Terms of Use

These terms are an agreement between you and Mark Goulding, an individual (sole proprietor) trading as Study Market. We run Study Market at studymarket.co.za. In these terms, "Study Market", "we" and "us" mean Mark Goulding trading as Study Market.

By creating an account or using the site, you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, please do not use Study Market.

These terms work together with our Privacy Policy, Cookie Notice, Community Guidelines and Copyright and Takedown Policy. If you sell notes, the Seller Terms also apply. If you tutor, the Tutor Terms also apply. If two documents conflict, the more specific one wins for that activity.

1. What Study Market is

Study Market is an online marketplace. High school students (Grades 8 to 12) and recent matriculants sell their own study notes as digital files. Tutors and tutees also use it to find each other.

We are an intermediary. That means:

• Sellers write their own notes, set their own prices and are responsible for what they upload.
• We provide the platform, collect payment through Yoco and deliver the files.
• For tutoring, we only introduce people. Lessons happen off the site.
• We are not a school, an exam body or a tutoring company. We are not connected to or endorsed by any school or examination authority.

2. Who can use Study Market

You must be at least 13 years old and either be in high school (Grade 8 to 12) or have recently matriculated.

Many of our users are under 18. If you are under 18:

• You must give us a parent or guardian's name and email address when you sign up.
• We send your parent or guardian a consent link.
• Until they confirm, you can browse, buy notes, set up your profile and draft listings. You cannot publish listings, upload a school report or accept tutoring requests.
• We only feature you in our marketing if you and your parent or guardian both choose that. It is optional.
• Your parent or guardian can withdraw their consent at any time. If they do, your listings and tutor profile are paused and we stop featuring you in marketing.

Parents and guardians can read more on our Parent Information page.

We ask for your date of birth only to work out whether you are under 18. We never show it publicly. If we find that you gave us a false date of birth, we may suspend your account until your parent or guardian has consented.

3. Your account

• One account can be used to buy, sell and tutor.
• Give us true and current information, and keep it up to date.
• Keep your password safe. If you use Google sign-in, keep your Google account safe.
• You are responsible for everything done through your account. Tell us quickly at hello@studymarket.co.za if you think someone else has got into it.
• Do not sell, share or transfer your account.
• Do not create an account to avoid a suspension.

4. Buying notes and your licence

When you buy notes, you buy a licence. You do not buy the copyright. The seller keeps the copyright in their notes.

Your licence is personal and cannot be transferred. It lets you use the notes for your own study. You must not:

• resell, rent or give the notes to anyone
• share them with friends, classes, groups or chats
• upload or post them anywhere else, including websites, social media and file-sharing services
• copy them to pass off as your own work
• remove or hide the watermark

Every file you buy is watermarked with your name, your email address and your order number. If a file turns up somewhere it should not be, we can trace it to your order. We may then suspend your account and remove your access.

You can download each item up to 10 times per day. If you delete your account, you lose access to your library.

5. Prices, fees and payment

All prices are in South African rand.

• A listing shows the seller's price.
• A payment processing fee is added at checkout. You see the full total before you pay.
• Our commission comes out of the seller's price. You do not pay it on top.
• Payments are made through Yoco, by card or instant EFT. Yoco's own terms apply to the payment. Card details are handled by Yoco; we never see them.
• Discount codes, including creator codes, lower the price. We may refuse or cancel a code that is misused or has expired.
• Tutoring requests are free for tutees. Tutors pay a placement fee, explained in the Tutor Terms.

6. Refunds

Notes are digital products. At checkout you must tick: "These are digital products. Once I open or download them I can't get a refund."

In short:

• If you haven't opened or downloaded anything in an order, you can cancel it within 7 days for a full refund, from your library.
• Once you open notes in the reader or download them, you can't get a refund for changing your mind.
• We will still refund you if a file is broken, the notes aren't what the listing said, the listing is removed for copyright, or you were charged twice.

Read the full Refund Policy.

Nothing in these terms limits any right you have under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA) or the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 (ECT Act) that cannot legally be excluded.

7. Selling and tutoring

If you sell notes, you must follow the Seller Terms. If you tutor, you must follow the Tutor Terms. You can only publish listings or accept tutoring requests if you meet the rules for your age and consent.

8. Reviews

• Only buyers can review notes.
• Tutees who were placed with a tutor can review that tutor.
• Reviews must be honest and based on your own experience.
• Do not post fake, paid or copied reviews. Do not include personal details, insults or threats.
• We can hide a review that breaks these terms or the Community Guidelines.

9. What you must not do

You must not:

• upload notes that are not your own work, or that infringe someone else's rights (see our Copyright and Takedown Policy)
• break the law, or help someone else to
• harass, bully, threaten or discriminate against anyone
• offer or ask for cheating services, such as writing assignments or sitting exams for someone else
• upload or sell leaked or stolen exam papers
• post contact details in public text, or use Study Market to avoid fees
• upload viruses or anything harmful, or try to break or overload the site
• scrape the site, or use bots, except where we allow it
• pretend to be someone else, or lie about your marks, school or qualifications
• open more than one account to get around a suspension or a limit
• misuse discount codes or the refund process

10. Our content and your content

The Study Market site, name, logo, design and software belong to us or our licensors. You may use them only to use the site as intended.

You keep ownership of what you upload. By uploading it, you give us a non-exclusive licence to store it, display it, deliver it to buyers (with watermarks), and show it on the site. Sellers and tutors can choose to let us feature them in our marketing. That is optional and covered in the Seller Terms.

11. Copyright and takedown

We respect copyright. If you think a listing infringes your rights, follow our Copyright and Takedown Policy or use the form at /copyright-complaint. As an information system service provider under section 77 of the ECT Act, we act on proper notifications. Sellers with repeated upheld complaints are suspended.

12. Suspension and ending your account

We may warn you, remove content, pause listings, or suspend or close your account if:

• you break these terms or the rules that apply to you
• we have to, to follow the law or a court order
• we reasonably believe your account is being used for fraud or harm

We will explain why where we can. You can write to hello@studymarket.co.za to ask us to review a decision.

You can download your data and delete your account at any time. When you delete it:

• we remove your personal information, except order and ledger records we must keep for accounting and tax purposes (5 years)
• you lose access to your library of bought notes
• other buyers keep the notes they bought from you

See the Privacy Policy for details.

13. Notes are study aids

Notes on Study Market are written by students. They are study aids. They are not official teaching material.

We do not promise that any note is complete, correct or up to date, or that it will improve your marks. Marks depend on many things, including your own work. A "Verified" tick means an admin has confirmed the marks the seller reported. It does not mean the notes are correct.

14. Our responsibility to you

We will provide Study Market with reasonable care and skill.

To the extent South African law allows:

• We do not promise that the site will always be available or free of errors.
• We are not responsible for what sellers, tutors or tutees say or do, or for lessons or payments between a tutor and a tutee.
• We are not liable for indirect or consequential losses, such as lost marks, lost opportunities or lost profit.
• Our total liability to you for any claim is limited to the amount you paid through Study Market in the 12 months before the claim arose.

None of this excludes or limits liability that cannot be excluded by law. This includes liability for gross negligence, fraud, or intentional harm, and your rights under the CPA.

15. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. The version date is at the top. If we make an important change, we will tell you by email or on the site before it takes effect. If you keep using Study Market after the change, you accept the new terms. If you do not agree, you can delete your account.

16. Governing law and disputes

These terms are governed by the laws of South Africa. If we have a dispute, please contact us first at hello@studymarket.co.za so we can try to sort it out. You can also approach the National Consumer Commission, the Consumer Tribunal or any other body with authority. The South African courts have jurisdiction, but this does not take away any right you have to approach a consumer forum or court that the law gives you.

17. Contact

Email: hello@studymarket.co.za Address: 145 Wilton Avenue

18. Information required by section 43 of the ECT Act

You can review your cart and total, and correct mistakes, before you pay.

The ECT Act gives consumers a right to cancel online purchases within seven days. You can cancel any order you haven't opened or downloaded within 7 days, for a full refund, from your library. Once you have opened or downloaded notes you have received the full digital content, so our no-refund rule applies to the extent the law allows. It does not take away any right you have that cannot be excluded.