Night Auction

Service agreement

Last updated: September 25, 2026

Night Auction ("the service", "we", "us") is an online marketplace for timed auctions, based in Ontario, Canada and run by its owners as a small family business. By creating an account, listing an item, or placing a bid you agree to this service agreement. If you don't agree, don't use the service.

1. What the service is, and isn't

We provide the venue and the clock. We are not the seller, the buyer, an auctioneer, or a party to any sale. We don't take possession of items, hold money for a sale, or transfer title. Every sale is a direct agreement between the seller and the winning bidder.

2. Your account

  • You must be at least 18 years old and able to enter into a binding contract.
  • Give accurate information and keep it current. One person, one account.
  • Keep your password to yourself. You are responsible for everything done through your account.
  • We may suspend or close an account at any time if we believe this agreement has been broken or the service is being misused.

3. Listing an item

  • You confirm that you own the item or are authorized by the owner to sell it, and that you can hand it over to the buyer.
  • Describe the item honestly, including its condition and any defects. Photos must be of the actual item being sold.
  • Set your starting bid and any automatic-sale price in good faith. A reserve is the only acceptable way to protect a minimum price.
  • Do not list stolen, counterfeit, recalled, or unsafe goods, or anything that is illegal to sell or that needs a licence you don't hold (for example firearms and ammunition, prescription drugs, alcohol, tobacco and vaping products, or live animals).
  • The listing fee is due when you list and is not refunded, including if you withdraw the item, the auction is cancelled, the item doesn't sell, or the sale falls through.
  • We may remove any listing, reorder or reschedule auctions, or cancel an auction at our discretion.

4. Bidding

  • A bid is a binding offer to buy the item at that price. Once placed, a bid can't be withdrawn, lowered or taken back, and there is no cooling-off period.
  • Winning is buying. If you are the high bidder when the lot closes and the seller accepts, or the automatic-sale price was reached, the item is sold to you at that price and you must pay the seller and pick it up. Changing your mind, not answering the seller, or finding it cheaper elsewhere does not cancel the sale.
  • If you don't pay and collect within the time in section 6, the seller may treat the sale as cancelled by you and sell the item to someone else. You remain responsible for any loss that causes the seller, including any lower price they get; we may give the seller your details for that purpose, and your account will be closed.
  • Bid only under your own account, and only with the intention and the ability to pay.
  • The clock on the live page is the auction's clock. A bid placed in the closing seconds may extend the clock (soft close). Bids received after a lot closes are not accepted.

5. Fraud and other prohibited conduct

Fraud of any kind is not tolerated. The following will get an account closed and may be reported to the police:

  • Shill bidding: bidding on your own item, or having someone bid on it for you, to drive up the price.
  • Placing bids you don't intend to honour, or bidding from more than one account.
  • Misrepresenting an item, its condition, its ownership, or its authenticity, or using photos of a different item.
  • Listing stolen goods, counterfeits, or items you don't have the right to sell.
  • Not paying for an item you won, or not handing over an item you sold, without a legitimate reason (for example, the item is clearly not what was described).
  • Reversing a listing fee payment after your listing has run.
  • Opening new accounts to get around a suspension.
  • Impersonating another person or business, harassing or threatening other users, or misusing contact details shared with you.
  • Interfering with the service, including automated bidding, scraping, or trying to defeat the clock.

If we suspect fraud we may remove listings, cancel bids or sales, withhold or forfeit fees, suspend or close accounts, and share information with law enforcement or with the affected users. We may also pursue any other remedy available in law.

6. Completing a sale

  • When a lot sells, we show each side the other's name, email, and phone number so you can arrange payment and pickup. Use those details for that sale only.
  • Buyer and seller settle directly. We do not process, hold, guarantee, or refund the purchase price.
  • Unless the listing says otherwise, items are sold as is, where is. Inspect the item at pickup before paying.
  • Payment and pickup must be completed within 3 days of the sale unless both sides agree otherwise. A buyer who hasn't paid and collected by then has broken this agreement (see section 4).
  • Any dispute about an item, payment, or pickup is between the buyer and the seller. We may offer to help, but we are not obliged to, and we don't decide who is right.

7. Fees and taxes

The listing fee is shown before you list and is charged through our payment provider. It is not refundable except where the law requires it. You are responsible for any taxes that apply to your sales or purchases.

8. Your content

You keep ownership of the photos and text you post. You give us permission to display, store, and copy them to run and promote the service. Don't post anything you don't have the right to share.

9. Privacy

We collect your name, email, phone number, and your listing and bidding activity so the service can work. We share your name, email, and phone with the other party to a completed sale, and with law enforcement where the law requires or allows it. We don't sell your information. We handle personal information in line with Canadian privacy law.

10. No warranty, and limits on our liability

The service is provided as is. We don't guarantee that it will be available or error free, or that the clock, bids, or notifications will never fail. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for any loss arising from a sale or purchase between users, from items, or from your use of the service, and our total liability to you for any claim is limited to the listing fees you paid us in the 12 months before the claim. Nothing in this agreement limits rights that consumer protection law gives you and that cannot be waived.

11. Indemnity

You will cover any claim, loss, or cost, including reasonable legal fees, that we face because of your listings, your bids, your breach of this agreement, or your breach of the law.

12. Changes to this agreement

We may change this agreement. We'll post the new version here and update the date at the top; for significant changes we'll also notify you by email or on the site. Using the service after a change means you accept it.

13. Governing law

This agreement is governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada that apply there. Any dispute with us will be brought in the courts of Ontario.

14. Contact

Questions about this agreement, or a report of suspected fraud, can be sent to [your contact email].

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