Material Trader ("we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This policy explains what personal data we collect, how we use it, and the rights you have under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
Who we are
Material Trader is an online marketplace for buying and selling surplus and second-hand signage and vehicle-wrapping materials in the United Kingdom, operated by Material Trader Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales under company number 17238883 with its registered office at 66 Paul Street, London, EC2A 4NA, United Kingdom. For the purposes of data protection law, Material Trader Ltd is the data controller for the personal data we process about our users. You can contact us at hello@materialtrader.co.
Information we collect
- Account details - name, email address, password, and profile information.
- Listing information - descriptions, photographs, prices and locations of materials you list.
- Transaction data - orders, purchases, sales and payout details. Card payments are processed by our payment provider, Stripe; we do not store full card numbers.
- Seller payout & identity data - if you sell, Stripe collects identity information (and, where needed, identity documents) and your bank account details directly during payout setup, to verify you and pay you. We receive your verification and payout status from Stripe, not your documents or full bank details. Stripe also processes this data for its own legal compliance as an independent controller - see the Stripe Privacy Policy.
- Verification documents - if you apply for our optional verified seller or verified installer status, the documents you upload to support your application: proof of business registration (such as a company certificate, VAT certificate or business licence) for sellers; photo ID, insurance certificates, qualification cards and examples of work for installers. These are stored privately, visible only to our review team, and deleted 60 days after your application is decided; your verified status itself is kept.
- Communications - messages you exchange with other users and with our support team.
- Technical data - IP address, device and browser information, and cookie data (see our Cookie Policy).
How we use your data
- To create and manage your account and authenticate you.
- To enable you to list, buy and sell materials and to process payments and payouts.
- To facilitate communication between buyers and sellers.
- To provide customer support and resolve disputes.
- To keep the marketplace safe, prevent fraud, and comply with our legal obligations.
- To improve our services and, where you have consented, to carry out analytics.
Legal bases for processing
We rely on the following legal bases: contract (to provide the marketplace you have signed up to), legitimate interests (to keep the platform secure and improve it), legal obligation (for example, tax and accounting records), and consent (for non-essential cookies and marketing, where applicable).
Sharing your data
We share personal data only where necessary: with other users to complete transactions (for example, a buyer and seller may see limited contact or delivery details), with authorities where required by law, and with the service providers (sub-processors) who operate the platform on our behalf. We do not sell your personal data. Our sub-processors fall into these categories:
- Hosting & database - to run the platform and store your data.
- Payments - to process payments and pay sellers (Stripe). Card details, and sellers' identity and bank details for payouts, are handled by Stripe; we never store full card numbers.
- Email & notifications - to send account, order and (where you've opted in) marketing messages.
- Shipping & address lookup - to provide delivery rates, labels and UK address autocomplete.
- Security - to protect sign-in (CAPTCHA) and the platform.
- Content moderation (AI) - listing images are processed by an AI provider to check them against our content rules before they go live.
Each sub-processor is bound by a data-processing agreement and may only use the data to provide their service to us.
Seller income reporting. Where the law requires it, we report sellers' identity details and income (sales and payout totals) to the relevant tax authority - for example under the UK/EU digital-platform reporting rules ("DAC7") or the US 1099-K regime. We collect and share only the information those rules require. See clause 8 of our Terms & Conditions for more.
International transfers
Some of our service providers may process data outside the UK. Where this happens, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as UK adequacy regulations or standard contractual clauses.
Data retention
We keep your personal data for as long as your account is active, then only as long as necessary to meet our legal obligations, resolve disputes and enforce our agreements. In particular:
- Transaction records (orders, payments, payouts) - around 6 years, to meet tax and accounting requirements.
- In-app notifications - up to 180 days.
- Abandoned checkouts - up to 30 days.
- Listings you delete - removed within around 90 days.
- Verification documents - deleted 60 days after your application is decided; your verified status is kept.
- Account & profile data - deleted when you delete your account (some records may be retained where the law requires).
Your rights
Under UK data protection law you have the right to:
- access the personal data we hold about you;
- request correction of inaccurate data;
- request erasure of your data in certain circumstances;
- object to or restrict our processing of your data;
- request a copy of your data in a portable format; and
- withdraw consent at any time where we rely on consent.
You can download a copy of your data yourself at any time from Settings → Privacy, and you can delete your account from the same place. To exercise any other right, contact us at hello@materialtrader.co. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with a revised "last updated" date.