Terms & Conditions

Last updated: November 2026

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using Philatelist.co.in, or any website operated on it, you agree to be bound by these Terms & Conditions. If you do not agree, please do not use the Platform. The Platform is operated by Daqlan India Private Limited ("we", "us").

2. Eligibility

The Platform is intended for individuals aged 18 and above. By registering you confirm that you meet this requirement. If you register on behalf of a club or organisation, you confirm you are authorised to do so.

3. Accounts and Sign-in

You may register using Google, Facebook, or your phone number with a one-time code. One account belongs to one person. You are responsible for keeping your account secure and for all activity under it. Where you sign in through Google or Facebook, their own terms also apply to that sign-in.

We may suspend or close an account that breaches these Terms, is used to impersonate someone, or is used to abuse the Platform or its members.

4. Clubs and Organisations

Clubs, societies, federations and similar organisations listed on the Platform manage themselves. A club decides who may join it, on what terms, at what price, and whether a membership is approved, queried or declined.

Unclaimed listings may be created from publicly available information so that collectors can find organisations. A club may claim its listing by verifying its authority to do so. Where two parties claim the same organisation, we will ask both for evidence and decide in good faith; our decision is final for the purposes of the Platform only and does not determine any real-world entitlement.

Ownership of a listing may be transferred between people through the Platform's transfer process, which requires both parties to agree and may require our approval.

5. Club Membership

Your membership of a club is an arrangement between you and that club. Membership fees, tiers, benefits, renewal terms, lapses and refunds are set by the club. Approval, verification, suspension and removal are the club's decisions.

We provide the tools a club uses to run this. We are not a party to your membership and do not arbitrate disputes between a member and a club. Membership fees are paid to the club directly, as set out in section 6 below.

If you are removed or declined by a club, you may appeal to that club through the Platform. The outcome remains the club's decision.

6. Payments

6.1 Club membership fees are paid to the club

When you join, renew or upgrade a club membership, you pay the club directly, using the payment details the club has given on the Platform. We do not receive, hold or pass on club membership fees.

After paying, you send the club your payment reference and proof through the Platform. Your membership starts when the club confirms it has received your payment. The club sets its prices (including any GST it charges), issues its own receipts, and decides refunds under its own terms. Please keep your own record of what you paid.

If you choose to pay later, your membership is not active until you have paid the club and the club has confirmed it.

6.2 Payments to the Platform

Member plans, packages a club buys from us, and our monthly bills to clubs are our own services, charged with GST as shown at the time. Online payments are processed by our payment provider; we do not store your card or banking details. Where a paid plan or package lapses, features it enabled may stop working after any grace period shown at the time. Discount codes, where offered, are subject to the conditions shown when they are applied.

6.3 Club Terms (for clubs)

A club accepts these Club Terms when it registers, claims its listing, or adds its payment details on the Platform. The person accepting confirms they are authorised to do so for the club.

• Members pay the club. The club gives a UPI ID and/or bank account on the Platform, and members pay it directly. The club confirms each payment it receives. The club is responsible for its prices, receipts, its own GST, refunds and the membership benefits it promises.
• Platform fee. For every paid membership the club confirms on the Platform (a new member, a renewal, an upgrade, or a paid tier change the club records), the club pays us a platform fee: a percentage of the tier price, as shown to the club when it accepts these terms and on its Billing page, plus GST. A change to the percentage applies only to memberships confirmed after the change. Free memberships carry no fee.
• Monthly bill. On the 1st of each month we send the club one tax invoice for the fees of the month before, listing every membership behind it. The bill is due within the number of days shown on it. The club can pay online or by bank transfer to our account.
• Reminders. If a bill is not paid on time, we send reminders and may contact the club. Unpaid bills remain payable.
• Club details. The club confirms that its payment details, PAN and GST details (if any) are correct and keeps them up to date. Its GST number, if given, is shown on our invoices.
• Changes. If these Club Terms change, we will ask the club to accept them again.

7. Your Content

Content you upload — profile details, photographs, stamp images, Digi Albums, exhibition entries, publications, resources, testimonials, event listings, course material and messages — remains yours.

By uploading it you grant us a non-exclusive licence to store, reproduce and display it for the purpose of operating the Platform, including on a club's own website where that content forms part of that club's activity, and in previews such as listings and search results.

You confirm you have the right to upload what you upload, and that it does not infringe anyone else's rights. Content may be reviewed before or after publication and may be removed if it breaches these Terms.

8. AI Stamp Identification

The stamp identification tool uses an automated system to suggest what a stamp may be, including its country or territory, approximate year or period, theme and other descriptive characteristics.

Results are suggestions only. They are not valuations, authentications, appraisals or expert opinions, and they may be wrong. Do not rely on them when buying, selling, insuring, valuing or making any other decision of consequence. Always seek a qualified expert opinion where value matters.

Images you submit are sent to a third-party service to produce the result. Identification results and the images submitted may be visible to other users where they form part of a public gallery.

Use of the tool may be limited by quota, and access to certain features may be granted or withdrawn by your club or by us.

9. Digi Albums

Digi Albums you create are private unless you choose to make them public. A public Digi Album and the images in it can be seen, liked and followed by other users, and may appear in listings and on a club's own website where you belong to that club.

You may make a Digi Album private again at any time, but content already seen, copied or saved by others cannot be recalled.

10. Events, Exhibitions, Polls and Elections

Events — including camps, workshops, meetings, digital exhibitions, polls, elections, volunteer drives, quizzes and announcements — are created and run by the clubs that publish them.

Entry rules, eligibility, deadlines, capacity, judging criteria, awards and results are decided by that club and any judges it appoints. We provide the tools; we do not judge entries, verify results, resolve disputes about outcomes, or guarantee that an event takes place or proceeds as advertised.

Where an event is described as open to anyone, participation still requires an account. Where it is limited to a club's members, verified membership of that club is required.

Votes cast in polls and elections are recorded. Ballot confidentiality depends on how the club configures the event; do not assume anonymity unless the event says so.

11. Courses and Learning

The Platform's own reference material is provided for general interest and may be generated or assisted by automated tools. It is not authoritative and may contain errors.

Courses created by clubs or members are the responsibility of whoever created them. Certificates record completion of material on this Platform only and are not a professional or academic qualification.

12. Directory, Discovery and Contact Details

Your profile appears in the member directory according to the visibility setting you choose. Your contact details are never displayed openly. Another member must request them, and a request only succeeds where you are approved, not set to private, and have not restricted that detail. Every request is recorded, including who asked and when.

Your public profile, your stamp scans and your public Digi Albums may also appear in Google and other search engines, so that fellow collectors can find you. Your phone number and email address are never shown to search engines.

Do not use contact details obtained through the Platform for marketing, bulk messaging, or any purpose other than genuine collector-to-collector contact.

12.1 Our newsletter

Every member receives the Philatelist.co.in newsletter by email - philately news, new members, the lesson of the day and news from the site. It is switched on when you join. You can switch it off at any time in Edit Profile, or with the "stop these emails" link at the bottom of every newsletter. Emails about your own account, your clubs, events you take part in and your payments are not newsletters and are always sent.

People who are not members can sign up for the newsletter with their name, email and phone number. We confirm both before sending anything, and keep these details so that if they later join, their details are already there for them.

13. Referrals

You may refer another collector by entering their number, which opens your own messaging app so that you can invite them personally. We do not message referred people on your behalf. Please only refer people who would welcome hearing from you.

14. Acceptable Use

• Do not submit false, misleading or fraudulent information.
• Do not impersonate another person, club or organisation.
• Do not harass, abuse, threaten or spam other members.
• Do not advertise, solicit or trade without our permission.
• Do not upload unlawful, obscene or infringing material.
• Do not attempt to access accounts, data or areas you are not entitled to.
• Do not extract data in bulk by automated means, or attempt to disrupt the service.
• Do not misuse contact details, member lists or club data obtained here.

We may remove content, suspend accounts, or withdraw a club's access for breaches of these Terms.

15. Availability and Changes to the Service

We aim to keep the Platform available but do not guarantee uninterrupted service. Features may be added, changed or withdrawn. Where a change materially affects a paid package, we will give reasonable notice.

16. Websites Run by Clubs

Some clubs run their own website on the Platform, at their own web address. If you are using such a site:

• You are using the Platform, operated by Daqlan India Private Limited. These Terms and our Privacy Policy apply to you in the same way as on Philatelist.co.in.
• The club is responsible for its own content, its membership decisions, its fees and its communications with you.
• We are responsible for the service itself, including how your account and personal information are stored and protected.
• Signing in on a club's website requires a membership record with that club. Your Platform account is unaffected and continues to work elsewhere.
• Registering on a club's website creates a membership request with that club, which that club then reviews.
• Emails from a club's website are sent by us on the club's behalf, show the club's name, and are replied to at the club's own address.
• What you can see on a club's website is limited to that club's activity and members. The same content remains available on Philatelist.co.in.

If a club stops using its own address — by choice, non-renewal, or withdrawal by us — its content and members remain on Philatelist.co.in and visitors are directed there.

17. Limitation of Liability

The Platform is provided "as is" and "as available". To the extent permitted by law, we are not liable for loss arising from: disputes between members; disputes with, or decisions by, a club; membership fees paid to a club; the accuracy of stamp identification results or reference material; the conduct, outcome or cancellation of any event, exhibition, poll or election; content uploaded by others; or interruption of the service.

Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law.

18. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. Continued use of the Platform after a change constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. Material changes will be notified on the Platform.

19. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of India, and the courts at Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh shall have jurisdiction.

20. Contact

For questions about these Terms, please use our Contact page. On a club's own website that page reaches the club; for questions about the Platform itself, contact us at Philatelist.co.in.