Platform operator and contact details

The Whereabouts is a trading name and publication operated by Owlytic (Pty) Ltd, a South African private company with registration number 2024/576231/07.

• Physical and service address: 22 Jeremy Road, Hadison Park, Kimberley, 8301, South Africa
• Telephone: 087 153 1858
• Platform email: hello@whereabouts.co.za
• Company email: hello@owlytic.co.za
• Website: whereabouts.co.za

References to “The Whereabouts”, “we”, “us” or “our” mean Owlytic (Pty) Ltd in its capacity as platform operator, publisher or direct service provider, as the context requires. The statutory Information Officer is the head of Owlytic (Pty) Ltd.

1. Independent seller relationship

You operate an independent business and are the supplier and seller of record for every product or service you list. This Agreement does not create employment, partnership, franchise, agency to bind Owlytic, or a joint venture. Owlytic is your limited agent only to collect marketplace payments and administer platform settlement.

2. Approval and seller information

Seller access, stores and products are subject to review. You must keep your legal or trading name, physical address, contact details, bank details, delivery terms, returns and refund policy, tax status and any licence or registration accurate. You authorise us to request reasonable identity, bank, business and product verification.

3. Seller obligations

You are solely responsible for:

• lawful, accurate and non-misleading product titles, images, specifications, warnings, availability and total pricing;
• product quality, safety, authenticity, intellectual-property permissions, warranties and after-sales support;
• stock control, accepting or lawfully cancelling orders, packaging, dispatch, tracking and delivery;
• appointing and paying your couriers and resolving loss, delay or damage with them and the buyer;
• your customer terms, delivery terms and returns/refund policy, which must comply with South African law;
• all VAT, income tax and other tax registrations, calculations, invoices, records and payments applicable to you; and
• responding promptly to buyers, complaints, recalls, regulator requests, disputes and lawful refund claims.

You may not list prohibited, counterfeit, stolen, recalled, unsafe or unlawfully regulated goods. Owlytic may pause or remove a listing, order or seller account where reasonably necessary for safety, compliance, fraud prevention or enforcement.

4. Fees and commission

There is no monthly seller listing fee under the current marketplace model. Owlytic earns an 8.5% platform commission on each marketplace sale, calculated on the order amount allocated to the seller in the platform order records. Payment-provider, refund, chargeback or other specifically disclosed transaction adjustments may also be deducted where they arise. Owlytic is not currently registered as a VAT vendor and does not add VAT to its platform commission. Your own VAT and tax obligations remain entirely yours.

5. Monthly automatic payout

Only commission-adjusted earnings from orders marked Completed are eligible. The minimum eligible balance is R150. On the last Friday of each calendar month, the platform automatically closes the seller’s entire eligible available balance into the monthly payout report. Sellers cannot request ad-hoc withdrawals. No payout fee is currently charged.

Closing a batch reserves the amount for bank processing and removes it from the available balance. Payment timing may depend on bank processing and valid bank details. Balances below R150 roll forward. We may hold, offset or reverse sums reasonably connected to refunds, chargebacks, suspected fraud, duplicate payments, legal process, sanctions, a negative balance or a breach of this Agreement. Every monthly batch remains available in seller history and in the owner payout report.

6. Refunds and financial adjustments

You authorise Owlytic to refund a buyer, withhold settlement or recover an amount from current or future balances where you approve it, where your policy or applicable law requires it, where a payment provider reverses the transaction, or where reasonable evidence establishes non-delivery, material misdescription, counterfeit goods or another valid claim. You remain liable if your balance is insufficient.

7. Indemnity

To the fullest extent permitted by law, you indemnify Owlytic and its personnel against third-party claims, losses, penalties and reasonable costs arising from your products, content, tax, delivery, courier, warranty, refund conduct, intellectual-property infringement, regulatory breach or breach of this Agreement. This does not apply to the extent the loss was caused by Owlytic’s own gross negligence, fraud, wilful misconduct or another liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.

8. Suspension and termination

Either party may end the seller relationship on written notice, subject to completing open orders, refunds and financial reconciliation. We may immediately restrict or suspend a store for material breach, safety risk, fraud, repeated non-fulfilment, abusive conduct or legal necessity. Accrued lawful obligations survive termination.

9. Records and notices

Platform order, commission, communication and payout records are evidence of activity unless shown to be incorrect. Notices may be delivered to the email in your account. Keep it current. Changes to commission or payout rules will be communicated before they take effect for future transactions.