Escrow on Mars Market
Escrow is the mechanism that lets you buy from a stranger on the internet without handing over money you cannot get back. On Mars, every order settles through it. Your funds are held until you confirm delivery, and the platform only steps in when the two sides cannot agree. This page explains the mechanics and the limits.
The normal path
You order, the amount moves into escrow, the vendor ships, you confirm, and the escrow releases. In that path the platform never touches the money. It is a holder, not a party to the trade, and that is the whole point. There is no single platform wallet that can quietly disappear, which is the failure mode that has sunk weaker markets.
When something goes wrong
If an order does not arrive, arrives short, or is unusable, either side opens a dispute from the order page. The escrow freezes at its current state. The system then proposes a split based on the order value, the time since shipment, and the vendor recent dispute history. Both parties can accept it with one action and the escrow releases on the spot.
Most disputes end there. The ones that do not go to a three person panel that reads the message log and the shipping record before deciding. Expect three to seven days, and win by keeping your records in writing.
What escrow does not do
Escrow protects the trade, not the coin. It does not make a bad vendor good, and it does not refund you for a product you simply did not like. It also does not protect a balance you are holding on the platform. That is a custody question, and the answer is to withdraw what you are not about to spend.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who holds my money while I wait?
The escrow contract holds it. The platform is a holder, not an owner, and releases it when you confirm or when a dispute resolves.
How long does a dispute take?
Most settle with the recommended split immediately. Panel disputes take three to seven days.
Can the platform take my money?
Not in a normal order. The platform key is the tiebreaker only in a dispute, and it signs in one direction based on the written record.