Buying safely on CardTrading

CardTrading is a marketplace: independent sellers list their cards, and you buy directly from them. The platform handles the payment and gives both sides a process for resolving problems. This guide explains how that works in practice, what to check before you pay, and what to do if an order goes wrong. It summarises the rules in plain words; the terms and the buyer protection page are the full reference, and if anything here differs from them, they apply.

Before you buy: check the seller

Every seller has a profile. Before buying, especially an expensive card, take a minute to look at it:

• Rating: what other buyers have said about their orders.
• Number of sales: a long record of completed orders tells you more than a new account with none.
• Cancellations: how often the seller has cancelled paid orders.

Also check whether the seller is a Private seller or a Professional seller. Every seller declares whether they sell as a private individual or as a trader, and CardTrading shows it on their listings, on their profile and at checkout. This matters for your consumer rights, as explained below.

Then read the listing itself: the printing, language, condition and finish, and the photos. If something is unclear, ask before you buy rather than after.

Pay through the platform

Always pay through CardTrading. Payments are processed by Stripe, and sellers are paid through Stripe Connect. Buyer protection only covers orders paid on the platform: if a seller suggests paying another way, or completing the sale somewhere else, that sale is not covered.

When you start the checkout, the items in it are reserved for you for 15 minutes, so nobody else can buy them while you pay.

Each order carries a €0.49 buyer protection fee. See fees for the details.

After you pay: shipping and delivery

The seller must ship your order within 7 calendar days of payment, adequately protected, with tracking where offered, directly to you.

If a seller cannot fulfil an order, they can cancel it before shipping. In that case you are refunded in full automatically: the items, shipping and the buyer protection fee.

When the parcel arrives, open it carefully and check the cards against the listing: printing, language, condition and any flaws the seller described. If everything is right, confirm receipt on the order page. If you do not confirm, the order is completed automatically 14 days after shipment, unless a dispute is open. So check your cards promptly rather than leaving the parcel unopened.

If something goes wrong: disputes

You can open a dispute from the order page if the item:

• has not been shipped within 7 calendar days of payment,
• does not arrive,
• arrives damaged, or
• is not as described.

Disputes can be opened from shipment until 30 days after the order is completed, or, for non-shipment, once 7 calendar days have passed since payment without the order being shipped.

In a dispute, you and the seller talk in the dispute thread, and many problems are solved there. CardTrading may mediate and resolve the dispute, and a resolution may include a refund through Stripe.

To make a dispute easier to resolve:

• Keep the packaging and take photos of it as it arrived, especially if it is damaged.
• Photograph the cards front and back, showing the problem clearly, next to the listing photos if useful.
• Describe the issue precisely: what you expected, what you received and what outcome you are asking for.
• Stay factual and polite in the thread, and keep the discussion there.

Private and professional sellers: your rights

EU consumer law gives buyers extra rights when they buy online from a trader, but not when they buy from a private individual. The European Union's Your Europe guidance says that goods bought from a private individual are not covered by the right of withdrawal or by the legal guarantee rules, and advises paying attention to whether a seller on an online marketplace is professional or private.

On CardTrading this works as follows:

• From a Private seller, the EU consumer rights for purchases from traders — such as the 14-day right of withdrawal and the legal guarantee of conformity under consumer law — do not apply to the sale. The platform's dispute process described above still applies to orders paid through CardTrading.
• From a Professional seller, you can withdraw from the purchase within 14 days of receiving the item, from the order page, and the legal guarantee applies.

CardTrading's resolution of a dispute is limited to the platform transaction and does not limit your statutory rights.

Quick checklist

Before you pay:

• Is the seller a Private seller or a Professional seller?
• What do the seller's rating, number of sales and cancellations look like?
• Do the listing and photos match exactly the card you want?
• Are you paying through CardTrading, and nowhere else?

After you pay:

• Has the order been marked as shipped within 7 calendar days? If there is a tracking number, follow it.
• When the parcel arrives, check the cards straight away and confirm receipt, or open a dispute if something is wrong.

Good habits that help

A few general habits make any online purchase of cards safer. Be wary of prices far below what a card normally sells for, particularly for valuable cards; see how to spot fake cards for the checks worth doing when your cards arrive. If a problem comes up, raise it in a dispute on the order page rather than settling it privately off the platform. And if you are unsure about a card's condition, the card conditions guide explains what each grade means.

For the full rules, read buyer protection and the terms.