Terms of Service

These Terms of Service (the "Agreement") govern your use of the services offered by BikeBuy (Pty) Ltd ("BikeBuy", "we", "us" or "our") through bike-buy.co.za (the "Services"), including registered accounts, marketplace listings, the shop directory, supplier and advertising services, events and the bike garage.

1. The Agreement

This Agreement consists of these Terms of Service together with our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, Security Policy, and any product-specific terms, fee schedules or policies we publish from time to time. Where a specific policy conflicts with these Terms of Service, the specific policy prevails to the extent of the conflict.

2. Definitions

• "Account" means a registered user profile on the Website;
• "Business Day" means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday in the Republic of South Africa;
• "Listing" means an advertisement for goods or services placed by a user in the marketplace;
• "Seller" and "Buyer" mean, respectively, a user who lists items for sale and a user who responds to or purchases from a Listing;
• "Shop" or "Supplier" means a business that maintains a directory listing, storefront or advertising presence on the Website;
• "Fees" means amounts payable to us for paid Services, as set out in clause 9.

3. Acceptance and duration

This Agreement takes effect when you first accept it (for example, by creating an Account or placing a Listing) or when you otherwise use the Services, and continues until terminated in accordance with clause 12. By using the Services you confirm that you are at least 18 years old and have the legal capacity to enter into this Agreement.

4. Your account

• You must provide accurate, current and complete information when registering and keep it up to date.
• You are responsible for keeping your login credentials confidential and for all activity that occurs under your Account. Notify us immediately at [email protected] if you suspect unauthorised use.
• You may not create an Account for anyone other than yourself without authorisation, or maintain multiple Accounts to evade restrictions. A separate business profile alongside a personal profile is permitted.
• We may monitor use of the Services, and may verify, suspend or refuse registration to protect the platform and its users.

5. The Services

We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use the Services for their intended purpose, subject to this Agreement. We may add, change, suspend or remove features at any time. We do not warrant that the Services will be uninterrupted or error-free, and we may carry out maintenance that temporarily limits availability.

6. Marketplace listings

6.1 Listing accurately

You are responsible for your Listings and must:

• accurately describe the item, including its make, model, condition, size, any defects, repairs or damage, and whether you are a private seller or a business/dealer;
• have the legal right to sell the item and the right to use any images and text you upload;
• list the item in the correct category, at a genuine price, with your own photographs of the actual item;
• honour the terms of your Listing and respond to legitimate enquiries in good faith.

6.2 Prohibited and restricted items

You may not list:

• stolen, counterfeit, recalled or otherwise unlawful goods;
• cycling helmets or other safety equipment that are damaged, have been involved in a crash, or show signs of compromised integrity;
• items that have been repaired or modified in a way affecting safety, without clearly disclosing this;
• warranty claims, vouchers or replacement entitlements that are not transferable;
• misleading, duplicate, or blanket "any item in stock" Listings;
• images that are not of the actual item, including stock photos passed off as your own or AI-generated images that misrepresent the item; or
• any goods or services prohibited by law or by our published policies.

6.3 Transactions between users

Any sale arising from a Listing is concluded directly between the Buyer and the Seller. BikeBuy is not a party to that transaction, does not inspect, guarantee, or take responsibility for any item, and is not responsible for payment, delivery, authenticity, quality, or the conduct of any user. You are responsible for satisfying yourself as to the other party and the item before transacting, for meeting safely, and for complying with applicable consumer and tax law. We strongly recommend inspecting items in person and using secure payment methods. Where a sale is made by a business to a consumer, the business is responsible for its obligations under the Consumer Protection Act, 2008.

7. Shops, suppliers and advertising

Businesses may maintain a directory listing or storefront, import a product catalogue, and purchase advertising or promotional placements. If you use these Services you warrant that you are authorised to act for the business, that your content is accurate and not misleading, and that you comply with all applicable law (including advertising, consumer and competition law). We may review, reject, reposition or remove any advertising or business content at our discretion, and may set technical or editorial specifications for advertising.

8. Reviews, comments and moderation

Reviews of shops and events, comments, and other user contributions must be honest, based on genuine experience, and free of unlawful, abusive, defamatory or misleading content. You may not post fake reviews, manipulate ratings, spam other users, or send unsolicited or excessive messages. We may moderate, edit or remove any content, and suspend or terminate Accounts, where content breaches this Agreement or our community standards. We are not obliged to monitor content but may do so.

9. Fees and payment

Basic use of the Website is free. Certain Services — such as featured or boosted Listings, shop subscriptions, supplier memberships and advertising — may attract Fees, which are quoted in South African Rand (ZAR) and described at the point of purchase or in a separate fee schedule. Unless stated otherwise:

• Fees are payable in advance and are exclusive of VAT unless indicated;
• subscriptions renew automatically for successive periods until cancelled, and you authorise us (or our payment processor) to charge the applicable Fee on each renewal;
• you may cancel a subscription before the next renewal date to avoid the next charge;
• except where required by law, Fees already paid are non-refundable, and amounts not paid when due may attract interest at the maximum rate permitted by law;
• we may change our Fees on reasonable notice, with changes applying from your next billing period.

Payments are processed by third-party payment providers; your use of those providers is subject to their terms, and we do not store full card details. See our Security Policy for more.

10. Your content and data

You retain ownership of the content and data you submit. You grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host, use, reproduce and display that content as needed to provide and promote the Services. We process personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy and the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA). We may use reputable sub-processors and may transfer data across borders subject to appropriate safeguards. You are responsible for keeping your own copies of content you value.

11. Intellectual property and confidentiality

All intellectual property rights in the Services and underlying technology remain ours or our licensors'. You may not copy, modify, reverse engineer, resell, or create derivative works from the Services except as permitted by law. Each party must keep the other's confidential information secret, use it only for the purposes of this Agreement, and protect it with reasonable measures; this obligation survives termination.

12. Suspension, breach and termination

• You may close your Account or cancel paid Services at any time, subject to clause 9.
• We may suspend or terminate your access immediately, without notice, if you breach this Agreement, if we reasonably suspect fraud, illegal activity, or a security risk, or if required by law.
• We may also discontinue a Service on reasonable notice.
• On termination, your right to use the affected Services ends, any Fees due become immediately payable, and clauses that by their nature should survive (including clauses 6.3, 9, 11, 13 and 14) continue to apply.

13. Warranties, disclaimers and indemnity

We warrant that we will provide the Services with reasonable skill and care. Except as expressly stated and to the maximum extent permitted by law, the Services and all Content are provided "as is" without warranties of any kind, and we disclaim all implied warranties, including as to merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy of Listings, and the conduct or goods of any user or third party.

You warrant that you are entering into this Agreement on your own behalf, that your use of the Services does not breach any other agreement or law, and you indemnify BikeBuy against any claim, loss, damage, cost or expense (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your breach of this Agreement, your Listings or content, or your transactions with other users.

14. Limitation of liability

Nothing in this Agreement limits liability that cannot lawfully be limited (including for fraud, death or personal injury caused by negligence, or under the Consumer Protection Act, 2008). Subject to that, to the maximum extent permitted by law:

• we are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special or consequential loss, or loss of profit, revenue, data or goodwill;
• we are not liable for the acts, omissions, goods, services or content of users or third parties, including transactions concluded through the marketplace; and
• our total aggregate liability arising out of or in connection with the Services is limited to the Fees you paid to us in the three (3) months preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

15. Dispute resolution

If a dispute arises between you and BikeBuy in connection with this Agreement, the parties will first attempt to resolve it amicably by negotiation. If unresolved within fifteen (15) Business Days, the dispute will be referred to mediation and, failing resolution, to arbitration in accordance with the rules of the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa (AFSA), held in Johannesburg. This does not prevent either party from approaching a court for urgent interim relief. Disputes between users (for example, between a Buyer and a Seller) are the responsibility of those users.

16. General

This Agreement is governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa, and you consent to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the Magistrate's Court having jurisdiction, notwithstanding that the amount in dispute may exceed its limits. We are not liable for any failure or delay caused by events beyond our reasonable control (force majeure). You may not cede or assign your rights without our consent; we may assign ours to a successor in title. Nothing in this Agreement creates an employment, agency, partnership or joint-venture relationship. We may amend this Agreement by posting an updated version on this page; continued use after changes constitutes acceptance. If any provision is invalid, the remainder continues in force.

17. Contact us

Questions about this Agreement can be sent to [email protected], or by post to BikeBuy (Pty) Ltd, [registered office address], South Africa (registration number [company registration number]).