Terms of Use
e-Rocks Terms of Use
Last updated: 14 June 2026
These Terms of Use govern access to and use of the e-Rocks website, mobile applications, marketplaces, tools, content, communications, and related services (together, the Service). By creating an account, accessing, browsing, listing, bidding, buying, selling, uploading content, or otherwise using the Service, the user agrees to these Terms of Use and to the documents incorporated into them by reference.
The Service is operated by e-Rocks Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales under company number 08162653, with registered office at 7 St George’s Yard, Castle Street, Farnham, England, GU9 7LW. The Service is made available through e-Rocks websites and mobile applications and may also include related communications, support channels, and tools used to operate the marketplace.
If the user does not agree to these Terms of Use, the user must not use the Service.
1. Scope and related documents
These Terms of Use apply to all users of the Service, including visitors, registered members, buyers, bidders, sellers, contributors of content, and users of the iOS and Android applications.
The following documents form part of these Terms of Use where applicable:
- the e-Rocks Privacy Policy;
- the Auction Rules;
- the Buying Rules;
- any seller standards, fee schedules, category rules, moderation rules, or other policies made available within the Service;
- any app-store-specific notices presented to users within the mobile applications.
If there is a conflict between these Terms of Use and a transaction-specific rule or policy, the more specific rule will apply to the extent of that conflict for that activity.
2. Mobile apps and app store terms
When the Service is accessed through an iOS application downloaded from the Apple App Store, the licence to use that iOS application is also subject to Apple’s Licensed Application End User License Agreement, unless a different custom license agreement is expressly provided through App Store Connect.
These Terms of Use govern the marketplace, account, content, conduct, transaction, and service rules for e-Rocks across web and mobile. If there is any conflict between these Terms of Use and Apple’s standard EULA solely in relation to the licence for the iOS app itself, Apple’s standard EULA will control to that extent.
Apple is not responsible for the Service, its content, marketplace activity, maintenance, support, or claims relating to the Service, except to the extent required under Apple’s applicable standard terms.
Use of the Android application may also be subject to the terms of Google Play and the device platform provider where relevant.
3. Eligibility and account registration
The user must be legally capable of entering into binding contracts to buy or sell items through the Service. If local law requires a minimum age or other qualification to enter into transactions, the user must meet that requirement before using transactional features.
A user who creates an account must provide accurate, complete, and current information, including name, address, email address, and any other information reasonably requested by e-Rocks in connection with account creation, compliance, payment, or marketplace operations.
The user must keep account information up to date. If any information becomes inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated, it must be corrected before continuing to use the relevant parts of the Service.
The user is responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of login credentials and for all activity carried out through the account unless and until unauthorised use is reported to e-Rocks.
4. Nature of the Service
e-Rocks provides an online venue and technical infrastructure through which users may list, discover, bid on, buy, sell, discuss, and manage mineral specimens and related items. e-Rocks is not generally the seller, buyer, consignor, broker, exporter, importer, warehouse operator, or shipper of listed items unless expressly stated otherwise in a particular transaction.
e-Rocks is not a party to contracts formed directly between buyers and sellers through the Service, except where e-Rocks expressly states otherwise for a specific feature or service. e-Rocks does not guarantee the truth, accuracy, quality, legality, safety, authenticity, provenance, condition, merchantability, fitness for purpose, or availability of any item listed by a seller.
The Service may include auction listings, fixed-price listings, informational content, moderation tools, messaging tools, saved items, watchlists, account management, and other marketplace-related functions. e-Rocks may add, change, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Service from time to time.
5. Marketplace rules
All users must comply with the Auction Rules, Buying Rules, seller standards, fees schedule, and any transaction-specific instructions published by e-Rocks from time to time. Those rules explain how listings are created, how bidding and buying work, what fees apply, and how transaction issues are handled.
Before participating in any auction, fixed-price purchase, or other transaction type, the user must read and understand the relevant rules for that transaction type.
e-Rocks may update transaction rules from time to time to reflect changes in law, platform operations, pricing, fraud prevention, shipping practice, sanctions compliance, marketplace design, or dispute-handling procedures. Updated transaction rules will apply from the date specified in the updated rule or, if no date is specified, from the date of publication.
6. Seller obligations
A seller must have the legal right to list, market, and transfer ownership of each item offered through the Service. By creating a listing, the seller represents that the item may lawfully be offered for sale and transferred to the buyer in the relevant jurisdiction, subject to any required licences, permits, export controls, or disclosures.
A seller must ensure that each listing is accurate, complete, and not misleading. Descriptions, images, locality information, species names, treatment disclosures, dimensions, weight, defects, provenance statements, and any brand or origin references must be presented honestly and must not be likely to mislead users.
A seller is responsible for setting out all contractual terms that apply to the transaction, including pricing, shipping terms, returns position where applicable, timing, restrictions, and any location-specific legal requirements.
A seller must comply with all applicable laws, including consumer law, sanctions law, export controls, customs requirements, tax requirements, intellectual property law, and any laws specific to the collection, sale, transport, or export of mineral specimens or related materials.
7. Buyer and bidder obligations
A buyer or bidder must only participate in transactions in good faith and with the intention and ability to complete the transaction if successful.
If payment details are requested or stored through approved payment channels, the user must only use payment methods they are authorised to use and must ensure sufficient funds or credit are available to meet the transaction amount and any related charges.
A buyer is responsible for checking listing details, transaction rules, shipping restrictions, and any import duties, taxes, local legal restrictions, or licensing issues that may apply in the buyer’s destination country.
8. Fees, charges, and payments
Fees for listings, promotions, commissions, subscriptions, premium features, or other paid services are those stated by e-Rocks at the relevant time. By using a paid feature, the user agrees to pay the applicable fees and charges.
Unless expressly stated otherwise, seller fees are non-refundable once the relevant paid service has been supplied. Where e-Rocks chooses to issue a credit, refund, or adjustment, it may do so in accordance with the relevant fees policy or as a discretionary resolution of a specific issue.
If a user fails to pay sums due, e-Rocks may suspend listings, restrict account functions, offset credits, refuse access to paid services, or terminate the account, in addition to pursuing any lawful recovery method.
Where digital subscriptions, premium access, or in-app features are purchased through Apple’s or Google’s in-app purchase systems, billing, renewal, cancellation, and refund handling may also be subject to the relevant app store rules and billing terms.
9. User content and licence
Users may submit or make available text, listings, images, comments, messages, profile material, and other content through the Service (“User Content”). The user retains ownership of User Content they own, but grants e-Rocks a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable, sublicensable licence to host, store, reproduce, adapt for formatting, publish, display, distribute, moderate, and use that User Content for operating, improving, promoting, and securing the Service.
The user confirms that they have all rights, permissions, consents, and legal authority necessary to submit the User Content and grant the licence above. The user also confirms that the User Content does not infringe the rights of any third party and does not breach any applicable law.
User Content may remain in backups, logs, archives, historic transaction records, and published marketplace records where retention is reasonably necessary for marketplace integrity, legal compliance, evidential purposes, fraud prevention, or technical operation of the Service.
e-Rocks may remove, reject, edit, moderate, restrict, or disable access to any User Content or listing at its discretion where it reasonably believes that the content may breach these Terms of Use, applicable law, third-party rights, platform rules, or marketplace quality standards.
10. Acceptable use and prohibited conduct
The user must not:
- use the Service for unlawful, fraudulent, deceptive, abusive, or harmful purposes;
- misdescribe items, manipulate bids, evade fees, or interfere with another user’s transaction;
- post false, misleading, offensive, obscene, defamatory, infringing, or irrelevant content;
- use member information for spam, harassment, scraping, or unauthorised marketing;
- upload content the user does not have the right to use;
- attempt to bypass security, access controls, or technical protections;
- introduce malicious code, automated abuse, or activity that disrupts the Service;
- use the Service to list or facilitate the sale of items prohibited by law or by applicable sanctions regimes.
The user must also comply with any category rules, sanctions restrictions, export restrictions, and reporting processes communicated by e-Rocks from time to time.
11. Moderation, reporting, and enforcement
e-Rocks may pre-screen, review, investigate, moderate, suspend, remove, restrict, or report content, listings, accounts, or conduct where it reasonably believes that doing so is appropriate for legal compliance, marketplace safety, fraud prevention, rights protection, platform integrity, or service quality.
e-Rocks may provide tools for members to report listings, transactions, messages, or other conduct. Reporting a concern does not oblige e-Rocks to take any particular action, but e-Rocks may investigate and act at its discretion.
If e-Rocks suspends or terminates an account for breach, fraud risk, sanctions concerns, repeated complaints, fee non-payment, or misuse of the Service, the user must not create a replacement account without e-Rocks’s prior written consent.
12. Intellectual property in the Service
All intellectual property rights in the Service, including software, databases, compilation rights, branding, logos, page layouts, marketplace presentation, design elements, and original site content, are owned by or licensed to e-Rocks unless otherwise stated. Except as permitted by law or by these Terms of Use, the user must not copy, extract, scrape, frame, republish, reverse engineer, distribute, or exploit any part of the Service without prior written permission.
Nothing in these Terms of Use transfers ownership of e-Rocks intellectual property to any user.
13. Privacy and personal data
e-Rocks handles personal data in accordance with its Privacy Policy. By using the Service, the user acknowledges that personal data may be collected, used, stored, and disclosed as described in the Privacy Policy, including for account administration, transaction handling, fraud prevention, support, security, analytics, legal compliance, and marketplace operations.
The Privacy Policy forms part of these Terms of Use. If there is any conflict between these Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy regarding the handling of personal data, the Privacy Policy will prevail to the extent of that conflict.
14. Account closure and deletion
A user may stop using the Service at any time. If the user wishes to close or delete an account, the user must follow the account deletion method made available in the Service or through the published account-deletion page and support channels.
Account deletion does not automatically erase all data or content immediately where retention is reasonably necessary for completed transactions, legal obligations, tax and accounting requirements, fraud prevention, dispute resolution, sanctions screening, security records, or enforcement of these Terms of Use.
Where User Content or transaction records have been shared with other users or incorporated into completed marketplace activity, e-Rocks may retain and continue to display the minimum information reasonably necessary to preserve marketplace integrity, historic transaction records, and legal compliance.
15. Availability and changes to the Service
e-Rocks does not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free operation of the Service. Features may be unavailable from time to time for maintenance, upgrades, testing, security responses, service interruptions, third-party failures, or events beyond e-Rocks’s reasonable control.
e-Rocks may change, suspend, withdraw, or discontinue any feature, listing format, policy, fee structure, account function, or part of the Service at any time. Where reasonably practicable, advance notice will be given for material adverse changes.
16. Disclaimers
To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Service is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. e-Rocks makes no representation or warranty that the Service will always be available, secure, accurate, complete, current, error-free, or fit for any particular purpose.
e-Rocks does not warrant or guarantee any user, listing, item, transaction outcome, seller performance, buyer performance, delivery timeframe, provenance statement, market value, or legal compliance of third-party conduct through the Service.
Nothing in these Terms of Use excludes any mandatory statutory rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.
17. Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, e-Rocks, its officers, employees, affiliates, agents, and contractors will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive loss or damage, or for loss of profit, business, opportunity, reputation, anticipated savings, or data arising out of or in connection with the Service.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, the total aggregate liability of e-Rocks arising out of or in connection with the Service, whether in contract, tort, negligence, breach of statutory duty, misrepresentation, restitution, or otherwise, will not exceed the greater of:
- £100; or
- the total amount of fees paid by the user to e-Rocks, or paid by e-Rocks to the user, in the transaction or transactions directly giving rise to the claim.
Nothing in these Terms of Use excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law.
18. Indemnity
The user agrees to indemnify and keep indemnified e-Rocks against losses, liabilities, costs, claims, expenses, penalties, and damages arising out of or in connection with the user’s breach of these Terms of Use, misuse of the Service, infringement of rights, unlawful conduct, or use of the account by a person acting with the user’s authority or through the user’s failure to safeguard account credentials.
19. Changes to these Terms of Use
e-Rocks may revise these Terms of Use from time to time. The updated version will be published on the Service with a revised “Last updated” date. Where changes are material, e-Rocks may also notify users by in-app notice, email, website notice, or other reasonable method.
Unless a different effective date is stated, updated Terms of Use will take effect when published. Continued use of the Service after the effective date of updated Terms of Use constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.
If the user does not agree to revised Terms of Use, the user must stop using the Service and may request account closure.
20. Suspension and termination
e-Rocks may suspend, restrict, or terminate access to the Service, remove listings, freeze account functionality, or cancel marketplace activity where it reasonably believes that the user has breached these Terms of Use, created legal risk, failed to pay fees, misused the Service, exposed other users to harm, or jeopardised the integrity or security of the marketplace.
Suspension or termination does not affect accrued rights, payment obligations, dispute rights, investigation rights, or provisions that by their nature should survive termination, including sections relating to fees, User Content licences, liability, indemnity, governing law, and dispute resolution.
21. Governing law and jurisdiction
These Terms of Use and any non-contractual obligations arising out of or in connection with them are governed by the laws of England and Wales.
The courts of England and Wales will have non-exclusive jurisdiction over disputes arising out of or in connection with these Terms of Use or the Service, without prejudice to any mandatory consumer rights or jurisdictional protections that may apply under applicable law.
22. General provisions
If any provision of these Terms of Use is found to be unlawful, invalid, or unenforceable, that provision will be severed and the remainder of the Terms of Use will remain in full force and effect.
e-Rocks may assign, transfer, subcontract, or novate any of its rights or obligations under these Terms of Use. A user may not assign or transfer any rights or obligations under these Terms of Use without e-Rocks’s prior written consent.
A failure or delay by e-Rocks to exercise any right does not waive that right.
These Terms of Use constitute the entire agreement between e-Rocks and the user relating to the Service, except for any transaction-specific rules, policies, or mandatory platform terms expressly incorporated into them.
23. Contact
Questions about these Terms of Use or the Service may be sent using the contact details published on the Service or through our Contact Us form.
For legal and service notices, the operating entity is:
e-Rocks Ltd
7 St George’s Yard
Castle Street
Farnham
England
GU9 7LW
United Kingdom
Company number: 08162653
VAT number: 278549937GB