Terms of Service
Effective date: 2026-11-01 These Terms of Service (“Terms”) are a binding agreement between you and Kteck LLC, an Arkansas limited liability company doing business as The Animal Traders (“The Animal Traders”, “we”, “us”, or “our”). They govern your access to and use of the Animal Traders websites, mobile apps, and related services (collectively, the “Service”). By creating an account, accessing the Service, publishing a listing, buying or selling through the Service, or clicking to accept these Terms, you agree to them. If you do not agree, do not use the Service. Our Privacy Policy explains how we collect and use information. Additional product help for payments, listings, and safety is available in our docs.Summary
- The Animal Traders is an online listing and communications marketplace for animals and related goods or services. We are not a party to most sales between buyers and sellers.
- For card checkout, sellers are the merchant of record. Buyer payments settle to the seller’s own Stripe account under Stripe Connect direct charges. We never hold seller proceeds.
- Sellers are responsible for fulfillment, refunds, chargebacks, taxes, animal welfare, and legal compliance for what they sell.
- Listing fees, listing boosts, and other optional promotion add-ons are separate platform charges. A boost is refunded only when its ad does not run.
- You must keep listings accurate, follow our family-safety rules, and comply with all laws that apply to animal sales where you operate.
- Exact pickup addresses stay private until after a completed purchase (or as otherwise coordinated privately). City/state and an approximate map pin may appear while browsing.
1. The Service
The Animal Traders helps people browse, list, message about, and arrange sales of livestock, pets, adoption animals, feed, and related items or services offered by sellers and organizations. We may provide features such as:- Account profiles, organizations, verification, and roles
- Listings, inventory, media, and documents
- Browse, search, map views, favorites, and messaging
- Cash purchase confirmation codes and reviews / trust signals
- Card checkout and seller payouts via Stripe
- Listing fees, listing credits, referrals, and optional promotions, including listing boosts (Facebook and Instagram ads for a listing)
- Moderation, reporting, and support tools
2. Eligibility and accounts
You must be at least 18 years old and able to form a binding contract to use the Service. You agree to:- Provide accurate account information and keep it updated
- Keep your login credentials secure
- Accept responsibility for activity under your account
- Use the Service only for lawful purposes
3. Our role — and what we are not
The Animal Traders provides technology that connects buyers and sellers. Unless we expressly say otherwise in writing:- We are not the buyer or seller of animals listed by users
- We are not the merchant of record for seller card sales
- We do not take title to animals or inventory listed by users
- We do not provide veterinary care, health certificates, breeding advice, transport as a carrier, or insurance
- We do not guarantee that any animal is healthy, registerable, fertile, temperamentally suitable, or accurately described
- We do not guarantee that any buyer or seller will complete a transaction
4. Listings and seller content
Accuracy
If you create or manage a listing, you represent that:- You have the legal right to sell or place the animals, goods, or services described
- Listing details, photos, videos, prices, quantities, certifications, documents, and other content are accurate and not misleading
- You will update inventory, status, and details promptly when they change
- You will comply with all federal, state, and local laws that apply to your listings and sales (including animal transport, disease reporting, licensing, breed-specific rules, and consumer protection laws)
Prohibited listings and conduct
You may not use the Service to list, promote, or arrange:- Illegal sales or transfers of animals, including protected, endangered, or unlawfully possessed animals
- Animal abuse, cruelty, neglect, or fighting
- Stolen animals or animals you are not authorized to sell
- Sexual content, pornography, or exploitation
- Scams, deceptive pricing, bait-and-switch inventory, or spam
- Hate speech, harassment, threats, doxxing, or graphic violence
- Any other content that violates our Moderation & Family Safety standards
License to your content
You keep ownership of content you submit. You grant The Animal Traders a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, adapt, publish, publicly display, and distribute that content as needed to operate, secure, improve, and promote the Service. If you boost a listing, you also authorize us to use its title, description, price, media, and approximate location to create and run ads for it on Facebook and Instagram, posted by The Animal Traders. Exact pickup addresses are not used. Details are in the Privacy Policy and Listing boosts.5. Location privacy
Exact seller pickup addresses and coordinates are stored privately. While browsing, buyers may see city/state and an approximate map pin. Exact meetup details are shared after a completed purchase when applicable, or coordinated privately between the parties. See Privacy & Location. Do not misuse location features to stalk, harass, or visit sellers without an arranged transaction.6. Messaging and community conduct
Messaging and profile content must follow these Terms and our family-safety standards. Do not send spam, threats, fraudulent offers, or content meant to move users off-platform in order to evade fees or safety systems in a deceptive way. You may report problematic content or users through in-app report tools or Help & Support.7. Fees you may pay to The Animal Traders
Listing fees and promotions
Sellers may pay platform charges to activate, extend, or renew a listing window, and may optionally purchase add-ons such as a listing boost or browse featured spotlight. Amounts are quoted in-app before checkout. See Listing fees, Extend, and Renew.Listing boosts
A listing boost runs your listing as a Facebook and Instagram ad for the area and number of days you choose. The price is shown in the app before you pay and covers the ad spend and our service; prices may change. Each listing may include a boost credit that pays for all or part of one boost, as shown in the app.- Meta’s review and policies apply. Every ad is reviewed by Meta and must meet Meta’s advertising policies as well as these Terms. We may decline, pause, or stop a boost that does not.
- Refunds. If Meta does not approve the ad, or the ad cannot be created, we refund what you paid for that boost and return any boost credit it used. Otherwise boost fees are non-refundable once the ad has started, including when a boost pauses because the listing sold out, expired, or was placed under review. Listing fees are not refunded because a boost did not run.
- No guaranteed results. Reach, clicks, listing views, and messages depend on Meta and on buyers. We report the results Meta gives us, which may be estimates and may change.
- One live boost per listing. A boost pauses while its listing is not active and does not extend past its end date.
Platform fees on card sales
When a buyer pays a seller by card through the Service, The Animal Traders may collect a platform fee (application fee) at the time of the charge. Stripe’s card-processing fees are charged to the seller as merchant of record. Current fee estimates appear in the seller payouts flow and may change; sellers may need to re-accept updated payout responsibilities before continuing card sales. See Card payouts.Taxes on platform fees
You are responsible for any taxes that apply to amounts you pay us (such as listing fees), except taxes we are legally required to collect.8. Buyer–seller transactions
Cash and off-platform payment arrangements
Buyers and sellers may arrange cash or other in-person payment outside card checkout. The Animal Traders is not a party to those payments. Cash confirmation codes help link a completed deal to reviews and inventory records; they are not a payment guarantee. See Cash purchase confirmation.Card checkout
Card checkout is available only when the seller (or organization) has completed payout setup. Buyer card payments are processed by Stripe using direct charges on the seller’s connected Stripe account. Funds settle to the seller. The Animal Traders does not hold, escrow, or control seller proceeds. Optional services offered by a seller (for example, delivery, boarding, or supplies) are part of the seller’s offer. Delivery distance and pricing are calculated by the Service for checkout accuracy, but the seller remains responsible for performing the service. After a successful card purchase, buyers may receive seller contact details and exact pickup information to arrange collection. See Buying with card at checkout.Seller merchant-of-record responsibilities
If you accept card payments, you acknowledge that you are the merchant of record and are responsible for:- Fulfilling the sale as described
- Refunds when appropriate
- Chargebacks and disputes with the buyer’s card issuer
- Stripe processing fees
- Buyer customer service for your sales
- Sales tax and other tax obligations
- Legal and regulatory compliance for what you sell and where you sell it
Sales tax on animals and goods
The Animal Traders does not collect or remit sales tax on seller transactions under the Stripe Direct model. Each seller must determine taxability, register where required, collect when required, and remit to the correct authorities. We do not provide tax advice.No platform guarantee of payment or delivery
We do not guarantee that a buyer will pay, that a seller will deliver, or that animals will match a listing. Use messaging, reviews, trust signals, verification status, and common-sense precautions. Meet in safe public locations when arranging in-person exchange.9. Reviews, trust, and verification
Reviews, buyer feedback, trust badges, AI review summaries, cash confirmation history, and verification status are tools to help users evaluate counterparties. They are not warranties. We may remove or limit reviews or badges that violate these Terms or appear abusive, fraudulent, or inaccurate. See Reviews, Trust, and Verification. Submitting false verification documents or manipulating reviews or confirmation codes is prohibited.10. Referrals and credits
Referral programs and listing credits are offered at our discretion, may change, and may be revoked for abuse (including self-referral, fake accounts, or attempts to game qualifying paid listings). Program rules in the app and help docs control how credits are earned and applied.11. Third-party services
The Service depends on third parties such as Clerk (authentication), Supabase (backend), Stripe (payments), Uploadcare (media), Google (places, maps, and distance), Stream (messaging), Postmark or other email providers, and analytics or monitoring tools described in the Privacy Policy. Their terms and privacy practices also apply to their processing. We are not responsible for third-party outages or decisions (for example, Stripe declining an account or payment).12. Intellectual property
The Animal Traders name, logos, product design, software, and docs are owned by us or our licensors. You may not copy, scrape, reverse engineer, or misuse the Service except as allowed by law or with our written permission.13. Disclaimers
THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE.” TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. Without limiting the above, we do not warrant that:- Listings, reviews, or user content are accurate or complete
- Animals are healthy, safe, or suitable for your purpose
- The Service will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free
- Defects will be corrected
14. Limitation of liability
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, KTECK LLC AND ITS OWNERS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, LOST DATA, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, OR COST OF SUBSTITUTE ANIMALS OR SERVICES, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE SERVICE OR ANY TRANSACTION BETWEEN USERS. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNTS YOU PAID TO THE ANIMAL TRADERS FOR PLATFORM FEES IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM OR (B) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100). Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations; in those cases, our liability is limited to the fullest extent permitted.15. Indemnification
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Kteck LLC and its personnel from claims, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or related to:- Your use of the Service
- Your listings, content, animals, goods, or services
- Your transactions with other users
- Your violation of these Terms or applicable law
- Your failure to collect or remit taxes you owe