Terms of Use

About these terms

By creating an account, or by confirming that you accept these terms when you first sign in, you agree to them. If you do not agree, please do not use Decluttering. You can browse listings without an account. These terms still apply to that browsing, as far as they are relevant.

Our Privacy Policy explains how we handle your personal information, and our Cookie Notice explains the cookies we use. Both form part of these terms.

Who we are

Decluttering is run by Decluttering Solutions (Pty) Ltd, a private company registered in South Africa. In these terms, “we”, “us” and “our” mean that company, and “you” means you, the user.

Company

Decluttering Solutions (Pty) Ltd, trading as Decluttering

Registration number

2026/697223/07

Information Officer

Petrus Johannes van Vuuren (Johan van Vuuren)

Physical address

177 Nkwe RoadTierpoort0056

Phone

078 902 5258

Email

support@decluttering.co.za

Website

decluttering.co.za

The full list of details that the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act requires us to give you is in Information required by the ECT Act.

What Decluttering does, and does not do

Decluttering is an online marketplace. It lets people list items, most of them second-hand, for sale, and lets other people buy them.

• We are not the seller or the buyer. The sale contract for an item is between the buyer and the seller. We are not a party to it. We do not own, inspect, store or ship the items listed, and we do not guarantee their quality, safety, legality or description.
• We do not handle the purchase money. The buyer pays the seller directly (see Who holds the money).
• We are not the courier. Buyer and seller arrange delivery themselves (see Courier orders).
• What we do: we provide the platform; check the identity of every seller, and of buyers who choose to verify; check sellers’ bank details before a buyer sees them; screen listings and messages for scams and prohibited items; keep a record of each order; and help resolve disputes. These steps make trading on Decluttering safer, but they cannot remove every risk.

Who can use Decluttering

To use Decluttering you must:

• be 18 or older;
• verify your identity with a South African identity document before you sell (see Your account and verification);
• have only one account, unless we agree otherwise in writing; and
• not have had an account suspended or closed by us, unless we agree otherwise.

Your account and verification

• You sign in with a one-time code sent to your email address, or with Google or Apple. Keep access to your email account secure. Anyone who can read your email can sign in as you.
• Sellers must verify their identity before their first listing. This is done through our verification provider, Didit, with your South African identity document, a selfie and a short video of your face, and a code sent by SMS to your phone. Before the check starts, we ask for your consent to the processing of your ID document, selfie and video, and we keep a record of it. We do not ask for proof of address.
• Our team checks every approval again. After Didit approves you, a member of our team reviews the result. You can use your account while this happens. If we find a problem, for example a document that is not genuine or a face that does not match, we suspend your account and remove your verified status. Lifting the suspension does not give the verified status back: you must complete a new identity check.
• Changing your phone number needs a new identity check. You change the number on your account by completing the check again, with a code sent to the new number.
• Sellers must add bank details before buyers can pay them. You give us the account details and a bank account confirmation letter. The account must be held in your name, or in the name of your registered business on Decluttering. We check the letter against your verified name and ID number, and our team reviews every submission, including every change, before it is used on a new order. Until a change is approved, buyers see your previously approved details.
• Buyers do not have to verify. A seller who offers collection can choose to sell only to verified buyers. If you buy such an item, the seller cannot accept your order until you have verified your identity.
• The information you give us must be true, and you must keep it up to date. We may refuse verification, for example if the details do not match, if the identity document is not South African, if the identity is already verified on another account, or if our team has flagged the identity.
• You are responsible for everything done through your account.

Listing items

When you list an item, you confirm that:

• you own it, or have the right to sell it, and it is not stolen;
• it is not a prohibited item (see the next section);
• your photos show the actual item, and your title, description, condition and price are accurate and not misleading. This applies even if you used an AI draft: you are responsible for what you publish; and
• you will honour a sale at the price listed, or at an offer price you accepted.

Also note:

• Every listing is checked automatically when it is published, and again when you change it. A listing that is flagged, or priced far below the range its AI draft suggested, waits for our team to review it before it goes live. If the automatic check is unavailable, the listing waits for review too.
• A listing stays live for 30 days, unless it sells or you withdraw it first.
• You can create up to 40 listings in any 24 hours.
• We may refuse, hide or remove any listing that breaks these terms or the law, or that we reasonably believe puts users at risk.

Prohibited items

You may not list, sell or offer:

• property (real estate or land);
• livestock or any live animal;
• firearms, ammunition or weapons;
• alcohol;
• medication or prescription drugs;
• event tickets;
• adult content or adult services;
• counterfeit or replica goods;
• stolen goods, or goods you do not have the right to sell;
• illegal drugs, drug paraphernalia, or tobacco and vaping products;
• explosives, fireworks, or hazardous or dangerous substances;
• copper, electrical cable, catalytic converters or scrap metal;
• SIM cards, or phones that are blacklisted or blocked by their IMEI number;
• recalled or unsafe products;
• personal or financial information, accounts, or documents such as ID documents and licences;
• services, gift cards, vouchers or money;
• protected wildlife or wildlife products;
• anything else that is illegal to sell in South Africa.

How we enforce this list. Our automatic listing check looks for every category above, and holds a listing it flags for our team to review. It can miss things, and it cannot always tell whether an item is stolen, so our team also removes listings when we find them or when someone reports them with the “Report this listing” link on the listing. Either way, you are responsible for not listing a prohibited item.

Vehicles may be listed.

Fees and prices

• Buyers pay no platform fee. You pay the seller the item price, plus any delivery cost you agree with the seller.
• Sellers pay 2% of the item price on each completed sale. Delivery is not included in the amount we charge on. A sale is completed when the buyer confirms they received the item, or automatically 7 days after the seller confirmed payment. There is no fee on a cancelled order, or on a sale where our team decides a dispute with a full refund to the buyer. One exception: if a cash collection is cancelled because the buyer’s collection code wasn’t used, and the seller doesn’t tell us within 48 hours that the buyer didn’t come, we treat it as a sale and charge the seller the 2% fee. We also charge it if the buyer shows our team they collected the item and paid.
• Identity checks: checking your identity is free for the first 100 people to verify on Decluttering. After that, we charge R20 for each identity-check decision, whether the check passes or not. The new identity check when you change your phone number is free.
• How you pay us: at the start of each month we send you one invoice for the fees from the month before. You pay it by EFT, into the bank account shown on the invoice, within 14 days of the invoice date. If you do not pay on time, we may stop you from listing or selling until you do.
• VAT: we add VAT to our fees only if we are registered for VAT. Your invoice shows whether VAT is included.
• AI credits are free (see AI credits).
• Item prices are set by sellers. A seller who is registered for VAT is responsible for the VAT on their own sales.

Buying and paying

This is how a sale works:

1. You place an order. When you check out, we create one order for each seller, and the items are reserved for you.
2. The seller accepts it. The seller has 48 hours to accept your order. If they do not, the order lapses and the items go back on sale. An order that comes from an accepted offer starts out accepted.
3. You pay the seller. Once the seller accepts, the order page shows you the seller’s bank details. You then have 48 hours to pay the seller, for example by EFT or an instant payment from your own banking app, and to upload your proof of payment on the order page. If the listing says the seller accepts cash on collection, you can arrange to pay in cash when you collect.
4. The seller confirms payment. The seller confirms in the app that they received your money. The item is then sold to you.
5. You receive the item and confirm. When you have the item, confirm on the order page that you received it. If you do not, the order completes automatically 7 days after the seller confirmed payment.

Also note:

• Never pay before the seller has accepted your order, and only pay into the bank details shown on the order page. Do not pay into bank details someone sends you in a message, by email or by phone. We show a seller’s bank details only after our team has checked them, only once the seller accepts your order, and only while the order is open. We keep a record each time they are shown.
• If the time to pay runs out and you have not uploaded proof of payment, the order is cancelled and the items go back on sale.
• If you uploaded proof of payment, your order is never cancelled automatically. If the seller has not confirmed your payment by the deadline, the order is held, we tell you both, and our team looks at it.
• You can have at most 5 orders waiting for payment at a time.
• You can see each order’s details and history on its page in your account at any time.

Who holds the money

We do not receive, hold or refund the purchase money. The buyer pays the seller directly, and any refund is paid by the seller to the buyer. We are not a bank or a payment service provider, and we are not an agent for the payment. Because we never hold the money, we have none to give back if something goes wrong. What we do is keep a record of the order, help you contact each other, and decide disputes (see Disputes).

We plan to offer an optional escrow service through a specialist escrow provider, which would hold the payment until the buyer has the item. It is not available yet, and we would still not hold the money ourselves. If we introduce it, we will update these terms and tell you before it applies to any order.

Courier orders

• Buyer and seller arrange delivery themselves. Courier delivery is from locker to locker. The seller drops the parcel at the Courier Guy locker or kiosk named on the listing, and it goes to the locker the buyer chooses at checkout. There is no delivery to a door. On the order page, the buyer can get a price from The Courier Guy for that route, through our courier partner Shiplogic. This price is for your information: we do not book, pay for or track the parcel. The buyer pays for delivery, as agreed with the seller.
• The seller can add the courier’s tracking reference to the order so that the buyer can follow the parcel with the courier.
• Sellers must pack items properly for courier transport, and make sure each item works, is whole, and is as described before it is sent. We give sellers packing guidance when they list an item for courier delivery.
• The seller carries the risk of loss or damage until the buyer collects the parcel from the locker. If a parcel is lost, or arrives damaged, the seller must refund the buyer, and any claim against the courier is between the seller and the courier.
• No courier cover. There is no courier insurance or cover on any parcel. A parcel sent from locker to locker cannot carry a declared value, and we do not sell cover.

Collection orders

A collection order means the buyer and seller meet in person to hand over the item.

• Each listing that offers collection says whether the seller wants payment before you collect, will only accept cash on collection, or leaves it to you.
• Inspect the item before you pay cash for it, and before you confirm that you received it. If there is a problem with the item, do not take it.
• Sellers: do not hand over the item until you have confirmed that you received the payment.
• Keep yourself safer: meet in a busy public place in daylight, take someone with you, and tell someone else where you are going. Do not invite a stranger into your home or go into theirs if you can avoid it. Keep your conversation in the app. If you feel unsafe, leave. In an emergency, call the police on 10111.

Cancellations and refunds

• Either the buyer or the seller can cancel an order on its page until the seller has confirmed payment. We tell the other person.
• Once the seller has confirmed payment, neither of you can cancel the order yourselves. Only our team can cancel it. If something is wrong, the buyer can open a dispute (see Disputes), or either of you can contact us.
• If an order is cancelled after the buyer paid the seller, the seller must refund the buyer in full, promptly. We do not pay refunds, because we never held the money.
• Your rights under consumer protection law are not affected where that law applies (see Consumer protection law).

Disputes

A buyer can open a dispute on an order:

• while the item is being handed over or delivered, after the seller has confirmed payment;
• for 7 days after the order completes; and
• for 7 days after the order was cancelled, if the buyer had uploaded proof of payment.

A dispute can be about an item that was not received, is not as described, was damaged in transit, or is counterfeit, or about money paid for an order that was then cancelled.

How it works:

• The buyer explains the problem and can upload photos or other evidence.
• The seller has 48 hours to respond. Buyer and seller can agree a solution between themselves, for example a partial refund.
• If they cannot agree, our team reviews the evidence and decides. We may decide in the seller’s favour, or that the seller owes the buyer a full or partial refund. A decision for a full refund cancels the order, and the seller pays no fee on it.
• Our decision records who owes whom. No money moves through us, so the refund, if any, must be paid by the seller. We may restrict or suspend the account of a user who does not follow our decision.

We decide disputes fairly, on the evidence we have. Our decision settles the order on the platform. It does not take away any right you have to go to court, or any right you have under consumer protection law.

AI credits

You can ask our AI to draft a listing from your photos. Each draft uses 1 AI credit. The AI service provider we use is described in our Privacy Policy.

• You get 10 free AI credits every day. They reset at midnight South African time. Unused free credits do not carry over to the next day.
• You get 1 extra credit for each listing you publish, once per listing. It expires at midnight on the same day, like the free credits.
• You can make at most 300 AI drafts a day, however many credits you have.
• If a draft fails because of a fault on our side or the AI provider’s, the credit is given back.
• You cannot buy credits.
• Credits have no cash value. They cannot be transferred, sold or exchanged for money.

AI drafts can be wrong. Check every draft before you publish it.

Offers and bundle offers

• A buyer can offer a different price for one item, or for several items from the same seller together (a bundle offer).
• The seller can accept, decline or counter. Each offer or counter-offer expires after 48 hours if nobody answers it.
• An accepted offer creates an order at the agreed price. The order starts out accepted, unless the seller sells only to verified buyers and the buyer has not verified yet. The buyer then has 48 hours to pay the seller.
• An accepted offer does not take the item off sale. Someone else can still buy it outright in the meantime. The item goes to the buyer whose payment the seller confirms first, and we cancel the other orders and tell those buyers why. If you paid the seller for an order that was cancelled this way, the seller must refund you in full, and you can open a dispute if they do not.
• Making or accepting an offer is a commitment to buy or sell at that price. Do not make offers you do not intend to honour.

Messages

• Keep conversations about a sale on Decluttering. Do not share contact details (phone numbers, email addresses or social media) or bank details in messages. The only bank details to pay into are the ones shown on the order page.
• Phone numbers, email addresses, bank account numbers and phrases like “WhatsApp me” are hidden from messages automatically. Messages are also checked automatically, by keyword and by AI, for scams, harassment and abuse. Our team reviews flagged messages and messages that users report.
• Be respectful. Harassment, threats, hate speech, scams and spam are not allowed.

Reviews

• Once a direct sale is complete, the buyer and the seller can each review the other, on the rules below.
• Reviews are blind: neither of you can see the other’s review until both have been submitted, or until 14 days have passed.
• Reviews must be honest and about the transaction. You can reply to a review of you.
• You can report a review that breaks these terms. We may remove reviews that are false, abusive, or contain personal information.

Reporting, blocking, suspension and closing your account

• You can report a listing, a message or a review. You can also block another user from a conversation, which stops them messaging you or making you offers. We remove listings that break these terms.
• We review reports and may remove content, restrict features, or suspend or close accounts. We do this, for example, for fraud, identity fraud, not refunding a buyer when a dispute decision says you must, not paying our invoices, repeatedly listing prohibited items, false serial numbers, or abuse of other users.
• Reports must be made in good faith. We may suspend accounts that misuse the reporting tools, for example by repeatedly making false reports.
• A suspended account cannot list, buy or send messages. While an account is suspended, its listings are hidden from other users, and nobody can place a new order with it. Orders already in progress are handled under these terms. If you think we suspended your account by mistake, contact us and we will review it.
• Deleting your account. You can delete your account yourself at any time: open your Profile and choose Delete account (see how deleting works). We email you a code to confirm it is you. You must first finish or cancel any open orders, and fees you already owe stay payable. If your account is suspended, or you cannot sign in, email support@decluttering.co.za and we will close it for you. We keep the records the law requires us to keep, for the periods set out in our Privacy Policy.

Consumer protection law

• Most sales on Decluttering are between private individuals. The Consumer Protection Act, 2008 (CPA) and the consumer protection parts of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, 2002 (ECT Act) generally apply only when the seller sells in the ordinary course of a business. A person selling their own things once-off is generally not a “supplier” under those laws. For that reason, most of their protections, such as the implied warranty of quality, will usually not apply to a private sale between individuals.
• If a seller sells in the ordinary course of business, those laws may apply to that sale, and the seller is responsible for meeting them. Nothing in these terms limits a consumer’s rights under them against such a seller, including rights about delivery, the risk of loss before delivery, and returning unsafe or defective goods.
• Cooling-off. Where section 44 of the ECT Act gives a buyer the right to cancel an online purchase within 7 days of receiving the goods, that right is against the seller, and applies only where the seller is a supplier selling in the course of business. The seller must then refund the buyer as that section requires.
• Our own services to you, and the fees we charge for them, are subject to whatever rights the CPA and the ECT Act give you. Nothing in these terms is meant to limit or remove a right you have under those laws. If any part of these terms would do so, it does not apply to that extent.

Our liability

As far as the law allows, we are not responsible for loss or damage caused by: the items listed or sold; what a buyer or seller says or does; payments between buyers and sellers; meetings between users; the courier; interruptions to the website; or events outside our reasonable control.

As far as the law allows, our total liability to you for all claims is limited to R1,000, or to the fees you paid us in the 12 months before the claim, whichever is more.

These limits do not apply where the law does not allow them. In plain words: we do not limit or exclude our liability for loss caused by our gross negligence, fraud or intentional wrongdoing, or any right you have under the CPA that cannot be limited.

You are responsible for loss that we or other users suffer because you broke these terms or the law, for example by selling a stolen or counterfeit item, and you must make good that loss, as far as the law allows.

Errors and omissions

Listings, prices and descriptions are provided by sellers. Errors and omissions excepted.

We try to keep the website accurate, but we do not check every listing. If we find a mistake in a fee that we caused, we will correct it and tell the people affected.

Governing law and courts

These terms are governed by the law of the Republic of South Africa. You and we agree that the Magistrates’ Court in Pretoria may hear a claim about these terms that falls within its limits, even if the claim would otherwise have to go to the High Court. This does not take away any right you have as a consumer to take a complaint or claim to another court, the National Consumer Commission, a consumer court or an ombud.

Changes to these terms

We may change these terms, for example when we add features or when the law changes. We will show the date of the change at the top of this page. For a material change, we will email you at least 14 days before it takes effect. If you keep using Decluttering after a change takes effect, the new terms apply to you. If you do not agree to a change, you can stop using Decluttering and ask us to close your account. Orders already in progress continue under the terms that applied when they were placed.

Information required by the ECT Act

Section 43 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, 2002 requires us to make this information available:

Full name and legal status

Decluttering Solutions (Pty) Ltd, a private company registered in South Africa

Registration number

2026/697223/07

Directors

Petrus Johannes van Vuuren

Physical address

177 Nkwe Road, Tierpoort, 0056

Address for service of legal documents

177 Nkwe Road, Tierpoort, 0056

Phone

078 902 5258

Email

support@decluttering.co.za

Website

decluttering.co.za

Self-regulatory bodies and codes of conduct

We do not currently belong to any industry self-regulatory body or code of conduct.

Alternative dispute resolution

We do not currently belong to an alternative dispute resolution scheme. You can use our dispute process (see Disputes). Where the law applies, you can also complain to the National Consumer Commission or the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud.

Services, prices and fees

See What Decluttering does and Fees and prices

How to pay

See Buying and paying

Delivery

See Courier orders and Collection orders

Cancellations, returns and refunds

See Cancellations and refunds, Disputes and Consumer protection law

Record of your transaction

Each order’s page in your account

Payment security and privacy

We do not process payments: the buyer pays the seller from their own bank. We store sellers’ bank account numbers encrypted, and show them only to the buyer of an accepted, open order. See our Privacy Policy.

Contact us

Questions about these terms can be sent to us at:

Company

Decluttering Solutions (Pty) Ltd, trading as Decluttering

Registration number

2026/697223/07

Information Officer

Petrus Johannes van Vuuren (Johan van Vuuren)

Physical address

177 Nkwe RoadTierpoort0056

Phone

078 902 5258

Email

support@decluttering.co.za

Website

decluttering.co.za