SPORTSReturns & Refunds
Last updated: 3 July 2026 · SportsCard ZA ("SportsCard", "we", "us")
1. The short version
Every purchase made through SportsCard's secure checkout is escrow-protected: your money is held by TradeSafe, an independent South African escrow service, and the seller is only paid once you've received the card and are happy with it. If the card never arrives, arrives damaged, or is not as described in the listing, you can open a dispute and get your money back. Because trading cards are one-of-a-kind collectibles sold mostly by private collectors, we do not offer change-of-mind returns.
2. How buyer protection works
When you buy through checkout, your payment goes to TradeSafe — not to the seller. The seller ships the card to you, and once it arrives you confirm receipt under My Orders. Only then is the money released to the seller. Until you confirm (or the inspection window below closes), the funds stay in escrow.
3. Your inspection window
You have 7 days from the day the seller ships your card (and never more than 14 days from payment) to inspect it and either confirm receipt or raise a dispute. If you do neither within that window, the order is treated as accepted and the funds are released to the seller — so check your card as soon as it arrives.
4. Card not as described, damaged, or never arrived
Open a dispute from My Orders before confirming receipt — for example if the card differs from the photos or description (condition, grading, serial numbering, autograph), arrives damaged, or does not arrive at all. TradeSafe then mediates between you and the seller while the money remains safely in escrow. Where a dispute is upheld, you are refunded; where a return of the card is agreed as part of the resolution, the buyer returns it via tracked courier before the refund is released. We're happy to assist in good faith at any point — email info@sportscard.co.za.
5. Change of mind
Trading cards are unique collectibles, and most sellers on SportsCard are private collectors rather than businesses — so we do not offer returns because you've changed your mind about a card that arrived exactly as described. Nothing in this policy limits any rights you may have in law, including under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008, which apply as between the buyer and the seller.
6. How refunds are paid
Refunds are processed by TradeSafe out of the funds held in escrow and returned to you, normally within a few business days of the dispute being resolved. Because your money never reached the seller, a refund never depends on the seller "paying it back".
7. Deals arranged outside secure checkout
If you and a seller choose to arrange payment directly between yourselves instead of using secure checkout, escrow protection does not apply and returns are whatever you and the seller agree. We strongly recommend completing every purchase through checkout.
8. Questions
Anything unclear, or stuck mid-dispute? Email info@sportscard.co.za and we'll help.