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), or until 72 hours after USPS shows the package delivered (7 days for a seller's first three sales) if the buyer hasn't confirmed or reported a problem by then. Sniffy trades are paid in-app only: messages arranging Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, PayPal or other off-app payments are blocked, and deals paid off Sniffy are not protected and never qualify for the Protection Vault.
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. If they've connected their bank through Stripe, it goes straight there; if not, it waits safely in their Sniffy balance and is sent automatically the moment they connect.
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. If USPS tracking shows the package delivered and the buyer neither confirms receipt nor opens a dispute within 72 hours of delivery, the payment is released to the seller automatically (we remind the buyer before that happens). For a seller's first three sales this automatic release waits 7 days after delivery instead of 72 hours; a buyer confirming receipt still pays the seller right away. Without a USPS delivery scan, the payment stays held until the buyer confirms receipt.
If a buyer's bank or card issuer opens a chargeback on a payment, the escrowed funds are frozen and nothing is paid out or refunded until the chargeback is resolved. Sniffy responds to the bank with the trade's tracking, delivery scan, messages and photos.
Seller Requirements
Sellers don't need anything set up to accept an offer, print a label or ship. To receive money they add their bank through Stripe (about 5 minutes) — right after a deal, or later from the Seller Dashboard; until then, completed sales wait in their Sniffy balance. Trades are only possible between members in the same country, because fragrance can't legally be mailed across borders. Sniffy charges a 10% platform fee on cash sales, deducted from the seller's payout at release. Shipping is the exact price of the cheapest insured, tracked USPS label from the seller's ZIP code to the buyer's address (insured for the full sale value, up to $5,000), shown to the buyer before payment and paid at checkout with no markup. Decants and samples are priced as a padded mailer, and several items from one seller ship for one charge. If the seller ships with their own label instead, the shipping the buyer paid is added to the seller's payout. 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 until the seller drops it off; 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 the Sniffy team, and the decision is binding. A member who met every Protection Vault requirement and still lost out can ask for a Vault review from the dispute; everyone else can get, at most, the other side's deposit and/or the other side not being paid. Platform and processing fees on a fully refunded order are not retained by Sniffy. Boost fees are non-refundable.
Trade Deposits
For trades, each party pays a refundable deposit — as little as 10% of your bottle's value (never under $10), or as much as you want — plus a $5 non-refundable trade fee and a prepaid, insured USPS label at its real price (the cheapest ground rate for your box, or $0 if you use your own label). The fee is non-refundable once the trade proceeds; if you paid for Sniffy's label but ship with your own, that label charge is refunded when the trade completes. Deposits are refunded in full when both parties confirm receipt. If the trade 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 trade is held in escrow and paid to the receiving party in full when the trade completes — no Sniffy fee; the person adding it pays only the 2.9% card processing on it.
Contact
Questions about a held payment? Email support@sniffymarketplace.com and include your trade ID.