Terms and conditions

1. The marketplace and sellers

The Provenance brings together listings for natural-history objects and related collectibles. The seller identified on a listing is responsible for supplying that item and meeting the obligations that apply to the sale.

For an independent seller's listing, the product purchase is between you and that seller. We provide the marketplace, account, enquiry and checkout services. If we sell an item through our own store, we have the responsibilities of the seller as well as the platform operator. Nothing here removes responsibility imposed on us by law or by a promise we make.

Seller approval and the presence of a listing are not independent certification of every object. Ask about any fact important to your purchase before ordering.

2. Your account

You may browse without an account. To place an order, you must create an account, confirm your email address and sign in. Provide accurate contact and delivery details, and keep them current.

You must be at least 18 to place an order or register as a seller. If you act for an organisation, you must have authority to bind it.

Keep your password private. Tell us promptly at support@theprovenance.store if you suspect unauthorised access. You are responsible for use that you authorise, but these terms do not make you automatically liable for every unauthorised transaction or for a security failure caused by us.

You may ask us to close your account. Closing an account does not cancel an existing order, remove a right to a remedy, or require deletion of records we must lawfully retain.

3. Listings and authenticity

Sellers must accurately describe the actual item offered, including its condition, known origin, available provenance and any repair, restoration, reconstruction, treatment or artificial enhancement. Replicas, casts and manufactured objects must be clearly identified as such.

Identification, age and locality should be supported by the evidence available to the seller. An uncertainty must be disclosed rather than presented as a verified fact. A seller must have the right to sell the item and comply with applicable ownership, collecting, export, import, cultural heritage and wildlife requirements.

Photographs and optional 3D views help you inspect an object. Screen colours and scans can differ from the physical item, and a scan is not a substitute for condition notes or measurements. These limitations do not excuse a materially inaccurate description or remove your consumer rights.

Ask the seller for missing photographs, measurements, sourcing documents or condition details. For a high-value or complex purchase, consider independent specialist advice. Report a suspected misleading or unlawful listing to our support email.

4. Orders, prices and payments

Prices are in Australian dollars unless the website expressly states otherwise. The checkout shows the product price, shipping and any applicable taxes or payment charges before you submit the order. We do not add an undisclosed platform fee after checkout.

GST is included only where it applies to the relevant supply. An ABN does not, by itself, mean that a seller is registered for GST. Ask the seller if you need clarification or an invoice for a particular supply.

Review the item, seller, address and total before ordering. By submitting an order, you authorise the displayed payment amount and confirm that you may use the payment method.

Stripe processes checkout payments. Your card details are submitted to Stripe, not stored as a complete card number or security code in our marketplace. A payment authorisation may reserve funds before a charge completes. Your order confirmation and account record identify the items ordered.

An order may be declined or cancelled if payment fails, there are reasonable grounds to suspect fraud, the item is no longer available, supply would be unlawful, or an obvious pricing or listing error prevents fulfilment. We or the seller will explain the reason and promptly arrange the return of money paid for anything not supplied. We will not substitute an item or charge a different price without your agreement.

These cancellation provisions do not permit arbitrary cancellation or limit a remedy you have under law. If you notice an order error or want to cancel before dispatch, contact the seller promptly. Change-of-mind cancellation is subject to the seller's disclosed policy and any applicable legal right.

5. Shipping and delivery

The seller arranges packing and dispatch. Available destinations, shipping charges and delivery information are shown in the listing, seller policy or checkout. An order containing items from different sellers may arrive in separate shipments.

Unless the listing states a different dispatch period before purchase, sellers are expected to dispatch within three business days after confirmed payment. Sellers must use protective packaging suited to the object and provide tracking where the selected service offers it.

Delivery estimates are not guaranteed dates unless expressly agreed. If supply is delayed or an item is missing, contact the seller or our support team. The seller must provide a solution where required by law. You do not lose your rights merely because the seller used a third-party carrier.

For international orders, check destination-country restrictions before purchase and ask the seller about any permits required. A seller remains responsible for its own legal export and supply obligations. Import duties or local charges imposed by authorities may be payable separately by the recipient unless the seller expressly includes them. This does not excuse a seller from agreed delivery obligations or applicable consumer rights.

If an item arrives damaged, contact the seller as soon as reasonably possible. Photographs of the item and packaging help assess the problem. Keep packaging where practical, but a 48-hour deadline or missing original packaging does not remove a statutory right to a remedy.

6. Australian consumer rights

Where Australian Consumer Law applies, goods and services have automatic consumer guarantees. Goods must meet the applicable standards for acceptable quality, match their description and satisfy other guarantees relevant to the sale. The age, nature, disclosed condition and price of a collectible may be relevant when assessing those standards.

For a major failure with goods, you may choose a refund or replacement and may have rights to compensation for reasonably foreseeable loss. For a failure that can be remedied and is not major, the supplier must remedy it within a reasonable time. Further remedies may apply if that does not happen.

A unique specimen may not have an equivalent replacement. That does not remove a right to a refund. Services supplied by us also carry the guarantees that apply to those services.

Sale pricing, a seller's policy, an "as-is" label or a voluntary warranty cannot remove these guarantees. Disclosure of a particular condition issue does not excuse a different, undisclosed problem. Read the ACCC's consumer guarantees guidance for more information.

7. Returns, refunds and resolving problems

For a change-of-mind return, the seller's policy disclosed before purchase applies. There is no general Australian consumer guarantee requiring a return merely because you changed your mind. A seller must honour any change-of-mind policy or other promise it makes.

For damage, a material description error, suspected inauthenticity or another product problem, contact the seller using the listing's seller contact function. Include your order reference, a description of the problem and useful photographs or documents. Do not send sensitive payment information.

If the seller does not respond or the matter remains unresolved, email support@theprovenance.store. We can review the order information and help coordinate communication and any platform payment steps needed for an agreed or legally required remedy. For items sold by us, we handle the seller's response directly.

The seller may reasonably assess a claimed fault. For a valid consumer-guarantee claim, reasonable return transport costs must be dealt with as required by law. A seller cannot insist on original packaging, impose a restocking fee for faulty goods, or make acceptance of store credit a condition of a refund you are legally entitled to receive.

Arrange return instructions before shipping a fragile object. For change-of-mind returns, postage and other conditions must follow the seller's disclosed policy. An agreed refund is normally returned through the original payment method unless another method is agreed or required. Your bank or payment provider may need additional time to display it.

You may seek independent advice, contact Consumer Affairs Victoria or the consumer agency in your state, or use available legal or payment-provider dispute processes. Contacting us first is helpful, but is not a condition of exercising a statutory right.

8. Seller obligations

Seller registration requires our approval. Sellers must keep business, payout and listing information accurate, meet the listing standards above, disclose shipping and return policies before purchase, respond reasonably to enquiries, and fulfil orders and remedies required by law.

A seller must use buyer information only to answer the enquiry, fulfil the transaction or meet related legal obligations. It must not add a buyer to a marketing list without an appropriate lawful basis.

Seller commissions and payout arrangements are governed by the separately disclosed seller agreement. These customer-facing terms do not introduce a new commission, payout hold or fee. A seller's agreement or policy cannot reduce a buyer's non-excludable rights.

9. Reviews, enquiries and account restrictions

Use the website lawfully. Do not submit false or misleading reviews, impersonate another person, post unlawful or abusive material, attempt unauthorised access, or interfere with site security.

Reviews must reflect a genuine experience. We may moderate unlawful content, spam, personal information or material that breaches these standards. A negative opinion alone is not a reason to remove a genuine review.

We may proportionately restrict an account or listing where there are reasonable grounds to suspect fraud, unlawful conduct, a material breach of these terms or a security risk. Where practical, we will explain the reason and give you a reasonable opportunity to respond or correct the issue. An urgent protective restriction may happen first. You may ask support to review a decision.

A restriction does not erase an existing order, money owed, a refund obligation or a consumer right.

10. Website and listing content

The website's branding, design and content belong to us, the relevant seller or another rights holder. You may use the site and retain relevant listing or order information for your own records. Other copying or commercial reuse requires permission unless the law allows it.

You retain ownership of content you submit. You give us a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host, display and reproduce it as reasonably needed to operate the marketplace and promote the relevant listing. You must have permission to submit it. This licence does not authorise unrelated sale of your personal information.

11. Responsibility and service availability

We aim to maintain a reliable marketplace, but maintenance, network failures or external services can interrupt access. Contact support if an interruption affects an order. We will take reasonable steps to address problems within our control.

Our responsibility, and a seller's responsibility, depend on the law, the services or goods supplied, and the relevant promises and conduct. We do not exclude liability for our own fraud, negligence, breach of a non-excludable guarantee, or any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded. These terms do not impose a blanket release or indemnity on buyers.

External links and optional viewers are provided for convenience. They do not replace the listing or make every statement on an external website a promise by us.

12. Changes, governing law and contact

We may update these terms for future use of the marketplace. The version applying when you place an order continues to govern that order. Changes do not retrospectively increase its price or reduce accrued rights. Where a material change affects an ongoing account service, we will give reasonable notice through the website or email.

The laws of Victoria, Australia govern these terms. The courts of Victoria have non-exclusive jurisdiction. This does not prevent you from using another court, tribunal or regulator where applicable law gives you that right.

If a provision is unlawful or unenforceable, it applies only to the extent permitted by law. The remaining terms continue where they can operate independently.

For questions, complaints, account requests or seller concerns, contact:

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