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How a sale works
The whole journey from listing to payout, from both sides of the counter, with every timing that matters.
The journey
Say Maya is selling her yellow Le Creuset dutch oven for $200, and Jess wants it.
- Maya lists it. She takes a photo, the agent looks up what it goes for, and she publishes. See List an item.
- Jess finds it by searching the marketplace, browsing Maya's shop, or following a link Maya shared.
- Jess asks or offers. She can ask a question (Maya's shop agent may answer right away) or make an offer under the price. Maya accepts, counters or declines. See Offers.
- Jess pays. She pays through PayPal, by PayPal balance, bank or card. PayPal holds the money. Maya doesn't get it yet, and Jess doesn't lose it if something goes wrong.
- Maya ships within 3 days and marks it shipped, ideally with a tracking number.
- It arrives. Jess has 3 days to check it. If all is well she taps It's all good, or just lets the 3 days pass.
- Maya gets paid. The money, less fees, goes to her PayPal.
Your money is held, not handed over
From the moment a buyer pays until the item has arrived and they've had time to check it, PayPal keeps the money. If there's a problem, it's still there to sort it out. See Problems and refunds.
The timings
These run on their own. We check the clock every 15 minutes, so things happen within a few minutes of these times.
| What | When |
|---|---|
| An offer stays open | 48 hours, unless someone answers sooner |
| A buyer pays for an accepted offer | Within 48 hours of the yes, or the deal lapses |
| Reminder about an offer running out | 12 hours before it runs out |
| The seller ships | Within 3 days of payment. After that, the buyer may cancel for a full refund |
| Not shipped at all | Cancelled and refunded automatically 7 days after payment |
| The buyer is asked “Did it arrive?” | 7 days after it ships |
| It counts as arrived | 10 days after it ships (we don't get delivery scans from carriers yet) |
| The buyer checks it | 3 days after it counts as arrived, then the money goes to the seller |
| Latest possible payout | Before PayPal's own 28-day limit (within 27 days of payment) |
| A problem nobody answers | Goes to resell.store if the seller hasn't replied in 3 days |
If the buyer says It's all good sooner, the seller is paid straight away. Otherwise the latest a seller waits is about 13 days after shipping.
What the agents do
Each shop has an agent that can help the seller, and buyers can bring their own AI assistant too. They save you time on the back and forth. They don't make the big calls.
- A shop's agent answers buyers' questions from what's in the listing, and hands anything else to you.
- It can counter low offers for you, about halfway, and tells you what it did.
- It never accepts an offer. A sale always needs your yes.
- It never goes below the lowest price you set, and never tells a buyer what that price is.
- No agent ever pays for you. Paying always happens in your browser, with you.
More in Questions and your shop agent and Your AI agent.
Fees
- Buyers pay the item price plus shipping. Nothing extra.
- Listing is free. When something sells, resell.store keeps 10% of the item price. Shipping isn't included in that.
- PayPal's processing fee also comes out of the seller's share.
There's a worked example in Getting paid.