These terms govern your use of Rare Kind, a UK-only peer-to-peer marketplace for pre-owned clothing, shoes, and accessories (the Service), operated by Simpson's Ventures Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales under company number 17169404 with its registered office at 61 Bridge Street, Kington, HR5 3DJ, United Kingdom, trading as Rare Kind (we, us, our). By creating an account, listing an item, or making a purchase you agree to these terms.
1. Who can use the Service
You must be at least 18 years old, a resident of the United Kingdom, and able to enter into a legally binding contract. You are responsible for the accuracy of the information you provide and for keeping your account secure.
2. Our role as a marketplace
Rare Kind is a venue connecting buyers and sellers. The contract of sale for any item is between the buyer and the seller directly; we are not a party to that contract. We provide the platform, payment processing (via our partner Stripe Payments UK Limited), and dispute resolution described in Section 9.
Sellers declare at signup whether they are selling as an individual (private consumer) or as a business (sole trader or registered company). Business sellers are marked with a verified badge on the Service, and are subject to additional consumer protection obligations under UK law including the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 and the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
Where we reasonably consider that a user self-declared as an individual is in fact selling in the course of a business (for example, based on volume, inventory patterns, or professional sourcing), we reserve the right to reclassify the user as a business seller, or to require them to re-register under the correct status. Consumer rights that apply to sales from business sellers apply regardless of how the seller has declared themselves; nothing in these terms affects those rights.
3. Accounts and usernames
Each user is represented publicly by a username (@handle). We may refuse or reclaim a username that impersonates a third party, infringes trademarks, or is offensive. You may only operate one account without our prior permission.
4. Listings and prohibited items
Sellers are responsible for the accuracy of their listings, including condition, sizing, photographs, and authenticity claims. The following items may not be listed:
- Counterfeit, replica, or unauthorised reproductions.
- Stolen goods.
- Items that infringe third-party intellectual property.
- Weapons, ammunition, hazardous materials, or anything prohibited under UK law.
- Items requiring age verification (alcohol, tobacco, etc.) unless explicitly supported by the Service.
- Items regulated by CITES or equivalent wildlife legislation.
5. Your content and licence to us
When you upload content to the Service — including photographs, descriptions, messages, reviews, and any other material ("Your Content") — you retain all intellectual property rights in it. You grant us a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, sublicensable licence to host, store, reproduce, display, transmit, adapt (for technical reasons such as resizing), distribute and otherwise use Your Content for the purpose of operating and promoting the Service. This includes, without limitation, rendering listings to other users, featuring listings in Rare Kind marketing (such as social media, email campaigns, or the homepage), and passing content to our service providers (e.g. our image storage and analytics providers) to deliver the Service.
You warrant that you own or have all necessary rights in Your Content and that it does not infringe the rights of any third party. You may remove Your Content at any time by deleting the listing or your account; the licence ends when Your Content is removed, except to the extent we need to retain copies for legal, regulatory, or backup purposes, and except for any reasonable use of marketing materials already published before removal.
6. Buyer protection and fees
Every purchase includes a buyer protection fee (5% of the item price plus £0.70), paid by the buyer at checkout. This fee is shown as a separate line item on the checkout page before you commit to buy, and the total price (item + postage + buyer protection) is presented to you in full before payment. The fee is not optional for purchases made through the Service; it funds the 7-day hold on seller payouts after delivery, the dispute process in Section 9, and any refunds awarded under that process.
Postage is a platform-managed flat rate based on the seller's declared parcel size, also shown upfront at checkout. Sellers receive the item price (less a platform commission and payment processing fees), paid out approximately 7 days after delivery. Postage is retained by us to pay the carrier for the shipping label; sellers do not receive postage and do not pay for labels out of pocket.
7. Payments
Payments are processed by Stripe. By buying or selling on the Service you agree to Stripe's Connected Account Agreement (sellers) and consumer terms (buyers).
8. Shipping
Sellers are responsible for dispatching items within a reasonable time after payment (typically 3 working days) using the shipping label provided through the Service. Shipping addresses are captured at checkout and shown only to the seller of that order. If an item is not dispatched within 10 days and no tracking is available, the buyer may open a dispute.
9. Disputes
A buyer may open a dispute through the Service within 7 days of confirmed delivery. Acceptable grounds include: not received, not as described, damaged, counterfeit, and wrong item. Disputes are reviewed by our team. Outcomes include: full refund, partial refund, release of funds to the seller, or no action. Refunds reduce or eliminate the seller's payout for that order.
The 7-day window applies only to the in-platform dispute process. If you open a dispute after 7 days we may still assist but will no longer have funds held in escrow, which limits the remedies we can offer through the Service. Your statutory consumer rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, any rights to initiate a chargeback through your card network, and your right to seek help from Citizens Advice or Trading Standards, are unaffected by the 7-day window and remain available to you.
10. Auto-delivery presumption
If the carrier's tracking record indicates delivery and the buyer has not opened a dispute within 10 days, we presume that the order has been delivered satisfactorily and release the seller's payout after the 7-day dispute window. This presumption is rebuttable — if you later have evidence that the item did not arrive or was materially different from the listing, you may still contact us at the email address in Section 17 and we will review the circumstances on a case-by-case basis, without limiting any statutory rights you have.
11. Consumer rights
Where you are a consumer acting as a buyer, your statutory rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 remain unaffected by these terms.
The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 generally do not apply to contracts between private individuals: items sold by private (individual) sellers on the Service are sold without a warranty of satisfactory quality, and the 14-day change-of-mind right does not automatically apply. Buyers are expected to inspect photos and descriptions before purchase. Items sold by business sellers remain subject to the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and to the 14-day cancellation right in the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, including the obligation to refund the standard delivery cost on cancellation.
12. Acceptable use
You agree not to: harass, threaten, or defraud other users; circumvent the Service to transact off-platform; scrape data; submit malicious content; or misuse any refund or dispute mechanism.
13. Suspension and termination
You may close your account at any time by contacting support. We may suspend or terminate accounts where we reasonably consider it necessary, including in the following circumstances (by way of example, not exhaustively):
- Serious or repeated breach of these terms (for example, listing prohibited items, circumventing fees, or misusing the dispute process).
- Suspected fraud, identity issues, or repeated "item not received" claims not supported by evidence.
- Harassment, abusive behaviour, or threatening conduct directed at other users or our team.
- Counterfeit goods or confirmed intellectual-property infringement.
- A court order, regulator's direction, or legal requirement.
Our response will be proportionate to the issue. Where appropriate we will first issue a warning or ask you to correct the problem; immediate suspension is reserved for conduct that is clearly serious, causes real harm to other users, or presents a legal risk we must act on without delay.
Appeals. If we suspend or terminate your account you may appeal by emailing hello@joinrarekind.co.uk from the email address linked to the account. Set out the basis for the appeal and any supporting evidence. We aim to respond within two working days. An appeal is reviewed by a member of our team who was not involved in the original decision where feasible. We will not withhold payouts properly due to you except as required to resolve an open dispute, to comply with the law, or where a hold is necessary while an investigation is ongoing.
14. Liability
Nothing in these terms excludes or limits our liability for:
- death or personal injury caused by our negligence;
- fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation by us or anyone for whom we are responsible;
- any breach of your non-excludable statutory rights as a consumer; or
- any other liability that cannot be limited or excluded under UK law.
We are responsible to you for foreseeable loss and damage caused by our breach of these terms or by our failure to use reasonable care and skill in providing the Service. Loss or damage is foreseeable if either it is obvious that it will happen or if, at the time you accepted these terms, both we and you knew it might happen.
We are not responsible for the condition, authenticity, or delivery of items sold through the Service, because those are matters between the seller and the buyer. Subject to the paragraphs above, and to the fullest extent permitted by law, our total liability to you in respect of all losses arising out of or in connection with these terms or your use of the Service will not exceed the greater of (i) the total fees we have received from you in the 12 months preceding the claim or (ii) £100. This cap does not apply to any of the matters listed in the first paragraph of this section.
15. Changes
We may update these terms. Material changes will be communicated by email or an in-app notice at least 14 days before they take effect. Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance.
16. Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any dispute arising out of them is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales, save that consumers may also pursue claims where they are resident (including in Scotland or Northern Ireland).
17. Contact
Questions or notices regarding these terms should be sent to hello@joinrarekind.co.uk.
See also our Privacy policy, Returns & refunds policy, and Cookie policy.