Terms of Service

Last updated: 24 July 2026

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of TCG Hamster (“the Platform”, “we”, “us”), operated by Joe Steele, a sole trader trading as TCG Hamster, based in England and Wales. By creating an account or using the Platform, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Platform.

1. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account and use the Platform, and you confirm you are 18 or over when you sign up. By using the Platform you confirm that the information you provide is accurate and that you are legally able to enter into these Terms.

2. The service

TCG Hamster is a platform that lets users list, trade, buy, and sell trading card game (TCG) cards, and access optional protection and fulfilment services — including cash escrow, a verified intermediary, insured postage, buybacks, and pre-grading — provided by us or our partners. We provide the platform that connects users; unless we or a partner act as the intermediary or hold funds in escrow for a specific transaction, the contract for any trade or sale is between the buyer and seller directly.

3. Accounts

  • You are responsible for keeping your account credentials secure.
  • Staff and partner accounts with access to deals, payouts, or customer data are required to enable two-factor authentication (2FA).
  • You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account.
  • You must notify us promptly of any unauthorised use of your account.
  • We may suspend or terminate accounts that breach these Terms or that we reasonably believe are involved in fraudulent or harmful activity.

4. Listings and conduct

You agree that you will not:

  • List counterfeit, stolen, or misrepresented cards.
  • Provide false or misleading information about a card's condition, authenticity, or grade.
  • Use the Platform for any unlawful purpose or to defraud other users.
  • Attempt to circumvent platform fees by arranging payment off-platform where an escrow or intermediary service applies.
  • Harass, abuse, or threaten other users.

You are solely responsible for the accuracy of your listings and for the cards you send and receive.

5. Fees

Creating an account, listing cards, and building a wishlist are free. We charge fees only when a transaction or optional service takes place. Applicable fees are always shown before you confirm. Current fees:

  • Sales commission (paid by the seller): 10% of the sale price on completed sales (8% for approved shop accounts, or a rate agreed with a partner store), subject to a minimum of £1.00 per order — applied once per order, however many items it contains. This is the only fee a seller pays; optional transit insurance on direct sales (see section 10) is deducted from the payout where chosen or required.
  • Protection fee (paid by the buyer, or by each side of a trade): 10% of the transaction value, minimum £12.50, where the deal uses escrow or the verified intermediary service. On a protected sale both fees apply — but to different parties: the seller pays commission, the buyer pays the protection fee. No party ever pays both.
  • Pre-grading and other optional services: priced per service and shown before you submit a card. Partner-run services may be priced by the partner within limits we set.

The intermediary service is required on trades of £250.00 or more. On sales of £250.00 or more it is included by default; the buyer may waive it where the seller has an established track record with us, in which case the deal proceeds as a direct sale protected by evidence, tracking, and our dispute process. Below that value it is optional.

6. Payments and escrow

Payments and payouts are processed by our payment provider, Stripe. By making or receiving a payment you also agree to Stripe's terms. We do not store your full card details.

  • Cash escrow:where a deal uses escrow, the paying party's funds are held until the deal completes. Funds are released to the seller once both sides have fulfilled their obligations.
  • Trade deposits: for card-for-card trades using our protection, each party may lodge a refundable deposit equal to the deal value plus the money-handling fee. Your deposit is returned when the other party delivers as agreed; it protects you if they do not.

7. Shipping and postage

  • Delivery fee (direct sales). On direct (unprotected) sales the buyer pays a flat £3.50 delivery fee per seller order, however many items it contains. We use it to provide the seller's tracked postage label, so sellers post at no cost to themselves. Protected deals pay no separate delivery fee — insured postage is included in the protection fee.
  • Free insured postage is included on protected deals where our fee is at least £12.50 (which covers every escrow and intermediary deal), funded from that fee. On direct swaps you may buy discounted tracked, insured postage through us at cost plus a small service fee.
  • Approved shops may arrange their own postage instead, in which case they are responsible for tracked, insured delivery and for adding tracking to the deal.
  • Proof-of-postage evidence. For items valued at £100.00 or more you must record a single continuous, unedited video showing the card, its packing, and the sealed, addressed parcel. Below that value it is strongly recommended. This evidence is used to resolve disputes.
  • You are responsible for packing items securely and dispatching them promptly once a deal is agreed.

8. Refunds, cancellations and disputes

  • Buying from a business seller — your statutory cancellation right. Where the seller is a business (a partner store, or any seller acting in the course of trade), the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 give you the right to cancel a distance purchase within 14 days of receiving the goods, without giving a reason, and receive a refund. To exercise it, contact the seller (or us at hello@tcghamster.com and we will pass it on) within the 14 days and return the goods unused within 14 days of telling them; return postage is your cost unless the seller says otherwise. The right does not apply to purchases from private sellers, and goods that come factory sealed must be returned unopened if you cancel — a sealed product loses most of its value once opened, and the regulations let the seller reduce the refund for handling beyond what a shop would allow. Your separate rights when goods are faulty or not as described (Consumer Rights Act 2015) are unaffected.
  • Buying our own paid services (for example the intermediary service or optional postage insurance) also carries the 14-day cancellation right, except that once we have fully performed the service — or you ask us to start within the period and it completes — the right ends. If you cancel part-way, we refund proportionately for what has not been performed.
  • If a deal is cancelled before completion, any escrow funds or deposit are refunded in full, including our fee.
  • On successful completion, the deposit or escrowed purchase amount is released as intended and our fee is retained as payment for the service provided.
  • If the cards do not match the listing or a party fails to deliver, either party can raise a dispute. Where we or a partner handled the cards, we rely on our own photographs; otherwise we rely on the postage and unboxing evidence described above. We may refund, return cards, or release funds according to the evidence.
  • Unprotected deals and evidence.On a deal you choose to complete without our protected (intermediary or escrow) service, we do not check the cards and our ability to help you is limited by the evidence available. We recommend the party sending cards records a single continuous, unedited video of packing and sealing the parcel (with photos of every side), and the party receiving cards records themselves opening the sealed parcel on camera. On a trade, each of you both sends and receives, so both should do both. Where a party raising a dispute has no such evidence of the cards' condition, we may be unable to resolve the dispute in their favour or to refund them. This describes the limits of our own discretionary dispute service and does not affect any rights you have against the other party.
  • Protected deals.On intermediary or escrow deals a partner checks the cards, so recording your own evidence is not required. It remains your strongest support should you wish to challenge a partner's assessment.
  • Transit cover.On protected deals, insured postage is included and funded from the protection fee. On direct sales, cover is optional and chosen by the seller at the point of buying postage: it is offered at cost, deducted from the seller's payout, and required on deals over £50.00and optional below that. If a seller declines cover where it is optional, the carrier's own compensation limit is the only protection — and that limit is low, varying by carrier from around £20 to £75 — so any shortfall on a lost or damaged parcel is the seller's loss.
  • Cover is subject to the insurer's terms. Cosmetic damage to a product's outer box (creases, dents, scuffs) is not covered — pack sealed products in a rigid outer box so the product box is protected inside.
  • Failed verification (item not as described). Where our verification partner determines that an item sent to the intermediary does not match its listing (wrong item, undisclosed damage, or materially different condition), the buyer is refunded in full, including any protection fee. The seller is charged a return fee of £10.00 plus return postage at cost before the item is returned; we hold the item securely in the meantime. If the return fee remains unpaid 30 days after we notify you, the item is treated as abandoned and we may dispose of it or donate its value at our discretion. Repeated failed verifications may lead to restrictions on your account.

Nothing in this section affects your statutory rights as a consumer, including where you buy from a business seller.

9. Shops, partners and intermediary services

Certain services and transactions may be provided by approved shops or partner stores (including Collector's Isle) acting as a seller, intermediary, buyback provider, consignor, or grading facilitator. Approved shops and partners may be granted different fee rates. Where a partner service applies, any additional terms specific to that service will be made available to you before you proceed. Partners are independent businesses; we are not liable for their acts or omissions except as required by law.

10. Disclaimers

The Platform is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. Card valuations, market prices, and AI-generated condition estimates are provided for guidance only and are not guarantees. You should make your own assessment before entering any transaction.

11. Limitation of liability

Nothing in these Terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for any other liability that cannot be limited under English law. Subject to that, we are not liable for any indirect or consequential loss, and our total liability arising out of or in connection with the Platform is limited to the fees you paid to us in the 12 months preceding the relevant claim.

12. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. We will post the updated Terms with a revised “last updated” date, and material changes will be notified to you. Continued use of the Platform after changes take effect constitutes acceptance.

13. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute, subject to your statutory rights as a consumer.

14. Contact

Questions about these Terms can be sent to hello@tcghamster.com.