General Terms and Conditions

Use of the HIPPOBAY Auction web site and the services we offer constitutes your acceptance of all terms and conditions stated in the below User Agreement.
HIPPOBAY Auction reserves the right to change or amend this agreement at any time. Changes or Amendments will be posted to our site and considered effective 30 days from the date they are posted to the site. If you do not agree to such changes, you may request that we close your account by contacting us. All questions regarding this User Agreement should be sent via email to HIPPOBAY Support.

Eligibility / Registration

To use our services, you must be at least 18 years of age and be able to form or enter into a legally binding contract in accordance with applicable laws. If you are eligible to use our services, you must complete the Registration process by providing HIPPOBAY Auction with true and correct information as required on the HIPPOBAY Auction registration form. If the information you provide is found to be false or non-verifiable, we may suspend or terminate your registration and account.
NOTE: Credits received from HIPPOBAY Auction are only to be used for fees accrued through the posting of auctions.

HIPPOBAY Auction serves only as a Venue

HIPPOBAY Auction is an Internet site on which registered users post ads offering merchandise which they possess and wish to sell in an open auction environment. Registered users may also bid on or buy such merchandise. At no time does HIPPOBAY Auction possess, hold, or offer any merchandise for sale or auction, nor are we involved in any part of the actual transaction. HIPPOBAY Auction serves only as a venue in which individual sellers and buyers may engage in transactions between each other. Because of our non-involvement in these transactions, it is the sole responsibility of the seller to accurately represent the quantity, quality, safety, authenticity, and availability of the items the seller has listed on the site. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of the bidder/buyer to verify with the seller any or all information about any item listed on HIPPOBAY Auction, for which they intend on placing a bid, before placing such bid. HIPPOBAY Auction can not be responsible for a sellers willingness or ability to sell any item they have listed, or a Bidders willingness to follow through with a transaction for an item(s) for which they have placed a bid. We encourage open communication between buyers and sellers before and after any transaction takes place.

User Verification

Our verification process ensures the person has gone through the necessary actions to become a verified HIPPOBAY Auction member. This process ensures the user's authenticity and eliminates fraudulent bidders. Sellers can enable their auctions to accept bids from verified members only if they so choose. We have added this feature to help ensure a safe service to our buyers and sellers and prevent any and all types of fraud.

Why should I be verified?

- Buyers do not have to be verified on HIPPOBAY Auction and Sellers are now required to be ID Verified in order to post auctions. Sellers have an option of disallowing Not Verified buyers from bidding on their auctions
- Verified accounts are noted with a green dot next to the username whereas not verified ones have a red one.
- On HIPPOBAY Auction, people are putting up cash and property against the faith and integrity of other users so it is imperative that we do what we can to insure the integrity of our users. We believe that the high caliber and accountability of our sellers is worth the trouble of verification. And our sellers feel the same about verified buyers. HIPPOBAY Auction is unable to guarantee that a user is who they may claim to be. If you are uncertain as to another users identity, we suggest that you contact them. You may also review any members feedback profile to see what others have said about dealing with them.

Disputes and Releas

Because HIPPOBAY Auction has no involvement in transactions between users we cannot get involved in disputes between users. You hereby release HIPPOBAY Auction) including all officers, employees, parent companies, contractors, suppliers, or agents) from any and all types of damages or claims resulting from such disputes.

Selling on HIPPOBAY Auction

By listing an item(s) for auction/sale on HIPPOBAY Auction, you are stating that you have the intention and ability to sell the item(s). You furthermore state that any item(s) which you are offering for auction/sale does not violate any local, state, or federal laws, regulations, or guidelines prohibiting the sale or distribution of your item(s). Listings may consist of any one, or a combination of the following:

- A detailed and accurate text description of your item
- A picture which you supply of your item
- A link to a picture (that you own or have rights to link to)

Listings may not contain items or information that:

- Contact information (e.g., email addresses, domain names, phone numbers) in the listing title or description
- Violate any state, local, or federal laws that prohibit the sale or distribution of your item
- Infringe upon any third parties, copyright, patent or trademark rights
- Falsely advertise, or misrepresent the merchandise being offered for sale
- Are sexually explicit in nature ,contain or describe sexual acts, nudity, pornography or child pornography, or would be classified as Adult only material
- By paying a listing fee or final auction value fee to HIPPOBAY Auction, might cause us to violate any local, state, federal law, regulation or guideline.
If at the close of your auction, a bid has been placed on your auction that meets or exceeds your stated minimum bid or reserve price, you are obligated and agree to complete the transaction with the high bidder(s) as per the terms and conditions stated in your listing.

Sellers may not engage in the following activity:

- Using a secondary UserID to place bids on your own auction for any reason
- Soliciting bidders who have placed bids in an auction being run by another seller offering an item similar or identical to yours
- Listing an item in which you have a limited quantity available, and have also listed, at the same time, on another online auction site
- Listing items which you do not have possession of at the time of listing unless this information is clearly stated within the item's description
- If you are running a Dutch Auction, your items must be identical in size, shape, color, and description.
- NOTE: We at HIPPOBAY Auctions cannot allow users to include contact information (e.g., email addresses, domain names, phone numbers) in the listing title or description within their auctions or allow users to swap contact information through the messaging system. This action would allow users to go around our site and we cannot do anything about an auction that has been sold/bought in this method. For your safety use the "Ask Seller A Question" link and do not contact them directly even if asked. This action could also lead to account suspension of the parties involved.

Placing Bids

By placing a bid on an item(s) listed on HIPPOBAY Auction, you are stating that you have the ability and intention to purchase the item for the amount of your bid, should the auction end and you are the high bidder. In the case of a reserve auction, if your bid meets or exceeds the sellers stated reserve price, you agree to purchase the item(s) for the amount of your winning bid. Before placing a bid in an auction, you should be certain you understand all terms and conditions of the sale as indicated by the seller. Placing a bid is considered a legal, binding contract in most states. If you have any questions about an item, or the seller offering the item, you should ask the seller before placing your bid. Only in certain situations would bid withdrawal be acceptable. These situations may include:

- The seller has made material changes to the description of the item after your bid was placed
- The seller has made a typographical error in the description of the item
- You have contacted the seller and received their express permission to withdraw your bid

Bidders may not engage in the following activity:

- Bidding in a manner that causes the maximum bid of other bidders to be revealed, then retract your high bid, and bid again at a lower increment above the true high bidder
- Placing bids for the purpose of exposing the sellers reserve price, then retract your bid and bid again later with a secondary User ID
- Bidding on any item that you do not have the intention or means to purchase at the close of the auction, should your high bid cause you to win the auction. You are encouraged to ask the seller of an item listed on HIPPOBAY Auction, any questions you may have regarding the sale of, or condition of the item before placing your bid.
- By placing a bid, you further state that the purchase and or delivery of the item does not violate any local, state or federal laws, regulations or guidelines regarding the sale or distribution of such item(s)

Fees

There are no fees to register, bid or buy merchandise listed on HIPPOBAY Auction. There is however, a minimal charge for other auction posting features such as featured item listings, attention grabbers, bold listings, etc., should you wish to use them. All fees are quoted in ZAR (Rand), unless otherwise specified. You are responsible for paying applicable taxes and any costs that you may incur to use our services or access our web site. This includes, but is not imited to, any such hardware, software, or service. We may at any time add to, delete or change any portion or all of our services.

Personal Information

Personal information is the information that you provide to HIPPOBAY Auction or to other members when:

- Completing the registration process
- Listing an item
- Placing a bid
- Leaving feedback comments
- Placing your credit card information on file with us
- Posting messages in any lobby area
- Using any email feature offered to you through use of the site
You are responsible for your personal information. In the event that your information creates a liability to us that may cause our Internet service provider, suppliers, agents, or contractors to sever their services to us because of such liability, we may take appropriate actions regarding such information.
The use of your information is explained in our current Privacy Policy.

Your Password

You may not disclose, share, or distribute your password to any third party. If you feel your password has been jeopardized, you may change your password at any time, and as often as you wish.

Stability

Neither you nor any parties affiliated with, contracted by, or created by you may take any actions to interfere with or interrupt, the operation or stability of the HIPPOBAY Auction web site. This includes, but is not limited to, the use of any software, device, or programming routine that could place excessive loads on our system or interfere with any listing or auction listed on our site, or any users account or information.

Feedback

HIPPOBAY Auction provides registered users with the ability to leave comments about their experiences in dealing with other registered users, through our feedback system. The following actions regarding the use of the Feedback system are prohibited:

- Threatening another user with negative feedback for their refusal to perform actions not related to your transaction with that user or their failure to agree to terms and conditions of an auction that were not stated in the original listing.
- Leaving feedback that contains vulgarity or profanity
- Leaving feedback that discloses another users personally identifiable information
- Leaving comments that are negative in nature, through the selection of the Positive comment option.
HIPPOBAY Auction provides you with an opportunity to "Retract" a negative feedback comment that you have left about another registered user within 30 days from the time you have posted such comment. This function should not be misused.

Leaving multiple negative comments, and then retracting them, can result in suspension of your registration and account.
In the event that your feedback rating should reach the status of -4 (negative 4) your registration and account may be suspended.
It is expected that you will use the Feedback system in a manner that upholds and maintains the integrity of the Feedback System.

Privacy

HIPPOBAY Auction takes several steps to protect and prevent the misuse of the personal and private information you supply us. You may review our current Privacy Policy.

HIPPOBAY shall take all reasonable steps to protect the personal information of users. Personal information shall be defined as detailed in the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (PAIA). The PAIA may be downloaded from

http://www.polity.org.za/html/govdocs/legislation/2000/act2.pdf

Notice

All notices given between both parties (You and HIPPOBAY Auction) will be made via email, certified mail, or registered mail. Notices we send you will be addressed to the email address which you provided during the registration process or currently have on file in your account with us. In these instances, unless the party sending the email is notified that the Recipients email address in not valid, such notices will be considered given 24 hours from the time the email is sent. Notices regarding changes to the terms and conditions of the User Agreement may be given by posting such changes to the site, and will be considered given and effective 30 days from the time of such posting.

Limitation of Liability - Non Warranty

IN NO EVENT SHALL HIPPOBAY Auction (INCLUDING OUR SUPPLIERS, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES) BE LIABLE FOR LOST PROFITS, REVENUES, OR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (HOWEVER ARISING, INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE) RESULTING FROM OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT OR THE USE OF THE SITE. THE SITE AND SERVICES ARE OFFERED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE", WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OR GUARANTEES EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. WE AND OUR SUPPLIERS SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON INFRINGEMENT.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless HIPPOBAY Auction, its officers, employees, parent companies, subsidiaries, contractors, vendors or affiliates, from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys' fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of your use of the HIPPOBAY Auction, the violation of this User Agreement by you, or the infringement by you or any other user of this site using your computer, of any intellectual property or other right of any person or entity.

Legal Responsibility

It is your responsibility to comply with all applicable laws, statutes, ordinances and regulations regarding your use of our service and your bidding on, listing, purchase and sale of items through our site.

No Partnership / Agency

You and HIPPOBAY Auction act as independent contractors. At no time is any partnership, agency, joint venture, employee-employer or franchiser-franchisee relationship intended or created by this Agreement.

Violation of User Agreement

We may terminate your account, registration temporarily or permanently should you violate any portion of this User Agreement. This includes the termination or suspension of any auctions you may be running at the time, without refund of any fees or compensation or liability for loss of business or revenues which you may claim, as a result of such termination.

Payment Options

Payments may be made via Visa & Mastercard creditcards or by bank transfer into the HIPPOBAY bank account, the details of which will be provided on request. Transaction currency will always be in South African Rand (ZAR).
Credit card acquiring and security Credit card transactions will be acquired for HIPPOBAY via PayGate (Pty) Ltd who are the approved payment gateway for Standard Bank of South Africa. PayGate uses the strictest form of encryption, namely Secure Socket Layer 3 (SSL3) and no credit card details are stored on the website. Users may go to www.paygate.co.za to view their security certificate and security policy. Customer details will be stored by ABC separately from card details which are entered by the client on PayGate?s secure site. For more detail on PayGate refer to www.paygate.co.za

General

This website, agreement and terms and conditions are governed by the laws of South Africa and HIPPOBAY chooses as its domicilium citandi et executandi for all purposes under this agreement, whether in respect of court process, notice, or other documents or communication of whatsoever nature, as per disclosure. This Agreement and the terms and conditions herein, shall be governed by the laws of the State of Namibia. You further submit to the legal jurisdiction of the state of Namibia and agree that any legal action or proceeding regarding this Agreement, whether it be on a local, state, or federal level, shall be brought in Windhoek, Namibia.

Disclosure

The services herein are offered by HIPPOBAY Auction. Any Inquiries can be made to the following address:
HippoBay™ Online Trading cc

P.O. Box: 40704
Windhoek
Namibia
Cell: +264 (081) 2416171
Fax Namibia: +264 (061) 253205
Fax South Africa: +27 (086) 5142652
Mail: http://hippobay.com/contactus.php
Web: www.hippobay.com