Terms and conditions

We are a technical intermediary. The contract of sale is concluded between the buyer and the seller; we are not a party to it. We never hold the items, do not inspect them, and guarantee neither their condition nor their authenticity.

One exception, and it is a tax one. For VAT only, the law has treated us since 1 January 2025 as the seller of the items traded here (art. 20a VAT Act). This changes nothing in the contract: it still binds the buyer and the seller, and it is the contract that governs warranty, returns and liability. See article 9.

What we guarantee is the path of the money: it does not leave our payment provider before the parcel has arrived.

Selling costs nothing. Posting a listing and selling are free. No commission is taken on the sale price, and no subscription is required to post a listing.

The buyer pays a protection fee of 6.9 % + CHF 2.95. It funds the holding of the payment, the handling of disputes and the refund when the item does not match. It is never less than CHF 4.50, whatever the price of the item.

The fixed part covers what a transaction costs whatever its amount: card processing, the transfer to the seller and the account fees of our payment provider. These costs do not fall because the item is cheap.

The postage costs are passed on at Swiss Post's rate, with no margin, and paid in full to the seller who pays the postage on the parcel. Above CHF 500, they include the insurance corresponding to the value of the item.

An item given away is listed at zero. The person who takes it pays CHF 5 to Merka, plus the postage if the item is dispatched; the giver receives nothing.

The buyer pays at the time of the order. The sum is held at our payment provider: the seller cannot touch it, and it is refunded in full if the parcel has not arrived.

After delivery, the buyer has 48 hours to report a problem. Once that period has passed, or as soon as they confirm receipt, the sum is released and paid to the seller.

The actual payout then depends on our payment provider: the funds of a sale become available there three working days after the buyer's payment, and seven days for a first sale; the transfer leaves as soon as they are and reaches the bank account within one to three working days. This delay does not depend on us, and we prefer to announce it rather than let you discover it.

Any item can be sent, whatever its price: postage and buyer protection are shown before payment. Above CHF 5'000, delivery is no longer offered; no insurance covers a parcel of that value, and we do not send on its way what we could not refund.

Swiss Post, by default. Anything within 30 kg goes by post. Up to 100 × 60 × 60 cm it is an ordinary parcel; beyond those dimensions, a bulky consignment, up to 200 cm long, or 250 cm if the item weighs less than 10 kg. The surcharge is shown before purchase, and it rises for wood, metal and leather, which the post sorts by hand.

Delivery by the seller. On items the post will not take, the seller may offer to deliver in person, within a radius and at a price they set in the listing; they are free to charge nothing. The handover is established by the same six-digit code as in-person handover: the buyer gives it after seeing the item, and entering it counts as delivery. We provide neither tracking nor insurance on that journey (it is a direct arrangement), but the payment stays held until the handover.

Above 30 kg, or beyond those dimensions, the post charges a deterrent surcharge and may refuse the consignment. Transport then no longer goes through us: the seller arranges it and sets the price, shown on the listing and fixed at the time of purchase. Merka does not choose the carrier, does not price the service and does not cover it; dismantling, assembly and removal of packaging are not part of the service.

It is the seller who pays the postage and drops off the parcel. It is their responsibility to take out the insurance option when the value requires it: its cost is included in the postage passed on to them.

The seller has 7 days from payment to drop off the parcel, hand the item over in person or deliver it themselves.

Once this period has passed without dispatch or handover, the sale is cancelled and the buyer is refunded in full and automatically, protection fee included: they have nothing to do. The seller who did not dispatch bears the payment processing fees, which our payment provider does not return on a refund. They are withheld from their next payout and appear until then on their "My money" screen. We do not send reminders.

A parcel is not covered because it was sent, but because a Swiss Post service was bought with it. The scale is Swiss Post's, not ours:

• Item value up to CHF 500: basic cover, no supplement. Swiss Post refunds at most CHF 500.
• Item value up to CHF 1'500: Signature, CHF 1.50. Swiss Post refunds at most CHF 1'500.
• Item value up to CHF 5'000: Assurance, CHF 7. Swiss Post refunds at most CHF 5'000.

This refund covers loss, theft and destruction of the parcel during transport. Without a purchased service, cover stops at CHF 500. The supplement is charged to the buyer at Swiss Post's rate, with no margin, and passed to the seller with the postage.

"Fragile" insures nothing. That service pays for suitable handling, not a guarantee: it raises no ceiling. An item declared fragile remains covered at the amount of its tier, and at that alone.

Two periods, and they do not overlap. Swiss Post's liability runs from the posting of the parcel until its handover to the recipient; that is the only period it covers, and within the ceiling above. On delivery, our dispute period takes over: 48 hours during which the money stays held at our payment provider and can be refunded. Once that period has passed, or as soon as the buyer confirms receipt, the sum is paid to the seller and our protection ends.

That period is our protection's, not the law's: it does not restrict the rights the buyer holds under the contract of sale against the seller, in particular the warranty for defects. After 48 hours, we simply no longer hold the money that would allow a refund without going to court.

It is not Merka that pays the postage. We collect the supplement from the buyer and pass it in full to the seller with the postage; it is the seller who drops off the parcel and buys the service. These terms require it of them, but we cannot verify it in their place: as long as we do not issue the labels ourselves, nothing in the service checks that a parcel actually left insured. We therefore do not promise that every consignment is. We promise what we hold, that is, the money.

For the buyer, this changes nothing. Their protection does not come from Swiss Post, it comes from the holding of the payment. If the parcel does not arrive, or if the dispute is decided in their favour within the period, they are refunded from the sum held, whether the seller bought the service or not.

For the seller, this changes everything. It is the seller who bears the transport risk until delivery: if the parcel is lost, they lose the item and are not paid. The postal service is what compensates them, and the supplement was passed on to them so that they buy it. If they do not, they keep the difference and bear the consequences alone: Swiss Post will refund only CHF 500.

Above CHF 500, the counter is compulsory. A private individual cannot buy any of these Swiss Post services from home. The seller must drop the parcel off at a post office; that is a Swiss Post rule and not a choice of ours, and the postage charged to the buyer already reflects the counter rate, which is higher than the online rate.

Above CHF 5'000, no cover exists. Swiss Post offers nothing at that level, and we do not send on its way what no one refunds: those items cannot be dispatched, only in-person handover remains possible. Nor do we put them up for sale automatically: the listing is kept as a draft, and we arrange the sale case by case through the help section.

We deliver only in Switzerland. No other destination is offered, neither when posting the listing nor at payment: an address outside Switzerland is refused before any money is collected.

A claim is filed from the order, within the period of article 3. It suspends the payout to the seller until it is decided.

What it decides, who is refunded, who bears the return postage, what counts as evidence, who arbitrates and up to what amount, is set out in a separate set of rules, in sixteen articles. That text is what we apply, and every decision handed down cites the article on which it rests.

Read the claims rules

A problem reported within the period freezes the payout. We examine the evidence provided by both parties and decide: refund of the buyer, or payment to the seller.

Since the money never left the circuit, a refund remains possible; that is the whole difference from a direct payment between private individuals.

The list of what cannot be sold, the way listings are checked and what we do with an account that breaks these rules are gathered on the “Rules” page. It forms part of these terms.

Read the rules

A person who sells in the course of a commercial activity must declare it. They are then identifiable to buyers, company name, business identification number, means of contact, and remain subject to the obligations attached to that status, in particular as regards warranty.

One last point that concerns private sellers. Selling privately only makes you liable for VAT past a turnover of 100,000 francs over twelve months. We know yours with us to the franc: as soon as it reaches 80,000 francs, we notify you; at that level of activity, you must switch to professional seller status and register for VAT. We say it early so that you have time to do it and to review your prices, rather than discovering it after the fact. Liability remains your affair and your declaration; we do not decide it in your place, and we count only what has been sold here.

VAT: we are the deemed supplier. Since 1 January 2025, article 20a of the VAT Act attributes to the operator of a platform the sales concluded on it. For tax purposes there are two supplies: the seller's to Merka, exempt (art. 23 para. 2 no. 13 VAT Act), then Merka's to the buyer. Merka is not yet entered in the register of taxable persons: until it is, it neither declares nor pays over this VAT.

In practice, for a VAT-registered seller: In practice, today: we withhold nothing. The VAT-registered seller receives their sale in full and declares their VAT themselves, as they already do for their business. Their profile records this choice, with its date. Once Merka is registered, they will be able to entrust the withholding to us from that same screen; the base would then be the price of the item and the postage, never our protection fee, which is paid by the buyer.

The displayed price does not change. For a seller not registered for VAT, nothing changes: the displayed price is inclusive of VAT. The buyer pays the same amount whether the seller is registered or not.

Art, antiques and collectors' items Art and antiques fall under margin taxation (art. 24a VAT Act, art. 48e VAT Ordinance): the mechanism above does not apply to them. A seller operating in these categories must tell us before their first sale. These indications describe how we apply the law; they do not constitute tax advice.

A published listing is meant to be seen. It appears on Merka, and we also distribute it through our read channels: the catalogue feeds, our public programming interface (API) and our connector for assistants (MCP), which websites, apps or assistants such as Claude can query. What leaves through these channels: the title, the description, the price, the condition, the category, the town given in the listing, its photos, the link to the listing and whether it comes from a professional shop. Never your name, your username, your contact details or your identifier.

By publishing, you grant us on the content of the listing (texts and photos) a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide licence for the duration of the publication, which allows us to display, translate, reproduce and distribute it through these channels. You keep your rights, and you warrant that you hold the rights needed on the photos and texts you submit.

Withdrawing or selling the listing ends its distribution: our channels no longer return it on the next read. A copy a third party has already made is no longer in our hands; we ask those who read our channels not to keep listings that have disappeared, without being able to guarantee it.

These channels are read-only: nobody can buy, or write to you outside Merka, through them. The terms of use of these channels for integrators are described on our developers page.

A question about an item is put to the seller through the messaging system. A problem with an order is reported from the order itself.

Merka is operated by GR2 SA, Nyon (VD), Switzerland, entered in the commercial register of the canton of Vaud under UID number CHE-141.902.113. Email: contact@merka.ch. These terms are governed by Swiss law.