Terms & conditions

HoloBay is a UK-based online marketplace for Pokémon trading cards and related collectibles. In these Terms, “HoloBay”, “we”, “us” and “our” mean the operator of holobay.co.uk. “You” means the person using the site, whether as a buyer, seller or visitor.

You can contact us at support@holobay.co.uk. Privacy enquiries should go to privacy@holobay.co.uk.

• HoloBay provides the catalog, storefronts, search, cart, order records and shop review process. We do not buy, own, inspect, store or ship the cards listed by sellers.
• The sale is between the buyer and the seller. HoloBay is not the seller, the buyer’s agent, the seller’s agent, or the merchant of record.
• Payments are taken by the seller’s own payment provider. HoloBay does not receive, hold, control or release buyer funds, and does not provide escrow.
• We review shop applications before they go live, but we do not authenticate every card, verify every description, or guarantee a seller’s conduct. Buy from sellers whose photos, condition notes and policies you are comfortable with.

• You must be at least 18 years old and able to enter into a binding contract to use HoloBay. The marketplace is intended for customers and sellers in the United Kingdom.
• Provide accurate account information and keep it up to date. You are responsible for activity on your account and for keeping your password secure. Tell us promptly if you think someone else has accessed it.
• One person or business may hold one seller shop unless we agree otherwise. Accounts and shops are not transferable.
• We may refuse, suspend or close accounts to protect the marketplace or comply with the law.

• Listings show the card, printing variant, condition or grade, price, postage and the seller’s shop policies. Check these before ordering — the same card can have several printings and conditions.
• Prices are in pounds sterling (GBP). Delivery is available to UK addresses only. The total price, including postage, is shown before you pay.
• Your cart is grouped by shop, and each shop is checked out separately because the payment goes directly to that seller. One order therefore covers one seller.
• When you complete checkout, you are placing an offer to buy from that seller. The seller may need to cancel if an item is unavailable or a listing contains a manifest error; in that case any payment taken must be refunded by the seller.
• Your statutory rights are not affected by these Terms or by a seller’s policies. If a card is not as described, faulty or not delivered, you may be entitled to a remedy from the seller under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. For most online purchases, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 also give consumers a right to cancel within 14 days, subject to the exceptions in those regulations.
• Never send payment outside the checkout. A seller who asks you to pay by bank transfer, friends and family, or another off-platform method may be trying to avoid protection and is breaching these Terms.

Sellers are independent businesses or individuals, not HoloBay employees or agents. By opening a shop you agree to:

• Provide accurate shop details and comply with your legal duties as a trader, including consumer protection, distance selling, product safety and tax rules.
• Describe every card honestly, including its printing, condition, grade, language and any defects. Use your own photos where possible and do not use a stock image to hide damage.
• Own or have the right to sell the cards you list. Counterfeit cards, and replica or proxy cards that are not clearly labelled as such, are not allowed.
• Keep stock levels accurate, set fair postage and handling times, package cards securely, and provide the customer service and after-sales remedies required by law.
• Display your business identity, delivery information, returns policy and complaint process in your shop, and comply with the payment provider’s terms.
• Handle refunds, cancellations and chargebacks relating to your own sales. HoloBay does not hold funds from which it could refund a buyer.
• Pay your own income tax, VAT and any other taxes. Prices must include VAT where you are VAT-registered.

• Sellers connect their own Stripe and/or PayPal accounts. Payment credentials are stored encrypted, and buyers only see a provider the seller has enabled.
• Card numbers and payment account passwords are entered with the payment provider, not HoloBay. We do not store full card details.
• HoloBay does not currently charge a commission or listing fee. Sellers pay their payment provider’s fees directly. We may introduce marketplace fees in future and will give sellers reasonable notice before they apply.
• If a payment is reversed, disputed or subject to a chargeback, the seller is responsible for responding through their payment provider. We may share order records where reasonably necessary.

Sellers set their own prices, postage and policies. We do not set or control them. A listing may be removed or a shop suspended if we believe it is inaccurate, unlawful or harmful to buyers or the marketplace. We may also correct catalog information supplied by TCGdex or add missing set and card details.

While we try to keep the catalog and storefronts available, we do not guarantee that every page will always be online or error-free. Catalog entries are not offers for sale; only a seller’s active listing can be purchased, and your checkout is an offer to buy that seller’s card.

You must not use HoloBay to:

• Sell counterfeit, stolen, illegal, hazardous or misdescribed items, or items that infringe someone else’s intellectual property.
• Harass, threaten, defraud or mislead anyone, or impersonate another person or business.
• Scrape, copy or resell the catalog at scale, introduce malware, probe our security, bypass access controls, or interfere with the site.
• Create multiple accounts to evade a suspension, manipulate orders, or avoid fees or checks.
• Ask buyers to pay outside checkout, or use HoloBay for money laundering or other financial crime.

We may remove content, cancel listings, suspend shops or close accounts where we reasonably believe these rules have been broken.

• HoloBay’s name, logo, design and original content belong to us or our licensors. You may use the site for its intended purpose, but not copy or commercially exploit it without permission.
• Card data and catalog images are supplied by TCGdex. Pokémon and Pokémon TCG names, characters, images and logos are trademarks or copyrights of Nintendo, Creatures, GAME FREAK, The Pokémon Company and their respective owners. HoloBay is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by them.
• When you upload photos, descriptions or shop artwork, you keep ownership but grant HoloBay a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host, display, resize and promote that content on the marketplace. You confirm you have the right to grant that licence.

• Contact the seller first using the details in your order. Most issues — postage, condition, missing items — can be resolved directly with them.
• If you cannot resolve it, email support@holobay.co.uk with your order number. We can provide the order record and may take account action, but we are not a party to the sale and cannot compel a seller to refund you.
• If you paid by card or through PayPal, you may also have chargeback or buyer-protection rights with your provider. Please try to resolve the issue with the seller first.
• Nothing here prevents you from seeking advice from Citizens Advice, a consumer body or a court.

You may stop using HoloBay at any time. We may suspend or close an account, remove a shop or cancel access if you breach these Terms, if we are required to by law, or if your use creates a risk for other users. Where it is reasonable to do so, we will tell you why. Suspension does not cancel sales that have already completed; buyers and sellers must still honour their obligations, and order records may be retained as described in our Privacy policy.

We provide the HoloBay platform with reasonable care and skill, but it is provided on an “as available” basis. We are not responsible for the acts or omissions of sellers, the cards they list, the accuracy of their descriptions, or their delivery, refunds and customer service.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, loss of profit, loss of business, loss of data or loss of goodwill arising from your use of the marketplace. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any liability that cannot be excluded by law. If you are a consumer, your statutory rights are not affected.

We may update these Terms as the marketplace develops or the law changes. The new version will be posted here with a new “last updated” date. If a change is material, we will take reasonable steps to let account holders know before it takes effect. If you do not agree, stop using HoloBay; orders already placed remain subject to the Terms that applied when they were placed.

These Terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. If you are a consumer, you may bring proceedings in the courts of England and Wales, or in the courts of Scotland or Northern Ireland if you live there. Contracts between buyers and sellers may be governed by the seller’s own terms, but your statutory rights always apply.

Questions about these Terms? Email support@holobay.co.uk.