How sell-order escrow works

What is charged

Total escrow typically includes the order price, an establishing fee, and a small transaction management fee. The exact breakdown is shown in the conversation escrow panel. You can open a short help article for each line:

Order price

Mandatory. The listed sell-order amount held as the core of the escrow. It cannot be edited in chat - to change price, cancel the contract, use the order book in the correct market, then reopen. See order price.

Escrow establishing fee

Fixed $1.10 paid by the buyer once - when listing a buy order, or when opening against a sell / direct open. Sellers matching a funded buy do not pay it again. See escrow establishing fee.

Transaction management fee

Always paid by the buyer. Defaults to 1.1% of order price (1% site + 0.1% market owner); the buyer can raise it up to 100% for stronger support and review. The escrow panel slider shows any extra amount due and offers Change or Deposit based on balance. See transaction management fee.

Total escrow charged

The sum of order price, establishing fee, and transaction management fee. This is the full amount deducted when the buyer opens messaging on the sell order.

While escrow is held

Funds remain held until the escrow is released according to platform rules. Related chat media may stay protected until release.

Pauses and fee returns

If a contract is paused, fee returns may depend on which side reported the issue. See Why we ask about the pause reason. While escrow is held, chat images are watermarked - see about image watermarks, detecting fakes, and when marks are removed.