Seller protection

When you sell on the Alama marketplace, two things are true that are not true elsewhere. A person decides every dispute, within 48 hours of it being raised. And if a buyer is refunded for something that was not your fault, we cover your loss.

This page sets out how that works: what a buyer has to show, how long each step takes, how we decide, and what we pay. It sits alongside our Terms of use, which govern the marketplace as a whole.

How a dispute starts

A buyer has 72 hours from delivery to tell us something is wrong. After that, the sale completes and your payout is released.

To open a dispute the buyer must give us three things. We do not accept a dispute without all of them.

A reason, from a fixed list. The item arrived with damage the listing did not mention; the wrong item was sent; parts are missing; or the item is counterfeit.
An explanation in their own words of what they received and how it differs from what you listed.
At least one photograph of the item as it arrived.

The moment a dispute is opened, your payout for that order is paused. It stays paused until the dispute is decided — nothing is paid out and nothing is refunded while a case is open.

What you can do

You are told straight away, and you see the buyer’s reason, their explanation and their photographs. You then have two choices.

Accept the buyer’s account. The return goes ahead, the buyer is refunded once the item is back with you, and the case closes.
Contest it. Tell us your side. The case goes to a member of our team to decide, the order stays exactly where it is, and the 48-hour clock keeps running.

You cannot decide a dispute against yourself in your own favour, and neither can the buyer. Only a member of our team can close a contested case.

A person decides, within 48 hours

Every contested dispute is read and decided by a member of the Alama team — not an automated rule, and not a support script. We compare the buyer’s photographs with your listing photographs and description, read both accounts, and reach one of two findings.

The buyer’s claim is upheld. The item is returned to you at no cost to the buyer, and the buyer is refunded when it arrives back. We record why: the item was not as described, it never arrived, or the evidence was inconclusive and we have decided in the buyer’s favour.
The buyer’s claim is rejected. The sale completes and your payout is released. We record why: the item matched the listing, the evidence did not support the claim, or the dispute was raised outside the 72-hour window.

We aim to decide within 48 hours of the dispute being raised. We measure that against every case, not just the ones that go well, and we hold ourselves to it.

What we cover

If a buyer is refunded and the decision finds that you were not at fault — for example the parcel was lost in transit, or the evidence could not settle the question and we chose to refund the buyer anyway — you have lost a sale you did nothing wrong on. We cover that loss, up to £150 per order (€150 for sales in euros).

Cover is paid to the same account your sales are paid to, and it is paid by us, from our own funds. It is never more than what you would have received from the sale.

Cover does not apply where the decision finds the item was not as you described it. That is the one finding that is against you, and it is the one case where the loss is yours.

One order can be covered once.

What this is, and what it is not

Seller protection is a policy we fund ourselves so that selling on Alama is not a gamble. It is not an insurance product, and it does not replace any rights you have in law — including your right to take a matter further if you disagree with a decision.

We can change this policy. If we do, the version on this page at the time your dispute is raised is the one that applies to it.

Questions

If you have a question about a dispute or a payment, write to hello@alama.co.uk with the order in question. A person will reply.