Buyer & Seller Protection

When a buyer checks out, Fish Swap records the order, removes the item from the marketplace so it cannot be sold twice, and shows the sale to the seller in their Sales area. Item price, shipping and any fees are always recalculated on our servers from the live listing, so the amount shown cannot be altered from a browser.

Card payments are not yet switched on. Until a payment provider is connected, orders are created unpaid and no money moves through Fish Swap.

Sellers set a fixed shipping price when they create a listing, and it is shown separately from the item price at checkout. Sellers are responsible for packing the item well and shipping it promptly once the order is placed. Sellers mark the item as shipped and can add a tracking number, which the buyer can see on their Purchases page.

Every item moves through clear states: Purchased, Awaiting Shipment, Shipped, Delivered, Completed, and where relevant Cancelled or Refunded. Both buyer and seller see the same status and full order history.

When delivery is confirmed — either because the buyer marks the item delivered or because carrier tracking confirms it — the buyer gets a 3-day window to check the gear over. The delivery date and the exact date and time the order will complete on its own are shown on the buyer's Purchases page and the seller's Sales page. The buyer can complete the order sooner, and if they do nothing the order completes automatically once the window closes, which is when the seller's payout becomes eligible. A seller marking an item shipped never starts this countdown, and neither buyer nor seller can change a delivery date or a completion deadline — those are set and enforced by Fish Swap's servers.

If the buyer reports a problem before the window closes, automatic completion and the seller's payout are paused until Fish Swap has reviewed the order.

An unpaid order can be cancelled by either the buyer or the seller while it is still awaiting shipment, and the listing goes back on the marketplace automatically. Once payment has gone through, an order is not cancelled — it is refunded instead, so the money actually returns to the buyer. Once an item has shipped, buyer and seller should agree a return before a refund is issued.

A refund is issued by the seller or by Fish Swap support and returns the item price and shipping to the card used at checkout. An order is only shown as refunded once the payment provider confirms it, and the amount is taken back off the seller's Fish Swap balance at the same time. If a sale has already been paid out to the seller, contact Fish Swap support and we will handle the refund with you.

If an item arrives damaged, is significantly different from its description, or never arrives, message the other party first. You can also use Report a problem on the order itself. That immediately pauses automatic completion and holds the seller's payout while Fish Swap reviews the order record, listing description, photos and shipping status. Once we resolve it, the order resumes with at least another day before it can complete on its own.

Fish Swap is a marketplace, not an insurer or an escrow service. We do not guarantee the condition, legality or authenticity of items listed by community sellers, and we cannot reverse a payment that was arranged outside the platform. Always read the listing description and photos carefully before buying.

Do not list counterfeit gear, stolen property, or anything whose sale is restricted where you live. Listings that break these rules can be removed.