Terms of Service

Effective date: October 18, 2026 · Version 2026-10-18

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of onlinetradeins.com and related services (the "Platform") operated by Online Trade-Ins ("we," "us," "our"). By creating an account, listing a vehicle, placing a bid, or otherwise using the Platform you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Platform.

1. What the Platform is, and is not

1.1 A venue, not a party. The Platform is an online venue where private vehicle owners ("Sellers") describe a vehicle and licensed motor vehicle dealers ("Dealers") submit bids to purchase it. We are not a dealer, broker, agent, auctioneer, escrow, or lender. We do not buy, sell, inspect, appraise, title, insure, transport, or take possession of any vehicle. Any sale is a transaction solely between the Seller and the Dealer.

1.2 No guarantee of sale or price. We do not guarantee that any vehicle will receive bids, that any bid will meet a reserve, that any Dealer will complete a purchase, or that any price reflects fair market value.

1.3 Information is Seller-provided. Vehicle descriptions, photos, mileage, condition answers, title and lien statements are supplied by Sellers. We may run automated checks (such as VIN decoding) but we do not verify Seller statements and make no representation about their accuracy.

2. Accounts

2.1 You must be at least 18 and able to form a binding contract. You must provide accurate information and keep it current. You are responsible for all activity under your account and for keeping your password secure.

2.2 Dealer accounts are subject to the separate Dealer Agreement, which controls in the event of a conflict with these Terms for Dealers.

2.3 We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms, the Auction Rules, or applicable law, or that we reasonably believe are fraudulent, abusive, or pose a risk to other users.

3. Listing a vehicle

3.1 By listing a vehicle you represent that you own it or are authorized to sell it; that the information you provide is accurate and complete to the best of your knowledge; that you have disclosed known material defects, accident history, title brands, and any liens; and that the odometer reading is accurate or you have disclosed that it is not.

3.2 You may list only vehicles located within an active market. You may not list the same vehicle more than once concurrently, list a vehicle you do not possess, or list stolen, salvage-without-disclosure, or otherwise unlawful vehicles.

3.3 We may decline, edit, or remove a listing at any time, including after an auction has started, where we believe it violates these Terms or the Auction Rules.

4. Auctions and bids

4.1 Auctions run under the Auction Rules published at /legal/auction-rules, which are incorporated into these Terms. The Auction Rules describe auction length, bid increments, proxy ("max") bidding, time extensions, reserves, and what happens when an auction ends.

4.2 When a sale is binding. A bid is a Dealer's binding offer to purchase the vehicle at the bid amount, conditioned only on an in-person inspection confirming the vehicle materially matches the listing. A Seller is bound when the auction ends at or above the Seller's reserve, or when the Seller accepts the top bid (always required when the bid is under the reserve or no reserve was set). Until then the Seller owes nothing: a Seller may decline an under-reserve or no-reserve bid and let the auction expire. Once a deal is underway (the card hold in Section 5 is in place), the seller fees in Section 5 apply: a success fee if the Dealer buys the vehicle, and a cancellation fee if the Seller backs out or misses the drop-off. There is no free-cancellation period.

4.3 Inspection. Dealers inspect the vehicle in person at drop-off and record the outcome on the Platform. If the vehicle materially matches the listing, the Dealer must purchase at the bid price. If it does not, the Dealer may pass (a pass for condition mismatch requires photo evidence) or propose a different price. A price more than 10% below the winning bid takes effect only if the Seller accepts it on the Platform (Section 5.8). Dealers who pass without cause may lose bidding access. We are not a party to, and do not adjudicate, the sale price agreed at the lot.

4.4 Prohibited conduct. You may not: bid on a vehicle you or your dealership has an interest in ("shill bidding"); collude with other bidders; use multiple accounts; interfere with or manipulate auction timing or software; scrape or harvest data; contact the other party outside the Platform before contact details are shared to circumvent fees; or misrepresent a vehicle or a bid.

5. Card authorization and seller fees

5.1 Listing is free. There is no fee to list a vehicle, receive bids, or decline a bid.

5.2 Card on file. Before you submit a listing, you save a payment card through our payment processor, Stripe, and agree to the card authorization in Section 5.3. Nothing is charged when you save the card.

5.3 Card authorization. When you save a card you agree to the following authorization (version 2026-10-18), which we record on your account with the time and IP address of your consent:

I authorize Online Trade-Ins to place a temporary hold on this card if my auction ends in a sale: my reserve is met, or I accept the top bid. The hold is $250 or 1% of the winning bid, whichever is more. If the dealer buys my car, the seller fee ($250 or 1% of the winning bid, whichever is more) is charged and the rest is released. Once the hold is placed the sale is binding: if I back out, or don't bring the car within 72 hours, $99 is charged as a cancellation fee. If the dealer backs out, the hold is released and I'm charged nothing.

The amounts and times above are our current defaults. The amounts that apply to you are shown when you save your card and on your listing, and do not change for a deal once the hold is placed.

5.4 The hold. When your auction ends with the reserve met, or you accept a bid under the reserve within the acceptance window, a deal begins and we place a temporary authorization hold on your saved card for the larger of the two seller fees at your winning bid (currently at least $250). A hold is not a charge. If your bank asks you to approve the hold, or the card is declined, you have 24 hours to approve it or use another card. If you do not, the deal is cancelled and nothing is charged. Once the hold is in place we share contact details as described in Section 6.1, and you book a drop-off from the Dealer's calendar before the drop-off deadline shown on your listing. The deadline is 72 hours after the hold is placed, or earlier if your card network's hold limits require it. You may renew the hold up to two times to open later drop-off dates. When you renew, a new hold is placed and the earlier one is released; your bank may briefly show both.

5.5 Seller success fee. If the Dealer records on the Platform that they bought your vehicle, we charge the seller success fee from the hold and release the rest. The fee is currently $250 or 1% of the winning bid, whichever is more, and is fixed when the deal begins.

5.6 Cancellation and no-show fee. We charge the no-show fee (currently $99) from the hold if: (a) you do not bring the vehicle to your booked drop-off and the Dealer reports a no-show after the booked time has passed; (b) you bring the vehicle but refuse to sell at the agreed price; (c) you do not book a drop-off and do not bring the vehicle by the drop-off deadline (we send a warning 24 hours before the deadline); or (d) you cancel the deal at any time after the hold is placed. We do not charge this fee automatically while a dispute you opened is pending.

5.7 No free cancellation. A deal is binding once the hold is placed. If you change your mind, cancel on the Platform so the Dealer is not left waiting; the cancellation fee in Section 5.6 applies. If you cancel before the hold is placed (for example while your bank is asking you to approve it), nothing is charged.

5.8 Price changes. If the Dealer records a purchase at a price no more than 10% below the winning bid, with a stated reason, it is treated as a completed sale. If the Dealer offers a price more than 10% below the winning bid, the sale happens only if you accept the new price on the Platform within 24 hours. If you decline or do not answer in time, there is no sale, the hold is released, and nothing is charged.

5.9 When you are not charged. If the Dealer passes on the vehicle (for a condition mismatch, a title issue, or any other reason), does not attend the drop-off, or backs out of the deal (report this on the Platform by opening a dispute), or if we cancel the auction, the hold is released and you are charged nothing. If you believe a Dealer passed without good reason, you may report it on the Platform; Dealers who pass without cause lose bidding access.

5.10 Disputes and contests. Before any fee is charged, you may open a dispute on the Platform. While a dispute is open, no fee is charged or released automatically while we review it. If it is not resolved before the hold would expire, the hold is released. After a fee is charged, you may contest it on the Platform within 72 hours. We review each dispute and contest and may charge the success fee, charge the no-show fee, release the hold, refund a charge, or uphold the charge. Refunds are at our discretion on review.

5.11 When holds disappear. A released hold is removed by your bank on its own schedule, usually within a few days. We cannot speed this up.

5.12 Dealers. Dealers pay a per-vehicle success fee for each vehicle they purchase, invoiced as described in the Dealer Agreement.

5.13 Payment processing. Payments are processed by Stripe. By saving a card you agree to Stripe's terms. Card details are collected and stored by Stripe; we store only the card brand, last four digits, expiry date, and Stripe identifiers.

5.14 No payments between Seller and Dealer flow through the Platform. Any purchase price, payoff, or other amount is handled directly between the Seller and Dealer at drop-off. We collect only the seller fees above, from the hold, and invoice Dealers separately. We recommend Sellers receive payment by cashier's check or verified electronic transfer at the Dealer's licensed place of business and never release a vehicle or title before payment clears.

6. Privacy and communications

6.1 Our Privacy Policy at /legal/privacy explains what we collect and how we use it. Your name, email, phone number, and street address are not shown to Dealers. Once the card hold for your deal is in place, your name, phone, and email are shared with the winning Dealer only, and the winning Dealer's name, phone, email, and lot address are shared with you.

6.2 By providing a phone number and opting in, you consent to receive transactional text messages about your listings and bids. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out.

7. Disclaimers

7.1 THE PLATFORM IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE." TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE MAKE NO WARRANTY ABOUT ANY VEHICLE, ANY BID, ANY DEALER, ANY SELLER, OR THE OUTCOME OF ANY TRANSACTION.

7.2 We do not warrant that the Platform will be uninterrupted or error-free. Auction timing depends on networks and systems outside our control; we may, in our discretion, extend, pause, re-run, or cancel an auction affected by a technical failure.

8. Limitation of liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE AND OUR OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND CONTRACTORS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, OR GOODWILL, ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO THE PLATFORM OR ANY VEHICLE TRANSACTION. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF THE FEES YOU PAID US IN THE TWELVE MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM OR ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100). Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations; in those jurisdictions our liability is limited to the smallest amount permitted by law.

9. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold us harmless from any claim, loss, or expense (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from your use of the Platform, your listing or bid, any vehicle transaction you enter into, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any law or third-party right.

10. Disputes between users

We may, but are not obligated to, help users resolve disputes about whether a purchase occurred, whether a drop-off was missed, or whether a vehicle matched its listing, for the purpose of applying our fees. Our determination affects only our fees and account standing; it is not a legal finding and does not resolve any claim between the Seller and the Dealer.

11. Dispute resolution with us; arbitration; class waiver

11.1 Informal resolution first. Before filing a claim, you agree to email hello@onlinetradeins.com with a description of the dispute and give us 30 days to resolve it.

11.2 Binding arbitration. Any dispute between you and us that is not resolved informally will be resolved by binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, except that either party may bring an individual claim in small-claims court. The Federal Arbitration Act governs this Section.

11.3 Class action waiver. YOU AND WE AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS ONLY IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING.

11.4 Opt-out. You may opt out of this arbitration agreement by emailing hello@onlinetradeins.com within 30 days of first accepting these Terms with your name, email, and a clear statement that you opt out.

12. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict-of-law rules, for users in California markets. For markets in other states, the governing law of that state applies where required; otherwise California law applies.

13. Changes

We may update these Terms. Material changes will be posted with a new version date and, for registered users, sent by email. Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance. The version you accepted is recorded on your account.

14. Contact

Online Trade-Ins · hello@onlinetradeins.com