Reporting & moderation
How to report a listing, a user, or a problem — and what MerkatoHQ's moderation team does about it.
MerkatoHQ works because the marketplace stays clean. Reporting is how you help — and how we catch what automated checks miss.
When to report
Report a listing or a user if you see:
- A prohibited or illegal item.
- A listing that’s clearly a scam, or a counterfeit passed off as genuine.
- Anyone asking you to pay outside MerkatoHQ — that defeats your protection and is against the rules.
- Harassment, abusive messages, or spam.
- A fake or misleading listing (wrong photos, impossible prices, bait-and-switch).
How to report
Use the report option on the listing or in the conversation. Tell us what’s wrong in a sentence or two — the clearer the report, the faster we can act. If you can, include a screenshot or the order reference.
Reporting is confidential. The person you report isn’t told who reported them. Report honestly — misusing reports to harass sellers is itself a violation.
What moderation does
Reports go to MerkatoHQ’s moderation team, who review them and can:
- Remove a listing that breaks the rules.
- Remove a review that’s abusive or fake.
- Restrict or ban an account for serious or repeated violations — a ban ends that account’s access to the marketplace.
Privileged actions taken by our team are recorded in an internal audit trail, so moderation decisions are accountable.
If a deal itself went wrong
Reporting is for rule-breaking and bad actors. If your specific order went wrong — item not received, or not as described — that’s a dispute, not a report. Don’t confirm receipt; open a dispute instead. See Refunds & disputes.
Staying safe
- Keep all communication and payment on MerkatoHQ. Off-platform deals have no protection.
- Never share passwords or one-time codes — MerkatoHQ staff will never ask for them.
- Trust your instincts: if a deal feels wrong, report it and walk away.