Terms of Service

ShrimpBay is operated by Organics (“we”, “us”) and provides a marketplace platform connecting UK shrimp buyers and sellers. We facilitate listings, checkout, and payouts — the contract for each sale is between the buyer and the seller directly; we are not the seller of record for listed animals.

You must be 18 or over to buy or sell on ShrimpBay. Sellers may only list species on our allow-list of legitimate ornamental shrimp — this keeps banned, invasive, or inappropriate species off the platform. We can remove any listing that breaches this or our other policies.

ShrimpBay is a UK-only marketplace for sellers. When you set up payouts, you tell us whether you’re selling as a private individual or as a business/trader, and you confirm you’re based in the UK. If you’re a trader, we disclose your trading name and business address to buyers as required by law, and your sales are subject to consumer protections (including cancellation rights) that don’t apply to a private seller’s casual sale of a spare colony. Telling us the wrong thing here can affect a buyer’s legal rights, so answer honestly.

We charge a 8% commission on the sale price of each completed order, deducted automatically before payout. Under our Early Seller Adoption Offer, sellers who complete onboarding before 15 October 2026 pay 0% commission permanently, for as long as they continue selling on ShrimpBay. There are no listing or subscription fees.

All payments are processed by Stripe. Sellers are paid out to their connected Stripe account, minus our commission, once the DOA claim window on that order has closed without an open dispute — payouts are held rather than released immediately, so our DOA guarantee is enforced structurally rather than as a policy promise we have to chase after the fact. Sellers with an active Shrimpsurance subscription receive 70% of their net proceeds immediately on payment, with the remaining 30% released when the DOA claim window closes without an upheld claim. We don’t hold buyer funds ourselves outside of Stripe’s processing flow.

Sellers are responsible for packing and shipping live animals safely and legally, and for accurately describing the condition and species listed. We recommend APC or DX as couriers, as these are recognised by the trade association (OATA) as appropriate for live animals; other couriers (including Royal Mail) may be used at the seller’s own risk, since Royal Mail’s own published terms prohibit shipping live animals. Sellers must upload a timestamped photo of the packed shrimp before a shipping label is generated, and next-day dispatch may be held or flagged when forecast temperatures at either end are unsafe for live animals. Buyers are responsible for being ready to receive live animals promptly on the stated delivery day. See our All About Shrimp page for background on how UK law currently treats shrimp welfare.

We require pack-photo evidence and recommend verified, pet-safe courier methods for every shipment, and every buyer must accept these DOA terms before checkout completes. Notwithstanding anything else in these terms, ShrimpBay is not liable for DOA (dead-on-arrival) losses or their value — that liability sits with the selling account, consistent with our role as a marketplace facilitator rather than the seller of record.

Sellers must maintain an alive-on-arrival rate of at least 70% measured over any rolling 30-day period. A seller who falls below this threshold will be suspended from listing and selling until they submit an appeal and we’ve reviewed it. We may request evidence (courier records, packaging photos, DOA claim history) as part of that review.

Shrimpsurance: sellers may optionally subscribe to Shrimpsurance for £10.00 per month. While a subscription is active, ShrimpBay will cover 70% of the value of each DOA claim upheld against that seller during the review process described above. Shrimpsurance is optional, cancellable at any time, applies only to claims filed while the subscription is active, and does not change a seller’s obligation to maintain the 70% alive-on-arrival rate above.

Because listings are live animals, cancellation windows are shorter than typical goods — check each listing for its specific policy. If a buyer and seller can’t resolve an issue directly via the in-app message thread, contact us and we’ll help mediate; this doesn’t affect your statutory rights under UK consumer law.

ShrimpBay provides the platform but isn’t a party to the sale itself, and we don’t inspect animals before listing. To the extent permitted by law, our liability is limited to the commission we received on the relevant order. Nothing in these terms limits liability that can’t lawfully be limited (for example, for fraud).

These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales, and any disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

We may update these terms as ShrimpBay develops. We’ll post the updated version here with a new date; continuing to use ShrimpBay after a change means you accept the update.

shrimpbayshop@gmail.com