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Thrifted.mt LogoTHRIFTED.mt

Terms of Service

Last updated: March 2026

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing and using this website ("Thrifted.mt"), you accept and agree to be bound by the terms and provision of this agreement. If you do not agree to abide by these terms, please do not use this service.

2. Platform Operator

Thrifted.mt is operated by Joshua Fielding (Sole Trader), based in Malta.

  • Address: 53 Triq Il-Lunzjata, Flat 3 Julian Flats, San Gwann SGN 1312, Malta
  • Email: [email protected]

Thrifted.mt acts solely as an intermediary platform. We are not a party to the underlying sale contract between buyer and seller. We provide the technology, payment escrow and dispute facilitation tools, but we do not take title to any goods listed on the platform.

3. User Account

To access certain features of the platform, you may be required to create an account. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account and password and for restricting access to your computer and you agree to accept responsibility for all activities that occur under your account or password.

You must be at least 18 years of age to use this Service. By creating an account, you warrant that you are at least 18 years old.

4. Selling and Buying

Thrifted.mt provides a marketplace for users to list, sell and buy second-hand items. The following describes the end-to-end process:

Selling

  • Sellers must complete identity verification (government-issued ID reviewed manually by our team, with no bot or AI review) before their listings become publicly visible.
  • Sellers set a price and choose local meetup/collection as the delivery method.
  • Once an item is sold, the seller is notified and must arrange the meetup with the buyer via in-app chat.
  • Seller earnings are credited to their Thrifted Wallet and released to the available balance instantly when the seller confirms handover via QR scan. No escrow hold applies to meetup transactions.
  • For local meetups, if either party fails to attend, the other party may report a "no-show". The order will be cancelled regardless of which party was absent: the buyer receives a full refund, the seller receives no payment, the listing is restored and a no-show strike is recorded on the absent party. Repeated strikes may result in selling restrictions.

Buying

  • Buyers pay in full at checkout via Stripe (card payment). Funds are held in escrow by Thrifted.mt until the transaction completes.
  • Buyers meet the seller in person at an agreed location (free). Use the in-app chat to coordinate the meetup.
  • The seller confirms handover via QR scan, after which the buyer may leave a review. If the buyer takes no action, the order auto-completes after 7 days. Funds are released to the seller instantly at QR handover — no waiting period applies.
  • Buyers may open a dispute in the event of a meetup no-show before handover is confirmed. See Section 13 for full details.
  • Buyer inspection responsibility: Buyers must inspect the item thoroughly before the seller confirms handover via QR scan. Once the seller scans the QR code and confirms handover, post-handover disputes are not accepted — the inspection opportunity exists before the handover is confirmed.
  • Meetup safety: Always meet in a public, well-lit place (e.g. a cafe, shopping centre or busy street). Bring a friend if possible. Inspect the item before the seller confirms handover. Never share your home address with a seller you don't know. Thrifted.mt is not liable for any harm or loss arising from in-person meetups.
  • Meetup liability cut-off: Once the seller confirms handover via QR scan, the transaction is considered complete. Post-handover disputes are not accepted. All inspection must occur before the QR handover is confirmed. Thrifted.mt bears no responsibility for the physical safety of users, theft, fraud, personal injury or property damage arising from in-person meetups. By choosing the meetup delivery method, you acknowledge and accept this risk.

Thrifted.mt is not a party to the underlying sale contract between buyer and seller, but we enforce these Terms to protect both parties.

5. Fees and Payments

Buyer Protection Fee: Thrifted.mt charges a mandatory buyer protection fee at checkout (5% of the item price + €0.50). This fee is applied to all purchases and covers secure payment processing, escrow holding of funds and dispute resolution. The buyer protection fee is non-optional and is shown in the order summary before payment. Sellers pay no fees and receive 100% of their listed sale price.

Delivery Fee: All transactions are currently completed via in-person meetup/collection, which is free of charge.

Withdrawals: Sellers may withdraw their available wallet balance to a registered bank account with a matching account holder legal name and IBAN on file. The minimum withdrawal amount is €1.00. Withdrawals are processed manually and may take up to 3 business days.

All fees are subject to change with reasonable notice. All card payments are processed securely by Stripe.

6. Prohibited Items

Users may not list items that are illegal, dangerous or violate our community standards. Prohibited items include, but are not limited to:

  • Counterfeit or "fake" items.
  • Stolen goods.
  • Weapons, firearms and explosives.
  • Drugs and drug paraphernalia.
  • Hazardous materials.
  • Items that violate intellectual property rights.
  • Adult content or services.
  • Stock images or images sourced from other websites (items must be photographed by you).

We employ automated risk assessment and stock image detection to scan all new and edited listings. We reserve the right to temporarily hide or remove any listing flagged by our system until manual review. Most stock images are automatically filtered out during the listing process.

Stock Image Policy: Our strict "2-strike" policy specifically applies to cases where a stock image bypasses automated filters and is subsequently removed following a moderator's review or a user report. If a listing is manually taken down for the reason "Stock Image", a strike is recorded. Upon the first violation, you will receive a warning and the listing will be removed. A second violation will result in an automatic 1-week ban from listing new items.

7. User Conduct

You agree not to use the Service to:

  • Violate any local, state, national or international law.
  • Harass, abuse, insult, harm, defame, slander, disparage, intimidate or discriminate based on gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, race, age, national origin or disability.
  • Submit false or misleading information.
  • Upload or transmit viruses or any other type of malicious code.
  • Spam, phish, pharm, pretext, spider, crawl or scrape.

8. Account Termination

We may terminate or suspend your account and bar access to the Service immediately, without prior notice or liability, under our sole discretion, for any reason whatsoever and without limitation, including but not limited to a breach of the Terms.

9. Limitation of Liability

In no event shall Thrifted.mt, nor its directors, employees, partners, agents, suppliers or affiliates, be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, including without limitation, loss of profits, data, use, goodwill or other intangible losses, resulting from (i) your access to or use of or inability to access or use the Service; (ii) any conduct or content of any third party on the Service; (iii) any content obtained from the Service; and (iv) unauthorized access, use or alteration of your transmissions or content, whether based on warranty, contract, tort (including negligence) or any other legal theory.

10. Disclaimer

Your use of the Service is at your sole risk. The Service is provided on an "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" basis. The Service is provided without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement or course of performance.

11. Governing Law

These terms and conditions are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Malta and you irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in that location.

12. Thrifted Wallet & Seller Payouts

All seller earnings are managed through the Thrifted Wallet system:

  • Pending Balance: Immediately after a buyer completes checkout, the seller's full earnings (100% of the item price) are credited to their wallet as a pending balance. Pending funds are not yet available for withdrawal.
  • Available Balance: For meetup orders, pending funds move to the available balance instantly when the seller confirms handover via QR scan. For locker/shipping orders, funds move to the available balance when the buyer confirms delivery or after the auto-complete timer expires.
  • Withdrawals: Sellers may request a bank transfer of their available balance to the bank account holder name and IBAN registered in their profile. The minimum amount per withdrawal is €1.00. Withdrawals are processed by our team within 3 business days. Identity verification must be completed before any withdrawal.
  • Frozen Funds: If a payment dispute (chargeback) is opened by the buyer through their bank or card provider, the relevant pending funds will be frozen until the dispute is resolved. Thrifted.mt will be notified and will engage with the process accordingly.

Chargeback liability: Sellers remain liable for payment disputes (chargebacks) for up to 180 days after a transaction. If a chargeback is filed after funds have been withdrawn, the disputed amount may be deducted from future earnings or the seller may be required to repay the balance.

13. Thrifted Payment Protection

"Thrifted Payment Protection" is a financial escrow arrangement, not a warranty or insurance policy. By holding buyer funds until the transaction is successfully completed, we protect both parties.

Meetup orders: Because the buyer has the opportunity to inspect the item in person before the seller confirms handover via QR scan, no post-handover disputes are accepted and funds are released to the seller instantly at QR handover. By choosing the meetup delivery method, the buyer acknowledges that the QR handover confirmation constitutes acceptance of the item and authorises immediate payment to the seller. Thrifted.mt bears no liability for the condition of items exchanged during in-person meetups.

Pre-handover protection: Before the seller confirms handover, buyers may report a no-show or raise a concern if the item is significantly not as described upon inspection at the meetup point.

What is not covered: As most sellers are private individuals, returns are not accepted for buyer's remorse (e.g. item doesn't fit, change of mind) unless the seller explicitly agrees. Condition disagreements that are minor or consistent with the listing description are also not covered.

Dispute process: If a buyer reports a no-show or raises a pre-handover concern, the order may be cancelled with a full refund to the buyer. We may request evidence (photos, messages). Once the seller confirms handover via QR scan, the transaction is considered complete and post-handover disputes are not accepted. If funds have already cleared to the seller's available balance, they will be recovered where possible from that balance. Thrifted.mt is not liable for any shortfall that cannot be recovered from the seller.

Chargebacks: If a buyer initiates a chargeback directly with their card provider, the disputed amount is placed on hold in accordance with Stripe's dispute process. Both the buyer and seller may be asked to provide evidence. Thrifted.mt will attempt to defend legitimate sales on the seller's behalf.

Dispute deadline: Disputes must be raised before the seller confirms handover via QR scan. For orders where the meetup does not occur within 14 days of payment, either party may request cancellation by contacting [email protected].

Refund eligibility: Full refunds (including the buyer protection fee) are issued when: (1) the seller does not attend the agreed meetup (no-show), (2) the item is verified as counterfeit or fraudulent or (3) the item is significantly not as described and reported before QR handover. Refunds are not issued for buyer's remorse (e.g. item doesn't fit, change of mind) or minor condition differences consistent with the listing description.

14. Consumer Rights (Private Sellers)

Most sellers on Thrifted.mt are private individuals acting in a personal capacity. EU Consumer Rights Law (including the 14-day right of withdrawal) does NOT apply to contracts between private individuals.

If a seller is a professional trader (business), this will be clearly indicated on their profile and statutory consumer rights will apply.

15. Content Moderation & Digital Services Act

In accordance with the EU Digital Services Act (DSA), Thrifted.mt applies the following content moderation measures:

  • Automated screening: All listing images are automatically screened for stock images and prohibited content. Listings that fail automated checks may be temporarily hidden pending manual review.
  • Automatic translation: Chat messages may be automatically translated using Google Cloud Translation when the translate feature is enabled. Message content is sent to Google's servers for processing. You can toggle this feature on or off at any time in the chat interface.
  • User reporting: Any user can report a listing they believe violates these Terms. Reports are reviewed by our team and actioned within 48 hours.
  • Appeals: If your listing is removed or your account is restricted, you may appeal the decision by contacting [email protected]. Appeals are reviewed by a different team member within 5 business days.
  • Transparency: We will publish an annual transparency report summarising our moderation activity, including the number of reports received, action taken and average review times.

Our designated contact for DSA matters is [email protected].

16. Ranking, Visibility & Listing Boosts

Listings on Thrifted.mt are displayed based on the following criteria: recency (newest first by default), user search filters (category, size, price range, condition) and favourites count.

17. Modifications to Terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. Material changes will be notified via email or in-app notification at least 14 days before they take effect. Continued use of the platform after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms. If you do not agree to the updated Terms, you must stop using the Service before the effective date.

18. Force Majeure

Neither Thrifted.mt nor any user shall be liable for any failure or delay in performing an obligation under these Terms where such failure or delay results from circumstances beyond reasonable control, including but not limited to natural disasters, war, terrorism, government action, pandemic, epidemic, power failure, internet or telecommunications failure or industrial action.

19. Intellectual Property & User Content

By listing items or posting content on Thrifted.mt, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to use, display, reproduce and distribute that content solely for the purpose of operating and promoting the platform. You retain ownership of your content.

You warrant that any content you post does not infringe any third party's intellectual property rights, privacy rights or other legal rights. You are solely responsible for the content you upload.

All trademarks, logos and branding associated with Thrifted.mt are the property of the platform operator and may not be used without prior written consent.

20. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Thrifted.mt, its operator, employees and affiliates from and against any claims, damages, losses, liabilities and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from or related to: (i) your use of the Service; (ii) your breach of these Terms; (iii) your violation of any applicable law or regulation; or (iv) your infringement of any third party's rights.

21. Online Dispute Resolution

In accordance with Regulation (EU) No 524/2013, we inform you that the European Commission provides an Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform, accessible at https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr. Our email address for ODR purposes is [email protected].

22. Contact Us

If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us at [email protected].

23. Anti-Money Laundering & Identity Verification

Thrifted.mt is committed to preventing money laundering, terrorist financing and fraud. We implement the following measures in line with Malta's Prevention of Money Laundering Act and FIAU guidelines:

  • Identity verification is mandatory before your first listing becomes visible and before any withdrawal from your Thrifted Wallet.
  • We may perform screening against international sanctions lists and politically exposed persons (PEP) databases.
  • We monitor transactions for unusual patterns including high-value transactions, rapid trading activity and structuring.
  • We reserve the right to delay, suspend or refuse any transaction or withdrawal if we reasonably suspect it may be connected to money laundering, terrorist financing or fraud.
  • We may be required to report suspicious activity to the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) of Malta without notifying the user concerned.