Marketplace Safety
Practical guidance for keeping people and livestock safe, wherever you are.
Keep conversations on OneShoal.com
- • Use in-app messages while you agree the details. If something later goes wrong, the conversation gives us the context we need to look into it.
- • Be cautious if someone immediately pushes you onto another app, especially before you have seen the animals or the item.
- • We can only act on what we can see. Off-platform conversations are much harder for us to review.
Protect your location
- • Public listings show an approximate area only — never your exact address or precise coordinates.
- • Share exact collection details privately in messages, and only once you are comfortable with the arrangement.
- • You can change your mind at any point before a handover.
Meeting and collection
- • Agree the time, place and who is coming before the day.
- • Tell someone you trust where you are going, and take a friend where you can.
- • Meet somewhere you feel comfortable, in good light, and keep pets and children clear of tanks and equipment being moved.
- • Personal-safety norms differ from place to place. Use your own judgement about what is sensible where you are, and walk away from anything that does not feel right.
Payments
- • Payments for OneShoal.com subscriptions or promotional products are payments to OneShoal.com. Marketplace checkout is not currently available, so buyer-to-seller payment for a local handover is arranged directly between them.
- • Where you pay each other directly, OneShoal.com is not holding the money and cannot recover it for you.
- • Common risks: deposits requested before viewing, pressure to pay by gift card, cryptocurrency or a transfer with no buyer protection, and account details that change at the last moment.
- • Prefer a payment method you understand, keep your own record of what was agreed, and be wary of anyone unwilling to be paid on collection.
Livestock welfare
- • Ask about species, adult size, age, current water conditions, diet, and how long the animals have been kept.
- • Bring suitable containers, keep the journey as short and stable as you reasonably can, and manage temperature sensibly for the conditions on the day.
- • Follow suitable quarantine and acclimation practices for the species and its health status, based on expert guidance.
- • Do not buy, sell or move species that are prohibited or restricted where you or the other person are. Rules differ by country, state, region and local authority, and you remain responsible for the ones that apply to you.
What is not allowed on OneShoal.com
- • Any content that sexually exploits or endangers a child, or any attempt to contact a child, is prohibited. We remove it, disable the account and preserve what we hold.
- • Threats, incitement to violence, hate directed at people because of who they are, harassment and stalking are prohibited.
- • Fraud, scam attempts, stolen goods, weapons, drugs and other illegal goods or services are prohibited.
- • Animal cruelty, fighting animals, and the sale of species that are prohibited where the buyer or seller is are prohibited.
- • Report anything of this kind with the report link on the listing, profile or conversation. If someone is in immediate danger, contact your local emergency services first.
Report, block or get help
- • Use an available report link on the listing, profile, review or conversation that concerns you.
- • Block a member from the conversation or profile controls when that action is available.
- • For scams or payment pressure, stop the transaction, keep the in-app conversation and report the relevant content.
- • Reports are restricted to authorised review; the reported member is not shown who submitted one.
- • If anyone is in immediate danger, contact your local emergency services first.
Responsible marketplace guidance
Safety reports, compatibility checks and responsible fishkeeping guidance answer different questions. Review the welfare guidance before buying, selling or rehoming.