Terms of Use

1. What Parchment Exchange is

Parchment Exchange is an online listing platform (a noticeboard) where coffee producers, processors, cooperatives and exporters ("sellers") list coffee, and roasters, importers and traders ("buyers") make offers and post requests. The site is open to members in any country.

We are not a party to any trade. We do not buy, sell, own, store, grade, inspect, ship or insure coffee, and we do not hold or transfer money between members. We are not a broker, agent, exchange, auctioneer or escrow service. Every contract, payment, sample, shipment and dispute is between the buyer and the seller.

2. Who can use the site

• You must be at least 18 and use the site for business purposes, for yourself or for an organisation you are authorised to represent.
• The information you give us (name, company, country, contact details) must be true and kept up to date.
• You are responsible for keeping your password safe and for everything done through your account.

3. Following the law of every country involved

Members trade from many countries, and each country has its own rules for coffee. You must follow the laws of your own country and of every country the coffee passes through or is sold into, and you are responsible for making sure you are allowed to buy, sell, export or import the coffee you trade. Depending on the countries involved, this can include:

• Licences and registration: registration with your national coffee authority or board (for example as a grower, processor, miller, dealer, exporter, importer or roaster), and any national rule that coffee must be sold through an auction, exchange or registered contract.
• Export and import documents: export and import licences or permits, certificates of origin (including an ICO certificate of origin or one issued by a coffee board or chamber of commerce where required), quality certificates and export declarations.
• Plant health and food safety: phytosanitary certificates, fumigation or treatment rules, and the food-safety rules of the destination, such as US FDA food facility registration and prior notice, EU and UK food law (traceability, contaminant and pesticide limits), and registration of importers or foreign producers in markets such as Canada, China, Japan, Korea, Australia and the Gulf states.
• Customs and tax: correct customs declarations, tariff classification, duties, levies, VAT or sales tax, and income tax on your trades.
• Deforestation and traceability rules: for coffee placed on or exported from the EU market, the due diligence required by the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), including plot geolocation and proof that the coffee is deforestation-free and legally produced, and any similar rules in other markets.
• Money laundering and sanctions: anti-money-laundering and know-your-customer rules, and international sanctions and export controls (such as those of the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom). You must not use the site to trade with, for or on behalf of sanctioned persons or in sanctioned places.
• Anti-bribery: you must not offer, pay, ask for or accept bribes or improper payments, including to public officials, to win a trade, a licence or a certificate.
• Certifications and claims: organic, Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance and similar claims must be backed by a valid certificate for that lot and the rules of the destination market.

Our Trade compliance page gives a starting checklist by region. It is general information only, not legal, tax or trade advice, and it may not be complete or up to date. Rules change often, so check with the authorities in each country or a qualified adviser. A listing or an accepted offer on Parchment Exchange is not permission to trade where the law requires something else.

4. Listings and offers

• Listings must describe real coffee that you have the right to sell. Specifications (origin, grade, process, moisture, cup score, volume, certifications, geolocation availability) must be accurate and not misleading. Photos must show the actual coffee or your own facilities, and you must own them or have permission to use them.
• Only claim certifications (such as Organic or Fairtrade) that are valid for the lot.
• An offer on the site is an expression of interest. A binding sale only exists when the buyer and seller agree a contract between themselves. We recommend a written contract that covers quality, pre-shipment and arrival samples, Incoterm, shipment period, payment terms and how disputes are handled. Industry standard contracts, such as those of the Green Coffee Association or the European Coffee Federation, can help.
• When an offer is accepted, the site shares each party's email and phone number with the other so they can finish the deal.
• Private messages between members about a deal must stay professional and relate to the trade. We may review messages if a member reports abuse or fraud.
• After an offer is accepted, each side can rate the other once. Ratings must be honest and based on that deal. Offering or demanding anything in exchange for a rating, rating yourself through another account, or using ratings to threaten someone is not allowed. We may remove ratings that break these rules, but we don't judge who was right in a trade dispute.

5. Things you must not do

• Post false, copied or misleading listings, or coffee you cannot deliver.
• Commit fraud, ask for advance payments under false pretences, or impersonate another person or business.
• Use contact details you receive for spam, marketing unrelated to the deal, or resale.
• Collect data from the site by automated means, or try to access accounts or data that are not yours.
• Harass or abuse other members.
• When fees apply, deliberately move a deal that started on the site off the site to avoid the fee.

6. Fees

Free to list and trade during our launch period.

If we introduce or change fees, we will tell members by email and on the site at least 30 days before they apply. New fees only apply to offers made after that date. When a success fee applies, it is 2% of the final value the seller confirms when marking a deal completed, invoiced to the seller and payable within 30 days. Paid services such as featured listings or verification are described on the Pricing page and are not refundable once delivered.

7. Verification badge

The Verified badge means we carried out basic checks on a member's identity and business documents. It does not guarantee the member's honesty, the quality of their coffee, or that they will perform a contract. Always do your own checks before paying or shipping.

8. Your content

You keep ownership of the listings, photos and text you post. You give us a worldwide, free, non-exclusive licence to host, display, resize and share that content on the site and in promotion of the site while it is on the site. You can delete your listings at any time.

9. Suspension and removal

We may hide listings, remove content, or suspend or close accounts that break these terms or the law, or that put other members at risk. You can close your account at any time by contacting us.

10. No warranty

The site is provided "as is". We do not promise that it will always be available or error-free, or that listings, offers or members' information are accurate.

11. Limits on our liability

To the extent the law allows, we are not liable for any loss arising from trades between members, including non-delivery, non-payment, quality claims, shipping problems, fraud by another member, or lost profits. Our total liability to you for anything related to the site is limited to the fees you paid us in the 12 months before the claim, or USD 100 if you paid none. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law.

12. Disputes between members

Disputes about a trade must be resolved between the buyer and seller. We may, but do not have to, help with information we hold. You agree not to bring claims against us about another member's conduct.

13. Your responsibility to us

You will cover our reasonable costs and losses if a third party makes a claim against us because of your listings, your trades, or your breach of these terms or the law.

14. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. We will post the new version here with a new effective date and, for important changes, tell members by email. Continuing to use the site after the change means you accept it.

15. Your rights under local law

Parchment Exchange is built for business users. Even so, nothing in these terms takes away any right you have under the mandatory consumer-protection, data-protection or other laws of the country where you live that cannot be excluded by contract. If a part of these terms is not valid where you live, the rest still applies.

16. Governing law and courts

These terms are governed by the laws of Kenya, and the courts of Kenya have jurisdiction over disputes between you and us, unless the mandatory laws of your own country give you the right to use your local law or courts.

17. Language

These terms are written in English. If we provide a translation, it is for convenience only and the English version prevails if there is any difference.

18. Contact

Parchment Exchange · support@coffeeparchment.coffee · WhatsApp +1 309 290 4001