Last updated: 17 October 2026
By using CrankMart, you agree to these Terms of Service. CrankMart (the "Platform") is a peer-to-peer cycling marketplace and directory connecting cyclists in South Africa. CrankMart is operated by CrankMart (Pty) Ltd (registration number 2015/206793/07).
You must provide accurate information when registering. You are responsible for keeping your account credentials secure. One account per person. You must be 18 years or older to post listings or complete a purchase.
Listings must be for cycling-related items only. Listings must be accurate — no misleading descriptions or photos. Prohibited items include counterfeit goods, stolen property, and anything illegal under the laws of South Africa. CrankMart reserves the right to remove any listing without notice.
CrankMart facilitates payments through regulated third-party providers: • Marketplace purchases (buying a listing from another user) are processed through TradeSafe, an independent South African escrow provider. The buyer pays into TradeSafe's escrow account; the seller receives funds only after the buyer accepts the item at TradeSafe (or when TradeSafe's inspection window ends — see below). • Payments to CrankMart itself (boosts, shop plans and advertising) are processed through Paystack, a regulated payment service provider. CrankMart does not directly hold buyer funds. Card details are entered into TradeSafe's or Paystack's PCI-compliant hosted payment pages and are never stored by CrankMart. Your order history and transaction records are available on your CrankMart orders page and in the confirmation emails from CrankMart and TradeSafe.
To receive funds from marketplace sales, sellers must complete TradeSafe verification (KYC + banking details). Until verification is complete, listings can be created but buyers cannot complete checkout. Verification details are submitted directly to TradeSafe; CrankMart stores only an opaque token reference. See the Privacy Policy for the full data flow.
CrankMart does not charge any commission on escrow payments. Sellers receive the sale price less TradeSafe's escrow fee, which TradeSafe sets and deducts from the payout; CrankMart doesn't set or receive it. Optional paid features, such as boosts, are priced before you buy them.
When a buyer purchases a listing, funds are held in TradeSafe escrow. The escrow lifecycle is: 1. Buyer pays → funds held in escrow 2. Seller ships (or makes the item ready for collection) and marks the order as shipped 3. Delivery is confirmed when the buyer taps "I've received it" or the seller marks the order delivered (or TradeSafe reports it delivered), whichever comes first. This opens TradeSafe's inspection window; TradeSafe's email to the buyer gives its end date 4. TradeSafe emails the buyer. If the buyer accepts the item, funds release to the seller; if the buyer raises no issue before the inspection window ends, funds release automatically Bank payout from TradeSafe to the seller's account typically takes 1-3 business days.
If something goes wrong with a purchase — item not received, item significantly different from the listing, item arrived damaged — the buyer may raise an issue before funds release: "SUBMIT ISSUE" in TradeSafe's email once delivery is confirmed, or CrankMart support before then. CrankMart mediates first-line; unresolved disputes escalate to TradeSafe. An open dispute stops funds releasing until it is resolved. Disputes raised AFTER funds have released to the seller cannot be reversed through escrow by CrankMart or TradeSafe. Buyers are responsible for inspecting items before accepting them at TradeSafe. On private sales, change-of-mind refunds are not available once the item is accepted. This does not limit your rights against a shop seller under ECTA or the CPA, including the 7-day cooling-off right and the right to return defective goods (see Returns and cooling-off); those rights are enforced against the shop, not through escrow. Full dispute procedure: see /help/disputes/something-went-wrong.
Your right to return an item depends on who sold it. CrankMart provides the platform; it is not the seller of items listed by users or shops. • Private sellers (individuals selling their own items). A sale between private individuals is generally not a sale by a supplier in the ordinary course of business, so the return and quality rights of the Consumer Protection Act, 2008 (CPA) and the cooling-off right in the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, 2002 (ECTA) generally do not apply. Items are sold as described in the listing. Your main protection is TradeSafe escrow: inspect the item in the inspection window and click "SUBMIT ISSUE" in TradeSafe's email if it is not as described. Your rights under the general law (for example, where an item was misrepresented) are not affected. • Shop sellers (businesses selling through CrankMart). The shop is the supplier, and your consumer rights apply against it. Under section 44 of ECTA you may cancel within 7 days after receiving the goods, without reason or penalty; the only cost you may be charged is the direct cost of returning them, and the shop must refund any payment within 30 days of the date of cancellation. This does not apply to certain goods listed in section 42 of ECTA, such as goods made to your specifications or clearly personalised. Under the CPA, goods must be of good quality, reasonably suitable for their purpose and free of defects; if they are not, you may return them within six months of delivery, at the shop's risk and expense, and choose whether the shop repairs, replaces or refunds them. These rights are subject to the other exceptions in each Act. Contact the shop first; if that does not resolve it, email support@crankmart.com. Shop sellers are responsible for providing the information required by section 43 of ECTA and for honouring consumers' rights under ECTA and the CPA.
Transactions arranged or paid for outside CrankMart's TradeSafe checkout (e.g. direct EFT, cash on collection without TradeSafe) are not protected by buyer protection, escrow, or dispute resolution. CrankMart strongly discourages off-platform payment and accepts no liability for losses incurred outside our payment flow.
You retain ownership of content you upload. By posting on CrankMart, you grant us a non-exclusive licence to display that content on the Platform and in related marketing. Do not post content that is offensive, illegal, infringes on third-party rights, or violates anyone's privacy.
You agree not to use CrankMart to commit fraud, harass other users, post stolen goods, attempt to circumvent our payment or verification systems, or otherwise violate these Terms or the law. We may suspend or terminate accounts that breach these provisions.
To the extent permitted by law, and without limiting any rights you have under the Consumer Protection Act, CrankMart is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind. We are not liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from use of the Platform. Where the law permits, our maximum liability to any user for any claim arising from the Platform is limited to the fees you have paid to CrankMart in the 12 months preceding the claim.
We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be notified by email and/or in-product banner. Continued use of CrankMart after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.
These Terms are governed by the laws of South Africa. Any disputes will be resolved in the courts of South Africa.
CrankMart (Pty) Ltd (registration number 2015/206793/07) Questions about these Terms, payments, disputes, refunds or anything else: support@crankmart.com.
17 October 2026: the general contact address changed to support@crankmart.com, and the Platform fees section now says that CrankMart does not charge any commission on escrow payments.