Aurelua
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Guide 4: Frequently Asked Questions

The questions sellers actually ask. Honest answers.

Pricing & fees

How much does Aurelua cost? Free for sellers: you keep 100% of every sale, the item price and your delivery fee, with no commission and no monthly fee. Buyers pay one small, transparent Buyer Protection fee at checkout. The only charge to you is a flat R10 fee when you cash out to your bank, per cash out, not per order.

Are there hidden fees? No. The Buyer Protection fee the buyer pays covers card and Instant EFT processing, so Paystack's charges never come out of your sale. The one fee you pay is the R10 payout fee, and it is shown on the confirmation before you cash out. If your available balance is R10 or less, there is no fee.

Why is Aurelua free? What's the catch? The catch is we're early and need real sellers to test, learn, and get word-of-mouth from. We make money long-term on the next 1,000+ sellers paying transaction fees. The first 100 are paying us in feedback, evangelism, and being the data that proves the platform works.

Will the price suddenly change for me? No. If you're in the Founding 100, what you signed up for is what you have, forever. We will never retroactively charge you for features you got free. New features may launch as paid for new sellers, but Founding Members keep them free as a thank-you.

Payments

How do I get paid? You cash out yourself, whenever you choose, from your Payouts page. Paystack then sends the money to your South African bank account. Nothing is sent automatically. Two things first: add your bank details (dashboard checklist, Add your bank details) and verify your identity (the banner on Payouts: ID photo plus selfie, about a minute). Each cash out costs a flat R10, unless your available balance is R10 or less, in which case there is no fee.

How long until the money is in my account?

  • Manual EFT or cash (buyer pays you directly): immediate. It never touches Aurelua.
  • Card or Instant EFT through Aurelua: the money is released to you the moment the buyer pays if your identity and bank details are both verified. Otherwise it is held until the buyer confirms delivery, or 7 days after the order is marked delivered. Released money shows on Payouts as available to cash out; tap Cash Out Now and Paystack sends the transfer. Its status shows in Payout history.

Why is the money held? Can't I just get paid instantly? It is only held while you are unverified. Verify your identity and your bank details and each sale is released to you at payment. For an unverified seller, Buyer Protection holds the money until the buyer has the goods, which is also the trust signal that gets a stranger on Instagram to actually pay you.

What is the bank account check when I cash out? Before money leaves, Aurelua confirms that the bank account belongs to you. It runs once per set of bank details and nothing is deducted until it passes. If the account cannot be confirmed, the payout waits as Pending and you see what to fix; correct your details on the Payout details page and cash out again. If the check cannot run at all (for example Paystack is unreachable), the payout waits as Pending with nothing deducted, and you can try again later.

What if I'm not registered for tax / VAT? You don't need to be VAT-registered to use Aurelua. SA's VAT threshold is R1m turnover. Below that, you operate as a small business / sole trader. Above, you'll need to register and we'll generate VAT-inclusive invoices. We have a guide for that conversation when the time comes.

Can buyers pay with credit cards? Yes. Card and Instant EFT both work at checkout, from your first order. The processing cost is covered by the buyer's Buyer Protection fee, not by you.

Buyers

Do my buyers need to create an account? No. They tap your link, browse, add to cart, check out via WhatsApp. Aurelua doesn't force buyers to sign up. It just works like a regular online checkout — except completion happens in their WhatsApp.

What if the buyer is overseas? Today, Aurelua is built for buyers in SA paying via SA banking. International buyers can technically use card checkout, but we don't support international shipping costs / customs / currency conversion natively yet. Most sellers either ship internationally manually (off-platform) or stick to SA buyers.

Can buyers chat with me before paying? Yes — the WhatsApp checkout is literally a WhatsApp conversation. They can ask questions, send photos, negotiate. The pay-link sits in the conversation; they can tap it whenever they're ready.

Products

What kinds of products can I sell? Anything legal in SA, broadly. We've tested the platform with: florists, hair vendors, jewelry, perfume oils, candles, baked goods, art, clothes, accessories, makeup. The platform handles physical products best. Digital downloads + services aren't fully supported yet.

Can I sell custom or made-to-order items? Yes. Mark stock as 1 (or unlimited if it's a service), use the product description to set turnaround time. The buyer messages you on WhatsApp to confirm specs.

Florist-specific features (stems, colour pickers)? Yes — if your products are flowers, the platform automatically shows stem-count tiers (50, 100, 150 stems) and a colour picker. We pre-fill defaults you can customise per product.

How many products can I have? Up to 100 in the free core tier. More than enough for a focused IG seller. Power-sellers needing more (1,000+) can opt into a paid tier later.

Sharing & marketing

Where do I put my store link? Everywhere. Instagram bio, WhatsApp profile, TikTok bio, Facebook page, email signature. The link is your single most important marketing asset.

Do you do my marketing for me? No. Aurelua is a checkout + commerce platform. You drive the traffic via your existing IG/TikTok/WhatsApp. We make conversion happen.

Can I use my own custom domain (e.g., royalblooms.co.za)? Coming soon as a paid feature (~R49/mo). For now, every store lives at aurelua.com/yourbrand. Many sellers don't actually need a custom domain — your buyers come from social, where the URL is just a tap.

Can I run promo codes / discounts? Not yet — but we can add a fixed discount to specific products manually. A proper promo code system is on the roadmap.

Operations

Can I have multiple staff manage my store? Yes — Settings → Staff. You can invite team members with different roles (Manager, Support, Viewer). Free tier supports basic team access; advanced RBAC is on the roadmap.

Can I link multiple Instagram accounts? One store, one IG handle today. If you have multiple brands, claim multiple stores under the same email. (You'll have one login, but each brand is its own store URL + dashboard.)

What about delivery / shipping? Today: you handle shipping yourself. Most sellers use Pargo (pickup points), Aramex (door-to-door), Pep Paxi (cheap nationwide), or their own driver. Aurelua tracks the courier name + tracking number per order so buyers can follow up.

Coming soon: bundled courier rates so you can ship cheaper through Aurelua.

What if a buyer wants a refund? There is no refund button yet. Email info@aurelua.com with the order number and what happened, and the Aurelua team will sort it out with you.

For disputes (buyer says they didn't get the item, etc.), contact us with the order number and we will handle it with both of you. Keep your proof of delivery (photo, tracking); it decides most disputes.

Trust & safety

Is my data safe? Yes. We don't sell your data. Buyer details are visible only to you (the seller of that order). We comply with POPIA (SA's privacy law).

Can someone steal my store? No. The bio-code claim flow proves IG ownership. Once you've claimed, only the email + password you used can log in. Even Aurelua admins can't reassign your store without going through our legal process.

What if I forget my password? Use the "Forgot password" link on the login page. We'll send a reset link to your registered email.

Can buyers leave reviews? Yes — buyers can leave a review after their order is marked delivered. Reviews show on your store page as social proof.

The platform itself

Is Aurelua a marketplace like Etsy? No. We are infrastructure for your store, not a marketplace where buyers come to discover sellers. Buyers find you via your IG/TikTok/WhatsApp; Aurelua just makes their checkout work. (We may add some discovery later but it's not the core.)

Where are you based? Cape Town. The team is small and South African. Founder is Wandile Khowa.

How long has Aurelua been around? Beta-launched 2026. Built specifically for the SA informal seller market — we're not a global platform localised for SA, we're SA-first.

What's coming next? On the near-term roadmap (next 6 months):

  • Custom domains
  • Bundled courier integrations
  • WhatsApp broadcast tool
  • Customer reviews with photos
  • Working capital advances based on your sales history

We ship weekly. The fastest way to get a feature you want is to email us — we prioritise based on real seller demand.

Still have questions?

Email info@aurelua.com or WhatsApp +27 21 879 6453. We reply within 4 hours, usually within one.

— The Aurelua team