This document sets out the rules that govern conduct on the Shopta platform. It applies to every vendor and every buyer without exception. Continued use of
Shopta after reading these rules constitutes your agreement to comply with them in full. Violation of any rule in this document may result in warnings,
suspension, permanent account termination, withholding of funds, or referral to law enforcement, depending on the severity of the violation.
This document should be read alongside the Shopta Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
An Online Vendor is any individual who has successfully completed identity verification on Shopta and
operates a stall on the platform for the purpose of listing, marketing, negotiating, and selling physical goods
to buyers. A vendor on Shopta is understood to be an independent seller, typically someone who already
sources, resells, or creates products and previously sold primarily through informal channels such as
WhatsApp, Instagram, or TikTok. A vendor is not an employee of Shopta, is not a registered partner of
Shopta in any formal commercial sense, and operates their stall as their own independent business. Shopta
provides the infrastructure; the vendor provides the goods, dispatch, and customer relationships.
A single verified vendor may operate both as a vendor and a buyer. When acting in either capacity, that
individual is bound by the full set of rules applicable to that role for the duration of that activity.
2.1 Every vendor must complete registration and a liveness selfie before a stall can be activated. Vendors
must also complete their KYC verification post-authentication to be able to sell on Shopta. A vendor whose
KYC lapses, is revoked, or is found to be fraudulent will have their stall immediately deactivated.
2.2 A vendor must maintain a linked, valid Nigerian bank account at all times for the purpose of receiving
payouts. A vendor is responsible for keeping their bank details current. Failed payouts due to outdated bank
information are the vendor's responsibility to resolve.
2.3 A vendor may operate only one vendor account. Operating multiple vendor accounts, whether under the
same identity or different identities controlled by the same person, is strictly prohibited and will result in
termination of all associated accounts.
2.4 A vendor is solely responsible for the security of their login credentials, transaction PIN, and any OTPs
sent to them. Shopta will never ask a vendor to share their PIN or OTP with any party, including Shopta
staff.
3.1 A vendor must ensure that every listing accurately reflects the item being sold including photographs,
description, price, stock quantity, and category. Listings must not misrepresent condition, authenticity,
origin, or any material attribute of the item.
3.2 A vendor must use original photographs of the actual item being sold, or photographs they have
legitimate rights to use. Using images scraped from other vendors, brands, manufacturers, or social media
accounts without authorisation is prohibited.
3.3 A vendor must assign each listing to its correct product category. Deliberately miscategorising an item
to circumvent fragility surcharges, evade trust and safety monitoring, or mislead buyers is a serious
violation.
3.4 A vendor must price items honestly. Artificial price inflation followed by fake discounting, uniform
pricing structures designed to disguise a coded transaction, or any pricing pattern intended to facilitate the
sale of prohibited goods is strictly forbidden and will trigger immediate review.
3.5 A vendor offering negotiable pricing must engage in good faith within the platform's one-round
negotiation limit. A vendor is not obligated to accept any offer below their listed price.
4.1 A vendor must dispatch every paid order within their declared Service Level Agreement (SLA) window.
The SLA is the vendor's own committed dispatch time, displayed to the buyer before purchase.
4.2 Where a rider has not reached the buyer's location within the vendor's SLA window, Shopta will notify
the vendor via in-app notification and text message requesting an extension. If the vendor does not
respond within one (1) hour of this notice, the order will be automatically cancelled and the buyer's full
payment refunded to their Shopta wallet.
4.3 A vendor may request a delivery extension. Shopta will issue automated extension check-ins every two
(2) hours. A vendor is permitted a maximum of three (3) extensions per order. Upon exhaustion of the third
extension without confirmed delivery, the order will be automatically cancelled and the buyer fully
refunded.
4.4 Repeated SLA breaches, whether resulting in cancellation or not, are recorded against the vendor's
account. A pattern of repeated breaches will result in a formal warning, reduced search visibility, and
eventually stall suspension.
4.5 A vendor may reject an order before dispatch using one of the approved rejection reasons: item out of
stock, unable to deliver to buyer's location, pricing error on listing, order quantity exceeds available stock,
or unable to fulfil order within dispatch window.
5.1 Where a buyer selects a specific logistics method informal or formal at checkout, the vendor must
honour that selection and may not substitute an alternative method without the buyer's express consent.
5.2 For informal logistics, the vendor must capture the rider's full name, phone number, and vehicle plate
number at the time of dispatch. The vendor is fully responsible for the conduct and reliability of any
informally engaged rider.
5.3 For formal logistics, the vendor must book directly through the approved provider (currently Fez
Delivery), pay the provider directly from their own funds, and upload a valid receipt to Shopta within four (4)
hours of dispatch. Failure to upload a valid receipt within this window will result in the logistics
reimbursement being withheld and the order escalated for review.
5.4 A vendor dispatching a batch of multiple orders to a single rider must ensure the rider follows the
assigned stop sequence and confirms delivery at each stop using the buyer's unique OTP.
5.5 A vendor acknowledges that Shopta does not provide goods-in-transit insurance. Once an item is
handed to a rider, Shopta bears no liability for loss, theft, or damage in transit. The vendor dispatches
entirely at their own risk and may independently arrange insurance for high-value shipments if desired.
6.1 A vendor accepts that Shopta deducts a commission of three percent (3%) on the item value of every
completed transaction, automatically at the point of escrow release.
6.2 A vendor accepts that formal logistics reimbursements are capped per zone, and that any cost
exceeding the applicable cap is the vendor's sole financial responsibility.
6.3 A vendor may withdraw available wallet funds to their linked bank account at any time.
7.1 A vendor must not direct a buyer to complete or negotiate any part of a transaction outside the Shopta
platform, whether via WhatsApp, Instagram, bank transfer, or any other channel.
7.2 A vendor must not list, advertise, or attempt to sell any prohibited item under any description, code, or
disguise.
7.3 A vendor must not offer incentives, discounts, or any benefit in exchange for positive reviews, and must
not request the removal of genuine negative reviews.
7.4 A vendor found to be engaging in fraudulent, deceptive, threatening, or abusive conduct toward a buyer,
rider, or Shopta staff will face immediate account suspension pending investigation.
Shopta reserves the right to investigate any suspected violation of these rules by either a vendor or a buyer.
Enforcement actions may include formal warnings, reduced visibility, suspension of specific features,
withholding of funds pending review, full account suspension, or permanent termination proportional to the
severity and pattern of the violation.
Where a violation involves suspected illegal activity, financial crime, or harm to another user, Shopta
reserves the right to refer the matter to the appropriate Nigerian regulatory or law enforcement authority,
including the NFIU, EFCC, NDLEA, or the Nigeria Police Force.
Shopta reserves the right to update these rules at any time to reflect platform changes, new features, or
regulatory requirements. Material changes will be communicated via in-app notification or email. Continued
use of the platform after such changes constitutes acceptance of the updated rules.
Questions about these rules can be directed to shoptamarket@gmail.com