Terms of service

1. Who can use Encore

You must be at least 18 years old and able to enter a binding contract. Accounts are personal. You are responsible for everything done under your account, including keeping your sign in details private.

2. Our role

Encore provides the marketplace, identity verification, escrow, messaging, authentication routing, and dispute handling. The contract of sale is between the buyer and the seller. We do not own, store, inspect, or warrant the items listed, except where a gown has been authenticated by a third party and is marked as such.

3. Accounts and verification

Sellers complete identity verification before their first payout. We may request additional information where a listing is high value or where activity suggests risk. Providing false information is grounds for suspension.

4. Listing standards

• List only eligible dresses and dress bundles you own and can ship or hand over.
• Photograph the actual item: front, back, the label, and any flaws. Stock images alone are not acceptable.
• Disclose alterations, staining, repairs, missing beading, and smoke or pet exposure.
• State designer, style, size, and colour accurately, and do not claim a designer you cannot evidence.
• Gowns above the value threshold must pass independent authentication before going live.
• Counterfeit or replica items are prohibited and are removed on discovery.

5. Buying

Placing a deposit reserves an item and creates a binding commitment to complete the purchase unless a claim is upheld. The deposit is twenty five percent of the order total, and the dress comes off the shop as soon as it is paid. Read the listing and the measurements carefully before reserving; fit alone is not grounds for a refund where measurements were accurate.

6. How an order runs

• The buyer pays a twenty five percent deposit and the dress leaves the shop.
• The buyer pays the balance, and the seller receives a prepaid shipping label.
• The seller must hand the dress to the courier within twelve hours. If they do not, the order is cancelled, the buyer is refunded in full, and the dress returns to the shop.
• The tracking number is sent to the buyer as soon as the dress is on its way.
• The buyer has 24 hours from courier confirmed delivery to confirm the dress matches the listing or open a case. If we hear nothing, the seller is paid automatically.
• Opening a case freezes the money until Encore reaches a decision.
• If a case is decided for the buyer, the buyer posts the dress back with a tracking number and the seller confirms it arrived. The buyer is then refunded what they paid, less a ten percent facilitation fee on the dress price, and the seller may relist the dress.

Encore takes an eighteen percent commission on every completed sale, calculated on the dress price rather than on tax or shipping, and shown in the order summary.

7. Shipping and local pickup

Sellers ship within their stated window, using tracked shipping, and pack to protect the garment. When the buyer and seller share a city, an in person meetup may be offered instead. Meetups must take place at the suggested safe public locations. Encore does not attend meetups and is not responsible for what happens at them; both parties act at their own risk and should follow ordinary personal safety precautions.

8. Payments and the Encore wallet

All payments run through Encore’s escrow. Soliciting or accepting payment outside the platform is prohibited and voids every protection we offer. See the Payments & escrow policy for how funds are held and released.

The Encore wallet is not a bank account, savings account, or place to store money. It simply shows money in transit. Money moves out of the wallet to your linked bank account as soon as a transaction is approved and verified. A pending balance from a buyer releases once the buyer confirms, or 24 hours after the courier confirms delivery. We do not hold onto money, and we do not accept liability or responsibility for revenue from a sale that a seller leaves unclaimed.

Our payment processor

Encore uses Stripe to process buyer payments and to make payouts to sellers. Payout accounts on Encore are Stripe Express connected accounts. By setting up payouts you agree to the Stripe Connected Account Agreement, which includes the Stripe Services Agreement. Accepting these Encore terms means you also accept that agreement.

To receive payouts you must give us accurate and complete information about you and, where applicable, your business, and you authorise Encore to share that information, together with transaction information relating to your payouts, with Stripe.

Stripe may obtain information about you from credit agencies to verify your identity. That information is used for the purposes described in the Stripe privacy policy.

When you provide personal data in connection with payments on Encore, Stripe receives that data and processes it under the Stripe privacy policy. Stripe’s acquiring bank disclosure is available at stripe.com/legal/financial-services-terms.

Money you earn from a sale is subject to provincial and federal tax laws. Encore does not provide tax advice, and you are responsible for reporting and paying any tax you owe.

9. Prohibited conduct

• Fraud, counterfeit goods, or misrepresenting an item.
• Moving transactions or contact away from Encore.
• Harassment, discrimination, or abusive messaging.
• Manipulating ratings, or creating multiple accounts to evade a suspension.
• Scraping, reverse engineering, or interfering with the service.

10. Content you post

You keep ownership of your photos and text, and grant Encore a nonexclusive licence to display and promote them in connection with the marketplace. You confirm you have the right to post what you upload.

11. Suspension and termination

We may limit, suspend, or close an account that breaks these terms, or where required by law. Funds relating to completed orders remain payable, subject to any open claim. You may close your account at any time once your open orders have completed.

12. Liability

To the extent permitted by law, Encore is not liable for indirect or consequential loss, including missed wedding dates, or for the condition, legality, or fit of items sold by users. Nothing here limits liability that cannot be limited by law.

13. Disputes and governing law

Order disputes are handled through the claim process in the app first. These terms are governed by the laws of the province of Alberta, Canada, and its courts, without limiting any mandatory consumer rights in your own jurisdiction.

14. Changes

We may update these terms and will note the change in the app. Continuing to use Encore after an update means accepting the revised terms; the version in force when an order is placed governs that order.