It depends upon three factors: - the inspection
period agreed upon by both parties; - method of shipment; - the
method of payment selected. For instance, credit card payments are
secured fastest, whereas a paper check from the buyer can take
several days in order to allow time for the mail and fund
verification by the buyer's bank. Generally, most escrow purchases
can take from 5 to 14 days.
PayPal is a person-to-person payment service: it
does not offer any formal protections for fraud against either the
buyer or seller, so there is no guarantee for recourse if the
merchandise isn't as advertised, or the payment wasn’t made with
good funds. Escrow.com is accredited to offer protections as
prescribed by the law to both the buyer and seller.
No, however registering yourself as a user is safe,
fast, and free. We guarantee that your private contact information
will never be shared with any person or organization, for marketing
or any other purposes, without your permission.
No. Escrow.com is a neutral third-party that
protects both the buyer and seller to ensure the transaction is
processed. We have no knowledge about what is actually being sold.
In most cases, Escrow.com has a very limited relationship with
either party. If the buyer has any questions, they should contact
the seller directly.
During the Agreement Phase of the transaction, the
buyer and seller would normally negotiate who will pay the escrow
fees. Either the buyer can pay the fees, the seller pays, or the
buyer and seller each pay half of the escrow fee. In the event of a
rejection of the merchandise or cancellation of the transaction, the
buyer is responsible for escrow fees, return shipping fees, and
original shipping fee if the buyer agreed to pay. The escrow fee and
any original shipping fees will be taken out of the original payment
made to Escrow.com.
Taxes, customs and import fees are typically the
responsibility of the seller, but the seller is free to negotiate
any additional fees as part of the purchase price.
Escrow.com accepts Visa, Mastercard, American
Express, wire transfers, money orders, personal or company checks,
or cashiers checks. Credit cards are accepted only for Premier
Service level and only for transactions up to $5000.
Remember that each form of payment takes a
different length of time to process. Checks require 7 to 10 business
days, while payments with a credit card are processed within five
business days. Note that certain payment types are limited to
transactions in specific countries and currencies, and international
buyers are advised that the fastest method of payment is wire
transfer. International checks, international money orders, or any
currency other than that specified for a transaction is not
accepted. Escrow.com, at its sole discretion, reserves the right to
refuse a payment type (such as a credit card) for any transaction.
Escrow.com only accepts credit card payments for
Premier Service transactions. Please note that Premier Service
transactions are limited to $5000 USD. In addition, Escrow.com has
strict policies governing the acceptance of credit card payments.
Below are the some of the more common reasons a credit card payment
may not accepted for your transaction:
- The transaction involves time sensitive goods (i.e. tickets).
- The transaction is for certain types of merchandise, including software and services.
- The transaction does not involve shipping.
- The buyer or seller is located in certain countries.
- The name and address on the card do not match the name and address used when registering with Escrow.com.
- Information provided to Escrow.com is determined
to be incorrect, or, in certain situations, when we can not reach
you at the phone number you provided.
- A card security code is not present on a card or
is not provided to Escrow.com correctly.
- Our transaction security team detects certain
fraud indicators for a transaction.
- The card has been reported as stolen or missing,
or the card fails a screening process set up with our merchant
processor.
- You, or the other party to a transaction, have
been involved in a previous dispute or chargeback in connection with
an Escrow.com transaction.
- The transaction is in a currency other than
United States Dollars.
By special arrangement with certain sellers, the
use of credit cards for purchases may be further limited. Escrow.com
may refuse to allow a credit card as payment for any reason in our
sole discretion. Any rejection of credit card as a form of payment
is not necessarilly determined by information provided by the
cardholder. We apologize if we are unable to accept a credit card
for your transaction. In addition, when paying by credit card, you
will generally be required to sign a credit card authorization form
and FAX it to Escrow.com.
When you buy an item at a store with a check or
credit card, you are promising that the money is available in your
account. The store doesn't receive the money for another 3 to 7
days. Sending a check to Escrow.com works exactly the same way. To
ensure payment, Escrow.com waits until the money is deposited into
our trust account, which is then considered "good funds." This takes
longer, but gives buyers and sellers an extra level of security.
Before the seller sends the buyer any item,
Escrow.com must have the purchase funds in its escrow trust account.
Therefore, your credit card is charged the purchase amount plus any
escrow fees you have agreed to pay immediately after you and the
seller conclude the agreement phase of the transaction. Note that
this charge is a payment to IES's escrow trust account, not to the
seller.
It depends upon your
financial institution; some require a few hours or even a few days
before they can wire funds. We process wire transfers each business
day.
Credit Cards:
Payments with credit cards
are processed within 5 business days.
Your funds remain in our secured escrow
non-interest bearing trust account until the transaction concludes.
All of our escrow trust accounts are maintained by Internet Escrow
Services, a licensed and accredited operating subsidiary of
Escrow.com.
Escrow.com takes several steps to protect both the
buyer and seller against fraud: - all payments by the buyer are
verified as "good funds" before the seller is instructed to ship
- all shipments are tracked to ensure the seller shipped and the buyer
received the merchandise, and - if the merchandise is fraudulent,
it gives the buyer the chance to return the merchandise before
payment is released to the seller.
Online escrow services provided by Escrow.com are
provided independently and exclusively by Internet Escrow Services,
(IES), one of its operating subsidiaries. IES is fully licensed and
accredited as an escrow company and is subject to compliance with
all applicable escrow regulations, including the California
Financial and Business Code.
Escrow.com accepts most forms of payment from
international parties, but we only accept amounts in US Dollars.
Also certain countries may be prohibited from using certain forms of
payment.
Credit Cards - Credit Cards as a form of payment
are not available in Indonesia and Romania.
Checks - Checks and money orders are only accepted
when drawn on U.S. Banks.
International wire transfers - Wire transfers from
non-U.S. Banks are sent through an international clearinghouse, and
require a separate transaction fee. This fee should be added to the
buyer's payment.
The inspection period is the amount of time agreed
to by both parties in which the buyer may examine the items. The
amount of time selected can be from 1 to 30 days. The inspection
period begins when Escrow.com confirms the shipment has been
received, and the buyer must accept or reject the goods within this
period. When the buyer rejects the items, the seller has 5 days to
examine the merchandise after it is returned. buyers and sellers
should make sure the inspection period provides adequate time for
any authentication and/or appraisal process that may be necessary to
complete the transaction.
During the Agreement Phase only, either the buyer
or seller may change transaction details by logging into Escrow.com
and making changes in the Online Agreement Form. Once both parties
have agreed to the details, they must email their change requests to
ies@Escrow.com. Changes after the terms have been agreed to must
have the consent of both the buyer and the seller.
Prior to agreement of terms by both parties, the
buyer or seller can cancel the transaction. Once both parties have
confirmed transaction details in the Agreement phase, either party
may cancel the transaction only if buyer has not delivered payment.
The buyer may reject the transaction during the
inspection period after receiving the items, but the buyer is still
responsible for shipping the merchandise back to the seller, and for
paying any escrow fees.
Your funds will not be released to the seller
until you have received and approved the items you are purchasing.
This eliminates the concern for non-shipment of goods.
During the agreement of terms, the buyer and
seller agree who's paying for shipping, but the seller will
initially pay at the time of shipment. If the buyer is responsible
for the shipping charges, the shipping amount is specified by the
seller and added to the total purchase price. In this case, the
buyer is responsible for the shipping costs even if they reject the
merchandise.
For most major shipping companies, Escrow.com
provides the tracking of merchandise from the seller to the buyer as
a service. This facilitates the escrow process. In the case where
the seller or buyer uses a shipping company outside of our list, the
receiving party will have to notify Escrow.com if the merchandise
has arrived.
If the shipment was insured, the shipping company
is responsible for damages. If the shipment was not insured and the
buyer and seller cannot come to a resolution, the transaction will
likely enter into dispute resolution. In most cases, whoever shipped
the items will be responsible for any damages to the merchandise.
Buyers who refuse to receive the shipment will be
responsible for paying both the initial and return shipping fees.
The buyer's funds will be returned after the seller's shipping costs
and the escrow fees have been deducted. The seller will then be
reimbursed for their shipping costs.
When the buyer and seller agree to terms, the
inspection period is the time the buyer has to inspect the
merchandise. If the inspection period has expired, Escrow.com
assumes that the buyer has approved the merchandise, and the seller
is paid.
In the online inspection period, the buyer would
click on "Reject". At that point, the buyer is responsible for
arranging return shipment with an approved shipper. The buyer
receives returned funds only after the seller confirms receipt of
the returned items in the same condition it was sent.
If the seller allows partial rejection, upon
declining the merchandise the buyer can reject certain items. In
that case, the buyer is still responsible for return shipping and
the escrow fees.
The buyer has the inspection period (a length of
time agreed to by both parties) to approve the items. If
dissatisfied, the buyer must return the items to the seller. Once
the seller has received the items and confirmed that they are in
satisfactory condition, Escrow.com will release the funds back to
the buyer. In any case, on return, the buyer is responsible for
escrow fees, return shipping fees, and original shipping fee if the
buyer agreed to pay. The escrow fee and any original shipping fees
will be taken out of the original payment made to Escrow.com.
If the buyer and seller haven't resolved the
dispute within 60 days, the matter is sent to dispute resolution -
an arbitration process administered by the American Arbitration
Association in accordance with the provisions of its Commercial
Arbitration Rules.
Government agencies perform regular audits of its
independently licensed escrow companies. The audit examinations
serve to protect public funds, determine safety and soundness of
operations and determine compliance with escrow statutes and
regulations.
The foilowing is a list of these agencies, with our
license numbers:
Back to "How to Buy" page
