How to sell online safely with escrow
Selling through social media and chat is easy to start and hard to trust. Buyers worry about paying first, and sellers worry about shipping first. Escrow is the old answer to that problem, and it works with crypto too.
What escrow actually does
In escrow, the buyer’s payment is held by a neutral party until the deal is done. The seller knows the money exists and is locked before shipping. The buyer knows the seller can’t take it until the item arrives. With crypto, that neutral party can be a smart contract created for a single order, so the funds sit on-chain rather than in someone’s bank account.
The order lifecycle
A well-designed escrow follows a predictable path:
- The buyer reviews the order, the price and the fees, then pays into escrow.
- The seller ships within an agreed window and marks the order shipped.
- The buyer confirms receipt, and the funds are released to the seller.
- If the buyer stays silent, the funds are released after the confirmation window.
- If the seller never ships, the buyer is refunded.
Disputes are part of the deal
Sometimes a parcel goes missing or an item isn’t as described. Escrow doesn’t make that impossible. It gives both sides a fair process. Each side presents its case, an arbiter decides, and the funds stay locked until then. Good records, such as photos before shipping, tracking numbers and polite chat, are what win disputes.
Habits of sellers who rarely get disputes
- Describe items honestly, with real photos and sizes
- Ship well inside the window, not on the last day
- Pack carefully and keep the tracking or courier receipt
- Answer buyer messages quickly and keep the conversation in the order chat
- Only list what you actually have in stock
Protect your customers’ privacy
Shipping addresses and phone numbers are sensitive. Prefer a system where delivery details and chat are encrypted between buyer and seller, and don’t copy them into public groups or spreadsheets you share.
Escrow on Raste in Waletifi
Raste is Waletifi’s in-app marketplace. Each order is paid into its own TON smart contract, and the buyer sees the amount, its approximate local value, a rate countdown, the order timeline, the escrow contract address and the network fee before paying. You mark orders shipped within your category’s ship window. If you don’t ship in time, the buyer gets a full refund. Disputes go to Waletifi’s arbiter, larger verdicts need two admins, and addresses and order chat are end-to-end encrypted. Listings are shown to buyers in your country, and availability depends on your country.
