How does buyer protection work?
TradeSafe holds your payment in escrow until you confirm delivery. The seller doesn't see a cent until you're satisfied.
When you buy on CrankMart, your money never goes directly to the seller. Here's exactly what happens:
Three safety pillars
- Escrow holds your funds — TradeSafe (a regulated independent escrow provider) takes your payment into a holding account. The seller can see that you've paid but cannot withdraw.
- Seller only ships once paid — Sellers wait for the "Payment confirmed" notification before dispatching. No more sellers ghosting you after a Zapper transfer.
- You confirm delivery before funds release — Once the item arrives and you're happy with it, you click "Confirm delivery" in your order page. Only then does TradeSafe release the funds to the seller's bank account.
Auto-confirm timer
If you don't click "Confirm delivery" within 24 hours of marking the item as received, funds release automatically. This protects sellers from buyers who go silent after receiving the item.
You can extend this by raising a dispute — see Something went wrong.
What's covered
- The item wasn't sent
- The item arrived damaged
- The item is significantly different from the listing
- The seller stops responding
What's NOT covered
- Buyer's remorse ("I changed my mind") — once you've confirmed delivery, the sale is final
- Cosmetic differences you could have asked about before buying (always ask for extra photos if unsure)
- Damage from your own modifications after receipt
What it costs you
Nothing extra. Buyer protection is built into every TradeSafe transaction on CrankMart at no charge to the buyer.
What it costs the seller
TradeSafe charges a small percentage of the sale value to the seller. You don't see this — your displayed price is the final price you pay.