For builders and tradespeople using The Trade Yard

Buyer Terms of Use

Draft — not yet in effect

This is a draft. It takes effect on the date shown here once published.

In plain terms

  • The Trade Yard is a place to find building materials, get quotes from independent suppliers, and place orders with them. It is free for you to use.
  • We are not the seller. Every quote, price, order and delivery is between you and the supplier. You pay the supplier directly; we take no payment and no commission.
  • Suppliers list their own prices and answer your requests themselves. We check that a supplier has given us their business details, but we do not guarantee their prices, stock, quality or delivery.
  • Your materials list is shared only with the suppliers you choose to send it to.

The summary is a guide. The numbered clauses below are the terms.

1.Who we are and what these terms cover

  1. 1.1The Trade Yard is operated by The Trade Yard Pty Ltd (ACN 702 571 122, ABN 92 135 934 189) of 2A Shaw Street, Fawkner VIC 3060. In these terms, "we", "us" and "our" mean that company, and "you" means the person or business using the platform as a buyer.
  2. 1.2These terms apply to your use of the website at thetradeyard.com.au and any related app or service we provide (together, the "platform"). By creating an account or using the platform you agree to these terms. If you are using the platform for a business, you confirm you have authority to bind that business.
  3. 1.3Suppliers who list on the platform are bound by separate Supplier Terms. Our Privacy Policy explains how we handle personal information and forms part of these terms.

2.What the platform is, and is not

  1. 2.1The platform is a venue. It lets you browse materials that suppliers have listed, send a materials list to suppliers you choose, receive their quotes, compare them, and place orders with a supplier. It also lets you keep lists and, where a supplier offers it, apply to that supplier for a trade account.
  2. 2.2We are not a party to any quote, order, sale, delivery or trade account. Every contract for materials is between you and the supplier named on the quote or order. The supplier is the seller for the purposes of the Australian Consumer Law, and the supplier's own terms of sale, warranties and returns apply to what you buy from them.
  3. 2.3We do not hold your money and we do not take a commission on anything you buy. You pay the supplier directly, on the supplier's terms. Our revenue comes from subscriptions paid by suppliers.
  4. 2.4We do not guarantee that any supplier will quote, that a quote is correct, that a product is in stock, or that a delivery will arrive. Those are matters between you and the supplier.

3.Who can use the platform

  1. 3.1The platform is for people buying building materials for a trade or business. You must be at least 18 and able to enter a binding contract. You may browse without an account. To send a request or place an order you need an account with your name, your business or trading name and your trade.
  2. 3.2You do not need an ABN to browse, keep a list, send requests or place orders. A supplier may ask for your ABN and other details if you apply to them for a trade account; that is the supplier's process, not ours.
  3. 3.3Keep your sign-in details private. You are responsible for what is done through your account until you tell us it has been compromised.

4.Prices, quotes and stock

  1. 4.1Prices shown on the platform are set by each supplier and are shown exclusive of GST unless the platform says otherwise. All suppliers on the platform have told us they are registered for GST. A supplier may change a listed price at any time; the price that binds is the one on the quote or order confirmation the supplier gives you.
  2. 4.2Where the platform shows several suppliers for the same product, we group listings that our systems read as the same product. That grouping is our reading of the suppliers' descriptions and can be wrong. Always check the supplier's own listing and the quote before you rely on it.
  3. 4.3A quote is the supplier's offer, prepared by the supplier. Where the platform pre-fills parts of a quote from the supplier's own catalogue, the supplier reviews and sends it. Once sent, a quote is a snapshot: it does not change if the supplier later changes a listed price. A quote is open for the period the supplier states, or if none is stated, for a reasonable time.
  4. 4.4Stock levels are shown only when a supplier has stated them. Where a listing says stock is not stated, the supplier confirms availability when you order.
  5. 4.5If a supplier says it can't quote a line, or a line on your list could not be matched to anything in a supplier's catalogue, the platform says so. A line that the platform could not read as a material is shown as a note. It is your responsibility to check that the list you send says what you mean.

5.Requests, orders and delivery

  1. 5.1When you send a request, your materials list, job name, site postcode or address, any note you add, and your name and business name are sent to each supplier you selected, and to no one else. Suppliers see the list exactly as you sent it.
  2. 5.2When you accept a quote or place an order from your cart, you are making an offer to buy from that supplier on the terms shown. The contract is formed when the supplier confirms. Delivery times, delivery areas, pickup hours, fees and payment terms are the supplier's, as stated by the supplier. Where a supplier has not stated something, the platform shows it as not stated; do not assume it.
  3. 5.3Payment is made to the supplier by the means the supplier accepts. We do not process, hold or guarantee any payment between you and a supplier.
  4. 5.4Problems with an order, including late delivery, wrong or damaged goods, shortfalls and returns, are dealt with between you and the supplier under the supplier's terms and the Australian Consumer Law. We may help you contact the supplier, but we cannot resolve the order on the supplier's behalf.

6.Trade accounts

  1. 6.1Some suppliers state that they offer trade accounts. A trade account is a credit arrangement between you and that supplier, on the supplier's terms and subject to the supplier's approval. Any information the platform shows about a supplier's accounts is the supplier's own statement. We are not a party to a trade account, we do not extend credit, and we take no part in approving, managing or collecting on one.
  2. 6.2If you apply to a supplier for a trade account through the platform, the details you enter in the application are sent to that supplier. Our Privacy Policy explains what we keep.

7.Feedback on orders

  1. 7.1Where the platform asks you whether an order arrived as quoted, your answer is attached to that order and may be shown, in aggregate with other buyers' answers, on the supplier's listings. Answer honestly and only about the order you are being asked about. A supplier may reply to you privately about your answer, or ask us to review an answer it disputes. We may remove an answer that we reasonably consider is not about the order, is abusive, or was given to gain an advantage.
  2. 7.2You can hide a supplier so that it no longer appears in your suggested lists. Hiding is private to you and does not affect the supplier's standing with anyone else.

8.Your content

  1. 8.1You own your materials lists, notes, job details and anything else you put on the platform. You give us a licence to store, display and send that content as needed to run the platform, including to the suppliers you choose. We do not sell it.
  2. 8.2You must have the right to share what you upload. Do not upload anything unlawful, defamatory, infringing, or that you have been told is confidential.

9.Acceptable use

  1. 9.1You must not use the platform to send requests you do not intend to act on, to extract suppliers' pricing for any purpose other than buying from them, to scrape or copy the catalogue, to interfere with the platform or other users, to impersonate anyone, or to do anything unlawful. We may suspend or close an account that breaches these terms, and we will tell you why.

10.Intellectual property

  1. 10.1The platform, its software, design and the way listings are organised belong to us or our licensors. Product listings, descriptions and photos belong to the supplier that provided them. You may use the platform to buy materials and for no other commercial purpose without our written permission.

11.Availability and changes

  1. 11.1We aim to keep the platform available but do not promise that it will be uninterrupted or error-free. We may change or withdraw features. If we make a change to these terms that reduces your rights or adds to your obligations, we will give you at least 30 days' notice by email or on the platform before it takes effect. Continuing to use the platform after that date means you accept the change; if you do not, you may close your account.

12.Liability

  1. 12.1Nothing in these terms excludes, restricts or modifies any consumer guarantee, right or remedy under the Australian Consumer Law or any other law that cannot be excluded. Where the law allows us to limit our liability for breach of a non-excludable guarantee in respect of services, our liability is limited to supplying the services again or paying the cost of having them supplied again.
  2. 12.2Subject to that, and to the extent permitted by law, we are not liable to you for any loss arising from a quote, order, delivery, product or trade account between you and a supplier; from a supplier's act, omission, information or insolvency; from a mistake in how the platform read or grouped a listing or a line on your list; or for any indirect or consequential loss, loss of profit, or loss of business, however arising.
  3. 12.3To the extent permitted by law, our total liability to you in connection with the platform is limited to $100. The platform is free to you, and this limit reflects that.
  4. 12.4You indemnify us against claims by third parties arising from content you upload or from your breach of these terms, except to the extent we caused the loss.

13.Closing your account

  1. 13.1You can close your account at any time by contacting us. We may close or suspend your account if you breach these terms, if we are required to by law, or if we withdraw the platform, and we will tell you why. Clauses that by their nature should survive, including those about liability, your content and disputes, continue after closure.

14.Disputes and governing law

  1. 14.1If you have a problem with us, contact us first and we will try to resolve it with you within 14 days. If we cannot, either of us may propose mediation in Victoria before starting court proceedings, unless urgent relief is needed. These terms are governed by the law of Victoria, Australia, and the courts of Victoria have jurisdiction.
  2. 14.2Disputes about a quote, order or trade account are between you and the supplier and are not covered by this clause.

15.Contact

  1. 15.1The Trade Yard Pty Ltd, 2A Shaw Street, Fawkner VIC 3060. Email info@thetradeyard.com.au.