Clear rules for a trusted piano community
These terms form an agreement between you and PianoEtrade, operated by Mark O'Connor (PianoEtrade, we, us or our).
By creating an account, publishing content, sending an enquiry or buying a paid PianoEtrade feature, you agree to these terms and our Privacy Policy. These rules also apply whenever you browse or otherwise use the service. If you do not agree, do not use the service.
On this page
1. What PianoEtrade provides
PianoEtrade provides online advertising, search, directory, communication and optional promotional tools that help:
- private and business sellers advertise pianos;
- people find and contact piano sellers; and
- piano tuners, technicians, teachers, movers, restorers and other piano-related professionals advertise their services and receive enquiries.
Unless we clearly say otherwise for a particular service, PianoEtrade is an advertising and introduction platform only. We are not the seller, buyer, service provider, manufacturer, repairer, valuer, inspector, insurer, auctioneer, broker, agent, employer or partner of any user. We are not a party to an agreement made between users.
2. Who may use the service
You must be at least 18 and able to enter a binding agreement. A parent or legal guardian may use their own account when acting for a child, but the adult remains responsible for the account, listing, enquiry and any transaction.
People under 18 cannot create their own account or list a piano or service on PianoEtrade. A parent or legal guardian who is 18 or older must place and manage any advertisement on their behalf using the adult’s own account.
If you use PianoEtrade for a company, partnership or other organisation, you confirm that you are authorised to bind that organisation and that both you and the organisation accept these terms.
3. Accounts and security
You must give accurate, current and complete information and keep it updated. You are responsible for keeping your sign-in details secure and for activity under your account, except to the extent caused by our failure to use reasonable care. Tell us promptly if you suspect unauthorised access.
You must not create an account for someone else without authority, impersonate another person or business, hide your identity to avoid enforcement, transfer an account without permission or use automated methods to create accounts.
4. Piano listings
A free piano listing lasts for 12 months from publication on this website unless you delete it earlier. Editing a listing or buying an optional boost does not extend its listing period. Expired listings stop appearing to buyers; saved account records and existing messages remain.
A person who publishes a piano listing promises that:
- they own the piano or have the owner’s authority to advertise and sell it;
- the title, description, photos, price, location, condition, age, brand, model, serial number and other claims are honest and not misleading;
- known material defects, damage, finance, security interests, ownership disputes or safety issues are clearly disclosed;
- the piano is not stolen, counterfeit, illegally imported, subject to a product ban or recall, or otherwise unlawful to advertise or sell; and
- the listing and sale comply with consumer, product safety, tax, second-hand dealer, trade, import, export and other laws that apply to the seller.
A business seller must identify itself as a business where required and must honour the consumer rights and guarantees that apply to its sale. A private seller must not pretend to be a private seller to avoid business obligations.
5. Service advertisements
A piano-related business or professional who advertises promises that its business details, service areas, prices, availability, experience, qualifications, licences, memberships and insurance claims are accurate and can be supported.
Advertisers are independent businesses. They are responsible for their quotes, contracts, work, staff, subcontractors, licences, insurance, taxes, safety, customer information and compliance with all laws and professional obligations. PianoEtrade does not employ, supervise or control them.
6. Checks, labels and verification
We may review a listing, identity, business registration, credential or other information. A review, badge, label or moderation decision means only that the stated check was completed at that time. It is not a guarantee of identity, ownership, legality, quality, condition, qualifications, insurance, reliability, safety or future conduct.
Users must make their own checks before paying money, handing over a piano, allowing access to property or engaging a service provider.
7. Enquiries and user conduct
Use enquiries only for genuine piano or piano-service discussions. Be respectful, protect private information and keep records of important agreements. You must not send spam, threats, harassment, discriminatory content, scams, malicious files or requests for passwords, complete card numbers or unnecessary identity documents.
Contact details received through PianoEtrade may be used only for the enquiry or transaction concerned, or another purpose the person has clearly agreed to. They must not be harvested, sold, published or added to a marketing list without valid permission.
8. Prohibited content and activity
You must not use PianoEtrade to publish, promote, request or carry out:
- illegal, stolen, unsafe, recalled, counterfeit, fraudulent or misleading goods, services or content;
- content that infringes copyright, trade marks, privacy, confidentiality, publicity or other rights;
- hateful, abusive, defamatory, sexually exploitative, violent, discriminatory or otherwise seriously harmful content;
- false reviews, duplicate or irrelevant advertisements, hidden fees, bait advertising or manipulation of search, ranking, views, clicks, enquiries or boosts;
- malware, scraping, data harvesting, reverse engineering, interference with security or unreasonable automated access; or
- any attempt to evade a suspension, investigation, fee, limit or safety measure.
9. Moderation, removal and reports
We may review, refuse, correct the presentation of, limit, hide or remove content, and may warn, restrict or suspend an account, where we reasonably believe it is necessary to enforce these terms, protect users, investigate a report, comply with law or protect the service. We do not promise to monitor every listing, message or user.
Where reasonable and lawful, we will explain a significant decision and offer a way to provide relevant information or ask for review. We may preserve records and report matters to police, regulators, rights holders or safety bodies where required or appropriate.
Report suspected illegal, unsafe, fraudulent or rights-infringing content using the contact details at the end of these terms. If someone is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services. Australian users can also report eligible online harm to the eSafety Commissioner.
10. Paid boosts and other paid features
Piano listings are free unless a clearly displayed fee applies to an optional feature. A service advertiser may choose a paid, time-limited boost or another clearly described visibility feature. Availability and the total price are shown at checkout. A paid feature begins only after its payment is confirmed.
Before payment, we will display the price, currency, taxes, duration, category, start rules, ranking effect, renewal position and any special conditions. A purchase is not complete until payment is accepted and we confirm the feature.
Matching local boosted advertisements take turns above ordinary results. Their order changes every minute. Seven-day and fourteen-day boosts, and all coverage options, have the same priority. A boost applies only to searches matching its category, location and filters during its confirmed boost period. Boosted content will be clearly labelled as featured. The final ranking rules must be shown at the point of purchase.
A boost affects visibility only. It does not guarantee a particular position for the full period, a number of views or clicks, an enquiry, customer, job, price or sale. Organic and paid rankings may also be affected by location, category, filters, moderation, availability and safety rules disclosed to the user.
If we remove an advertisement because the advertiser breached these terms, the unused boost may be forfeited to the extent permitted by law. If a material platform failure means we do not supply a paid feature, we will provide the remedy required by Australian Consumer Law and any additional refund stated at purchase.
11. Payments
Paid business advertising is a monthly subscription. Existing free service adverts and adverts granted free ongoing advertising have no monthly advertising charge or expiry date. Service advertising prices vary by country. Your first saved service area should be your business home area and determines the country price. The exact monthly amount and charged currency are shown before you subscribe. Where local-currency charging is unavailable, any US-dollar alternative is clearly identified. PayPal or your bank may apply currency-conversion charges. The agreed monthly price renews automatically until cancelled. Existing subscriptions retain their agreed amount and currency. You can cancel future monthly renewal from your advertisement in your account. Cancellation preserves advertising time you have already paid for. Optional boosts are separate purchases.
Payments for PianoEtrade’s own paid features may be processed by an independent payment provider named at checkout. The payment provider’s terms and privacy practices also apply. You authorise us and the provider to charge the amount you approve and to carry out reasonable fraud checks.
Unless PianoEtrade clearly introduces a separate protected payment service in writing, payments between buyers, sellers and service providers happen outside PianoEtrade. We do not hold deposits, escrow money, sale proceeds or service fees, and we are not responsible for a user’s payment method, refund, chargeback or failure to pay.
12. Safe buying, selling and hiring
High-value instruments and home visits carry real risks. Before a transaction, users should independently confirm identity and ownership, inspect the piano, consider an independent piano technician’s inspection, check serial numbers and security interests where available, use a written agreement, verify professional credentials and insurance, and choose a traceable payment method.
Do not send money or personal documents because of pressure, move a conversation to an unsafe channel, rely only on a photograph or badge, or let an unknown person into a property without suitable precautions. Each user decides whether to proceed and bears responsibility for that decision, subject to rights that cannot legally be excluded.
13. Agreements and disputes between users
Users deal directly with one another. They decide the price, inspection, deposit, payment, transport, insurance, timing, cancellation, refund, warranty and service terms. Their agreement is between them, not with PianoEtrade.
Users should first try to resolve a disagreement directly and keep relevant messages, invoices, inspection reports and payment records. We may choose to share available platform records, restrict accounts or assist with communication where lawful, but we do not have to decide a dispute or refund money one user paid to another. Users may contact consumer agencies, police, courts or other suitable bodies.
14. Your content and intellectual property
You keep ownership of content you submit. You give PianoEtrade a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host, copy, resize, format, display, distribute and promote that content only as reasonably needed to operate, secure, improve and market PianoEtrade and your listing or advertisement. This licence lasts while the content is on the service and for a reasonable backup and legal retention period after removal.
You confirm that you have all rights and permissions needed for your content, including photographs, logos, descriptions and information about other people. You waive or consent to acts affecting moral rights only to the extent reasonably necessary for the uses above and permitted by law.
The PianoEtrade name, logo, software, design, catalogue organisation and original platform content belong to us or our licensors. Except as law permits, you may not copy or use them without written permission.
15. Third-party services and links
PianoEtrade may link to or use services supplied by others, such as maps, payments or external websites. We do not control their content, availability, security or practices. Their separate terms and privacy policies may apply. A link does not mean that we endorse the third party.
16. Availability and changes
We aim to provide a reliable service but do not promise uninterrupted, error-free or permanently available access. We may maintain, secure, improve, add, remove or change features. We will give reasonable notice where a change materially reduces a paid feature, unless urgent action is needed for security, safety or legal reasons.
You are responsible for keeping your own copy of important listing, enquiry, invoice and transaction records.
17. Suspension, closure and termination
You may stop using PianoEtrade and request account closure. We may suspend or end access where reasonably necessary because of a serious or repeated breach, non-payment, fraud risk, safety risk, legal requirement, prolonged inactivity or closure of the service.
Where reasonable and lawful, we will give notice and an opportunity to fix the issue or request review. Immediate action may be taken for urgent safety, fraud, security or legal reasons. Terms that are intended to continue—including payment obligations, intellectual property, disputes and lawful liability limits—continue after closure.
18. Australian Consumer Law
Nothing in these terms excludes, restricts or changes a consumer guarantee, right or remedy that cannot lawfully be excluded, including under the Australian Consumer Law.
The legal rights applying to a purchase from a business seller may differ from those applying to a private sale. PianoEtrade’s own paid services may also carry consumer guarantees. The actual responsibility of PianoEtrade, a seller or a service provider depends on the service supplied and the law.
19. Disclaimers and limits on liability
To the extent permitted by law, PianoEtrade does not guarantee the identity or conduct of a user; the ownership, authenticity, legality, safety, quality, condition, value or suitability of a piano; the accuracy of user content; the qualifications or work of a service provider; or the outcome of an enquiry or transaction.
To the extent permitted by law, we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, loss of profit, loss of opportunity, loss of data or damage arising from a transaction between users, except where that exclusion would be unlawful.
Where the law permits us to limit a remedy for failure to meet a guarantee relating to services, our liability is limited, at our choice, to supplying the services again or paying the reasonable cost of having them supplied again. For other claims that may lawfully be capped, our total liability is limited to the greater of A$100 and the fees you paid directly to PianoEtrade in the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim.
These limits do not apply to fraud, wilful misconduct, death or personal injury caused by negligence, or any liability that cannot legally be excluded or limited.
20. Responsibility for loss you cause
To the extent permitted by law, you must compensate PianoEtrade for reasonable loss, liability, cost or third-party claims directly caused by your unlawful conduct, your material breach of these terms, or content you submit that infringes another person’s rights. This does not require you to compensate us for loss caused by our negligence, breach of these terms or unlawful conduct.
21. Changes to these terms
We may update these terms to reflect service, legal or safety changes. We will post the new date and give reasonable notice of material changes. A change will not remove rights already accrued and will not apply retrospectively where that would be unfair or unlawful. If you do not accept a material change, you may stop using the service before it takes effect.
22. Governing law and general terms
These terms are governed by the laws of Victoria, Australia. The courts of Victoria and courts entitled to hear appeals from them have non-exclusive jurisdiction. This does not prevent a consumer from using rights available under a law that cannot be changed by agreement.
If part of these terms is invalid or unenforceable, it is read down or removed only to the minimum extent necessary and the rest continues. A delay in enforcing a right is not a waiver. You may not transfer your agreement without our written permission. We may transfer it as part of a genuine sale or reorganisation of the service, with reasonable notice and without reducing your legal rights.