Terms of Service

Last updated: 12 September 2026. By creating an account or using SafeList (Pty) Ltd ("SafeList", "we", "us", "our"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you do not agree, do not use the platform.

1. Definitions

"Platform" means the SafeList website and any related services. "Listing" means an advertisement for an item ("Item") posted by a Seller. "Seller" means a user who posts a Listing. "Buyer" means a user who purchases or attempts to purchase an Item. "Content" means any Listing, message, review, image, or other material a user submits to the Platform.

2. What SafeList is - and what it is not

SafeList operates a classifieds/marketplace platform that lets Sellers post Listings and Buyers browse, message, and purchase Items from Sellers, with payment routed through an independent escrow provider. SafeList is not the seller, manufacturer, importer, distributor, or supplier of any Item listed on the Platform, is not a party to the contract of sale between a Buyer and a Seller, and never takes possession of, handles, stores, ships, or delivers any Item. Every sale is a transaction directly between the Buyer and the Seller. SafeList's role is limited to providing the listing, messaging, escrow integration, moderation, and dispute-referral tools described in these Terms.

3. Cancellation

An Order can be cancelled only before the Buyer's payment has actually cleared into TradeSafe's escrow. A checkout that is started but never paid for is automatically cancelled and the Buyer is not charged. Once TradeSafe confirms the Buyer's funds are held in escrow (see clause 14), the Order can no longer simply be cancelled by either the Buyer or the Seller - from that point on, a problem with the Item is handled by raising a dispute instead (see Refunds below and clause 17).

4. Delivery

How an Item is delivered is chosen by the Seller when they create the Listing, not by SafeList. Each Listing offers one or both of: CourierGuy delivery (one or more of Door-to-Door, Locker-to-Locker, Locker-to-Door, or Door-to-Locker, booked and paid for by the Buyer through the Platform); and/or the Seller's own self-arranged delivery ("Other" - their own vehicle, a different courier, hand delivery, or collection, arranged and paid for directly between Buyer and Seller, outside the Platform). At checkout, the Buyer sees and can choose only from whichever method(s) that Listing's Seller has enabled. Where a CourierGuy shipment is booked through the Platform, SafeList facilitates and tracks that booking but is not the courier itself and is not liable for a courier's own acts, omissions, or delays (see clause 12); for a self-arranged delivery, SafeList has no role in arranging, tracking, or guaranteeing it at all.

5. Refunds

SafeList is not a party to the sale (see clause 2) and does not itself issue refunds. If an Item is not as it was described in its Listing - or is not delivered, unsafe, or otherwise not what the Buyer paid for - the Buyer's remedy is to raise a dispute from their Order page before confirming receipt (see clause 17). Raising a dispute keeps the funds held in TradeSafe's escrow while TradeSafe runs its own resolution process to decide whether the Buyer is refunded, the Seller is paid, or some other outcome applies. This does not limit either party's ordinary legal rights against the other, including under the Consumer Protection Act where it applies to their transaction.

6. SafeList does not test, inspect, or quality-control any Item

SafeList does not physically inspect, test, certify, verify the condition of, verify the safety of, or in any way quality-control any Item before or after it is listed. Automated and human moderation of a Listing (see clause 9) checks only whether the Listing's text and images appear to comply with these Terms and the law on their face - it is not, and must never be relied upon as, a safety inspection, product certification, quality assurance process, or endorsement of the Item, its condition, its fitness for any purpose, or its compliance with any safety standard. A Listing being live on the Platform is not a representation by SafeList that the Item is safe, functional, authentic, legal to own, or as described.

7. Seller responsibilities

The Seller is solely responsible for: the accuracy and completeness of their Listing; ensuring the Item matches its description and images; having the legal right to sell the Item; ensuring the Item and its sale comply with all applicable South African law, including any applicable safety, labelling, recall, or regulatory standard for that category of goods (for example, but not limited to, electrical/electronic equipment, toys, cosmetics, foodstuffs, motor vehicles and parts, and child-care items); and disclosing any known defect, prior damage, prior repair, recall, or safety issue affecting the Item. A Seller who lists an Item warrants to the Buyer - not to SafeList, and not through SafeList - that these obligations are met.

8. Prohibited and restricted items

Weapons and ammunition, illegal drugs, stolen goods, counterfeit goods, recalled products, items requiring a licence the Seller does not hold, live animals where prohibited, and any item whose sale is unlawful in South Africa may not be listed. SafeList may remove a Listing, suspend an account, and/or report a user to the relevant authorities where it reasonably believes this clause has been breached - see clause 9. This list is not exhaustive; the test is whether the sale of the Item is lawful.

9. Moderation is discretionary, not a guarantee

Every Listing is reviewed by a moderator before it goes live, and any user may report a Listing they believe is prohibited, misleading, or unsafe (see the "Report this listing" link on any Listing page). SafeList may approve, reject, cancel, or remove any Listing at its sole discretion, at any time, with or without notice. Moderation and reporting are provided as a harm-reduction measure and a means of enforcing these Terms - they are inherently imperfect, cannot catch every issue, and do not shift responsibility for an Item's safety, legality, or accuracy from the Seller to SafeList.

10. Buyer responsibilities and assumption of risk

Buying and selling secondhand, and in some cases new, goods directly from another member of the public carries inherent risk that does not exist when buying from a regulated retailer with its own quality-control processes. By using the Platform, the Buyer accepts and assumes that risk and agrees to: read each Listing and ask the Seller questions (via Messages) before purchasing; independently satisfy themselves, to the extent reasonably possible for the type of Item, of its condition, authenticity, safety, and suitability for their intended use before and after taking delivery; exercise particular care with any Item where a defect, wear, or improper use could pose a safety risk (for example, but not limited to, electrical appliances, children's and baby items, furniture, vehicles and vehicle parts, and anything intended to bear a person's weight or be consumed); and use the delivery/inspection window on their Order (see clause 4) to reject an Item, and raise a dispute (see clause 17), before confirming receipt if anything about it appears unsafe, damaged, or not as described.

11. No warranties from SafeList

To the fullest extent permitted by law, SafeList makes no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, about any Item, Listing, or user - including no warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, safety, quality, authenticity, legality, or that a Listing's description matches the actual Item. Any such warranty, if it exists at all, is given by the Seller directly to the Buyer as part of their own sale, under the ordinary law of sale and the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 where it applies to that transaction - never by SafeList, and never through SafeList standing in the Seller's place.

12. Limitation of liability - please read this clause carefully

This clause limits SafeList's liability to you and may affect your legal rights. Read it carefully. If anything in this clause is unclear, contact us at support@safelist.co.za before relying on the Platform.

To the fullest extent permitted by South African law: SafeList, its directors, employees, and agents will not be liable for any injury, illness, disability, death, loss, or damage of any kind - whether direct, indirect, incidental, special, or consequential - arising from or in connection with (a) any Item bought, sold, used, or misused via the Platform, including any defect in, or unsafe condition of, that Item; (b) any act or omission of a Seller, Buyer, courier, or other third party; (c) reliance on a Listing's description, images, or a moderator's decision to approve it; or (d) use of the Platform generally. Where SafeList's liability to a user cannot lawfully be excluded, that liability is limited, to the extent the law allows, to the total fees (if any) that user has paid directly to SafeList in the twelve months before the claim arose - it never extends to the value of any transaction conducted through the escrow provider, nor to any Item itself. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 or any other South African law - including liability for SafeList's own gross negligence, wilful misconduct, or fraud. This clause does not affect any claim a Buyer or Seller may have directly against the other party to their transaction, or against TradeSafe under TradeSafe's own terms.

13. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold SafeList harmless against any claim, loss, liability, or expense (including reasonable legal costs) arising from: your Listing or the Item it describes; any injury, illness, disability, or death connected to an Item you sold or bought via the Platform; your breach of these Terms; or your conduct towards another user.

14. Escrow payments - handled entirely by TradeSafe

SafeList itself never holds, processes, or has custody of any Buyer or Seller funds at any point in a transaction. Every payment for an Item is collected and held in escrow exclusively by TradeSafe, an independent, licensed escrow provider, under TradeSafe's own terms of service. Funds are only released to a Seller once TradeSafe confirms the Buyer has accepted delivery (or the applicable auto-accept window has passed) - SafeList has no ability to release, withhold, or redirect those funds itself.

15. Boosted ("Sponsored") listings - payment, delivery, cancellation and refunds

A Seller may pay a fee, processed by PayFast (Pty) Ltd, a licensed South African payment gateway, to have their Listing featured in the "Sponsored" placement on Browse/category pages for a set number of days (the "Boost Period") shown at the time of purchase. This is a paid placement fee only - it does not constitute, and must never be read as, any inspection, endorsement, verification, or quality-control of that Listing or Item by SafeList. Every clause in this document applies identically to a boosted Listing. This clause covers only the boost fee itself - the sale of the underlying Item is a separate transaction handled entirely through TradeSafe's escrow, governed by clauses 14 and 17 above.

Delivery: a boost is delivered electronically - it goes live on the Listing automatically as soon as PayFast confirms payment, and runs for the Boost Period before switching off on its own. There is no physical delivery and no separate action needed from the Seller to receive it.

Cancellation: a boost is a fixed-term placement, not a recurring subscription - it is paid once for the Boost Period shown at checkout and does not renew or charge again automatically. There is nothing to cancel once it is live; if payment is never confirmed by PayFast, no boost is created and no fee is charged.

Refunds: because a boost is delivered in full the moment it goes live, the fee is non-refundable once the boost is active, including if the underlying Listing is later edited, unpublished, sells, or is removed for breaching these Terms before the Boost Period ends. The only exception is a payment PayFast never actually confirms (e.g. a failed or reversed payment) - no boost is created in that case and no fee is retained. If you believe you were charged for a boost that never went live, contact support@safelist.co.za.

16. Reviews

Reviews reflect the personal opinion of the reviewing user about that specific transaction, not a verification by SafeList. Do not rely on the absence of negative reviews as any assurance about an Item's safety or a Seller's reliability.

17. Transaction disputes

A dispute over a specific order (item not as described, not delivered, unsafe, etc.) is raised from your Order page and is handled through TradeSafe's own resolution process for the funds held in escrow, not by SafeList. This does not limit either party's ordinary legal rights against the other, including under the Consumer Protection Act where it applies to their transaction.

18. Reporting an unsafe or prohibited listing

If you believe a Listing is unsafe, prohibited, misleading, or otherwise breaks these Terms, use the "Report this listing" link on the Listing page, or contact support@safelist.co.za immediately if you believe an Item poses an active safety risk. Do not wait for a moderator's response before taking whatever action is needed to protect yourself or others.

19. Account suspension and termination

SafeList may suspend or terminate any account, at its discretion, for breach of these Terms, suspected fraud, or conduct that risks harm to another user. You may close your own account at any time from your Manage pages.

20. Intellectual property

You retain ownership of Content you submit but grant SafeList a licence to display it on the Platform for as long as your Listing or account remains active. You must not upload Content you do not have the right to use.

21. Changes to these Terms

SafeList may update these Terms from time to time. Continued use of the Platform after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. Material changes will be flagged on this page.

22. Governing law and jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa, and the South African courts have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising from them, without prejudice to any right a consumer has under the Consumer Protection Act to refer a dispute to the National Consumer Commission or another applicable forum.

23. Severability

If any clause of these Terms is found unenforceable, the rest remain in full force, and the unenforceable clause is read down to the narrowest form needed to make it enforceable.

24. Contact

Questions about these Terms: support@safelist.co.za.