eBays official escrow service is Escrow com

Escrow.com (eBay’s official escrow service) makes it more comfortable for a buyer to proceed with transactions of more than $500. By using escrow, buyers gain peace of mind because they know the transaction will be completed securely and easily Another way to assure your buyer when participating in high-dollar transactions is to run a bonded auction. This type of service costs you far less time and money than an escrow service. When you want to offer escrow as a payment option in one of your sales, be sure to indicate that you’re willing to accept an escrow payment in the description area of the listing page. Be sure to clearly describe the terms. Are you willing to pay all the fees? Does the buyer pay fees?

After you have a winning buyer, either you or the buyer should sign on to Escrow.com and create a transaction. If they are not a registered member of the site, they must register with Escrow.com. Registration is free. To proceed with escrow, the buyer must send payment to Escrow.com. Escrow.com accepts all credit cards (including American Express and Discover), cashier’s checks, money orders, wire transfers, and personal or business checks. A check is subject to a ten-day delay.

After the buyer makes the payment, Escrow.com asks the seller to ship the item to the buyer. When the buyer receives the merchandise, the inspection period begins promptly at 12:01 a.m. the next weekday and continues for a time previously set by the buyer and seller. The buyer notifies Escrow.com that the merchandise is approved, and then Escrow.com releases payment to the seller. If the buyer doesn’t feel that the merchandise is what he or she ordered, the buyer must return the item to the seller in its original condition, adhering to the Escrow.com shipping requirements. The buyer also must log on to the Web site to input return shipping information.

In the event of a return, the seller has the same inspection period to ensure that the item was returned in its original condition. After that is confirmed, Escrow.com will refund the buyer (less the escrow fee and, if agreed on ahead of time, the shipping fee). Either the buyer or the seller can pay the escrow fee; the two can even split the cost. But you need to decide who will pay the fee up front and indicate this in your auction listing. The buyer is responsible for paying the escrow fee for all returns, no matter who had initially agreed to pay the fees.

Sadly, escrow service has become one of the most highly publicized scams on the Internet. Unscrupulous sellers set up fake escrow sites, sell a bunch of high-dollar items on eBay to unsuspecting buyers, and then direct the buyers to the faux escrow Web site to set up their escrow. The buyers send their money (thinking the transaction is safe). After the fraudulent seller collects a bunch of money, he or she shuts down the Web site and absconds with the money! Many buyers are gun-shy of using escrow to pay for expensive items. Consider bonding your transactions to lure higher bids and confer a guarantee to the buyer.

If you’re selling a vehicle, offering escrow can greatly enhance the activity of your sale. Escrow.com has a couple of useful services to encourage buyers and sellers to use their services:

- Inspection service: Following standard inspection procedures, trained inspection personnel go to the seller to inspect the vehicle and electronically record all information on handheld devices right in the field. Cost: $125.

- Title transfer: A real pain for those who buy vehicles online is getting the title transferred through their Department of Motor Vehicles. Vehicles sold within the fifty contiguous states can have their titles officially transferred and recorded for only $95.

Vehicle transactions come under a different fee schedule than regular merchandise.