Shopping Trader User Agreement    

last updated 21/3/2007

THE FOLLOWING DESCRIBES THE TERMS ON WHICH SHOPPING TRADER OFFERS YOU ACCESS TO OUR SERVICES. 

Welcome to the user agreement (the "Terms and Conditions" or "Agreement" or "User Agreement") for Shopping Trader Inc. hereafter referred to "Shopping Trader"  Shopping Trader is multi-national web site, so if you reside outside of  British Virgin Islands, the party you are contracting with is Shopping Trader.  This Agreement describes the terms and conditions applicable to your use of our services available under the domain and sub-domains of www.ShoppingTrader.com (the "Site")  and the general principles for the web sites of our subsidiaries (in Australia, ShoppingTrader is a franchised business with ShoppingTrader.com Australia Pty. Ltd. (ACN 118 887 997 ABN 80 837 982 510) as the Franchisor) and international affiliates. If you do not agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of this Agreement, do not use or access our services.

If you have any questions, please refer to our Frequently Asked Questions.

You must read, agree with and accept all of the terms and conditions contained in this User Agreement and the Privacy Policy, which include those terms and conditions expressly set out below and those incorporated by reference, before you may become a member of Shopping Trader. We strongly recommend that, as you read this User Agreement, you also access and read the information contained in the other pages and web sites referred to in this document, as they may contain further terms and conditions that apply to you as a Shopping Trader user. Please note:  underlined words and phrases are links to these pages and web sites.  By accepting this User Agreement, you also agree that your use of other Shopping Trader web sites will be governed by the User Agreement and Privacy Policy posted on those web sites.

We may amend this Agreement at any time by posting the amended terms on the Site.  Except as stated below, all amended terms shall automatically be effective 14 days after they are initially posted on the Site.  In addition, we will notify you in accordance with your Notification Preferences.  This Agreement may not be otherwise amended except in a written document signed by you and Shopping Trader. This Agreement is effective upon acceptance in registration for new registering users.

1.  Membership Eligibility.

1.1  Our services are available only to, and may only be used by individuals who can form legally binding contracts under applicable law. Without limiting the foregoing, our services are not available to children (persons under the age of 18) or to temporarily or indefinitely suspended Shopping Trader members. If you are a under the age of 18, you can use this service only in conjunction with, and under the supervision of your parents or guardians. If you do not qualify, please do not use our Site. Further, your Shopping Trader account (including feedback) and User ID may not be transferred or sold to another party.  If you are registering as a business entity, you represent that you have the authority to bind the entity to this Agreement. 

2.  Fees and Services.

2.1  Joining and listing text only advertisements on Shopping Trader is FREE.  We do charge fees for upgrading listing items  (extra text, photos, video, enhanced text, online eShops, Banner Advertising services) for sale through our Site and when you list an item you have an opportunity to review and accept the fees that you will be charged.  Our Fees and Credits Policy is available and is incorporated into this Agreement by reference.  We may change our Fees and Credits Policy and the fees for our services from time to time.  Our changes to the policy are effective after we provide you with at least fourteen (14) days notice of the changes by posting the changes on the Site.  However, we may choose to temporarily change our Fees and Credits Policy and the fees for our services for promotional events (for example, free listing days) and such changes are effective when we post the temporary promotional event on the Site.  We may in our sole discretion change some or all of our services at any time.  In the event we introduce a new service, the fees for that service are effective at the launch of the service.  Unless otherwise stated are all fees are quoted in US. Dollars, except all fees in Australia are quoted in AUS. Dollars; all fees in New Zealand are quoted in NZ Dollars; all fees in UK are quoted in British Pounds; and all fees in other OEC Countries are quoted in Euros. When you purchase credits, you are sent a Tax Invoice, if applicable, for your purchase via email.

3.  Shopping Trader is a Venue.

 3.1  Shopping Trader by default is NOT an Auctioneer NOR an auction site .  Although we are commonly referred to as an online classified advertisement web site, it is important to realise that we are not an online auction site, but a traditional classified advertisement online site instead.  The Site acts as a venue to allow anyone to offer, sell, and buy just about anything, at anytime, from anywhere, in a variety of pricing formats, for the fixed advertised price.  We are not involved in the actual transaction between buyers and sellers.  As a result, we have no control over the quality, safety or legality of the items advertised; the truth or accuracy of the listings; the ability of sellers to sell items or the ability of buyers to pay for items.  We cannot ensure that a buyer or seller will actually complete a transaction.  Consequently, we do not transfer legal ownership of items from the seller to the buyer, and nothing in this agreement shall modify the governing provisions, under which legal ownership of an item is transferred upon physical delivery of the item to the buyer by the seller.

3.2   Identity Verification.  We use many techniques to verify the accuracy of the information our users provide us when they register on the Site.  However, because user verification on the Internet is difficult, Shopping Trader cannot and does not confirm each user's purported identity.

3.3  Information Control.  We do not control the information provided by other users that is made available through our system. You may find other user's information to be offensive, harmful, inaccurate, or deceptive.  You may use our online tool to report Offensive Content, however you must be first registered and logged in to do so.  Please use caution, common sense, and practice safe trading when using the Site.  Please note that there are also risks of dealing with underage persons or people acting under false pretense.  Additionally, there may also be risks dealing with international trade and foreign nationals.  By using this Site, you agree to accept such risks and Shopping Trader is not responsible for the acts or omissions of users on the Site.   

4.  Listing and Selling.

4.1  Listing Description.  You must be legally able to sell the item(s) you list for sale on the Site.  You must describe your item and all terms of sale on the listing page of the Site.  Your listings may only include text descriptions, graphics, pictures and other content relevant to the sale of that item.  All listed items must be listed in an appropriate category.  All items in multiple item listings must be identical.

4.2  eShops.   eShops are based on a geographic location.  What we mean here is that you can NOT have one eShop for more than one geographic location  eg..  ten stores across the country and having one eShop servicing all your ten stores.   PayPal merchant facilities are required if you require eCommerce Merchant facilities within your eShop.  There is NO CHARGE from ShoppingTrader for eCommerce Gateway services and nor does ShoppingTrader charge a commission on sale for any listing including both normal or eShops.

5.  Your Information.

5.1  Definition.  "Your Information" is defined as any information you provide to us or other users in the registration, listing process, in any public message area  or through any email feature.  You are solely responsible for Your Information, and we act as a passive conduit for your online distribution and publication of Your Information.

5.2  Restricted Activities.  Your Information (or any items listed) and your activities on the Site shall not: (a) be false, inaccurate or misleading; (b) be fraudulent or involve the sale of counterfeit or stolen items; (c) infringe any third party's copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary rights or rights of publicity or privacy; (d) violate any law, statute, ordinance or regulation (including, but not limited to, those governing export control, consumer protection, unfair competition, anti-discrimination or false advertising); (e) be defamatory, trade libelous, unlawfully threatening or unlawfully harassing; (f) be obscene or contain child pornography or, if otherwise adult in nature or harmful to minors, shall be posted only in the Mature Audiences section and shall be distributed only to people legally permitted to receive such content; g) contain any viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, cancel bots, easter eggs or other computer programming routines that may damage, detrimentally interfere with, surreptitiously intercept or expropriate any system, data or personal information; (h) create liability for us or cause us to lose (in whole or in part) the services of our ISPs or other suppliers; and (i) link directly or indirectly to or include descriptions of goods or services that: (aa) are prohibited under this Agreement; (bb) are identical to other items you have up for sale but are priced lower than your item's; (cc) are concurrently listed for sale on a web site other than Shopping Trader's (this does not prevent linking to or advertising an Shopping Trader item from another web site); or (dd) you do not have a right to link to or include.  Furthermore, you may not list any item on the Site (or consummate any transaction that was initiated using our service) that, by paying to us the listing fee or the final value fee, could cause us to violate any applicable law, statute, ordinance or regulation, or that violates our current Prohibited, Questionable and Infringing Items.

5.3  License.  Solely to enable Shopping Trader to use the information you supply us with, so that we are not violating any rights you might have in that information, you agree to grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, sub licensable (through multiple tiers) right to exercise the copyright, publicity, and database rights (but no other rights) you have in Your Information, in any media now known or not currently known, with respect to Your Information. Shopping Trader will only use Your Information in accordance with our Privacy Policy. 

6.   Access and Interference.

6.1  The Site contains robot exclusion headers.  Much of the information on the Site is updated on a real time basis and is proprietary or is licensed to Shopping Trader by our users or third parties. You agree that you will not use any robot, spider, scraper or other automated means to access the Site for any purpose without our express written permission.  Additionally, you agree that you will not: (i) take any action that imposes, or may impose in our sole discretion an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our infrastructure; (ii) copy, reproduce, modify, create derivative works from, distribute or publicly display any content (except for Your Information) from the Site without the prior expressed written permission of Shopping Trader and the appropriate third party, as applicable; (iii) interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Site or any activities conducted on the Site; or (iv) bypass our robot exclusion headers or other measures we may use to prevent or restrict access to the Site.

7.   Feedback.

7.1 Integrity.  You may not take any actions that may undermine the integrity of the feedback system.  Violations or abuse of this system may cause your membership to be suspended, and you may be unable to list or access myST members area.  Any feedback can  be posted to us via our website.   To  reduce overheads due to excessive email Spam, we do NOT answer / reply to normal emails sent, we only reply to queries posted via our website email forms.

8.  Privacy.

8.1  We do not sell or rent your personal information to third parties for their marketing purposes without your explicit consent and we only use your information as described in the Privacy Policy.  We view protection of users' privacy as a very important community principle.  We understand clearly that you and your information is one of our most important assets.  We store and process your information on computers located in the United States that are protected by physical as well as technological security devices. We use third parties to verify and certify our privacy principles.  Our current Privacy Policy is available at http://www.ShoppingTrader.com/help/policies/privacy-policy.html.  If you object to your Information being transferred or used in this way please do not use our services.

9.   No Warranty.

9.1  WE, OUR SUBSIDIARIES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, MASTER FRANCHISERS, FRANCHISES, AND OUR SUPPLIERS PROVIDE OUR WEB SITE AND SERVICES "AS IS" AND WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY OR CONDITION, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY.  WE, OUR SUBSIDIARIES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES AND OUR SUPPLIERS SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.  Some states do not allow the disclaimer of implied warranties, so the foregoing disclaimer may not apply to you.  This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other legal rights that vary from state to state. 

10.  Liability Limit.

10.1  IN NO EVENT SHALL WE, OUR SUBSIDIARIES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, MASTER FRANCHISORS, FRANCHISES, OR OUR SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR LOST PROFITS OR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH OUR SITE, OUR SERVICES OR THIS AGREEMENT (HOWEVER ARISING, INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE).

 
OUR LIABILITY, AND THE LIABILITY OF OUR SUBSIDIARIES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, MASTER FRANCHISORS, FRANCHISES, AND SUPPLIERS, TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTIES IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCE IS LIMITED TO THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT OF FEES YOU PAY TO US IN THE 12 MONTHS PRIOR TO THE ACTION GIVING RISE TO LIABILITY, AND (B) $100. Some States do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you. 

11.  Indemnity.

11.1  You agree to indemnify and hold us and (as applicable) our parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, master franchisor, franchises, agents, and employees, harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys' fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of your breach of this Agreement or the documents it incorporates by reference, or your violation of any law or the rights of a third party. 

12.  Legal Compliance.

12.1  You shall comply with all applicable domestic and international laws, statutes, ordinances and regulations regarding your use of our service and your bidding on, listing, purchase, solicitation of offers to purchase, and sale of items. 

13.  No Agency.

13.1  You and Shopping Trader are independent contractors, and no agency, partnership, joint venture, employee-employer or franchiser-franchisee relationship is intended or created by this Agreement. 

14.  Notices.

14.1  Except as explicitly stated otherwise, any notices shall be given by postal mail to Shopping Trader Inc Attn: Legal Department, De Castri Street Wickams Cay 1 Tortola, British Virgin Islands. (in the case of Shopping Trader) or via a the email address you provide to Shopping Trader during the registration process (in your case). Notice shall be deemed given 24 hours after email is sent, unless the sending party is notified that the email address is invalid. Alternatively, we may give you notice by certified mail, postage prepaid and return receipt requested, to the address provided to Shopping Trader during the registration process. In such case, notice shall be deemed given 3 days after the date of mailing.

15.  Resolution of Disputes.

15.1  In the event a dispute arises between you and Shopping Trader, our goal is to provide you with a neutral and cost effective means of resolving the dispute quickly. Accordingly, you and Shopping Trader agree that any claim or controversy at law or equity that arises out of this Agreement or our services ("Claims") shall be resolved in accordance with one of the subsections below or as otherwise mutually agreed upon in writing by the parties. Before resorting to these alternatives, we strongly encourage you to first contact us directly to seek a resolution and we will consider reasonable requests to resolve the dispute through alternative dispute resolution procedures, such as mediation, as an alternative to litigation.

15.2  Court. Alternatively, any Claim may be adjudicated by a Court of competent jurisdiction located in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. You and Shopping Trader agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of the Courts located within Tortola, British Virgin Island.

15.3 Alternative Dispute Resolution. Alternatively, Shopping Trader will consider use of other alternative forms of dispute resolution, such as binding arbitration to be held Tortola, British Virgin Island or another location mutually agreed upon by the parties.

15.3  All Claims (excluding requests for injunctive or equitable relief) between the parties must be resolved using the dispute resolution mechanism that is selected in accordance with this Section by the first party to file a Claim. Should either party file an action contrary to this Section 15, the other party may recover attorneys' fees and costs up to US$250, provided that the party seeking the award has notified the other party in writing of the improperly filed Claim, and the other party has failed to withdraw the Claim. 

15.4  Each of these policies may be changed from time to time and are effective immediately after we post the changes on the Site, except for the Privacy Policy for which we will provide you with thirty days prior notice. In addition, when using particular services on the Site, you agree that you are subject to any posted policies or rules applicable to services you use through the Site, which may be posted from time to time. All such posted policies or rules are hereby incorporated by reference into this Agreement.

16.  General.

16.1  This Agreement shall be governed in all respects by the laws of the British Virgin Islands, such laws are applied to agreements entered into . We do not guarantee continuous, uninterrupted or secure access to our services, and operation of the Site may be interfered with by numerous factors outside of our control. If any provision of this Agreement is held to be invalid or unenforceable, such provision shall be struck and the remaining provisions shall be enforced. You agree that this Agreement and all incorporated agreements may be automatically assigned by Shopping Trader in accordance with Section 14 "Notices", in our sole discretion, Headings are for reference purposes only and in no way define, limit, construe or describe the scope or extent of such section. Our failure to act with respect to a breach by you or others does not waive our right to act with respect to subsequent or similar breaches. This Agreement sets forth the entire understanding and agreement between us with respect to the subject matter hereof. Sections 2 (Fees and Services) with respect to fees owed for our services, 3.4 (Release), 5.3 (License), 6 (Access and Interference), 9 (Liability Limit), 11 (Indemnity) and 15 (Resolution of Disputes) shall survive any termination or expiration of this Agreement. 

17.  Disclosures.

17.1  The services hereunder are offered by ShoppingTrader.com Inc, located at De Castri Street, Wickams Cay, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. You may have this same information emailed to you by emailing us direct. ShoppingTrader.com Australia Pty. Pty. is located at PO BOX 127, PETRIE QLD 4502

17.3  Disputes between you and Shopping Trader regarding our services may be reported to Customer Support by email

17.4  Shopping Trader is NOT responsibe or NOT liable for disputes between Sellers and Purchasers.

17.5  Additionally, you may report complaints to the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services of the Department of Consumer Affairs in your local state or country.