Terms of Service

You must be at least 13 years old to create an account. Certain features (including Flex social posting and selling on the marketplace) require you to be 18 or older. By using the Service you represent that you meet these age requirements and that you have the legal capacity to enter into binding contracts in your jurisdiction.

If you are between 13 and 17, a parent or legal guardian must agree to these Terms on your behalf and is responsible for your activity on the Service.

You are responsible for safeguarding your password, biometric credentials (passkeys), and any other authentication method you use. You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorized use of your account. We are not liable for losses caused by unauthorized account access where you failed to protect your credentials.

One person per account. Creating multiple accounts to manipulate bids, ratings, referrals, or FoodStamps will result in permanent suspension and forfeiture of balances.

Sellers are responsible for the accuracy of their listings (condition, grade, authenticity, photographs, shipping timelines, and price). PokeBTS does not pre-inspect listed cards. You agree to ship sold items within the timeframe stated in your listing and to use the tracked shipping option provided in the seller flow.

Buyers agree that all sales are final once the buyer confirms delivery or 7 days have passed without a dispute, whichever comes first. Buyer protection is available only for items that are clearly and provably misrepresented or fraudulent — see Section 7 (Disputes) and the full Refunds & Disputes policy.

Bids and orders are binding and non-cancellable. By placing a bid you commit to purchase if you are the highest bidder at auction close. By checking out you commit to pay. PokeBTS is not eBay: there is no "cancel my bid" button, no buyer's-remorse refund, and no second chances for failing to read the listing. You are responsible for your own due diligence on every card you bid on or buy. Retracting bids, refusing to pay for a won auction, or filing bad-faith disputes are grounds for suspension and permanent ban.

Counterfeit cards, reprints sold as originals, altered cards (without disclosure), and stolen property are strictly prohibited. Any confirmed fraud results in an automatic 1-year platform ban effective immediately upon confirmation, plus a full refund to the affected buyer, plus payout reversal on the offending account. Repeat fraud after a 1-year ban results in a permanent ban and may be reported to law enforcement.

PokeBTS charges a sales fee on completed sales (currently 10–12%, varying by your subscription tier). Subscription tiers (Founder's Pass, Ballin, Thievin, G.O.A.T., Raidin) may reduce fees and unlock additional features. Current pricing is displayed in your dashboard and may change with 30 days' notice.

Payouts to sellers are processed via Stripe Connect. You must complete Stripe's identity verification (including selfie + ID for higher payout volumes) before funds release. Funds are typically held in escrow for 3–7 business days after delivery confirmation to allow for dispute resolution.

You are responsible for all taxes on your earnings. If your annual marketplace sales exceed IRS thresholds, Stripe will issue a 1099-K to you and to the IRS.

FoodStamps are an in-platform rewards balance. FS have no cash value, cannot be redeemed for U.S. dollars or other currencies, and cannot be transferred to another user except via features we explicitly enable (currently: the P2P Trades feature, where FS may be sent or received as part of a card trade between users). FS may be applied as a discount on platform fees, subscriptions, and in-app purchases at the rates published in your dashboard, but FS cannot be used to purchase marketplace listings directly — they are strictly discount credit at checkout.

FS balances may be adjusted, frozen, or revoked if we determine they were earned through fraud, manipulation (e.g., self-referrals, bot Plinko drops), or violations of these Terms. We may also expire unused FS after 24 months of account inactivity with prior notice.

The Service offers a P2P trading feature with optional escrow and tracked shipping handoff. Trades are binding contracts between the participating users. PokeBTS facilitates the introduction and may hold items or FS in escrow but is not a party to the underlying contract.

You agree to ship traded items within 5 business days of trade confirmation and to provide tracking. Failure to ship within 10 business days will result in trade reversal and may impact your trader rating.

Refunds are case-by-case and are not guaranteed. You qualify for a refund only when fraud or clear material misrepresentation is proven — e.g., counterfeit card, wrong item shipped, undisclosed damage knowingly hidden, or non-delivery with no shipment proof. "I changed my mind," "I didn't read the listing," "I lost the auction and want my bid back," and "the price dropped" are not refundable categories. Every collector is accountable for their own due diligence before clicking bid or buy.

If an item arrives significantly not-as-described (counterfeit, wrong card, materially worse condition than disclosed, damaged in transit due to seller negligence), you may open a dispute within 7 days of delivery (or 30 days of payment for non-delivery) via your order page. PokeBTS may, at our discretion: (a) release escrow to the buyer, (b) release escrow to the seller, (c) require return shipping, or (d) split the funds. Our dispute decisions are final on the platform. Full details: Refunds & Disputes policy.

This does not waive any rights you may have under your local consumer protection laws or any rights you have to chargeback through your payment provider — though filing a chargeback without first using our dispute flow may result in account restriction.

Fraud penalty. When PokeBTS confirms fraud (counterfeit, knowingly hidden damage, shill bidding, bait-and-switch, misrepresented grade/edition/authenticity), the following are automatic and effective immediately at the time of confirmation: (a) full refund to the buyer, (b) 1-year ban of the fraudulent account, (c) cancellation of all active listings, bids, auctions, and trades by the banned account, and (d) hold and possible reversal of pending payouts. Repeat fraud after a 1-year ban results in a permanent ban. Associated accounts sharing payment method, device, phone, or IP may also be banned for coordinated fraud.

The Service uses AI (including Google Gemini and other large language and image models) to: (a) suggest card identifications and pricing, (b) generate cross-listing copy for third-party marketplaces, (c) moderate user content on Flex, and (d) generate advertising creatives. AI output is provided as-is; you are responsible for reviewing and approving any AI-generated listing copy or cross-posts before publishing them on third-party platforms.

AI moderation may flag, hide, or remove content that violates our policies. You may appeal moderation decisions via the contact methods in Section 16.

When you provide your phone number on the waitlist signup, account registration, or notification preferences, you expressly consent to receive recurring promotional and transactional SMS messages from PokeBTS at the number provided, including via automated technology. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Consent is not a condition of purchase.

You may opt out at any time by replying STOP to any message. Reply HELP for help. For full details, see our Privacy Policy.

You agree not to:

• List counterfeit, stolen, or materially altered items without disclosure
• Manipulate auctions via shill bidding, fake accounts, or bid retraction
• Circumvent platform fees by directing buyers off-platform
• Use bots, scrapers, or automated tools to interact with the Service (except via documented APIs)
• Harass, dox, or threaten other users
• Post sexually explicit, hateful, or illegal content on Flex
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Service or other users' accounts
• Reverse-engineer the Service or its AI features for the purpose of building a competing product

The PokeBTS name, logo, design, and underlying code are the property of PokeBTS and its licensors. You retain ownership of any photos, listing copy, and Flex posts you upload, but grant PokeBTS a worldwide, royalty-free license to host, display, distribute, and use your content for the purpose of operating and promoting the Service.

Pokemon, the Pokemon TCG, and related trademarks are the property of Nintendo, Game Freak, and The Pokemon Company. PokeBTS is an independent platform and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Nintendo or The Pokemon Company. References to “Pokemon” on the Service are descriptive references to the trading card game and its products.

We may suspend or terminate your account at any time for violation of these Terms, suspicious activity, or as required by law. On termination: (a) outstanding payouts will be processed subject to dispute resolution, (b) FS balances earned in good faith will be honored where feasible, and (c) FS balances tied to fraudulent activity will be forfeited.

You may close your account at any time from your profile settings. Closing your account does not extinguish obligations incurred before closure.

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE.” TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, POKEBTS DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT LISTINGS ARE ACCURATE, THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT AI-GENERATED CONTENT WILL BE ACCURATE.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, POKEBTS'S TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID POKEBTS IN FEES IN THE 6 MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM, OR (B) $100 USD. WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES.

You agree to indemnify and hold PokeBTS, its officers, employees, and contractors harmless from any claims, damages, or expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of (a) your use of the Service, (b) your violation of these Terms, (c) your violation of any third- party rights, or (d) any item you list, sell, or trade on the Service.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Illinois, USA, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles. Any dispute arising out of or related to these Terms or the Service will be resolved by binding individual arbitration under the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association, in Cook County, Illinois. You waive any right to participate in a class action or class arbitration.

Either party may bring a small-claims action in their local small-claims court as an alternative to arbitration.

We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be announced via email or in-app notification at least 14 days before they take effect. Continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance.

Questions, legal notices, or disputes can be sent to pokebtslivesupport@gmail.com.