The short version
Every order you pay for through Taled checkout includes buyer protection. It costs a flat $1.49 per order, and you’ll see it on the listing and as its own line in your cart before you pay.
If your book doesn’t arrive, or turns up significantly not as described, raise it with the seller and then with us. If we uphold your claim, you get the book price and postage back. Always. If we can’t recover the money from the seller, Taled covers it.
The $1.49 pays for payment and dispute handling, so it isn’t refundable once your order’s paid, except where the law says otherwise. The exception we make ourselves: if the seller cancels your whole order before posting it, you get the $1.49 back too. Buyer protection never replaces or limits your rights under the Australian Consumer Law.
The rest of this page has the detail, for buyers and sellers.
1. Who you’re buying from
Taled is a marketplace intermediary. When you buy a listed book, you buy it from the seller, not from Taled. The sale contract is between you and them.
We run the marketplace: listings, search, chat, and payment through Stripe. We’re not the seller of record, we don’t act as agent for the sale, and we don’t authenticate or inspect the books people list.
2. What the $1.49 pays for
Buyers pay a flat $1.49 per order. An order is everything you buy from one seller in one checkout, so three books from one seller is one $1.49, and books from two sellers is two orders at $1.49 each.
It pays for two things Taled does on every order:
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taking your payment securely through Stripe; and
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running the dispute process on this page, including refunding you when we uphold a claim.
It isn’t refundable once the order’s paid, because the payment and dispute handling it pays for has already happened. That’s the case except where the law says otherwise. Here’s how cancellations work:
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The seller cancels your whole order before posting it. Nothing in that order ships, so you get everything back, including the $1.49.
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Only part of an order is cancelled (for example one book from a bundle) and the rest still reaches you. The $1.49 isn’t refunded.
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Several sellers in one cart. Each seller is a separate order with its own $1.49. If one seller cancels their whole order, only that order’s $1.49 is refunded.
If we uphold a claim, you get the book price and postage back, but the $1.49 stays, because the dispute handling it pays for is what got you that refund.
It isn’t insurance, and it isn’t escrow. Fees are in Australian dollars and include GST if it applies. Sellers pay a separate seller fee that doesn’t change what you pay. All fees are on the Fees page.
3. Your rights under the Australian Consumer Law
Nothing here takes away rights you can’t lose under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). Paying the $1.49 doesn’t change that. Buyer protection sits on top of whatever ACL rights you have.
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If a business seller supplies the book in trade or commerce, consumer guarantees may apply, such as acceptable quality and matching the description. Remedies can include a replacement or refund depending on the problem.
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If the seller is a private person having an occasional clear-out, the consumer guarantees may not apply in the same way. You still shouldn’t be misled, and our rules still require honest listings.
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Taled’s own service (the app, payments, dispute handling) has consumer guarantees too. That’s separate from the book itself.
We can’t decide every ACL question for you. For big sums or business disputes, your state or territory fair trading office, ACCC guidance, or independent advice can help.
4. How payment and payouts work
Sellers are paid on ship/confirm. Once the seller ships your order (or completes the confirm step in the app), their payout is released through Stripe. We don’t hold your money in a standing escrow until you’re happy.
That doesn’t weaken your protection. If we uphold your claim after the seller’s been paid, you still get your money back. We recover it from the seller’s payout or Stripe balance where Stripe’s rules allow, and if we can’t, Taled covers the shortfall.
A hold or reversal can still apply to a seller’s payout for fraud, risk, or while a dispute is open, under Stripe’s rules.
5. What’s covered
Not received
The seller didn’t post, or there’s no reasonable proof of postage after a fair wait
Significantly not as described (SNAD)
Wrong title, wrong ISBN, edition or copy, or condition much worse than the grade and photos
Serious undisclosed damage
Heavy water damage or missing pages that weren’t mentioned or shown in the photos
Problem items
A book reported stolen, or a clear counterfeit or unauthorised reproduction
Usually not covered: change of mind after a fair description; minor wear that matches the grade and photos; wanting a different printing when the listing’s ISBN or edition was clear and matched; postage delays the seller couldn’t control when they posted on time with tracking.
Condition disputes lean hard on the guided grade and real-copy photos. Check them before you buy.
Buyer protection only covers orders paid through Taled checkout. Off-platform deals (PayID, bank transfer, cash) aren’t covered.
6. What buyers should do
Follow these steps in order. Most problems get sorted in chat.
Step 1: Check the listing. Re-read the condition grade, description and photos, and note what doesn’t match.
Step 2: Message the seller in the app. Do it soon after delivery, or as soon as you realise the book is late. Say what’s wrong, add photos of what arrived, and say what you’d like: a refund, a partial refund, or a return and refund. Give the seller 48 to 72 hours to reply, a bit longer over weekends and public holidays unless it’s obviously a scam.
Step 3: Agree a fix in chat. A full refund (the seller may ask for the book back and should pay return postage when they got it wrong), a partial refund where you keep the book, or occasionally a replacement. Put it in chat so you both have a record.
Step 4: Escalate to Taled. If the seller doesn’t reply, won’t offer a fair fix when the listing was clearly wrong, or you suspect a scam, use in-app help or email support@taled.com.au. Send the order ID, the listing link, photos of what arrived (or proof it didn’t), and a quick summary of the chat. We’ll look at the evidence from both sides and make a decision under this policy and Stripe’s rules.
Step 5: Chargebacks. You can also raise a dispute with your card issuer. Chargebacks run under Stripe’s and your bank’s rules. Tell us if you open one so we’re not working on the same problem blind. Abusive chargebacks after a fair delivery can lead to account action.
We’re not a court. Serious fraud may be reported to police.
7. What happens when we uphold your claim
You get your money back through Stripe, to your original payment method:
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Whole order affected (not received, or everything significantly not as described): the book price and the postage you paid.
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One book in a combined order affected: that book’s price and a fair share of the postage.
We may ask you to send the book back first when the seller got it wrong (for example the wrong book was sent). In that case the seller covers return postage.
We recover the refund from the seller’s payout or Stripe balance where Stripe’s rules allow. If we can’t recover it, Taled covers the shortfall. You won’t be left waiting on the seller to pay you back.
The $1.49 buyer protection fee isn’t refunded on an upheld claim, except where the law says otherwise. (It is refunded when a seller cancels the whole order before posting, as set out in section 2.) The seller isn’t charged a seller fee on an order that’s fully refunded.
8. What sellers should do
When a buyer complains
1.
Reply quickly and politely in chat.
2.
Ask for photos if the problem is “not as described.”
3.
Compare against your grade, description and photos.
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If you got it wrong, offer a fair fix. A refund or partial refund is common for preloved books.
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If you posted the book, share tracking or proof of postage.
6.
If Taled asks for information, send it promptly.
When you should refund
The wrong book, ISBN or edition was sent; the condition is clearly worse than your grade or photos; you never posted it; or the item is prohibited.
When you can fairly decline a full refund
Change of mind; wear that matches your honest grade and photos; or a return request made well after delivery with no defect. If you sell in trade or commerce, the ACL may still require a remedy, so don’t treat this as a way around the law.
Combined postage
If you offered combined postage, honour it. If one book in a combined parcel is disputed, be clear which one, and split the postage fairly in any refund.
If you cancel before posting
If you cancel a whole order before posting it, the buyer gets a full refund, including their $1.49 buyer protection fee, and you aren’t charged the seller fee. If you can only send part of an order, the buyer is refunded for the books you can’t send. Cancelling orders often can lead to limits on your account.
If a claim is upheld against you
The refund to the buyer is recovered from your payout or Stripe balance where Stripe’s rules allow, including by reversing a payout already made or deducting from future payouts. You aren’t charged the seller fee on an order that’s fully refunded. Repeated upheld claims can lead to limits on your account. See the Seller Terms.
9. How Taled helps
We can:
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remind both sides of these steps;
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review evidence and decide a fair outcome;
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refund upheld claims, and pause or reverse seller payouts where Stripe’s rules and fraud rules allow (case by case, not a standing hold on every order);
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remove listings or suspend accounts for patterns of harm.
10. Returns
Returns are agreed between buyer and seller unless the ACL, an upheld claim, or a specific in-app rule says otherwise. For unique second-hand books, a partial refund without a return is often practical when return postage would cost more than the book. If a return is needed (for example the wrong book was sent), the seller gives a return address and both sides keep chat records. The seller should cover return postage when they sent the wrong or a significantly misdescribed book. For change-of-mind returns a seller agrees to, the buyer usually pays. Keep the packaging until the dispute is closed.
11. Timeframes
As a guide:
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raise not received after the delivery window shown on the order, plus a short buffer;
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raise significantly not as described soon after delivery, ideally within 7 days of the book arriving;
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sellers post within the time on the listing, or about 3 business days if none is shown, and message the buyer if they’re running late.
Late reports are harder to assess, but we’ll still look at serious cases. These timeframes are our process. They don’t cut off your rights under the law.
12. Related policies
Terms of Use · Seller Terms · Fees · Prohibited and Restricted Listings
13. Contact
support@taled.com.au · privacy@taled.com.au
C.R. Smith & J.T. Smith trading as Taled · ABN 75 785 850 040