Terms of Service

By creating an account or otherwise using UpChansa (the “platform”), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the platform.

Eligibility. You must be at least 18 years old (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction, whichever is higher) and legally capable of entering a binding contract. Accounts for minors are not permitted.

Because UpChansa is not a party to the underlying transactions, we cannot guarantee the quality, safety, legality, or existence of items listed, the truthfulness of listings, or the ability of sellers to sell or buyers to buy. Use the platform at your own discretion.

UpChansa may post its own listings to illustrate how the service works. These are published under accounts operated by UpChansa, whose messages we answer directly, and they are progressively retired as the community grows.

• You must provide accurate, current, and complete information when registering and keep it up to date.
• You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and for all activity that occurs under your account.
• One account per person. Creating multiple accounts to circumvent platform limits is prohibited.
• Notify us immediately at support@upchansa.ca if you suspect unauthorized access to your account.
• We may suspend or permanently close accounts that violate these Terms. You may delete your account at any time (see Section 16).

When you post a listing or create an auction you represent and warrant that:

• You have the legal right to sell the item.
• Your description, photos, and stated condition are truthful and not misleading.
• The item is not prohibited under Section 9 of these Terms.
• You will follow through on a completed sale in good faith.

UpChansa may, at its sole discretion, remove or modify any listing or auction that violates these Terms, applicable law, or platform guidelines — with or without notice.

How bidding works. When you place a bid, the amount you enter becomes the new current price and you immediately take the lead. UpChansa does not use hidden maximums and never bids on your behalf. Each bid must be at least one increment above the current price, in whole dollars. If someone outbids you, place a new, higher bid to retake the lead.

Reserve price. Some auctions have a hidden reserve — a minimum price the seller is willing to accept. If the final bid does not meet the reserve, the item does not sell and no transaction takes place.

Buy now. Some auctions offer a fixed “buy now” price. Accepting it ends the auction immediately and commits both parties to the transaction.

Anti-sniping extension. A bid placed in the final minutes of an auction automatically extends the closing time, giving other bidders a fair opportunity to respond.

A bid is a commitment. Winning an auction creates a moral and reputational obligation to complete the transaction with the seller. Because UpChansa is a classifieds platform with off-platform settlement, bids are not legally enforceable purchase contracts through the platform; however, repeated non-completion may result in account suspension.

Buyers may make an offer below the asking price on fixed-price listings. Sellers may accept, decline, or counter an offer. When a seller accepts an offer, or marks a listing as sold, the sale is recorded immediately — including a sale to someone who is not an UpChansa member. Recording a sale reflects what the seller reports; it is not an escrow, a payment, or a guarantee by us, and the actual exchange of goods and money happens directly between the parties (see Section 5).

If a recorded sale falls through, either party may cancel it, which reverses any commission that was applied and returns the item to active. We may also enable an additional step in which the buyer must confirm the sale before it is recorded; where that step is enabled, it ensures any applicable commission is calculated on the actual agreed price, protecting both parties from price misreporting.

Posting is currently free. Publishing listings and running auctions on UpChansa is free of charge — there is no listing fee, no auction fee, and no commission on sales. You keep the full amount you sell for.

• Optional promotional features. Paid promotional tools (such as a featured listing or a “bump to top”) are available. They are entirely optional, are never required to publish or sell, and their price is shown before you purchase. These are processed by Stripe.
• New paid features in the future. UpChansa reserves the right to introduce additional optional paid features in the future. If it does, UpChansa will provide at least thirty (30) days’ advance notice.

UpChansa does not collect or hold any payment between buyers and sellers; payment for the item is arranged directly between the parties, off-platform. Any promotional fees paid are non-refundable unless we remove a listing due to our own error.

From time to time, UpChansa may offer promotions — such as discounted or free promotional placements or other special offers (“Promotions”). Promotions are offered at UpChansa’s sole discretion, are non-transferable, have no cash value, and may be modified, suspended, or discontinued at any time.

UpChansa may withhold or revoke any promotional benefit obtained through abuse — including creating multiple accounts or artificial activity designed to trigger it. Suspected abuse is reviewed by a human before any benefit is revoked.

You may not post, sell, offer, or engage in:

• Items that are illegal, counterfeit, stolen, or regulated without the required licences (e.g. firearms, controlled substances, prescription drugs, endangered species products).
• Content that is offensive, hateful, discriminatory, sexually explicit, or defamatory.
• Fraudulent, misleading, or deceptive listings.
• Harassment, threats, or abuse directed at other users or UpChansa staff.
• Shill bidding, bid manipulation, review fraud, or any other collusive behaviour.
• Circumventing or attempting to circumvent platform fees — including deliberately misreporting a sale price, recycling a listing to sell successive items, or otherwise manipulating the platform to avoid fees or commission.
• Automated access, scraping, reverse engineering, or attempts to circumvent platform security.
• Conducting commercial activity on behalf of an unregistered business without disclosure.

Violations may result in immediate listing removal, account suspension, and/or reporting to the appropriate authorities.

• Meet in a public place — a coffee shop, a shopping centre, or a police station’s “safe exchange zone.”
• Inspect before you pay — verify the item matches the listing before handing over any money.
• Never share financial information in messages — bank account numbers, credit card details, or e-transfer passwords should never be sent through the platform.
• Beware of overpayment scams — if someone offers to pay more than the asking price and asks you to wire back the difference, it is a scam.
• Use in-app messaging to keep a record of all communications related to a transaction.
• Report suspicious listings or users using the report button available on each listing and profile page.

After a confirmed transaction, both parties may leave a review. Reviews must be honest, accurate, and based on an actual interaction. You may not:

• Write a review about a transaction you were not part of.
• Exchange reviews for money, goods, or services.
• Post defamatory, harassing, or abusive content in a review.

UpChansa may remove reviews that violate these rules. Reviews from deleted accounts are retained as “Deleted user.”

Your content. You retain ownership of the photos, descriptions, and other content you post (“User Content”). By posting User Content you grant UpChansa a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host, display, resize, and distribute that content for the purposes of operating and promoting the platform. This licence ends when you delete the content or close your account (subject to cached or archived copies).

UpChansa content. The UpChansa name, logo, platform design, source code, and all other platform intellectual property belong to UpChansa You may not copy, modify, or distribute them without our written permission.

Third-party rights. You must not post content that infringes the copyright, trademark, or other intellectual-property rights of any third party.

Transactional messages. By creating an account, you consent to receive the electronic messages necessary to operate your account and your transactions — email verification, password resets, security codes, and notifications about your bids, offers, sales, and messages. Some notification emails can be adjusted in your settings; core account and security messages cannot be disabled while your account is active.

Marketing messages. We send commercial electronic messages (such as newsletters or promotional offers) only with your separate, express consent, in compliance with Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL). You may withdraw that consent at any time using the unsubscribe link in any such message, and withdrawal does not affect your use of the platform.

The platform is provided “as is” and “as available” without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, UpChansa is not liable for:

• The outcome of any transaction between users, including non-delivery, defective items, fraud, or payment disputes.
• Loss or damage caused by unauthorized access to your account.
• Indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of the platform.
• Platform downtime, data loss, or service interruptions.

Liability cap. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, UpChansa’s total aggregate liability for all claims arising out of or relating to the platform or these Terms shall not exceed the greater of (a) the total platform fees you paid to UpChansa in the twelve (12) months preceding the event giving rise to the claim, and (b) fifty Canadian dollars (CAD $50).

Indemnification. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless UpChansa and its operator from any claim, demand, loss, or expense (including reasonable legal fees) made by any third party arising out of your content, your listings, your transactions with other users, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any law or the rights of a third party.

Nothing in these Terms limits any rights you may have under Quebec’s Consumer Protection Act (Loi sur la protection du consommateur) where that legislation applies.

UpChansa is not liable for any failure or delay in performance caused by events beyond its reasonable control, including acts of God, natural disasters, pandemics, war, terrorism, labour disputes, government action, power or internet and telecommunications failures, cyberattacks, or outages of third-party service providers (such as hosting, payment, storage, or email providers).

You may delete your account at any time from your account settings. A 30-day grace period applies during which you can cancel the deletion. After 30 days, your account is anonymized: your personal information is erased and your listings removed. Financial records and audit logs are retained where required by law.

We may suspend or terminate your account without notice if you seriously or repeatedly violate these Terms, engage in illegal conduct, or pose a risk to the platform or other users. We may also, at our discretion, remove or edit content, restrict access to specific features, cancel bids or listings, and revoke paid promotions (such as featured or bumped placement). When suspension or termination results from a violation of these Terms, fees already paid are forfeited and will not be refunded.

See the Privacy Policy for details on data retention after deletion.

We may update these Terms from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top reflects the most recent revision. We will notify you of material changes via a platform notification or email at least 30 days before they take effect. Continued use of UpChansa after changes take effect constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms.

Informal resolution first. Before initiating any formal proceeding, you agree to first contact us at support@upchansa.ca with a description of the dispute. The parties will attempt in good faith to resolve it within thirty (30) days.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Province of Quebec and the applicable laws of Canada, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Any dispute that cannot be resolved informally shall be submitted to the courts of the judicial district where you reside in Quebec, subject to any mandatory rights granted to you by applicable consumer protection legislation.

Severability. If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.

Entire agreement. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and UpChansa regarding your use of the platform and supersede any prior agreements on that subject.

No waiver. UpChansa’s failure to enforce any provision of these Terms is not a waiver of its right to enforce that provision later.

General inquiries: support@upchansa.ca

Privacy: support@upchansa.ca