risk POLICY
1. Purpose and Scope
The present High-Value Risk Policy ("Policy") sets out the additional safeguards, disclosure standards, and risk allocations that apply to transactions on the Tuners Vault Auction Marketplace platform, located at tunersvault.com ("Tuners Vault," the "Platform," or the "Site"), where the component offered carries an elevated financial value or an elevated risk of loss, counterfeiting, misdescription, or dispute. Tuners Vault is owned and operated from the Province of Ontario, Canada.
The Policy is incorporated by reference into the Terms of Service, the User Agreement, the Buyer Agreement, the Seller Agreement, and the Settlement Agreement and Policy, and must be read together with each of them. It does not reduce any obligation those documents impose, and it does not create any guarantee, indemnity, escrow, insurance, or assurance in favour of any User. Where a conflict arises between this Policy and another Platform document on the subject matter of high-value transactions, the present Policy shall prevail.
2. Why the Policy Exists
Rare, discontinued, and motorsport components frequently attract prices well above those seen in general marketplaces. Complete engines, sequential and dog-box transmissions, forged wheel sets, carbon body panels, standalone engine management systems, turbochargers, and original equipment components no longer in production are each capable of commanding sums at which a fraudulent listing, a counterfeit part, a misidentified casting, or a lost shipment produces a serious loss. The same categories attract the greatest concentration of counterfeit production, of theft in transit, and of payment abuse. The present Policy exists to set the standard of care that Tuners Vault expects of Users in those transactions and to record, in plain terms, where the risk lies.
3. High-Value Transactions
3.1 Meaning
A transaction is treated as high value for the purposes of the present Policy where the final hammer price or accepted fixed price of a single lot meets or exceeds the threshold published on the Platform from time to time, or where Tuners Vault designates a lot as high value having regard to the nature of the component, its price history, the account history of the Seller or the Buyer, the destination of the shipment, or any indicator of elevated risk identified through the trust and safety program.
3.2 Categories Subject to Heightened Scrutiny
Without limiting the generality of Section 3.1, the following categories attract heightened scrutiny irrespective of price: complete engines, short blocks, long blocks, and cylinder heads; transmissions, transfer cases, and differentials; turbochargers, superchargers, and intercooler assemblies; forged, cast, and multi-piece wheels bearing a recognized brand; racing seats, harnesses, roll cages, and other occupant-protection equipment; standalone and factory engine management systems, control units, and calibrations; carbon-fibre and composite body panels and aerodynamic components; suspension, brake, and steering assemblies; and components represented as original equipment, discontinued, homologation, or motorsport-specification.
4. Seller Obligations in High-Value Transactions
4.1 Enhanced Description Standard
A Seller offering a component within Section 3 must describe it to a higher standard than the minimum required by Section 4.1 of the Seller Agreement. The listing must identify the manufacturer, the manufacturer part number, and any superseded number; state casting, forging, and serial numbers where the component bears them, and show them in a photograph; state the chassis code, engine code, model-year range, and VIN range to which the component is represented to apply, together with the basis of that representation; state the condition designation and the reason for removal; and disclose every known defect, repair, modification, machining operation, refinishing operation, and missing item of hardware.
4.2 Provenance and Evidence of Function
Where the Seller knows the history of a component within Section 3, that history must be disclosed. Mileage or hours accumulated, whether the donor vehicle sustained a collision, fire, flood, or overheating event, whether the component has been run since removal, and whether it has been disassembled must each be stated to the extent known. Where a compression test, a leakdown test, a borescope inspection, a pressure test, a dyno run, or a bench test has been performed, the listing should state the date, the conditions, the equipment used, and the result, and should reproduce the supporting document. Where no such test has been performed, the listing must say so rather than leave the matter to inference.
4.3 Authenticity Evidence
Counterfeit production is concentrated in precisely the categories that command the highest prices, and a counterfeit wheel, seat, harness, or fastener may fail catastrophically in service. A Seller offering a branded component within Section 3 must be able to support the attribution made, and the listing should show the markings, stampings, date codes, holograms, labels, and packaging on which the attribution rests. Where a component is an aftermarket equivalent, a reproduction, or of unknown origin, the listing must say so in terms, and must not use manufacturer branding in a manner suggesting otherwise. Re-stamping, re-labelling, or applying manufacturer markings to a component that did not bear them is prohibited without exception under Section 4.4 of the Seller Agreement.
4.4 Packing, Evidence, and Carriage
A Seller shipping a component within Section 3 should photograph the component from all sides immediately before packing, photograph every identifying number, photograph the packed carton or crate before sealing, apply uniquely identifiable tamper-evident tape or serialized seals, and retain that evidence until the transaction is closed. Outer packaging must not disclose the contents, the brand, or the value of the component, save where customs or dangerous-goods rules require it. The carrier and service level selected must be appropriate to the value, weight, and dimensions of the component, and the Seller should confirm in advance the extent to which the carrier will accept liability, since many carriers exclude or cap liability for used mechanical components and for items not packed to a published standard.
4.5 Insurance
Tuners Vault strongly recommends that a Seller insure every shipment within Section 3 to its full value, and that the Seller confirm the cover actually available before despatch rather than after a loss. The cost and procurement of insurance is the Seller's responsibility unless the Buyer has agreed to bear it as part of the shipping arrangement. Tuners Vault does not provide, arrange, underwrite, or administer insurance of any kind, and no provision of the present Policy is to be read as insurance or as a guarantee of value.
5. Buyer Obligations in High-Value Transactions
5.1 Due Diligence Before Bidding
A Buyer bidding on a component within Section 3 is expected to examine the listing with corresponding care. Every part number, casting number, and serial number should be cross-referenced against the manufacturer's own documentation. Fitment should be confirmed against the chassis code, engine code, and model year of the vehicle concerned, and against any supporting component the installation requires. Where the listing is silent on a material point, the Buyer should ask the Seller through the Platform's messaging system and obtain the answer in writing before bidding, rather than after the listing has closed.
5.2 Verification of Value and Admissibility
Before bidding, a Buyer should establish the realistic market value of the component, the cost of any rebuild or recertification the component will require, the cost of freight and, where the shipment crosses a border, the landed cost including duties, surtaxes, import taxes, and brokerage as described in the Cross-Border Duties, Taxes & Customs Policy. A Buyer should also establish that the component may lawfully be imported into and used in the Buyer's jurisdiction, since emission-related and safety-related components are frequently inadmissible even where the sale itself is lawful.
5.3 Inspection on Delivery
A Buyer receiving a component within Section 3 should inspect the outer packaging before signing for the shipment, note any visible damage on the delivery receipt before signing, photograph the packaging and the seals before opening, photograph the component on unpacking, and verify every identifying number against the listing. Where a freight shipment is accepted without notation and damage is discovered afterwards, the carrier will commonly decline the claim, and neither the Seller nor Tuners Vault bears that loss.
5.4 Prompt Notification
Where a Buyer considers that a component within Section 3 is not as described, is counterfeit, or has arrived damaged, the Buyer should notify the Seller immediately, and should preserve the packaging, the seals, and the component in the condition received. A component that has been installed, machined, disassembled, heat-cycled, or fitted to a vehicle can rarely be the subject of a successful claim, and the Buyer should therefore complete verification before proceeding to installation.
6. Additional Controls Tuners Vault May Apply
In respect of a transaction designated high value, Tuners Vault may require additional identity verification of either party before or after the close of the listing; require the Seller to provide supplementary photographs, documentation, or evidence of authenticity before a listing is published or released; delay the issuance of a settlement invoice pending verification; decline to publish or remove a listing; restrict an account pending review; require that shipment be made by a carrier offering tracking and signature confirmation; and report suspected fraud to payment processors, to carriers, or to law enforcement in accordance with Section 12.3 of the Terms of Service.
The controls described above are discretionary. Tuners Vault does not undertake to apply them in any particular case, does not warrant that their application will detect fraud or counterfeiting, and assumes no liability to any User for applying them, for declining to apply them, or for the outcome of any verification carried out. Their exercise does not convert Tuners Vault into an inspector, an authenticator, an appraiser, a guarantor, or a party to the contract of sale.
7. Payment, Settlement, and the Absence of Escrow
The settlement model described in the Settlement Agreement and Policy applies to high-value transactions without modification. Tuners Vault collects the 9.5% marketplace operations commission from the winning Buyer's credit card and takes no further part in the movement of funds. The remaining balance passes directly from the Buyer to the Seller by a method the two of them agree, and Tuners Vault does not hold, escrow, stage, or release any part of it.
Users transacting at high values should select a payment method appropriate to the sum involved and to the degree of protection they require, and should be alert to the fact that irrevocable payment methods afford no recourse once sent. A Buyer must never be induced to pay outside the Platform, to pay a party other than the Seller identified in the settlement invoice, or to pay to an account whose details arrive by an unexpected message, since the redirection of payment instructions is a common method of fraud. Any request of that kind should be reported to info@tunersvault.com before payment is made.
The chargeback restrictions in Section 9 of the Buyer Agreement and Section 9 of the Settlement Agreement and Policy apply with full force to high-value transactions, as does the automatic forfeiture of the commission deposit on failure to pay the remaining balance within the seventy-two (72) hour window.
8. Allocation of Risk
The value of a component does not alter the role of the Platform. Tuners Vault does not own, hold, inspect, test, authenticate, appraise, or insure any component, gives no warranty of any kind on any component whether new or used, and is not a party to the contract of sale. Risk of loss or damage passes from the Seller to the Buyer on delivery of the component to the carrier, and the Seller's shipping obligation is discharged on confirmed delivery, in each case as set out in the Buyer Agreement and the Seller Agreement.
Tuners Vault accepts no liability for the price paid for any component, for a difference between the price paid and the market value of the component, for the cost of rebuilding, recertifying, or replacing a component, for mechanical failure, vehicle damage, personal injury, or death arising from the installation, use, or misuse of a component, or for any consequential loss of any kind. The limitation of liability in the Terms of Service applies to high-value transactions without modification, and in every case the total aggregate liability of Tuners Vault in respect of a transaction is limited to the fees actually paid to Tuners Vault in connection with that transaction.
9. Reporting and Enforcement
Users who suspect that a high-value listing is fraudulent, that a component is counterfeit, that a payment instruction has been redirected, or that an account has been compromised should report the matter to info@tunersvault.com without delay and should preserve all relevant messages, photographs, and documents. Tuners Vault reviews such reports through its trust and safety program and may take any enforcement action available under the Terms of Service, including immediate and permanent account termination for the sale of counterfeit components or for intentional misrepresentation. No report is guaranteed to result in recovery of funds, recovery of property, prosecution, account action, or any particular outcome.
10. Relationship with Other Policies
Nothing in the present Policy displaces the obligations imposed by the Cross-Border Duties, Taxes & Customs Policy in respect of international shipments, by Section 4.7 of the Seller Agreement in respect of dangerous goods, or by Sections 4.6 and 4.7 of the Terms of Service in respect of prohibited and restricted components. A high-value component that is also a dangerous good, a regulated emission component, or a restricted item is subject to each applicable requirement cumulatively.
11. Changes to This Policy
Tuners Vault may update the present Policy from time to time, including by revising the monetary threshold published on the Platform. When material changes are made, the "Last Updated" date at the top of this document will be revised, and where required by applicable law, Users will be notified through reasonable means. Continued use of the Platform following publication of any amendment constitutes acceptance of the revised Policy.
12. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution
The present Policy shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. The dispute resolution and arbitration provisions set forth in the Terms of Service apply in full to this Policy, subject to the mandatory statutory rights preserved in those provisions.
13. Contact Information
For any questions or formal notices regarding the present Policy, please contact Tuners Vault by email at info@tunersvault.com or through the website at https://tunersvault.com.
14. Acknowledgement
By bidding on, purchasing, or listing a component to which the present Policy applies, you confirm that you have read this High-Value Risk Policy in its entirety, that you understand the standard of care it sets and the allocation of risk it records, and that you voluntarily agree to be bound by its terms.
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