House of TCG Policy

Returns, Refunds, Cancellations and Store Credit Policy

Last updated: 9 September 2026

This policy applies to purchases made from House of TCG in South Africa.

Nothing in this policy is intended to exclude, restrict or waive any right that a consumer may have under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 ("CPA"), the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 ("ECTA"), or any other applicable South African law.

Where a provision of this policy conflicts with a mandatory provision of applicable law, the applicable law will prevail.

1. Change-of-Mind Returns

Except where a consumer has a statutory right of return, House of TCG does not offer an automatic right to return products simply because the customer has changed their mind.

House of TCG may, at its discretion, accept a voluntary change-of-mind return where:

the request is made within a reasonable period;
the product is unopened and factory sealed;
all original packaging, seals, promotional items and accessories remain intact;
the product has not been damaged, altered, tampered with or resealed;
the product remains suitable for resale as a new product; and
satisfactory proof of purchase is provided.

Acceptance of one discretionary return does not create an obligation for House of TCG to accept similar returns in the future.

Any statutory rights that apply to the transaction remain unaffected.

2. Opened Trading Card and Collectible Products

Except where applicable law provides otherwise, opened, unsealed or used trading card products and collectibles are not eligible for voluntary change-of-mind returns, refunds or exchanges.

This includes, without limitation:

booster packs;
booster boxes;
Elite Trainer Boxes;
Ultra-Premium Collections;
tins;
collection boxes;
blister packs;
booster bundles;
mystery products; and
any other sealed trading card product.

Once a product containing randomised contents has been opened, the customer cannot return it merely because they are dissatisfied with:

the cards pulled;
card rarity;
card value;
pull rates;
duplication of cards;
the absence of a particular card;
the secondary-market value of the contents; or
subsequent changes in the market value of the product.

These circumstances do not, by themselves, constitute a product defect.

This clause does not exclude any statutory right relating to goods that are genuinely defective, unsafe, incorrectly supplied, materially different from their description or otherwise returnable under applicable law.

3. Online Purchases and Statutory Cooling-Off Rights

Where the cooling-off provisions of ECTA apply to an electronic transaction, the customer may exercise the rights provided by that legislation within the applicable statutory period.

Where ECTA entitles the customer to cancel a transaction without reason or penalty:

House of TCG will provide the refund required by law;
no cancellation or payment-processing penalty will be deducted where the law requires a full refund; and
the customer may be responsible for the direct cost of returning the goods where permitted by law.

Any statutory exceptions to the cooling-off provisions remain applicable.

Nothing in this section creates a cooling-off right where ECTA or another applicable law excludes such a right.

4. Defective, Unsafe or Incorrect Goods

Products that fail to meet the standards required by the CPA will be dealt with in accordance with the consumer's statutory rights.

Where section 56 of the CPA applies, a consumer may, within the applicable statutory period, return goods that fail to satisfy the statutory standards of quality.

Where required by the CPA, the consumer may elect the applicable remedy, including:

repair, where appropriate;
replacement; or
refund.

A statutory defective-goods return will not be subject to a cancellation fee, restocking fee or payment-processing deduction where such a deduction is prohibited by law.

House of TCG may inspect and reasonably test a returned product to establish the nature and cause of an alleged defect.

5. Matters That Are Not Normally Product Defects

Subject always to applicable consumer law, the following will not ordinarily be regarded as defects:

dissatisfaction with random trading card contents or pull rates;
fluctuations in the resale or investment value of a collectible;
damage caused by the customer after delivery;
improper handling, storage, moisture exposure, heat exposure or misuse;
intentional alteration or tampering;
removal or alteration of factory seals;
defects or imperfections expressly disclosed to the customer before purchase and accepted by the customer;
minor manufacturer packaging variations that do not affect the contents, authenticity or use of the product, unless a particular packaging condition was expressly guaranteed as part of the sale; or
ordinary manufacturer variation inherent in trading card products.

Where House of TCG expressly sells an item as having a particular collectible condition, such as a specifically represented sealed-box condition, that representation will form part of the assessment.

6. Inspection of Returned Products

All returns may be inspected before a refund, exchange or store credit is processed.

House of TCG may investigate:

resealing;
substituted products;
counterfeit products;
missing items;
removed promotional items;
serial or batch inconsistencies;
damage occurring after delivery;
abuse of the returns process;
fraudulent refund requests; and
other evidence suggesting that the returned item is not in the condition in which it was supplied.

House of TCG may request photographs, packaging, courier information or other reasonable evidence necessary to investigate a return.

Where there are reasonable grounds to suspect fraud or tampering, House of TCG may delay approval for a reasonable period while the matter is investigated.

A return will not be refused merely because an inspection is required, and inspection procedures will not be used to defeat a consumer's statutory rights.

Fraudulent conduct may be referred to the relevant payment provider, financial institution or law-enforcement authority where appropriate.

PRE-ORDERS

7. Nature of Pre-Orders

Trading card products are frequently released on an allocation basis, meaning House of TCG may request a particular quantity from a distributor or supplier without being guaranteed that the full quantity requested will ultimately be supplied.

By placing a pre-order, the customer acknowledges that:

quantities may be limited;
allocations may be reduced by the manufacturer, distributor or supplier;
anticipated release dates may change;
final quantities may not be known when pre-orders initially open; and
House of TCG cannot guarantee quantities that have not yet been confirmed by its supplier.

House of TCG will not knowingly accept orders where it has no reasonable basis to intend to supply the goods.

8. Allocation-Dependent Pre-Orders

Where a product is identified as allocation dependent, the quantity requested by the customer constitutes a request for reservation and remains subject to supplier allocation.

House of TCG may confirm only part of the quantity requested.

For example, where a customer requests 100 units and House of TCG ultimately receives sufficient allocation to supply only 10 units to that customer, the customer's confirmed allocation may be reduced to 10 units.

House of TCG will use a reasonable and consistently applied method when distributing limited allocations. Relevant factors may include:

date and time of order;
quantity requested;
supplier-imposed limits;
available stock;
per-customer quantity limits;
fair distribution amongst customers; and
measures intended to prevent duplicate or abusive orders.

House of TCG reserves the right to impose reasonable quantity limits per customer, household, account, payment method or delivery address.

9. Payment for Allocation-Dependent Pre-Orders

Where practicable, House of TCG may use one or more of the following payment structures for allocation-dependent products:

9.1 Payment after allocation

House of TCG may accept the customer's pre-order request without immediately collecting the full purchase price.

Once allocation has been confirmed, House of TCG may issue an invoice, payment request or other payment instruction for the confirmed quantity.

Only the quantity confirmed to the customer will then become payable.

9.2 Reservation deposit

House of TCG may require a reasonable reservation deposit rather than the full purchase price.

Any deposit required will be disclosed before the order is placed.

The deposit will ordinarily be credited against the eventual purchase price.

If the customer cancels the pre-order, House of TCG may impose a reasonable cancellation charge where permitted under section 17 of the CPA and other applicable law.

9.3 Full pre-payment

House of TCG may, in certain circumstances, permit or require full pre-payment before final supplier allocation is known.

Full pre-payment does not remove the customer's statutory rights if House of TCG is ultimately unable to supply part or all of the order.

Where House of TCG is legally required to refund an unavailable quantity, the refund will be made in accordance with applicable law.

10. Supplier Allocation Shortfalls

Supplier allocations are outside House of TCG's direct control and may result in House of TCG receiving fewer products than requested.

Where House of TCG cannot supply all or part of a customer's order because of a supplier or distributor allocation shortfall, House of TCG may:

supply the confirmed available quantity;
offer a comparable product where appropriate and lawful;
offer store credit with the customer's agreement; or
refund the value attributable to the unavailable quantity.

Where applicable law requires a monetary refund, House of TCG will provide that refund and will not force the customer to accept store credit instead.

No payment-processing or cancellation fee will be deducted from a supplier-shortfall refund where applicable law requires the amount to be refunded in full.

House of TCG will notify affected customers as soon as reasonably practicable after the allocation shortfall becomes known.

11. Customer Cancellation of Pre-Orders

A customer wishing to cancel a pre-order before supply must contact House of TCG as soon as possible.

Where permitted by section 17 of the CPA or other applicable law, House of TCG may impose a reasonable cancellation charge.

The amount of any cancellation charge will not automatically be a fixed percentage in every case.

When determining a reasonable cancellation charge, House of TCG may consider factors permitted by law, including:

the nature of the goods;
the quantity ordered;
the value of the order;
the amount of notice provided before cancellation;
whether stock was specifically reserved or procured in reliance on the order;
House of TCG's reasonable ability to sell the stock to another customer;
normal practice within the relevant industry;
reasonable administrative costs actually incurred; and
actual non-refundable third-party payment-processing costs incurred as a result of the customer's order, to the extent that including those costs is reasonable and legally permissible.

The cancellation charge will not exceed an amount that is reasonable in the circumstances.

No cancellation charge will be imposed where applicable law prohibits one.

This section applies to customer-initiated cancellation and must not be interpreted as allowing House of TCG to deduct a cancellation charge where House of TCG itself is unable to supply goods and applicable law requires a refund.

12. Large or Unusually High-Value Pre-Orders

House of TCG may require additional confirmation before accepting unusually large, commercial-volume or high-value pre-orders.

House of TCG may:

restrict quantities;
request identity or payment verification where reasonably necessary for fraud prevention;
require manual order approval;
require a reasonable deposit;
defer collection of the balance until allocation is confirmed;
issue an invoice only after supplier allocation is known; or
offer specified payment methods for high-value orders.

An automated order acknowledgement does not necessarily constitute confirmation that the entire requested quantity has been allocated.

Where House of TCG operates an allocation-confirmation process, the confirmed allocation communicated to the customer will determine the quantity House of TCG expects to supply, subject to applicable law.

REFUNDS AND PAYMENT METHODS

13. Refund Amounts

Where a statutory right to a full refund applies, House of TCG will provide the refund required by law.

For a discretionary return that does not arise from a statutory right, House of TCG may determine the refund or store-credit value offered before accepting the return.

A refund will never exceed the amount actually paid by the customer for the relevant product or transaction, except where applicable law expressly requires otherwise.

Changes in the market or resale value of trading card products do not increase the amount of a refund.

14. Payment-Processing Fees

Payment providers charge House of TCG fees for processing transactions.

Some payment-processing charges may remain payable by House of TCG even if a transaction is later refunded.

These charges are separate from the amount refunded to a consumer under any statutory right.

Accordingly:

Supplier cancellation, non-supply or statutory refund

Where House of TCG is unable to supply goods, or where applicable law requires a refund without penalty or requires a full refund, House of TCG will not deduct its payment-processing costs from the customer's refund.

Customer-initiated cancellation

Where the customer voluntarily cancels an advance order and House of TCG is entitled by law to impose a reasonable cancellation charge, actual and non-refundable payment-processing costs may be taken into account when calculating that reasonable cancellation charge, provided that doing so is reasonable and legally permissible in the circumstances.

House of TCG does not guarantee that the cancellation charge will equal the fee charged by the payment provider.

15. Method of Refund

Where possible and appropriate, refunds will be processed back through the payment method used for the original transaction.

For card transactions, House of TCG may be required by its payment provider or card-scheme rules to refund the amount to the same card or payment channel used for the original transaction.

House of TCG may require reasonable verification before processing a refund to reduce the risk of fraud, duplicate refunds or payment diversion.

Cash or EFT refunds will not ordinarily be substituted for a card refund merely at the customer's request where the original payment provider requires the refund to be returned through the original payment method.

Where the original payment method cannot reasonably be used, House of TCG will arrange an appropriate lawful alternative.

16. Store Credit

Where a customer is entitled to a monetary refund, House of TCG may offer store credit as an alternative.

The customer is not required to accept store credit where applicable law entitles the customer to a monetary refund.

If the customer voluntarily chooses store credit:

the agreed amount will be added to the customer's House of TCG credit balance;
purchases and approved delivery charges may be deducted from that balance;
each credit or deduction will be recorded against the account; and
the credit will remain valid for at least the minimum period required by applicable law.

Where section 63 of the CPA applies, the relevant credit will not expire earlier than permitted by that section.

Store credit is not redeemable for cash unless House of TCG agrees otherwise or applicable law requires a monetary payment.

17. Return Shipping

For voluntary change-of-mind returns accepted by House of TCG, the customer is responsible for return shipping and the risk of returning the product unless otherwise agreed.

Where ECTA places the direct cost of returning goods on the customer, the customer will be responsible for that cost.

Where the CPA or another applicable law requires House of TCG to bear the risk or cost of returning defective or non-compliant goods, House of TCG will do so.

Products should be packaged appropriately to prevent damage during return transit.

18. Products Damaged During Delivery

Customers are requested to inspect delivered parcels as soon as reasonably possible.

If a parcel appears damaged, tampered with or incomplete, the customer should notify House of TCG promptly and, where possible, provide photographs of:

the external courier packaging;
shipping label;
internal packaging;
damaged product; and
any visible tampering.

Prompt notification assists House of TCG in pursuing courier or insurance claims.

Failure to provide immediate notification will not remove a statutory consumer right where such a right otherwise exists.

19. Refund Fraud and Abuse

House of TCG reserves the right to take reasonable measures to protect itself and its customers from fraud and abuse.

Examples may include:

returning different goods from those supplied;
resealing opened products;
removing cards, promotional items or accessories before return;
submitting altered proof of purchase;
knowingly making false defect claims;
duplicate refund claims;
use of multiple accounts to evade product limits; or
attempting to obtain both a payment-provider reversal and a merchant refund for the same amount.

Nothing in this section prevents a customer from exercising a legitimate statutory, banking or card-scheme right.

20. Pricing, Listing and Quantity Errors

House of TCG takes reasonable steps to ensure that product information, availability and pricing are accurate.

Where an obvious technical, typographical, pricing, stock or quantity error occurs, House of TCG may take reasonable steps permitted by applicable law to correct the error.

Where House of TCG lawfully cancels an affected transaction, any amount that must legally be refunded will be refunded.

This clause does not permit House of TCG to engage in misleading advertising or to avoid a transaction merely because the market value of a product subsequently increased.

21. How to Request a Return, Cancellation or Refund

A request must be submitted through the House of TCG Contact Form and should include:

order number;
customer's name;
product concerned;
quantity concerned;
reason for the request; and
any relevant photographs or supporting information.

House of TCG may request additional reasonable information where necessary to investigate the request.

Submitting a request does not itself mean that a discretionary return has been approved.

House of TCG will assess each request in accordance with this policy and applicable South African law.

22. Governing Law

This policy and transactions with House of TCG are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa.

Nothing in this policy limits any right that a consumer may have to approach the National Consumer Commission, Consumer Goods and Services Ombud where applicable, National Consumer Tribunal, a court of competent jurisdiction, or another competent dispute-resolution body.

House of TCG reserves the right to amend this policy from time to time, provided that no amendment will retrospectively remove a statutory right that had already accrued to a customer.

Related documents: Terms and Conditions, Shipping and Delivery Policy, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Policy.