Every cash transaction on Sniffy is protected by escrow. Your money is held securely until the buyer confirms receipt (or the 48-hour inspection window passes without a dispute).
How It Works
When a buyer initiates a cash purchase, payment is captured via Stripe and held in escrow — not released to the seller — until the buyer confirms receipt and either releases it or lets the 48-hour inspection window pass without a dispute.
- Step 1: Buyer pays. Funds are captured and held securely.
- Step 2: Seller films a boxing video if one is required, prints the prepaid, insured USPS ground label from the trade, and ships. Tracking is attached automatically.
- Step 3: Buyer receives the bottle and confirms delivery.
- Step 4: Funds are released to the seller's connected Stripe account. (If the seller hasn't connected Stripe, the payout is flagged for manual processing.)
Dispute Window
When the buyer confirms the package arrived, a 48-hour inspection window opens. During that window the buyer can release the payment early or raise a dispute. If no dispute is raised before the window closes, funds are automatically released to the seller. Until the buyer confirms receipt, the payment stays held and nothing is released automatically.
Seller Requirements
Sellers must connect a Stripe account to receive payouts. Sniffy charges a 10% platform fee on cash sales (5% for active Sniffy Gold members), deducted from the seller's payout at release. Shipping is $10.95 for full bottles and $4.95 for decants, tracked and insured for the full sale value (up to $5,000), paid by the buyer at checkout. If the seller marks a listing as "price includes shipping & insurance", the buyer pays nothing for shipping and the actual cost of the prepaid label (USPS postage plus 1% insurance, typically $8–11) is deducted from the seller's payout at release. Buyers also pay card processing (2.9% + $0.30) at checkout; there is no Sniffy platform fee for buyers.
Cancellations & Refunds
Either party can cancel a paid order before it ships; the buyer is refunded in full and the listing returns to the marketplace. If a dispute is resolved in the buyer's favor, the purchase price is refunded to the buyer's original payment method. If the person who opened a dispute withdraws it, the trade resumes with a fresh 24-hour inspection window. Disputes are decided by a panel of community jurors together with the Sniffy team (majority binding), or by the Sniffy team if not enough jurors are available. Platform and processing fees on a fully refunded order are not retained by Sniffy. Boost and subscription fees are non-refundable.
Swap Deposits
For swap trades, each party pays a refundable deposit — $25 by default, or either party may set their own from $25 to $2,000 — plus a $2 non-refundable swap fee and $10.95 for a prepaid, insured shipping label (non-refundable once the trade proceeds). At the default deposit that is $37.95 per side. Deposits are refunded in full when both parties confirm receipt. If the swap is cancelled before either party ships, the deposit, fee and label charge are all refunded. A party who never ships, or who loses a dispute, forfeits their deposit to the other side. Cash-on-top in an uneven swap is held in escrow and paid to the receiving party minus the applicable platform fee when the swap completes.
Contact
Questions about a held payment? Email support@sniffymarketplace.com and include your trade ID.