Marketplace safety
Evaluate the listing, the person, and the handoff
ProtoSell provides discovery, protected previews, contact controls, and reporting. You remain responsible for evaluating a project or component and any direct agreement you choose to make.
Inspect before you decide
- Read the complete description, included-items list, compatibility notes, license terms, and known limitations.
- Use approved previews to understand structure and representative content, but do not treat a preview as proof of authorship or a guarantee of the complete delivery.
- Ask the seller specific questions and keep important promises in writing before making an off-platform commitment.
Direct contact and payment
- ProtoSell's current pilot does not process payments, hold escrow, arrange delivery, or issue transaction refunds.
- Never share passwords, one-time codes, recovery codes, private keys, or full payment-card details with another user.
- Choose a lawful, traceable payment and delivery method you understand. Be cautious of pressure, secrecy, unusual overpayments, and requests to bypass written terms.
Hardware checks
- Confirm the exact model, condition, test status, included parts, voltage, power requirements, damage, and return terms directly with the seller.
- Do not energize damaged, unknown, high-voltage, battery, mains-powered, RF, laser, pressure, chemical, or heat-producing equipment without competent supervision and proper controls.
- Arrange public-place collection where practical and inspect used hardware before accepting it. ProtoSell does not certify components or their regulatory compliance.
Academic integrity
- Use projects for legitimate learning, reference, prototyping, and authorized reuse under the seller's license and your institution's rules.
- Do not submit another person's project as your own, purchase completed assessment work, impersonate a student, or use ProtoSell to evade plagiarism or examination rules.
- No listing, preview, badge, or seller statement guarantees a grade, mark, admission result, certification, or academic acceptance.
Report a concerning listing or interaction
Use the listing's report control when available. For account, privacy, IP, academic-integrity, hardware, fraud, or technical concerns that need more context, submit a support request.
These practical steps complement the Terms of Use, Acceptable Use Policy, and Hardware Safety Notice. Safety guidance reduces risk but cannot eliminate it.