TTCG Portal

DRAFT – needs legal review before launch. This text is a starting point and is not legal advice.

Slab Marketplace Terms of Service

Version 2026-10-14 (draft). Applies to tcgportal.store/marketplace.

1. TCG Portal is a listing venue

TCG Portal LLC ("TCG Portal", "we") provides a place for people to list graded trading-card slabs and contact each other. We are not a buyer, seller, broker, auctioneer, or escrow agent, and we are not a party to any sale. We never take possession of slabs and never collect, hold, or transfer buyer payments.

2. Direct sales between users; payment via PayPal Goods & Services

The buyer pays the seller the item price through PayPal Goods & Services ("G&S"), entirely outside TCG Portal and Stripe. TCG Portal never receives, holds, or routes the item payment or seller payouts, and doesn't use Stripe Connect or onboard sellers for payments. Sellers must list a PayPal email or handle that can receive G&S payments. Buyers must pay as Goods & Services, never Friends & Family, and include the TCG Portal listing ID in the PayPal note. Protection for the PayPal payment itself is PayPal's own buyer protection, under PayPal's terms.

Staged reveal ("after both payments clear"). After the buyer pays the Buyer Guarantee fee through Stripe, we show the buyer the seller's PayPal G&S address so the buyer can pay. Once the buyer also marks the PayPal payment sent, both payments have cleared, and we share the buyer's and seller's contact details with each other for shipping. The seller should confirm the G&S payment in PayPal before shipping, and ships directly to the buyer. Any contract of sale is between buyer and seller alone.

3. No guarantee of slabs, authenticity, or performance

We do not inspect, authenticate, grade, or guarantee any slab, card, cert, listing, user, payment, or delivery. A "Reviewed listing" badge only means we looked over the listing's photos and entered details. A "Verified Seller" badge only means the account verified its email, completed its profile, has listed, and is currently in good standing. Neither is a guarantee. Always confirm cert numbers with the grading company before paying.

4. Accounts

You need a verified email to post listings or contact sellers. You must give accurate information and keep your account secure. We may suspend or remove accounts or listings at our discretion, including for suspected fraud, overdue fees, or unresolved refund obligations.

5. No seller fee

TCG Portal charges sellers no fee. PayPal may charge the seller its own Goods & Services selling fee on the payment received; that's between the seller and PayPal.

5a. Buyer Guarantee fee (5%): TCG Portal's only fee

To buy, the buyer pays TCG Portal a Buyer Guarantee fee of 5% of the listed item price, plus Stripe processing (see 5e), as a standalone Stripe charge at the same time as paying the seller through PayPal G&S. This is TCG Portal's only platform fee. It is separate from the item price, which goes to the seller via PayPal. Seller details are revealed in stages as described in section 2.

5b. TCG Portal Buyer Guarantee

If a slab doesn't match its listing (for example the card, grade, grader, cert, or condition of the slab case differs from what was described) or there's a shipping issue (lost, or arrived damaged), the buyer may file a claim within 72 hours of delivery using the claim form. For a valid claim, the buyer may return the slab and the seller must give the buyer a full refund of the item price, including original shipping, once the slab is returned in the condition it arrived.

Seller refund obligation. By listing, every seller agrees to honor valid Buyer Guarantee claims. TCG Portal does not hold the item payment and does not itself refund the item price. We enforce the seller's obligation: we review claims, contact the seller, and if the seller doesn't honor a valid claim we suspend the seller's account, remove their Verified Seller status, and may share their contact details with the buyer and authorities.

Buyer Guarantee fee refunds. TCG Portal may refund the 5% Buyer Guarantee fee if (a) the seller fails to honor a valid claim, (b) the seller doesn't respond to the buyer within 3 days of the purchase request, or (c) the listing turns out to be prohibited or fraudulent. The fee is otherwise non-refundable once seller contact details have been shared. Claims filed more than 72 hours after delivery aren't covered.

5c. Delivery confirmation

After a seller marks a listing sold to a buyer, the sale moves through these steps, shown to both parties on their account pages:

  1. Tracking. The seller should add the carrier and tracking number. TCG Portal links to the carrier's tracking page but does not currently connect to carrier systems. The seller (or TCG Portal) marks the sale "tracking shows delivered" when the carrier's tracking says so.
  2. Tracked delivery. From the time tracking shows delivered, the buyer has 72 hours to confirm delivery or file a Buyer Guarantee claim. If the buyer does neither, the sale finalizes automatically.
  3. Delivery without tracking. The seller may report the sale delivered, but it does not finalize until the buyer confirms delivery. The 72-hour Buyer Guarantee window starts when the buyer confirms, and the sale finalizes when that window ends without a claim.
  4. No delivery evidence. If, within 14 days of the sale, there is no tracking showing delivery and no delivery report from the seller, the sale is cancelled. The seller must refund the buyer directly (for example through PayPal) for any amount the buyer paid.
  5. Claims. An open Buyer Guarantee claim pauses finalization. If the claim is upheld, the seller must refund the buyer in full when the slab is returned. If it's refused, the sale finalizes.

Finalizing. When a sale finalizes, no further charge is created. Finalizing only closes the Buyer Guarantee window.

Refund obligations. TCG Portal never holds the item payment, so refunds are paid by the seller. We record every refund obligation and enforce it like a claim: a seller with a refund still owed after 14 days loses Verified Seller status and can't post, and may be suspended.

5d. Sales tax

Buyers pay sellers directly via PayPal Goods & Services, so the seller is the merchant of record for each sale. The seller alone is responsible for determining, collecting, and remitting any sales, use, VAT, GST, or similar tax that applies to the sale in their state or jurisdiction, and for any related filings. TCG Portal does not collect, hold, or remit sales tax on any transaction, and is not the seller. Buyers are responsible for any taxes, duties, or import fees their own jurisdiction charges them.

5e. Platform fee vs. payment processing

The 5% Buyer Guarantee fee is a platform fee. It is not a payment processing fee.

Stripe's processing fee is added on top of the buyer's platform fee. Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction and only processes the fee payment, never the item price. The buyer is charged, through Stripe, the 5% fee plus a processing fee calculated so TCG Portal receives the full 5% after Stripe's fee: Stripe charge = (buyer fee + $0.30) ÷ (1 − 0.029), rounded up to the cent, with a $0.50 minimum. Example, $500 slab: $500.00 to the seller via PayPal G&S; $26.06 to TCG Portal via Stripe ($25.00 fee + $1.06 processing); $526.06 total. The listing page, the post-listing form, and the confirm step show these amounts. If Stripe changes its rates, the processing fee changes with them.

PayPal's own fees on the G&S payment are between the payer or payee and PayPal.

5f. Dispute routing

Disputes go one of two ways:

  1. Item disputes (damage, non-delivery, not as described) go through PayPal's dispute process, because the buyer paid the seller via PayPal Goods & Services. PayPal G&S disputes run through PayPal, separately from TCG Portal, under PayPal's rules and deadlines.
  2. Listing, Buyer Guarantee, or platform fee disputes (a misleading or prohibited listing, a Buyer Guarantee claim or seller refund obligation, or a problem with the Stripe fee) go to TCG Portal via /marketplace/report/ or partners@tcgportal.store.

A buyer may use both paths: a PayPal dispute for the payment, and a TCG Portal Buyer Guarantee claim (within 72 hours of delivery) so we can enforce the seller's refund obligation.

6. Prohibited items and conduct

7. Disputes between buyers and sellers

Because sales are direct, buyers and sellers are responsible for resolving their own disputes, including non-delivery, damage, authenticity, and payment issues. TCG Portal does not refund item prices; sellers do, under the Buyer Guarantee (section 5b). Buyers should inspect a slab when it arrives and report a problem to the seller and to us within 72 hours of delivery. We may review reports, remove listings, suspend accounts, and share relevant account information with the other party or with law enforcement where appropriate. Use your payment provider's buyer protection or chargeback process where available.

Report a problem or email partners@tcgportal.store.

8. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, TCG Portal is not liable for any loss arising from transactions between users, listings, slabs, shipping, or payments, and our total liability for any claim relating to the marketplace is limited to the fees you paid us in the prior 12 months.

9. Changes

We may update these terms. Continued use after an update means you accept it.