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Returns & refunds

The single most useful thing on this page: check the item before you confirm receipt. Until you confirm, BartaBase is still holding the money and putting things right is straightforward.

You have 48 hours to check and report
Start here

Everything depends on one thing

BartaBase is not a shop. When you buy here, we hold your payment and release it to the seller when you confirm the item arrived. That single click changes what we can do for you, so it is worth understanding before you make it.

Before you confirm

We still have your money

Nothing has reached the seller. If the item never arrived, is faulty, or is not what was described, report it and we return your payment.

You do not need the seller's agreement, and you are not chasing anyone for a refund. This is the strongest position you will be in.

After you confirm

The money has gone to the seller

Confirming receipt releases the payment. A return is now an arrangement between you and the seller, and we mediate rather than decide.

Most sellers are reasonable. But it is a conversation rather than a guarantee, which is why the advice above matters.

Never confirm receipt before you have the item in your hands and have looked at it. If a seller asks you to confirm early — to release their payout, to save time, for any reason at all — that is the exact situation this protection exists for. Decline, and tell us.
Before you confirm receipt

Reporting a problem

This is the route to use whenever it is available to you. It is faster, it does not depend on the seller, and your money is already where it needs to be.

1

Do not confirm receipt

Leave the order unconfirmed. That is what keeps the payment with us rather than with the seller.

2

Report it on the order

Open the order and use Report a problem, or raise a support ticket with the order number. Say what you expected and what turned up.

Attach photos. A picture of the item as it arrived settles most cases immediately, and you can attach up to five files to a ticket.

We review and refund

We aim to respond within 48 hours. Reporting pauses any deadline on the order, so nothing is released to the seller while we are looking at it.

If the item has not properly changed hands, the money goes back to you — usually within 10 days working days of approval, depending on your bank.

After you confirm receipt

Requesting a return

If you have already confirmed, you can still request a return within seven days — but the outcome now depends on why, and on the seller.

1

Message the seller first

Most returns are agreed in a message. Explain the problem, send photos, and say what you would like — a refund, a replacement, or a partial refund if you would rather keep it.

2

Give them 48 hours

Sellers are people with jobs and families, not a call centre. If they have not responded in that time, or you cannot reach agreement, raise a ticket and we will step in.

We mediate

We look at the listing, the photos, the messages and the delivery record, and we say what we think is fair. Where a seller clearly misdescribed an item, we can act against their account.

Be honest that this is mediation rather than a guarantee. Once money has left our hands, we are persuading rather than deciding.

What qualifies

When you can return something

It never arrived Report before confirming and you get your money back.
It is not what was described Different model, different size, damage the listing did not mention, missing parts that were promised. The listing is the agreement, so compare against what it actually said.
It is faulty or broken Broken in transit, or does not work as it should. Photograph it before you unpack any further — including the packaging.
It is counterfeit Sold as genuine but is not. Report it even if you decide to keep it — that seller should not be selling it to the next person.
The wrong item arrived Mix-ups happen. Most sellers sort this within a day.
Being straight with you

What is not covered

A returns policy is only worth something if it is honest about its edges.

Change of mind Most items here are second-hand and sold by individuals. Deciding you no longer want something is not a fault, so a return is entirely at the seller's discretion. Ask nicely; many will agree.
Wear the listing described "Used, some scratches" means used with some scratches. If the photos and description matched what arrived, the item was as sold.
Damage after delivery Anything that happened once the item was with you.
Hygiene and perishable items Underwear, swimwear, earrings, cosmetics that have been opened, food and drink. These cannot be returned once accepted unless they are faulty or were misdescribed.
Made to order, personalised, or digital Anything made or customised for you, and anything delivered digitally, unless it is faulty.
Services already carried out Once the work is done it cannot be returned.
Free items Nothing was paid, so there is nothing to refund. If a free item was badly misrepresented, report it anyway — it affects that person's reliability record.
Anything paid for outside BartaBase If you paid a seller directly, we never held the money and cannot return it. This is the most common way people lose money here.
The awkward question

Who pays for return delivery

The principle is simple: whoever caused the return pays for it.

Why it is going backWho pays delivery
Not as described
Wrong item, undisclosed damage, missing parts		 The seller. They are also refunded nothing until the item is back with them.
Faulty or broken The seller.
Counterfeit The seller, and we act on the account.
Change of mind
Where the seller agrees to take it back		 The buyer. The seller is doing you a favour.
Never delivered Nothing to return. The payment comes straight back to you.
Keep proof of postage. Whoever sends the item back should keep the receipt or tracking. A return that cannot be shown to have been sent is a case nobody can settle — and it is usually the sender who loses it.
If you sell here

Returns from the other side

Your listing is your defence

Almost every return dispute turns on what the listing said. Photograph the flaws, describe the wear, list what is missing. A scratch shown in the listing is a detail; the same scratch discovered on arrival is a refund you pay for.

Attach delivery proof

Every time. A photo at handover, a courier receipt, a signature. It takes ten seconds and it is what settles a "never arrived" claim weeks later.

Proof cannot be deleted once uploaded, which protects you as much as the buyer — nobody can claim you removed it.

Reply quickly

You have 48 hours to respond to a return request before we step in. Sellers who answer promptly and offer something reasonable almost always keep the sale, or at worst the relationship.

Repeated returns are noticed

One return is bad luck. A pattern of "not as described" complaints against the same seller is a listing problem, and we will raise it with you before it becomes an account problem.

Questions

The things people ask

Aim to check it and report any problem within 48 hours of delivery. A delivered order that is never confirmed and never disputed is released to the seller after seven days — otherwise sellers would wait indefinitely on buyers who have simply gone quiet.
Not automatically — confirming releases the payment. Raise a ticket straight away with the order number. If the payout has not yet run there may be something we can do; if it has, we will help you approach the seller. Speed genuinely matters here.
Give them 48 hours, then raise a ticket with the order number and what you have already tried. If you have not yet confirmed receipt, say so — it changes what we can do, and for the better.
If the item never arrived, yes. If it arrived and is going back because it was not as described or was faulty, yes. If you changed your mind, the original delivery is not refunded — the courier did the job they were paid for.
Often the best outcome for everyone, and yes, if the seller agrees. For a minor undisclosed flaw it saves a return journey and both of you moving on. Suggest a figure rather than asking them to; it moves faster.
Exchanges have their own flow: both parties confirm, and any balancing cash is held until they do. If a swap goes wrong, report it before confirming, exactly as with a purchase. Once both sides confirm, an exchange concludes and there is a limited window to raise a problem.
Typically within 10 days working days of approval. Most of that is your bank rather than us — a reversal is usually slower than the original payment was.
Related
Money Back Guarantee Help & Support My orders How to sell Terms of Service Announcements

Something wrong with an order?

Do not confirm receipt. Open a ticket with the order number and a photo, and a person will pick it up — usually within a day.

Report a problem View my orders
This page explains how returns work in plain language. The full terms are in our Terms of Service, and where the two differ, the Terms apply. Nothing here affects your statutory rights under Nigerian consumer law.