Is there Seller Protection?

Tophatter Seller Protection

If items are shipped on time with valid tracking and delivered to the address provided by the buyer on the invoice, sellers will be protected against unauthorized chargebacks and refunds due to "item not received" claims.

In other words, Tophatter will absorb any unauthorized chargebacks on behalf of the seller and will only bill the seller for refunds when the item is returned by the buyer back to the seller. Exceptions to this policy are listed below:

• Tophatter Seller Protection does not cover refund requests made prior to shipment. Orders can be refunded at any time up until they are marked as shipped. Once an order is shipped, sellers should update its status on Tophatter promptly.
• Tophatter Seller Protection does not cover orders shipped while in a Pending Verification status. If we suspect a transaction may be unauthorized we will place an order in a Pending Verification status and ask you to hold the shipment.  If we confirm the order is safe, the Pending Verification hold will be released and you’ll be notified you can ship it. If we determine the order is unauthorized, we will ask you to issue a refund. If you ship the item while an order is in a Pending Verification status, it is not eligible for Seller Protection.
• Tophatter Seller Protection does not cover orders that ship with invalid tracking, orders that are shipped with unsupported carriers, orders that do not receive an acceptance scan, or orders that do not receive a delivery scan.
• Tophatter Seller Protection does not cover refused or returned-to-sender orders. If packages are refused, returned as undeliverable and/or returned to sender in any other manner, including unilateral returns from customers, you should refund the order in full.
• Tophatter Seller Protection does not cover orders that are partially refunded. Any returned orders should be refunded in full.
• Tophatter Seller Protection does not cover orders refunded due to a seller fault reason. This includes return requests opened by the shopper directly, refunds due to high percentage of poor ratings, or requests elevated to our Buyer Support Team. Return request outcomes may be overridden by Support at any time.
• Tophatter Seller Protection does not cover refunds resulting from misleading listings.
• Sales of replicas of brand name items are not allowed and are not covered by Seller Protection. Items which cannot be authenticated are not covered by Seller Protection.
• Tophatter Seller Protection does not cover products that are included on the list of products that cannot be sold on Tophatter.
• Tophatter Seller Protection does not cover reports of missing quantity or accessories, or missing orders within a combined shipment.  You can avoid disputes by promptly shipping any missing portion of a shipment with valid tracking.
• Tophatter Seller Protection does not cover shipping overages charged on items shipped in one package. If shipping is charged on multiple items sold to a single buyer, the items are combined into a single package, and partial refunds are not issued for the shipping overage, the orders will not qualify for Seller Protection.
• Tophatter Seller Protection does not cover orders that are shipped late.  Orders must be marked as shipped with valid tracking within the timeframe stated on the product and scanned as accepted by the carrier within two days of marking as shipped or they will be considered late and will not qualify for Seller Protection.
• Tophatter Seller Protection does not cover return requests where no return shipping address has been provided in English. If no valid return address is available a refund will be processed without return of the product.
• Tophatter Seller Protection does not cover the cost of instant refunds when the seller’s account has surpassed a benchmark account-level return rate. Benchmark account return rates are calculated on a rolling 60-day basis.
• Tophatter Seller Protection does not cover the refund cost for orders with different destination and origin countries. If the cost to return the order is greater than the cost of the refund the order will be refunded immediately and the seller will be responsible for the refund cost.
• Tophatter Seller Protection does not cover transactions that take place outside the Tophatter platform.
• Tophatter Seller Protection does not cover refurbished electronics from wrong item returns unless the serial numbers are included in the product description.

Additional information about returns

For most returns, a full refund will be issued upon tracking confirmation that the return has been accepted by a post office. Occasionally, refunds for high-dollar transactions will be issued upon tracking confirmation that the return has been delivered.

It should be noted that built into Easy Returns are extensive restrictions to ensure it is not abused by customers.

Should the seller receive an item returned in a condition different from how it was sent or have any questions about chargebacks or returns please contact our Support team.

We reserve the right to change, alter, amend and/or update these seller protections, without notice, at any time.