Buyer Best Practices

Particl Marketplace is a trustless marketplace, meaning that no single party controls it. Instead, the marketplace runs autonomously on a decentralized network that shifts the balance of responsibilities on the users rather than on the platform’s company. That means you’ll be interacting, directly and with no other party in between, with your customers.

For this reason, it is well-advised for you to follow a range of best practices to fully enjoy all the benefits that Particl Marketplace and the global free market have to offer while avoiding any bump.

Buyer’s General

Understanding Particl Marketplace as a buyer

  • Make sure you know how Particl Marketplace and its various features work. The best way to do just that is to read the documentation contained here on the Particl Academy.

  • When first launching Particl Marketplace, it can take several minutes for it to sync with the Particl Blockchain and SMSG Network. If you don’t see any listing, it’s most likely because your client is still syncing. Just give it some more minutes to complete the process.

  • Because you can’t decipher any order update when your Particl Desktop client is locked, make sure to unlock it before you start processing and working on orders. If you don’t unlock your client, you won’t see updates until you do.

  • When placing an order with a seller, keep in mind that you still have two additional steps that you need to take. These extra steps are there to protect you from fraud.

Buyer’s Transaction Process

Buyer Due Diligence

  • Because Particl Marketplace cannot enforce any refund or reship policy, you’ll have to come to a mutual agreement with the seller if an issue arises. Before making a purchase, make sure to read the entire listing description. Sometimes, the seller may leave an email address or another way to contact them.

  • Check if an item has received comments or feedback from other users. That can give you additional information or answer some of your questions. If there aren’t any, you can leave a question to the seller yourself, and others will then be able to see it.

  • Always make sure to properly read an item’s description before you buy.

Placing an order as a buyer

  • Ensure you have at least twice the number of PART required to pay for the item and its shipping. That’s because you need to make a security deposit of 100% of the order to participate in the two-party escrow contract. The security deposit is refunded to you, without any fee, once the transaction is fully completed.

  • Regularly check your Particl Desktop client after placing a bid. You have one extra step (send funds to the escrow contract) to complete before the seller can ship your item.

  • To receive updates on your active orders, your Particl Desktop client needs to be unlocked. If you keep it unlocked, you won’t receive any update on your orders, preventing the seller from shipping your item(s).

  • When sending a bid on an item (placing an order), you can optionally provide a phone number and/or email address. While this is entirely optional, it can help if any issue arises throughout the transaction process.

Completing an order as a buyer

  • After you receive your ordered item, don’t forget to complete the order on Particl Desktop. That’s the last step required to close the deal. Failure to manually complete the order will prevent you and the seller from receiving your respective security deposits.

  • After you complete an order, don’t hesitate to leave a review, comment, or feedback on the item’s listing. That’ll let other potential buyers get helpful information for their own due diligence.

  • If there’s an issue with an item you’ve bought, but you have already completed the order, you can always leave a comment on the item’s listing page and try to reach a mutual agreement with the seller. Alternatively, if the seller has provided an external means of communication (i.e., their email address), you can reach out to them directly this way.

Dispute management as a buyer

  • If you encounter an issue or problem with an order while the escrow contract is still active, try to get in touch with the seller and find a mutually agreeable resolution. Stay calm, polite, and explain in detail what the issue is. You will need the seller to agree to the proposed solution for the funds locked in escrow to be released.

  • If you suspect the seller is not acting honestly or fairly, you can refuse to unlock the escrow contract until a resolution can be mutually agreed upon. While doing that will prevent you from getting your security deposit until a solution is found, that will also prevent the seller from getting his security deposit and your payment for the item. If a seller refuses to cooperate, you can hold them accountable this way.

Article not received/broken from seller

  • Always verify the tracking number provided by the seller before claiming a product has been lost in the mail or hasn’t shipped.

  • Call the shipping service provider with your tracking number to determine whether there has been an error in shipping the package or its processing.

  • Provide your phone number and/or email to the seller when making a purchase. If there’s an issue with the package, it will be easier to resolve.

  • Refer to the shipping time estimates that the seller has provided on the item’s listing. Keep in mind that these are only estimates; actual shipping time is unpredictable and can take longer than estimates provided by shipping carriers.

  • If you truly believe an item has been lost in the mail or has arrived broken, try to get in contact with the seller and find a mutually agreeable resolution. Honest sellers always strive to keep their customers happy and satisfied.