Terms & Conditions
1. Role of the marketplace
Hoju Korean Shop operates an online marketplace that connects independent sellers and buyers.
The relevant seller is primarily responsible for the description, quality, condition, stock, packaging, fulfilment and delivery of its products and for obligations imposed on that seller by law.
Hoju Korean Shop may facilitate payment, seller settlement, dispute management and operation of the marketplace. Nothing in these Terms excludes rights or liabilities that cannot lawfully be excluded.
2. Payments and seller settlements
Amounts paid by buyers through Hoju Korean Shop may be received by the marketplace operator.
Seller settlements may be calculated after taking into account product sales, GST, platform fees, refunds, adjustments and other applicable settlement items.
A scheduled settlement date does not mean that every amount will automatically be paid. Only amounts satisfying the applicable settlement conditions will be eligible for payment.
3. Delivery confirmation and the 5-day review period
After an order is marked as delivered, the buyer may review the product and delivery status through the order page.
A buyer should report a product or delivery issue through the website within 5 days after recorded delivery where reasonably practicable.
If no issue is reported within that period, the marketplace may treat the transaction as having no outstanding issue for its internal seller-settlement process.
The 5-day period is an internal settlement rule and does not extinguish consumer rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.
4. Product issues and seller responsibility
Where goods materially differ from their description, are damaged, defective, missing, incorrectly delivered or otherwise affected by a genuine fulfilment issue, the seller must reasonably cooperate in resolving the matter.
The marketplace may temporarily hold relevant seller funds while a genuine issue is being reviewed.
5. Disclosure of seller contact details in disputes
A seller personal telephone number or direct email address is not ordinarily disclosed to buyers during a normal transaction.
Where a genuine transaction dispute arises, the seller registered email address may be disclosed to the buyer to the extent reasonably necessary to resolve that dispute.
Where a serious or prolonged dispute reasonably requires direct contact, the registered telephone number may be disclosed on a limited basis.
The marketplace may record the date, reason and approval relating to such disclosure.
6. Refunds, chargebacks and settlement holds
Seller funds may be held where there is a genuine buyer complaint, delivery dispute, refund request, payment reversal, chargeback, suspected fraud or another reasonable need for further review.
Disputed amounts may remain excluded from seller settlement until the relevant issue has been resolved.
7. Basic seller obligations
Sellers must accurately describe products and reasonably prepare, package and dispatch accepted orders.
Where available, accurate delivery and tracking information should be provided, and sellers must reasonably respond to genuine buyer enquiries and reported problems.
An order for which payment has been confirmed must be processed as soon as reasonably practicable and in accordance with the dispatch and delivery conditions represented to the buyer.
A seller may be responsible, subject to applicable law and these Terms, for cancellations, refunds, disputes or other consequences caused by unjustified delay or failure to fulfil delivery obligations.
8. No off-platform diversion or payment avoidance
Sellers and buyers must not intentionally divert transactions arising through Hoju Korean Shop away from the marketplace in order to avoid its payment or transaction processes.
Sellers must not use product descriptions, shop information or marketplace messaging to publish telephone numbers, direct email addresses, external websites or messaging IDs for the purpose of diverting buyers to an off-platform transaction.
9. Buyer obligations and reasonable delivery time
Buyers must provide accurate order and delivery information and should inspect the product and delivery status as soon as reasonably practicable after receipt.
After payment, buyers should allow the seller reasonable time to safely prepare, package and dispatch the goods.
Buyers should avoid repeated dispatch demands before the stated estimated delivery date. If the goods have not arrived after that date, the buyer should use seller enquiries or the marketplace dispute process.
10. Seller registration, verification and business conversion
Individual sellers may be required to complete mobile verification, while business sellers may be required to complete both mobile and email verification.
The marketplace may require an individual seller to convert to business-seller status having regard to sales volume, frequency, product quantity, continuing commercial activity or other reasonable circumstances.
During a required conversion process, relevant product and transaction data may be preserved while selling functionality is restricted.
Repeated failure to complete required conversion or verification procedures may result in restriction or removal of seller status.
11. Seller notices and changes of membership status
Operational notices, policy communications, business-conversion requests and other important seller communications may be delivered through the internal marketplace messaging system.
Sellers are responsible for regularly checking unread internal notices after signing in.
If a seller changes back to ordinary membership, shop, product, order, payment, refund and dispute records may still be retained where reasonably required for transaction integrity, accounting, dispute resolution or legal obligations.
12. False goods, unlawful conduct and fraud
It is prohibited to list false, counterfeit or non-existent goods, or to use the service for fraud, deception or conduct intended to cause financial loss to a buyer.
Where such conduct is established or reasonably suspected, the marketplace may take protective measures including hiding or removing listings, suspending sales, temporarily or permanently restricting an account, and holding settlements.
Information may be provided to a lawfully authorised authority where required or permitted by applicable law.
13. Consumer guarantees and remedies
Goods and services supplied by a business to a consumer may automatically carry consumer guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law.
Where goods have a major failure, a consumer may have rights including a refund or replacement. A non-major failure may be remedied within a reasonable time by repair or another remedy required by law.
An internal reporting period, seller refund policy or manufacturer warranty period does not extinguish consumer rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.
14. Prices, taxes and unavoidable fees
Where GST, taxes, duties or unavoidable mandatory fees must be paid by the consumer, the total price must be clearly displayed as required by applicable law.
Any reference price, discount percentage, promotional price or other pricing representation must be genuine and must not mislead consumers.
15. Receipts and proof of transaction
The marketplace and sellers may provide order confirmations, receipts, tax documentation or other transaction records and must provide documentation where required by applicable law.
A buyer seeking a refund, replacement or other consumer remedy may be required to provide reasonable proof of purchase.
16. Integrity of reviews and ratings
Buyers, sellers and the marketplace must not create or manipulate false or misleading reviews.
Sellers must not create fake reviews for their own goods or shops or arrange for another person to do so.
The marketplace will not knowingly operate reviews in a manner that misleadingly suppresses genuine negative feedback without reasonable grounds.
17. Commercial electronic messages
Marketing emails, SMS messages and other commercial electronic messages will be sent subject to any consent required by applicable law.
Commercial messages will identify the sender and provide an appropriate unsubscribe mechanism, and valid unsubscribe requests will be processed within the period required by law.
18. Australian consumer rights
These Terms operate together with applicable Australian law.
Nothing in these Terms is intended to exclude or restrict consumer rights or remedies that cannot lawfully be excluded or restricted.