General Terms and Conditions (Terms)

1. Provider and scope

ReptElion (reptelion.com, the “Platform”) is operated by Elion Qerimi, Grenzstraße 1, 2558 Aegerten, Switzerland (“we” or the “Operator”). Contact: info@reptelion.com.

These Terms apply to everyone who visits or uses the Platform, with or without an account and from whatever country. By using the Platform or registering, you accept these Terms. The animal trade rules apply in addition; how we handle personal data is described in the privacy policy.

Definitions:

• User: any person who visits or uses the Platform.
• Seller: anyone who publishes a listing.
• Interested party: anyone who makes contact about a listing.
• Content: listings, texts, images, documents, ratings, comments, reports and profile details.

2. What the Platform is – and what it is not

The Platform is an online marketplace for listings of reptiles and other terrarium animals and of terrarium accessories, complemented by a knowledge section with species information.

Contracts for sale, exchange or rehoming are concluded exclusively between the users involved. We are not a party to these contracts, do not process payments between users and give no guarantee for the identity, statements, quality, health or legality of the animals and goods offered, or for the performance of contracts.

ReptElion is not an animal dealer, breeding facility, transport or boarding service, or public authority. The species information is for general orientation and replaces neither expert advice nor checking the applicable regulations.

3. Use from different countries

The Platform is accessible internationally. Rules on keeping and trading animals differ greatly from country to country and within a country (e.g. by canton, state, region or province). We do not check whether listings are permitted in every country.

You are responsible for complying with all rules that apply to you: in your country, in the country of the other party and in every country through which an animal or item is transported. These include in particular:

• animal welfare and husbandry rules, including permits and proof of expertise;
• species protection, in particular the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and its national or regional implementations;
• veterinary, health and animal disease law, import, export and transit rules and transport rules for live animals;
• consumer protection, tax and trade law.

Notes for Switzerland, Germany and Austria (not exhaustive)

• Switzerland: the Animal Welfare Act and Animal Welfare Ordinance (including a permit requirement for certain species such as venomous snakes), species protection law (CITES) and cantonal rules. The competent bodies are the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) and the cantonal veterinary offices.
• EU (Germany and Austria): the EU Wildlife Trade Regulation (EC) No 338/97, the EU animal health rules and the list of invasive alien species under Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014 – e.g. trade in pond sliders (Trachemys scripta) is prohibited.
• Germany: the Animal Welfare Act (commercial trade in vertebrates requires a licence under § 11), the Federal Nature Conservation Act and the Federal Species Protection Ordinance (including notification and record-keeping duties for protected species) and the dangerous animals laws of the federal states.
• Austria: the Animal Welfare Act with a notification duty for certain wild animals, the 2nd Animal Husbandry Ordinance (minimum requirements and proof of expertise for keeping reptiles), the Species Trade Act 2009 and the rules of the federal states.
• Anyone moving live animals across borders, for example between Switzerland, Germany and Austria, generally needs health certificates and, depending on the species, CITES documents; import and export often require a permit.

If an offer or transaction is not permitted in your country or in the country of the other party, you may not use the Platform for it. Anyone acting commercially must make this recognisable in their profile (company) or listing and comply with the obligations towards consumers that apply in the respective country.

4. Account

• You need an account for listings, ratings and reports about profiles. Use is only permitted to persons who are at least 18 years old and of full age and legal capacity under the law of their place of residence.
• As a rule, one account per person is permitted. Your details must be true, complete and up to date.
• Keep your login details secret. Actions taken via your account are attributed to you unless you show that misuse occurred through no fault of your own.
• We may require confirmation of your email address or phone number.
• You can delete your account at any time in the settings. What is deleted and what remains is described in the privacy policy.

5. Listings and content

• Details must be true and complete, in particular regarding species, origin (captive-bred or wild-caught), health, age and condition. Required fields must be filled in; a listing contains at least one image of your own.
• Animals that require documents or permits under the applicable rules may only be listed if these are available. Species from CITES Appendix I may not be listed.
• You may only upload content for which you hold the necessary rights (copyright, trademark and personality rights). Third-party images without permission, stock images and misleading images are prohibited.
• We do not necessarily check content before it is published. Publication does not mean that we have checked or approved the content.

Licence to your content

You remain the owner of your content. You grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free right to store, display, technically adapt (e.g. image sizes) and automatically translate it into the languages offered, for the purpose of operating the Platform. This right ends when you delete the content or your account; backups are deleted when their retention period ends.

6. Prohibited content and conduct

• offers that are prohibited in the country of the seller or of the interested party, e.g. protected species without the required documents, missing permits or circumvention of import and export rules;
• listings that suggest animal cruelty, husbandry that does not meet the animal’s needs, or illegal trade;
• fraud, deception, phishing, identity misuse and circumvention of bans;
• spam, mass messages, unauthorised advertising and automated reading of the Platform (scraping) without permission;
• hate speech, discrimination, threats, harassment and offensive or obscene content;
• malware, attacks on the Platform and exploiting security vulnerabilities.

7. Contact between users

Inquiries sent via the contact form of a listing are forwarded by email to the seller; the reply goes directly to you. You may only use contact details obtained in this way for the transaction concerned. Harassment, pressure, threats and spam are prohibited.

8. Ratings, trust score and badges

• A maximum of one rating per person is permitted per listing. You may not rate your own listings; manipulation, e.g. via secondary accounts, is prohibited.
• Ratings are opinions of other users. We give no guarantee for their accuracy. Comments may be hidden by moderation; the rating itself may remain.
• The trust score (0–100) and badges are calculated automatically and are for orientation only. They are not an assurance, certification or recommendation. There is no entitlement to a particular score or badge.

9. Reports, moderation and sanctions

Anyone can report listings and profiles they consider illegal or in breach of the rules, and report errors in species information with a source. We review reports carefully, objectively and within a reasonable time.

Possible measures

• restricting, hiding or deleting content;
• issuing warnings (usually a first and then a second);
• suspending accounts temporarily or permanently; a banned profile may remain visible with a notice;
• putting the email address and phone number on a block list so that bans cannot be circumvented.

We decide according to the circumstances of the individual case, taking into account the severity, frequency and consequences of a violation. We inform those affected of a measure and its reason where the law requires this and doing so does not endanger investigations or third parties. You can challenge a decision by email to info@reptelion.com; we will then review it again. Your right to go to court or to another competent body remains unaffected.

If we are legally obliged to do so or an authority orders it, we disclose the necessary data to the competent body.

Single point of contact for authorities and users, including within the meaning of the EU Digital Services Act (DSA): info@reptelion.com, in German, English, French or Italian.

10. Costs

Use of the Platform is currently free of charge. If we introduce paid additional services, we will show the price, scope and term before purchase; the terms shown at the time of purchase will then apply in addition. Mandatory consumer rights, such as a statutory right of withdrawal, remain unaffected in any case.

11. Availability and changes to the Platform

We strive for stable operation but cannot guarantee uninterrupted availability. We may change, extend or discontinue features insofar as this is reasonable for you. If we shut down the Platform entirely, we will inform registered users in good time beforehand.

12. Liability

• We are not liable for content of users or for contracts, payments, transports or damage between users.
• Otherwise, we are liable without limitation for intent and gross negligence, for injury to life, body or health and wherever mandatory law prescribes liability (e.g. product liability).
• In the case of slight negligence, we are only liable for the breach of essential obligations and only for the typical, foreseeable damage. Any further liability is excluded to the extent permitted by law.

If you culpably breach these Terms or applicable law and third parties assert claims against us as a result, you shall indemnify us against these claims and the reasonable costs of legal defence, to the extent permitted by law.

13. Termination

You can stop using the Platform and delete your account at any time. We may suspend or delete an account immediately in the event of serious or repeated violations, and otherwise with reasonable notice.

14. Changes to these Terms

We may change these Terms, for example when the Platform or the legal situation changes. We will inform you of material changes and ask for your consent on your next visit. If you do not agree, you can delete your account.

15. Applicable law and place of jurisdiction

Swiss law applies, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods and the conflict-of-law rules of private international law. If you use the Platform as a consumer, you retain the protection of the mandatory provisions of the country in which you have your habitual residence, such as the consumer law of your EU Member State.

The place of jurisdiction is Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. Consumers can also sue and be sued at their place of residence where mandatory law provides for this.

16. Final provisions

If any provision of these Terms is invalid, the remaining provisions remain valid. The invalid provision is replaced by the statutory rule.

These Terms are available in German, English, French and Italian. In case of discrepancies, the German version prevails.

In short

ReptElion only provides the Platform; contracts are concluded between users. You comply with the laws that apply to you and the other party, in every country. We moderate, may remove content and ban accounts, and tell you why. Use is currently free of charge.