Inspection Period

Prior to the Inspection Period

Escrow.com notifies the Seller when to ship or transfer the merchandise, domain, or service. During this time, we recommend that the Seller keeps records of receipts, tracking information, and other documents to evidence transfer.

Start of the Inspection Period

The Inspection Period begins when the Buyer marks the item as received or when Escrow.com verifies or receives confirmation that the merchandise, domain, or service have been delivered.

Length of the Inspection Period

The Inspection Period can range between 1 to 30 calendar days. Buyers and Sellers agree upon the Inspection Period at the start of a transaction, and they should make sure the Inspection Period provides adequate time for any authentication and/or appraisal process that may be necessary to complete the transaction.

The inspection period ends when the Buyer either Accepts or Rejects the merchandise, domain(s), or service, or when the Inspection Period times out.

During this period, the Buyer may “Accept” or “Reject” the products and/or services. If the Buyer does not take either action during the Inspection Period, then the Inspection Period will automatically end once the agreed-upon period elapses.

Buyer Acceptance Process

1. Accepting the goods or service. If the Buyer is satisfied with their transaction, they can accept products and/or services by clicking on the “Accept” button in their Escrow.com account. If the Buyer Accepts the merchandise, domain(s), or service prior to the end of the Inspection Period, then this action will cause the Inspection Period to end.
2. Escrow.com pays the Seller. After acceptance, Escrow.com will release the funds to the Seller.

Buyer Rejection Process

If the Buyer is unsatisfied with their transaction, they have the right to return the goods or service.

1. Rejecting the goods or service. If the Buyer wants to reject the merchandise, domain(s), or service, they must do so prior to the end of the Inspection Period. A Buyer can reject the products and/or services by clicking on the “Reject” button in their Escrow.com account.
2. Returning the goods or service. Once the Buyer rejects the merchandise, domain(s), or service, the Inspection Period will end. The Buyer will be expected to return the merchandise, domain(s), or service, and the Buyer will have 10 calendar days to confirm shipment of the returned merchandise, domain(s), or service. Please note that the Buyer is liable for all shipping and insurance costs during the return process. The fee for the escrow service is still held by Escrow.com for the transaction.
3. Seller Inspection Period. If the Buyer has rejected and returned the merchandise, domain(s), or service, the Seller will be provided with a 5 day Inspection Period to examine the returned merchandise, domain(s), or service.
4. Seller confirms the returned goods. Seller confirms the merchandise, domain(s), or service have been returned in the same conditions as sent out. Once the goods have been shipped and returned by the Buyer to the Seller, a number of steps need to be confirmed ahead of the funds being released. The Seller should acknowledge the receipt of the goods and a receipt of shipment should be received by Escrow.com to prove that the goods have been returned.
5. Escrow.com returns the payment to the Buyer. Once goods are returned, the payment minus escrow fees are returned to the Buyer because the transaction has taken place and an escrow agent has been engaged throughout the process, 100% of the escrow fees will be retained by the escrow service.

To read more information about the Rejection Process see General Escrow Instructions , section 4, 5, 6, and 7.

End of the Inspection Period

The Inspection Period ends when the Buyer either accepts the merchandise, domain, or service; rejects the merchandise, domain, or service; or the Inspection Period times out.

Please note that Escrow.com does reserve the right to send a 24 hour notice if the Inspection Period ends without the Buyer’s participation. Once the Inspection Period times out, Escrow.com may send a 24 hour notice email to the Buyer to give them an additional 24 hours to notify Escrow.com of any issues with the goods or services before releasing the funds to the Seller. If we do not hear back from the Buyer within 24 hours of the notice, then Escrow.com releases the funds to the Seller at the end of the 24 hour period.

Unresponsive Buyer

All parties involved in the transaction are required to check their Escrow.com account every 24 hours while their transaction is ongoing (General Escrow Instructions , General Provisions). If the Buyer does not take any action to mark the goods or services as “Received” and “Approved,” then Escrow.com will take steps to progress the transaction.

In the event the Buyer does not initiate the Inspection Period and Escrow.com is unable to receive a response from the Buyer, Escrow.com has the right to reach out to the Seller and third parties in order to verify information needed to initiate the Inspection Period.

If the Buyer does not take any steps to mark the goods or services as “Approved,” then the agreed-upon Inspection Period will automatically time out, and the default assumption is that the Buyer has “Accepted” the goods or services at the end of the Inspection Period. Escrow.com reserves the right to send a 24 hour notice email to the Buyer at the end of the Inspection Period. The 24-hour notice gives the Buyer an additional 24 hours to notify Escrow.com of any issues with the products or services.

In the event the Buyer was not involved with marking the goods or services as “Received” and “Approved” (i.e. the Inspection Period is started and ended without the Buyer's participation), then Escrow.com sends a 24 hour notice email to the Buyer at the end of the Inspection Period. The 24-hour notice gives the Buyer an additional 24 hours to notify Escrow.com of any issues with the products or services.

If we do not hear back from the Buyer within 24 hours of the notice, then Escrow.com releases the funds to the Seller and closes the transaction at the end of the 24 hour period.

Seller Rejects the Returned Merchandise

If the Buyer decides to “Reject” and return the merchandise, domain(s), or service, but the Seller decides to “Reject” the returned goods, all parties involved in the transaction will enter the Dispute Process.

To learn more about the Dispute Process click here.