Merchant Guidelines

1. What you can sell

AwaOwn is open to merchants selling new, refurbished, or used goods and professional services across our supported categories. You must have the legal right to sell every item you list, either as the manufacturer, an authorised reseller, or the item's owner.

Strictly prohibited and will result in immediate account suspension:

• Counterfeit goods, unlicensed replicas, or items passing off as branded products.
• Stolen property or goods acquired through fraud.
• Weapons, ammunition, and explosives of any kind.
• Narcotics, controlled substances, and drug paraphernalia.
• Prescription medicines without a valid pharmacy or dispensing licence.
• Adult content, pornographic material, and services.
• Human remains, body parts, or organs.
• Financial instruments, investment schemes, and pyramid programmes.
• Any item whose sale, import, or distribution is prohibited under Nigerian law.

AwaOwn reserves the right to remove any listing that does not comply with these guidelines at any time, without prior notice.

2. Listing requirements

Every product or service listed on AwaOwn must meet the following minimum standards:

• Title: clear and specific, include brand, model, colour, size, and condition where relevant. No promotional phrases ("BEST DEAL!"), no ALL-CAPS, no keyword stuffing.
• Description: cover what the product is, what's included in the box (accessories, manual, warranty card), any known limitations, and warranty or guarantee terms if applicable.
• Condition: clearly state whether the item is New, Refurbished, or Used. For Used items, describe the condition accurately (excellent, good, fair).
• Category: list in the most accurate category available. Miscategorised listings may be recategorised or removed by AwaOwn.
• Price: the listed price must be the full amount the buyer pays for the item, excluding only clearly disclosed delivery fees.
• Stock: only list items you actually have available. Accepting orders for items you cannot fulfil harms buyer trust and your merchant metrics.

3. Photo standards

Product photography is the single biggest factor in a buyer's decision to purchase. AwaOwn requires:

• Minimum 3 photos per listing. The first photo should be the product on a clean, neutral background.
• Photos must show the actual product you are selling, not a stock image, manufacturer render, or competitor's photograph.
• Images must be clear, well-lit, and in focus. Minimum resolution of 600×600px recommended.
• For clothing and apparel, include at least one shot on a model or mannequin.
• Show any defects, wear, or damage clearly if the item is used or refurbished.
• No watermarks, promotional overlays, or text on product images.

Listings with poor or misleading photos receive lower visibility in search results and are more likely to generate returns and disputes.

4. Pricing & inventory

You control your own prices on AwaOwn. There are no minimum or maximum price requirements. However:

• Prices must be genuine. Inflating a "before" price to manufacture a false discount is prohibited and may result in listing removal.
• Promotional pricing (sales, bundle discounts) is encouraged, manage these from your merchant dashboard's Promotions section.
• Keep your inventory counts current. If an item sells out elsewhere, update or pause the listing on AwaOwn promptly to avoid accepting unfulfillable orders.
• You are responsible for setting delivery fees accurately. Surprising a buyer with a higher delivery charge at checkout than what was indicated on the product page is a listing violation.

5. Delivery with Fez

All physical orders on AwaOwn are delivered through Fez Delivery. You do not set shipping prices. Fez quotes the delivery cost automatically at checkout based on your store's location and the customer's destination state.

What you need to do when listing a product:

• Select the Package Weight band that fits your product (under 1 kg, 1-2 kg, etc.). Weight directly affects the delivery price your customer pays -- choose the band that matches without underestimating, or customers will be undercharged.
• Set Delivery Coverage: Nationwide (default, delivers to any Nigerian state) or Same State Only (customers outside your state will not see a delivery option for that product).
• Make sure your store address and state are correctly saved in Settings. Fez uses your address as the pickup location for every order.

The delivery fee is collected by the platform and does not affect your earnings. Your payout is calculated on product sales only.

6. Order fulfilment

If you anticipate a delay, supplier issues, courier problems, stock shortage, contact the buyer proactively through the order messaging system before the promised dispatch date. Most buyers are understanding when informed in advance; they are not forgiving when surprised.

7. Customer communication

• Respond to all buyer messages within 24 hours on business days (Mon–Sat). Our algorithm tracks response time and penalises merchants who consistently go silent.
• Keep communication on AwaOwn's platform so there is a documented record. Directing buyers to communicate only via private phone or WhatsApp, while not prohibited, means you lose the protection of AwaOwn's dispute records if a disagreement arises later.
• Be professional and respectful at all times. Abusive or threatening messages to buyers or AwaOwn staff are grounds for immediate suspension.
• Do not attempt to conduct transactions outside the platform. Soliciting buyers to pay you directly to avoid AwaOwn's commission is a serious policy breach.

8. Returns & refunds

You must honour all valid return requests that fall within AwaOwn's Refund Policy. Specifically:

• Respond to AwaOwn's dispute notifications within 48 hours. Failure to respond is treated as merchant fault, and a refund will be processed from your withheld payout.
• For items that are defective or not as described, process refunds promptly. Arguing against valid returns damages your rating and may result in account review.
• For change-of-mind returns, you may choose whether to accept them, but if your store advertises "free returns", that policy applies to all purchases.
• Refunds are issued to buyers from merchant-held payouts. This is why maintaining good fulfilment standards directly protects your cash flow.

9. Performance metrics

Your merchant account is evaluated on three core metrics, visible in real time on your dashboard:

• On-time dispatch rate: target ≥ 95%. Orders dispatched within your stated window. Calculated as a 30-day rolling average.
• Order defect rate: target ≤ 3%. Combines return requests, dispute losses, and negative buyer ratings. Calculated as a 30-day rolling average.
• Buyer response time: target ≤ 24 hours. Median response time to buyer messages.

Consequences of sustained underperformance:

• Yellow warning: issued when one metric drops below target for two consecutive weeks. No action required but serves as a formal notice.
• Orange warning: issued when two metrics are below target simultaneously, or the same metric has been below target for four weeks. A remediation plan is requested.
• Temporary suspension: applied if no improvement is shown within 14 days of an orange warning, or if the defect rate exceeds 10%.
• Permanent closure: reserved for persistent non-compliance, fraud, and egregious policy violations.

10. Staying verified

Your verified status is tied to the identity and bank account details you submitted during registration. You must notify AwaOwn within 7 days if:

• Your business name or trading name changes.
• Your payout bank account changes.
• Your registered phone number or email address changes.
• Your business ceases operations or is transferred to a new owner.

Operating under a materially false identity is grounds for immediate and permanent closure. Re-registering under a new identity after a ban is also prohibited and may be referred to relevant Nigerian authorities.

11. Prohibited behaviour

In addition to listing violations, the following behaviours will result in suspension or permanent closure:

• Off-platform diversion: asking buyers to pay outside AwaOwn to avoid commissions.
• Review manipulation: offering refunds, free products, or payments in exchange for positive reviews; creating fake buyer accounts to leave reviews; coercing buyers to change negative reviews.
• Data misuse: using buyer contact details obtained through AwaOwn for any purpose other than fulfilling their order. You may not add buyers to marketing lists or share their data with third parties.
• Multiple accounts: operating more than one merchant account to bypass suspension, metrics, or restrictions.
• Affiliate fraud: self-generating affiliate commissions on your own products, or arranging for others to do so on your behalf.
• IP infringement: listing products using unauthorised brand names, logos, or copyrighted images.

12. Merchant support

Our merchant desk exists to help you succeed, not just to enforce rules. If you have questions about listings, a tricky dispute, your performance metrics, or anything else about selling on AwaOwn, reach out:

• Email: merchants@awaown.com, responses within 1 business day, Mon–Fri.
• Dashboard help: open a support ticket directly from your merchant dashboard for order-specific issues.
• WhatsApp: available for urgent issues, number listed on our Contact page.