We hold every transaction to the same line.
VaultStore takes 0% of the sale. That's architectural — there's no line item on any seller payout where we skim a percent. Buyer protection is funded by collector subscriptions, not by transaction fees. Below is exactly what we promise, exactly how it works, and exactly the line where you can hold us to it.
Refund if not as described
You have 72 hours from delivery to flag a discrepancy. We hold the funds, read the receipts, and side with the buyer when the listing didn't match what arrived.
When you flag a listing as not-as-described, the order moves into dispute hold immediately. The seller's payout for that order is paused while the dispute is open. You have 72 hours from delivery confirmation (carrier-scanned, not self-reported) to open the dispute through the order page.
The dispute window covers: condition that does not match the listed grade, missing or damaged item, wrong card sent, counterfeit, or seller-supplied photos that don't match what arrived. It does not cover buyer's remorse — if you change your mind on a card that arrived exactly as described, the seller is not on the hook.
If the receipts say the seller delivered what was listed, the funds release. If the receipts say otherwise, we refund you in full and the seller absorbs return shipping. Every outcome is written to the buyer's and seller's public trust ledger; both parties can see the call and the reasoning.
Signature confirmation on $250+
Orders over $250 ship with signature required. Buyers can't claim non-delivery; sellers can't claim a porch-pirated package. The carrier scan is the source of truth.
Every order with a total of $250 or more ships with signature confirmation required (USPS Signature Confirmation, UPS Signature Required, or carrier equivalent). This is the seller's requirement under our terms; we surface a warning at listing creation when the asking price triggers the threshold.
When the carrier records a signature scan, that's the source of truth for delivery. If the carrier scan says the package was signed for at the buyer's address and the buyer later claims non-delivery, we side with the seller. If the carrier scan is missing or the package was left without signature on a $250+ order, the seller bears the loss.
Threshold is calibrated against typical USPS / UPS coverage limits. Higher-value lanes (graded vintage, single-card sales over $2,500) require insured signature ship — surfaced at listing creation.
Dispute response within 48h
Every dispute opened on the platform is read by a real human within two business days. We side with the receipts; the call is written to both parties' public trust ledger.
When you open a dispute, it enters a queue read by an actual VaultStore operator within 48 business hours. There is no automated routing, no AI verdict, no chatbot stall — a human looks at the receipts (listing text, listing photos, seller photos, the buyer's evidence, the carrier scan, the trust ledger history of both parties) and writes a single call.
Both the call and the reasoning are published to the public trust event ledger for both the buyer and the seller. You can audit every prior dispute the operator has ruled on by visiting their /trust/<handle> page; the history is append-only and editorial-overrides are not allowed (the same policy that governs the trust score itself).
The 48-hour SLA is tracked publicly; if we miss it, the internal queue shows the breach. Repeat misses move us to a refund-by-default stance until the queue clears.
Every order gets a Transaction Passport
The order is not just a checkout row. It becomes a permanent receipt graph: item snapshot, payment state, seller evidence, carrier scans, delivery, inspection, disputes, and final receipt.
A Transaction Passport starts when the order is created and keeps collecting facts as the deal moves. Payment, seller evidence, label purchase, carrier scans, delivery, buyer confirmation, dispute evidence, resolution, refund, and final receipt each become timestamped rows attached to the same passport.
Participants can attach private evidence photos. They can also mark specific photos as safe for a redacted share link, which lets a buyer or seller prove the transaction path without exposing private counterparties or unrelated order details.
This is the layer Discord, generic protocols, and off-platform DMs do not have: the conversation, commerce action, evidence packet, route trail, inspection window, and trust outcome all collapse into one auditable record.
How this is funded
Operator time on disputes comes out of subscription revenue, not out of seller cuts. The 0% platform fee is architectural — no PaymentIntent on this site carries an application fee.
The cost of running buyer protection — the operator hours, the dispute-window funds-on-hold, the refund-default absorption when we miss the SLA — is paid by collector subscriptions (Collector $8/mo, Pro $49/mo, Elite $99/mo, Dealer $249/mo). It is not paid by sellers in a hidden cut on each sale.
This is enforced in code:lib/stripe/checkout.ts → buildSellerCheckoutParamsconstructs every PaymentIntent without a Stripe platform-fee line. The seller's payout equals the sale price minus Stripe's standard processing fee (which Stripe takes directly, not us). If we ever add a platform fee, this page will say so plainly before it ships.
What this doesn't cover
Buyer's remorse on accurate listings. Damage during carrier-handled shipping when the seller documented packaging. Disputes opened more than 72 hours after delivery scan.
- Buyer's remorse on a listing that matched the description.
- Carrier-caused damage when the seller has packaging photos showing best-practice protection.
- Disputes opened more than 72 hours after the carrier delivery scan.
- Trades and offers outside the platform — VaultStore protection only applies to orders that close on /checkout.
- Communities-room transactions (we don't let money flow through community DMs for this exact reason — there's nothing for protection to attach to).
§01Refund if not as describedYou have 72 hours from delivery to flag a discrepancy. We hold the funds, read the receipts, and side with the buyer when the listing didn't match what arrived.Read rule
When you flag a listing as not-as-described, the order moves into dispute hold immediately. The seller's payout for that order is paused while the dispute is open. You have 72 hours from delivery confirmation (carrier-scanned, not self-reported) to open the dispute through the order page.
The dispute window covers: condition that does not match the listed grade, missing or damaged item, wrong card sent, counterfeit, or seller-supplied photos that don't match what arrived. It does not cover buyer's remorse — if you change your mind on a card that arrived exactly as described, the seller is not on the hook.
If the receipts say the seller delivered what was listed, the funds release. If the receipts say otherwise, we refund you in full and the seller absorbs return shipping. Every outcome is written to the buyer's and seller's public trust ledger; both parties can see the call and the reasoning.
§02Signature confirmation on $250+Orders over $250 ship with signature required. Buyers can't claim non-delivery; sellers can't claim a porch-pirated package. The carrier scan is the source of truth.Read rule
Every order with a total of $250 or more ships with signature confirmation required (USPS Signature Confirmation, UPS Signature Required, or carrier equivalent). This is the seller's requirement under our terms; we surface a warning at listing creation when the asking price triggers the threshold.
When the carrier records a signature scan, that's the source of truth for delivery. If the carrier scan says the package was signed for at the buyer's address and the buyer later claims non-delivery, we side with the seller. If the carrier scan is missing or the package was left without signature on a $250+ order, the seller bears the loss.
Threshold is calibrated against typical USPS / UPS coverage limits. Higher-value lanes (graded vintage, single-card sales over $2,500) require insured signature ship — surfaced at listing creation.
§03Dispute response within 48hEvery dispute opened on the platform is read by a real human within two business days. We side with the receipts; the call is written to both parties' public trust ledger.Read rule
When you open a dispute, it enters a queue read by an actual VaultStore operator within 48 business hours. There is no automated routing, no AI verdict, no chatbot stall — a human looks at the receipts (listing text, listing photos, seller photos, the buyer's evidence, the carrier scan, the trust ledger history of both parties) and writes a single call.
Both the call and the reasoning are published to the public trust event ledger for both the buyer and the seller. You can audit every prior dispute the operator has ruled on by visiting their /trust/<handle> page; the history is append-only and editorial-overrides are not allowed (the same policy that governs the trust score itself).
The 48-hour SLA is tracked publicly; if we miss it, the internal queue shows the breach. Repeat misses move us to a refund-by-default stance until the queue clears.
§04Every order gets a Transaction PassportThe order is not just a checkout row. It becomes a permanent receipt graph: item snapshot, payment state, seller evidence, carrier scans, delivery, inspection, disputes, and final receipt.Read rule
A Transaction Passport starts when the order is created and keeps collecting facts as the deal moves. Payment, seller evidence, label purchase, carrier scans, delivery, buyer confirmation, dispute evidence, resolution, refund, and final receipt each become timestamped rows attached to the same passport.
Participants can attach private evidence photos. They can also mark specific photos as safe for a redacted share link, which lets a buyer or seller prove the transaction path without exposing private counterparties or unrelated order details.
This is the layer Discord, generic protocols, and off-platform DMs do not have: the conversation, commerce action, evidence packet, route trail, inspection window, and trust outcome all collapse into one auditable record.
§05How this is fundedOperator time on disputes comes out of subscription revenue, not out of seller cuts. The 0% platform fee is architectural — no PaymentIntent on this site carries an application fee.Read rule
The cost of running buyer protection — the operator hours, the dispute-window funds-on-hold, the refund-default absorption when we miss the SLA — is paid by collector subscriptions (Collector $8/mo, Pro $49/mo, Elite $99/mo, Dealer $249/mo). It is not paid by sellers in a hidden cut on each sale.
This is enforced in code:lib/stripe/checkout.ts → buildSellerCheckoutParamsconstructs every PaymentIntent without a Stripe platform-fee line. The seller's payout equals the sale price minus Stripe's standard processing fee (which Stripe takes directly, not us). If we ever add a platform fee, this page will say so plainly before it ships.
§06What this doesn't coverBuyer's remorse on accurate listings. Damage during carrier-handled shipping when the seller documented packaging. Disputes opened more than 72 hours after delivery scan.Read rule
- Buyer's remorse on a listing that matched the description.
- Carrier-caused damage when the seller has packaging photos showing best-practice protection.
- Disputes opened more than 72 hours after the carrier delivery scan.
- Trades and offers outside the platform — VaultStore protection only applies to orders that close on /checkout.
- Communities-room transactions (we don't let money flow through community DMs for this exact reason — there's nothing for protection to attach to).