Terms of Use

1. Who we are and what these terms cover

The Book Exchange is run by the Conseil Supérieur des Élèves (CoSup), the pupils' representative body of the European Schools, Wilhelmstr. 62, 75323 Bad Wildbad, Germany ("CoSup", "we"). These terms apply to everyone who uses the Book Exchange.

The Book Exchange is an independent project run by CoSup. It is not operated, endorsed or controlled by the European Schools, and the European Schools are not responsible for its content or for the processing of personal data on this platform.

2. What the Book Exchange is

The Book Exchange helps pupils of the same school sell and buy second-hand school books. Using it is free: CoSup charges no fees and takes no commission.

We may change, limit or stop features at any time, for example during maintenance. There is no right to a particular feature or to uninterrupted availability.

3. Who may use it

• The Book Exchange is only for current pupils of the European Schools that take part. Each person may have only one account.
• Your details must be true. Your display name must not pretend to be someone else and must follow the Community Guidelines.
• If you are below the age of digital consent in your country, a parent or guardian must agree before you use the Book Exchange (see the Privacy Policy).
• Keep your password secret. Tell us at once if you think someone else is using your account.
• Confirm your email address: until you do, you can look around but not sell, reserve or send messages. While Microsoft sign-in is on, an account connected to Microsoft signs in with Microsoft only.

4. Buying and selling

• A sale is an agreement only between the buyer and the seller. CoSup is not a party to it, does not act for either side and is not the seller.
• CoSup does not check the books and gives no guarantee for their condition, the description, the photos, the price, the handover or the payment. The seller is responsible for describing the book honestly; the buyer should look at the book at the handover.
• Payment is made directly between buyer and seller, in cash or by bank transfer. CoSup never handles money and offers no buyer protection. We recommend paying at the handover, or by transfer only once you have the book.
• If you are a minor, you may need your parents' agreement for a sale or purchase, depending on the law of your country and the amount.
• Reservations follow the rules shown in the app: the seller has 48 hours to accept a request; you can have at most 3 open reservations and send at most 10 requests a day; buyer and seller both confirm the handover; if only one side confirms and the other does not react within 7 days, the sale is completed automatically. Problems with a handover can be reported in the app.
• Sales between private persons are usually without warranty. If something goes wrong, first talk to each other; if that does not help, report it in the app.

5. What may not be offered

Only second-hand school books may be offered. In particular, the following are not allowed:

• copies of books (photocopies, printouts, scans, PDFs) and pirated or counterfeit books;
• books that are not yours to sell, for example stolen books or books that belong to the school or a library;
• used or non-transferable access codes and digital licences;
• anything other than school books, for example other goods, services, tickets or advertising;
• books or photos with content that is illegal or breaks the Community Guidelines;
• photos showing people, names, addresses or other personal information.

6. How you behave

The Community Guidelines are part of these terms. In particular, you may not harass, insult, threaten or deceive anyone, post illegal content, send spam, or misuse the Book Exchange or try to get around its protections.

7. Moderation and consequences

Messages are checked automatically before they are shown (see the Privacy Policy) and may be blocked. Moderators of your school and the CoSup IT team review reports. If content or behaviour breaks the law, these terms or the Community Guidelines, we may, depending on how serious it is:

• block or remove messages;
• hide listings (the seller sees the reason);
• cancel reservations;
• block an account, temporarily or permanently. A blocked account cannot sign in, and its listings are hidden.

We decide carefully and in proportion, taking into account the interests of everyone involved and the protection of minors. We tell you what we decided and why. You can object to any decision: see Reporting content.

8. Your content

Your listings, photos and messages remain yours. You allow CoSup, free of charge, to store them and show them on the Book Exchange as far as needed to run it. This ends when you delete the content or your account, except for what is described in the Privacy Policy. Only upload photos you took yourself or may use.

9. Liability

CoSup is fully liable for damage caused intentionally or by gross negligence and for injury to life, body or health. For slight negligence, CoSup is only liable for breaches of essential obligations (obligations that make the service possible at all and that you may rely on), and only up to the damage that was typical and foreseeable. Otherwise CoSup's liability is excluded, in particular for sales between users. Mandatory statutory liability remains unaffected.

10. Ending your use

You can disable or delete your account at any time in your account settings. Accounts that are not used for 12 months are deleted after a warning (see the Privacy Policy). We may block or close accounts that seriously or repeatedly break these terms.

11. Changes to these terms

We may change these terms for good reason, for example because of new features or new laws. We will tell you about important changes in the app or by email before they apply. If you do not agree, you can delete your account.

12. Applicable law and language

German law applies. If you live in another EU country, the mandatory consumer protection rules of that country still protect you. Only the German version of these terms is legally binding; the other languages are translations.

13. Contact

[email protected]. For reports and the contact point under the Digital Services Act, see Reporting content.