Terms of Use

Welcome. Okanagan Marketplace (the “Service”) is a community-owned marketplace for neighbours in the Okanagan Valley. By creating an account, posting a listing, or sending a message on the Service, you agree to these Terms of Use.

If you do not agree, please don't use the Service.

You must:

• Be at least 18 years old.
• Provide a real first name and a clear photo of yourself for your profile.
• Have legal capacity to enter into a binding contract in your jurisdiction.
• Not be banned, suspended, or otherwise restricted from the Service.

One account per person. If your account is suspended for breaking these terms, you may not create a new one.

You are responsible for your account, your password, and anything that happens under it. Tell us right away if you suspect someone else has accessed it.

Provide accurate information when you sign up and keep it current. Impersonation, fake profiles, and bot accounts are not allowed.

You agree not to use the Service to:

• Post, request, or trade illegal items (including unregistered firearms, controlled drugs, stolen goods, counterfeit items, ivory or other wildlife products, prescription medication, or anything else that would be unlawful to sell in British Columbia or Canada).
• Post or solicit sexual content, sex work, escort services, or sexually suggestive listings of any kind.
• Run scams, fraud, phishing, MLM/pyramid schemes, or otherwise deceive other users.
• Post listings that are discriminatory, hateful, harassing, or threatening toward any person or group.
• Spam, scrape, or otherwise abuse the Service or its users.
• Bypass our moderation, age gate, blocks, or report systems.

Listings flagged by our automated moderation or by other neighbours may be hidden, reviewed, or removed at our discretion. Serious or repeated violations will result in your account being banned.

Okanagan Marketplace is a platform — we connect buyers and sellers, but we are not a party to any transaction between users. We don't hold money, take fees on local trades, or guarantee goods.

You are responsible for verifying the condition, value, ownership, and legality of anything you buy or sell. Meet in safe, public places when you can. Don't share banking details, government IDs, or large prepayments with strangers.

Any dispute, refund, or claim is between you and the other user. We may help mediate when it's reasonable, but we have no legal obligation to do so.

You own what you post. By posting a listing, photo, message, or review on the Service, you grant Okanagan Marketplace a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide licence to host, display, and share that content on the Service so we can run the marketplace.

Don't post anything you don't have the right to post (other people's photos, copyrighted material, etc.). We can remove any content that breaks these terms, looks like spam, or risks harm to our users.

We collect what we need to run the Service: your email, name, profile photo, birth year (for the age check), approximate location, your listings, messages, and reviews.

Your birth year is never shown to other users. Your exact GPS coordinates are stored to power the distance filter but only the approximate location (within ~1 km) is shown publicly on a listing. We don't sell your data, ever.

You can request a copy or deletion of your data by emailing us at the address below.

We may, without notice, hide a listing, refuse a posting, remove content, suspend, or permanently ban an account for any of the following: violating these terms, repeated reports from neighbours, fraudulent or harmful activity, court or law-enforcement order, or a serious risk to the safety of the community.

If you believe action against your account was a mistake, contact us and we'll review it.

The Service is provided “as is” without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. We don't guarantee the accuracy of any listing, the conduct of any user, or that the Service will be uninterrupted or error-free.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Okanagan Marketplace and its operators are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits or revenues, arising out of your use of the Service or any transaction with another user.

We may update these terms from time to time. We'll post the new version here and update the “Last updated” date below. Material changes will also be flagged in your account. Continuing to use the Service after a change means you accept the new terms.

You can stop using the Service and request account deletion at any time by emailing us. We can suspend or end your access immediately for any breach of these terms or any other reason at our reasonable discretion.

These terms are governed by the laws of the Province of British Columbia and the federal laws of Canada applicable there, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules. Any dispute that's not resolved informally will be brought in the courts located in Kelowna, BC.

Questions, requests, or a report you want us to look at? Reach us at owen.acker@gmail.com.