Skip to main content

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 shared room with your trade partner, a controlled address exchange, tracking and a mediator — but the deal is between you and your partner.
  • We don't hold the bottles' value to claw back. No money moves for the bottles themselves. Sales take 15%. A trade is A$4.99 each when we start taking it — taken once you have both handed over, not 15%, and not taken yet.
  • We can't guarantee the other person, the condition of what arrives, or the outcome.

What protects you is doing the basics: post tracked, photograph the bottle before you pack it, and keep everything on ScentSell. If you take a deal off ScentSell, we can't see it and we can't help.

In person is rare, and at your own risk​

Default remains post + tracked. Handing bottles over in person is only for someone you already trust — a friend, a collector you know — and both of you have to choose it. Until you both pick In person, the swap stays a postal swap and addresses still matter.

  • There is no tracking. Nobody can prove the bottle left the table except the photos you take.
  • Photograph the table — both bottles, together, before anyone walks away.
  • Report an issue stays open until the swap is completed. If something feels off, say so there. One confirm does not finish it; you both have to confirm.

Do not use in person as a way to meet a stranger. If you do not already trust them, post the bottle.

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.
  • Your room with each trade partner is moderated for abuse and for contact or payment taken off ScentSell — so the people you trade with are held to the same standard you are. If you're negotiating more than one bottle with the same person, it's all in that one room together.
  • 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 your room with them — if you have more than one swap going with the same person, say clearly which one you mean. 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 own photos from before you packed it, 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: