, associations or foundations duly incorporated in the Netherlands.
Standards applicable to Pro Sellers: we require Pro Sellers to undertake to comply with applicable laws and the buyers’ rights, including where applicable consumer rights, and to process orders with due care and diligence. Pro Sellers that do not comply with the obligations set out in their terms with Seclo can be prevented from offering Items for sale.
Support from our team: we’re always at hand if you need to solve any questions related to your order. We’re here to ensure you have smooth and successful shopping on Seclo. Either by phone or mail.

Additionals “Buyer Protection Pro”:

Facilitation of the right of withdrawal process: if you are a consumer, we help you to exercise their legal right of withdrawal with the Pro Seller and obtain a refund of the price of your order if you meet the applicable legal requirements. The Pro Seller will not be able to use the price you paid for your order until the expiry of the withdrawal period (14 days after the day the item was received) or, if you raise an issue with us, until we have determined if you meet the legal requirements to be reimbursed. This protects you from being reimbursed late by the seller or even of not being reimbursed at all, and from having to pay additional banking fees.

For more details and conditions, check out our Refund Policy, Seclo’s Terms and Conditions and the Pro Terms of Sale.

DISPUTES BETWEEN BUYERS AND SELLERS

For buyers that do not benefit from Seclo’s Buyer Protection Services, Seclo will not be involved in the settlement of disputes between the buyer and the seller.

Buyer Protection

If the buyer purchased the Buyer Protection, he/she can apply for reimbursement of the item under certain conditions. For instance:

– If a Buyer does not receive an item purchased from a seller, he/she must inform Seclo by clicking the button that suspends the transaction within two (2) days of the date the item was expected to be delivered or from the date on which SECLO notified you that the item was delivered (and order changed status to “delivered”).

(i) If it is confirmed that the item has been lost during shipping, Seclo will reimburse the buyer.

(ii) If the buyer does not contact Seclo within two (2) days following expected delivery of an Item, the transaction will be completed.

– If a buyer receives an item that does not comply substantially with its description on Seclo, he/she must inform Seclo of this by clicking the button that suspends the transaction within (2) days of the date of delivery of the item.

(i) If the buyer does contact Seclo within two (2) days, Seclo will retain the total purchase price until Seclo receives instructions jointly agreed between the buyer and the seller regarding the account to which these sums must be transferred. If users can’t reach a mutual agreement, Seclo will make a final decision and if the item does not substantially comply with its description on Seclo, Seclo will reimburse the buyer of the total purchase price paid for the item. In any case, the Seller will organise directly with the buyer the return of the item and the procedures of this return. Seclo will not be responsible for and will not organise the return of the item to the seller. Unless agreed otherwise between the Buyer and Seller, the Buyer will pay for the return shipping fees.

(ii) If the buyer does not contact Seclo within two (2) days of the delivery or if he/she clicks “Everything is OK” button, the transaction will be completed.

To learn more on Seclo’s Refund policy, you can visit this page of our Help Center or read our Seclo’s Terms and Conditions again.

Buyer Protection Pro

Only applicable when Individual Users (consumers) purchase items from Pro Sellers.

– If a buyer receives an item, but wants to return it (for whatever reason), Buyer can use his / her Right of Withdrawal. In order to exercise Buyer’s right of withdrawal, Buyer can, amongst others, press the “I have an issue” button in his / her chat with the Pro Seller (as well as choosing a reason and in some cases providing proof, e.g. in case the reason is counterfeit item), send the withdrawal form attached as Annex 1 to Pro Terms of Sale which will also be provided to Buyer by the Pro Seller in the parcel together with the Item(s), or make any other unambiguous statement expressing Buyer’s wish to exercise a right of withdrawal.

(i) If the Buyer does initiate Right of withdrawal within 14 days through Seclo (by pressing the “I have an issue” button), Seclo will retain the total purchase price until Seclo receives instructions jointly agreed between the Buyer and the Pro seller regarding the account to which these sums must be transferred. Right of Withdrawal is consumers’ legal rights, so Pro Seller shall respect it, unless the 14 days term has passed. If users can’t reach a mutual agreement, Seclo will make a final decision and if the conditions for Right of Withdrawal are met, Seclo will reimburse the Buyer of the total purchase price. In any case, the Pro Seller will organise directly with the Buyer the return of the item and the procedures of this return. Seclo will not be responsible for and will not organise the return of the item to the Pro seller. It will only provide optional return shipping labels as a service. Also, please be aware that Buyer bears the return costs of the Item(s), unless otherwise specified in the Pro Seller’s communication. Also when returning an Item, the parcel should have a tracking number.

(ii) If the Buyer does not initiate his / her Right of Withdrawal within 14 days through Seclo (by pressing the “I have an issue” button), the transaction will be completed. However this does not affect the buyer’s legal rights or any of the legal guarantees, which can be exercised in addition to, and independently from, the Buyer Protection Pro.

– Seclo will also ensure that Buyer is reimbursed in case the Pro Seller does not deliver the item on time or if the parcel is lost, if Buyer reports lost item within 14 days from the expected delivery date or from the date on which SECLO notified you that the item was delivered (and order changed status to “delivered”).

To learn how to activate the Buyer Protection Pro and the applicable conditions, please refer to the Pro Sellers’ Terms of Sale.

DISPUTES BETWEEN USERS OR PRO USERS AND SECLO

With a natural person (non professional buyer/ seller):

In the event of a disagreement between Seclo and a natural person, he/she may:

– first, address a written complaint to the Customer Service Department using the contact form;

if the person is not satisfied with the response provided, the person and Seclo will try to resolve the person’s complaint in an amicable manner;

– An alternative dispute resolution method: the European Commission is providing European consumers with an online dispute resolution platform;.

With professional parties:

In the event of a disagreement between Seclo and a professional party, the party should address a written complaint to the Customer Service Department using this contact form. Seclo will answer to the party within a reasonable period of one (1) month.

If the issue is not resolved, the party may resort to alternative dispute resolution methods. For more information, please read our Pro Sellers’ Terms of Use again.

FEEDBACK OF USERS ON SECLO

When a transaction is completed, buyers and sellers can leave feedback on each other. Every feedback is connected with the corresponding item, so it is not possible to leave feedback on another party without having a transaction with them. Parties can leave their feedback as follows:

– you can find the ‘Leave feedback’ button in the conversation thread when the order is completed;

– then choose the number of stars you would like to give and submit it;

– you can edit or remove your feedback (see these options under the feedback left).

No compensation is given to users or to Seclo in exchange for feedback.

In some cases, Seclo can leave automatic positive or negative feedback. Positive feedback may appear if a transaction was successful, but the buyer did not leave any feedback within 4 working days. Negative feedback may be posted to seller and/or buyer in case, for instance, they cancel their order for the second time.

On the User’s page, feedback is shown in a star rating with the number of transactions, when clicking on the stars the distribution of ratings will be shown. Reviews are in principle kept forever and are stored according to the Privacy Policy. In case feedback is left by a user who subsequently deleted his/her account, the star rating remains.

Seclo does not review feedback before they are published by either party.

If Users or Pro Users disagree with the feedback received, they can:

– Contact the author of the feedback to find out what went wrong and look for a friendly solution.

– The author can edit their feedback or the feedback automatically posted by Seclo.

– If a feedback is subject to third party failures, Seclo will delete the star rating.

SANCTIONS FOR MISLEADING BUSINESS PRACTICES

If a seller presents himself / herself as a consumer or as a non-professional whereas she / he is in fact a professional seller or should register as such because they meet the eligibility criteria, said seller faces the following sanctions related to misleading business practices:

– Netherlands – a fine up to EUR 900,000 or 10% of the Seller’s turnover, whichever is higher (Articles 2.15(2) and 8.8 of the Dutch Consumer Protection Enforcement Act and Article 6:193b of the Dutch Civil Code). The Seller may also be held liable for the damages caused and the agreement entered into as a result is voidable (Articles 6:193b and 6:193j of the Dutch Civil Code).

In addition, Seclo notifies Sellers that he/she should register as Pro Sellers and may deactivate their account if they do not do so.

Furthermore, Seclo notifies Sellers that they can be deemed acting on a commercial basis and may deactivate their account if they do not delete commercial listings and/or do not decrease their volumes.

BUYERS’ LEGAL RIGHTS

Right of withdrawal

1) Transactions between Individual Users (consumers) or between Pro Sellers

The applicable legal provisions do not include any obligation to offer a right of withdrawal. Some sellers may nonetheless decide to offer the option to return or exchange an item (for example, by mentioning this in the descriptive section of their listing).

Furthermore, the Buyer Protection allows buyers to obtain reimbursement for their item, subject to certain conditions. It is an additional service offered by Seclo, which does not replace the buyer’s legal rights or any of the below-mentioned legal guarantees, which can be exercised in addition to, and independently from, the Buyer Protection.

2) Items sold by Pro Sellers to Individual Users (consumers)

Individual Users (consumers) have a right of withdrawal of fourteen (14) days, i.e. to return an Item to the Pro seller without any reason.

However, there are cases where the right of withdrawal does not apply because of the nature of the item. Please find the exceptions: the Dutch Consumer Code provides exceptions here.

To learn more on the conditions and procedures for exercising that right, please refer to the Pro Sellers’ Terms of Sale. Seclo can also help buyers who activate the Buyer Protection Pro. However, as already mentioned above, it is an additional service offered by Seclo, which does not replace the buyer’s legal rights or any of the legal guarantees, and which can be exercised in addition to, and independently from the Buyer Protection Pro.

Other rights and obligations

The legal provisions that apply to the above-mentioned transactions are the following:

– The provisions of the Dutch Civil Code concerning contractual obligations are available here,

– The provisions of the Dutch Civil Code with regard to contractual civil responsibility and liability are available here,

– The provisions of the Dutch Consumer Code with regards to information to be provided by Pro Sellers to consumers are available here,

– The provisions of the Dutch Consumer Code with regards to distance agreement concluded between Pro Sellers and consumers are available here.

Legal guarantees

The legal conformity guarantee

This guarantee only applies to sales concluded between Pro Sellers and consumers. Pursuant to Article 7:17 of the Dutch Civil Code, this guarantee in principle allows the buyer to obtain: (i) the repairs or the replacement of the Item, or (ii) when such options are not possible, either a reduction of the purchase price if the buyer retains the Item or a full reimbursement of the purchase price if the buyer returns the Item to the Pro Seller. You can consult the applicable legal provisions here.