Escrow — How It Works
Escrow is the single most important protocol for safe forum commerce. The forum has community-recognized escrow agents who hold funds during trades and arbitrate disputes. Using them is cheap, almost universally effective, and the default for any non-trivial transaction.
The mechanics
- Buyer + seller agree on terms (price, deliverable, deadline)
- Both parties agree on an escrow agent (usually a long-tenured DT member)
- Buyer sends BTC to the escrow agent's address
- Escrow confirms receipt publicly in the trade thread
- Seller delivers (ships goods, completes service, transfers altcoins)
- Buyer confirms receipt + instructs escrow to release
- Escrow releases funds to seller (minus fee, typically 0.5–1%)
- Both parties leave trust feedback
If a dispute arises at step 6, escrow agent reviews evidence and decides.
Who to use as escrow
Look for these signals:
- DT inclusion — they're inside the trust circle
- Years of completed escrow trades visible in trust feedback
- Public escrow thread in Services with rates, terms, and recent trades
- Quick response time in PMs
- Reasonable fee (0.5–1% standard)
The forum has a small number of agents who handle most volume. They're well-known. If someone proposes an unfamiliar escrow, decline and propose a known one.
Costs
- Fee: typically 0.5% of trade value, with minimums around $5–$20
- For a $1000 trade, expect to pay $5–$10 total in escrow fees
- Cheaper than the expected loss from skipping escrow
When NOT to use escrow
- Trades under ~$25 where the fee is most of the trade
- Trades between two long-trusted parties with extensive prior history
- Subscription-style ongoing services where each delivery is small (instead, use escrow on a milestone basis)
Disputes
When a dispute happens:
- Both parties post evidence in the trade thread
- Escrow agent reviews
- Decision is made + funds released or refunded
- Decision is final + binding (per agreement when escrow was opened)
Good escrow agents publish detailed reasoning for disputed cases. This deters frivolous disputes and helps the community understand norms.
Building your own escrow service
Becoming an escrow agent is a long game:
- Reach Hero or Legendary rank
- Get into DT
- Have multi-year clean trust history
- Open a thread; start with very small trades
- Build reputation case-by-case over years
Most agents handle escrow as a side activity earning meaningful but not life-changing income. The market is small and personal.