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Safety and disputes

Most swaps go smoothly — two collectors, two tracked parcels, two happy people. But a swap is a private trade, so it's worth being clear about how the safety net works and what to do if something goes wrong.

A swap is at your own risk​

This is the honest part, and it's the same thing you'll acknowledge before you ship:

  • ScentSell is not a party to the trade. We give you the tools — equity valuation, a moderated message thread, a controlled address exchange, tracking, a pre-ship checklist and a mediator — but the deal is between you and your partner.
  • We don't hold money on a swap. There's no escrow to claw back from, because no money moves for the bottles. This is also why there's no 15% commission.
  • We can't guarantee the other person, the condition of what arrives, or the outcome.

What protects you is doing the basics: post tracked, keep your pre-ship photos, and keep everything on ScentSell. If you take a deal off-platform, we can't see it and we can't help.

How the safeguards work​

  • Addresses stay private until both sides confirm and the deal is locked. They're shared only for the swap, and only with your partner.
  • The message thread is moderated for abuse and for off-platform contact or payment — so the people you trade with are held to the same standard you are.
  • Pre-ship photos are required, and they're your evidence of condition if a dispute comes up later.
  • Both parcels move together, so neither side is asked to send first on blind faith.

The mediator​

If a swap stalls or sours — they've gone quiet, the item's wrong, something's off — you can request mediation from inside the swap. When you do:

  • The swap is paused (frozen) so nothing else can happen while it's looked at.
  • An AI mediator reviews the swap and produces an assessment for our admin team.
  • A ScentSell admin reviews it before anything is unlocked or resolved.

Mediation is available while a swap is still in its early stages (proposed or accepted) — it's there to catch a problem before two parcels are in the post.

What if my partner doesn't ship?​

If your partner has blown past the 48-hour posting deadline and isn't responding:

  1. Message them first in the swap thread — most no-shows are just life getting in the way.
  2. If there's still nothing, raise a dispute / report an issue on the swap. Pick the closest category (item never arrived, not as described, damaged, suspected counterfeit, or other), describe what happened, and attach photos if you have them.
  3. Our team reviews the report and may contact both parties. We facilitate a resolution — but because we don't hold money on swaps, we can't force a refund or replacement. We'll do what we can with the evidence on hand.

Reporting a problem with a received item​

If a parcel arrives and it's not as described, damaged, or you suspect it's a fake, use the same Report an Issue flow on the swap. Counterfeit reports are treated as high priority. The more evidence you attach — your pre-ship photos, the post-receive photos, clear shots of the problem — the faster we can help.

Need a human?​

For anything the in-app flow doesn't cover, email sniff@scentsell.com.au. If your account has been suspended over conduct, that's also the address to write to.

Next steps: