Master Seller Services Agreement

This agreement is between [OPERATOR LEGAL NAME], [ENTITY TYPE AND REGISTRATION NUMBER], of [REGISTERED ADDRESS], which runs the searchbox.lk marketplace ("Searchbox", "we"), and the business named in your seller account ("you"). The person who accepts it confirms that they are at least 18 and authorised to bind the business. [OWNER: confirm the operating entity and whether a local representative is named while the owner is outside Sri Lanka.]

Your agreement is made up of this document, the category schedule for every category you sell in, and these policies: Prohibited and Restricted Products, Fulfilment, Buyer Service and Returns, Seller Buyer-Data and Security, Seller Listing, Reviews and Verification, and Seller Subscription and Billing Terms. If you buy an optional service, its terms also apply to that service. Your My agreements page lists exactly which documents and versions apply to you. If two documents conflict, the more specific one applies to its subject, and the law always comes first.

Searchbox provides an online marketplace where you can show your shop and products, receive orders and manage your business. We are not the seller of your products: the contract for each sale is between you and the buyer. Listings are invitations for buyers to order; a contract for an order is formed when you accept it in your dashboard. We do not employ you, act as your general agent, or guarantee any sales.

You must give accurate business, contact and tax details (including your TIN where we ask for it), keep them up to date and keep your login secure, using two-factor sign-in where we require it. Only people you authorise may use your account, each with their own login. You are responsible for what is done through your account. We may check the information you give us and ask for evidence in proportion to what you sell. Checking it does not mean we certify your licences, products or tax position.

You may publish products only in categories you have declared and that we have accepted, and only products that are lawful to sell in Sri Lanka and allowed by our Prohibited and Restricted Products Policy. Do not list a product under the wrong category, split it to avoid a rule, or describe it in a way that hides what it is. When you add a new category, you must accept that category's schedule before its products go live.

You must own or be authorised to sell what you list, and your listings must be accurate and complete: what the product is, what it is made of, size or quantity, condition, options, price, stock, preparation time, and any warnings or ingredients the law or the category schedule requires. Claims such as "genuine", "handmade", "organic", "certified" or "Ceylon" must be true and supportable. Photos must show the actual product or be clearly marked as illustrative. The price a buyer pays must be the price shown, with delivery charges shown before they confirm.

When a buyer places an order you must accept or decline it promptly. Once you accept, you must fulfil it as described or, if you cannot, cancel it through the dashboard with an honest reason and refund anything the buyer has paid. You must not ask a buyer to pay more than the order total after they have confirmed, unless the buyer agrees to a change in writing and a new order total is recorded.

You set your own delivery areas, fees, preparation times and change-of-mind return window, and they are shown to buyers before they order. You must deliver as stated and follow the Fulfilment, Buyer Service and Returns Policy. A buyer can always ask for a remedy when an item is damaged, faulty, wrong, missing or not as described, whatever your own return window says. Do not ask buyers to leave a positive review in return for help or a refund.

At present buyers pay cash on delivery to you or your courier. Searchbox does not collect or hold buyer payments for you under this agreement. If online card payment is added later, it will be through an approved payment provider under separate terms you accept at that time. [SOLICITOR: confirm the payment-licensing position under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act and the 2024 money or value transfer regulations before any marketplace collection is offered.] You must record cash collected, refunds and returns accurately in your dashboard.

Searchbox charges no commission on your sales. You pay for your subscription plan and any optional services you choose, at the prices shown when you buy them, under the Seller Subscription and Billing Terms. Accepting this agreement does not charge you anything.

You keep ownership of the photos, text and logos you upload. You give Searchbox a non-exclusive, royalty-free permission to host, resize, display and share that content on searchbox.lk, in your Branded Storefront if you have one, and in Searchbox's own promotion of the marketplace, for as long as it is listed and for a reasonable time afterwards to remove it from promotion. You confirm you have the rights to give that permission. We will not use buyers' photos or messages in advertising without their permission.

Do not list counterfeit goods or use other people's trade marks, designs, photos or text without permission. If a rights holder complains about your listing, we may pause it while we look into it, tell you what the complaint is (unless the law prevents us) and give you a chance to respond with evidence.

You may use buyers' details only to fulfil their orders, provide support and keep records the law requires, under the Seller Buyer-Data and Security Policy. Do not sell, share or reuse them for marketing unless the buyer has separately agreed.

You may reply to reviews and report ones that break our rules. You must not write, buy or arrange fake reviews or orders, or pressure buyers to change honest reviews. The Verified Seller badge is earned under the Seller Listing, Reviews and Verification Policy; it cannot be bought and is not government approval.

We may pause a listing, a category, an optional service or your shop when it is reasonably necessary to comply with the law, protect buyers, deal with suspected fraud or a serious or repeated breach of your agreement, or keep the marketplace secure. We will act in proportion to the problem, tell you the reason and how to ask for a review, unless the law or a security risk prevents it. Urgent safety or fraud action can come first, with notice after. A restriction does not cancel orders you have already accepted or your duty to refund buyers.

We describe our features honestly and do not promise that the service will never be interrupted. Features shown as coming soon are not part of what you have paid for until they are released. If we change these documents, we will give you at least [OWNER: 14] days' notice through your dashboard and by email, except where a change is required by law or to deal with safety or fraud. Where a change affects your rights, we will ask you to accept the new version in My agreements. Earlier accepted versions stay unchanged in your records.

Each of us is responsible for our own obligations and for the losses we cause by breaking this agreement or the law. Nothing in these documents limits liability that cannot be limited by law, including a buyer's rights under the Consumer Affairs Authority Act. [SOLICITOR: settle a fair limit of liability for each party, excluded losses, any indemnity from the seller for unlawful products, and the claims process.]

You can close your shop at any time from your account. We can end this agreement with [OWNER: 30] days' notice, or sooner for a serious or repeated breach, fraud or a legal requirement. When it ends, your listings come down, but you must still complete accepted orders, refunds and returns. You can download your records for [OWNER: 90] days after closure, and we keep accepted agreements, orders and financial records for as long as the law requires.

We send operational notices to your dashboard and your account email. Legal notices to us go to [OPERATOR LEGAL NOTICE EMAIL AND ADDRESS]. If we disagree, we will first try to resolve it through Searchbox support and, if that fails, through [OWNER: free mediation by Searchbox / a mediation board]. This agreement is governed by the laws of Sri Lanka and the courts of [SOLICITOR: Colombo] have jurisdiction. Nothing in it removes any right to complain to the Consumer Affairs Authority or another regulator.

You accept this agreement electronically in My agreements, after you have been able to read and download every document that applies to you. We record your name, role, the time, the exact versions and a fingerprint of each document, and give you a receipt. Electronic acceptance is valid under the Electronic Transactions Act, No. 19 of 2006 as amended.