Terms of Service

1. About Merchant Scroll NZ

Merchant Scroll NZ is an online marketplace operating in New Zealand for the buying, selling, and trading of Magic: The Gathering trading cards. The platform operates under New Zealand law and is subject to the Consumer Guarantees Act, the Fair Trading Act, the Privacy Act, and applicable Goods and Services Tax obligations.

[TODO: Operating entity name, registered address, and contact details — pending operator input.]

2. User Eligibility

[TODO: Age requirement, NZ residency scope, and account registration requirements — pending governance decision and legal review.]

3. Seller Obligations

Sellers are responsible for accurately describing the cards they list. Specifically:

• Card condition must be graded using one of the four governed condition values: NM (Near Mint), LP (Lightly Played), MP (Moderately Played), or HP (Heavily Played). No other condition value may be used.
• The Scryfall-derived reference image shown on each listing is a reference image only. It is not a photo of the seller’s actual card and is not evidence of the listed card’s condition. Sellers must ensure their own uploaded photo evidence (where required by the platform) accurately represents the listed card.
• Counterfeit cards, altered cards listed as genuine, and any listing that materially misrepresents the card or its condition are prohibited.
• Once an order is paid by the buyer, the seller is responsible for shipping the card in accordance with platform postage requirements. The platform’s order lifecycle records this transition as paid → shipped.
• See the Seller Policy for the full seller obligations and the photo-evidence requirements that apply at different listing values.

[TODO: Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 “acting in trade” characterisation — which sellers count as traders for CGA purposes — pending legal review.]

4. Buyer Protection

Buyer Protection is default-on for orders at and above the governed value threshold. The protection covers Held Payout (the seller’s funds are held by the platform until the buyer confirms receipt, the buyer’s action window closes, or any active dispute on the order is resolved) and access to the structured dispute flow described in the Dispute & Returns Policy.

Held Payout is a governed operational practice for protecting transaction outcomes during dispute review. It is not an escrow arrangement, and the platform does not act as a licensed escrow agent.

Buyer Protection fees are flat band fees set out on the Fee Schedule.

Dispute filing windows are governed by the constants Condition_Dispute_Window, Non_Receipt_Min_Window, Non_Receipt_Max_Window, and Auto_Payout_No_Action_After in the platform Constants Registry, and are summarised in the Dispute & Returns Policy.

Where Buyer Protection applies but a buyer’s identity verification has not been completed, the order remains in a Held Payout state pending verification or admin handling. Admin may permit an opt-down to an unprotected purchase within the governed value limit (Constants Registry: Buyer_Protection_Opt_Down_Max); opt-down is not automatic and the buyer must actively elect it through admin review.

5. Fees

Platform fees, Buyer Protection fees, subscription pricing, single-credit pricing, and trade-access credit costs are set out on the Fee Schedule. Buyer Protection fees are listed inclusive of New Zealand Goods and Services Tax (GST). GST treatment for other line items is pending confirmation of GST registration with the platform’s accountant; the Fee Schedule will be updated once that status is confirmed.

6. Prohibited Conduct

The following practices are prohibited on the platform:

• storing raw KYC identity document data as governed platform data;
• using vague or undefined enforcement language where explicit governed outcomes already exist;
• presenting Goods and Services Tax (GST) treatment inconsistently with the maintained Fee Schedule;
• silently retaining abandoned inventory import payloads beyond the governed window;
• silently applying unresolved or ambiguous inventory import rows;
• describing governed protections or dispute outcomes in a way that materially overstates real platform behaviour;
• displaying a reference image without a visible label identifying it as a reference image;
• using the words “verified”, “certified”, or “authenticated” in any trust-related label in a way that implies platform inspection of card condition or seller behaviour;
• removing a Transaction Rating solely on the basis of a subject request, without a finding of inaccuracy, bad faith, or content policy violation.

In addition, the following account states trigger a governed account lock pending review:

• a negative credit balance on the account;
• an active chargeback or equivalent unresolved payment-reversal state;
• required identity verification (KYC) has not been completed;
• a pattern of repeated unresolved disputes on the account where dispute-history review indicates restriction is required.

7. Dispute Resolution

The platform supports two sale-dispute triggers:

• not_as_described — raised by the buyer after delivery, where the buyer claims the received item is not as described. Filing window: Condition_Dispute_Window from the Constants Registry.
• item_not_received — raised by the buyer after shipment, where delivery has not occurred. Filing windows: Non_Receipt_Min_Window and Non_Receipt_Max_Window from the Constants Registry.

Where the buyer takes no action within Auto_Payout_No_Action_After of delivery, the order moves to auto_payout in the governed order lifecycle.

Resolved disputes terminate the order at one of two governed outcomes:

• payout — the dispute resolves in favour of the seller, or a buyer non-response branch applies.
• refund — the dispute resolves in favour of the buyer and refund conditions are satisfied. Where the dispute branch requires return of the card, the refund cannot be processed until return delivery is confirmed.

The full dispute process, including evidence submission and admin handling, is set out in the Dispute & Returns Policy.

[TODO: Governing law clause, jurisdiction choice, and reference to the New Zealand Disputes Tribunal — pending legal review.]

8. Platform Liability

[TODO: Limitation of liability, intermediary status, and indemnification — pending NZ legal review. The Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 cannot be contracted out of for consumer transactions, and the wording of this section must be drafted to respect that statutory position.]

9. Termination

The platform may lock or restrict an account when any of the following governed conditions arises:

• a negative credit balance on the account;
• an active chargeback or equivalent unresolved payment-reversal state;
• required identity verification (KYC) has not been completed;
• a pattern of repeated unresolved disputes where dispute-history review indicates restriction is required.

Where an order is in an active dispute at the time of account restriction, the seller’s funds remain in Held Payout until the dispute resolves to payout or refund under the governed dispute outcomes. Account restriction does not by itself release Held Payout funds.

On account termination, personal identifiers (username, email, profile fields) will be deleted or anonymised within 30 days, unless retention is required to resolve an active dispute or by applicable law. Transaction records and audit log entries related to completed transactions are retained for 7 years following the relevant transaction in accordance with standard commercial record-keeping obligations.

[TODO: Statutory AML/CFT retention obligations — pending confirmation by NZ legal counsel of the platform’s reporting-entity status. See the KYC Provider Statement.]

10. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we make material changes we will update the “Last updated” date at the top of this page and, where reasonably practicable, notify you by email or via an in-platform notice before the changes take effect. Continued use of the platform after the effective date of any updated Terms constitutes your acceptance of those changes.

[TODO: Legal review of change-notice obligations and consent mechanism under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 and Fair Trading Act 1986 — pending NZ legal counsel review.]