NM-010: Escrow protocol and release conditions

1. Arrangement

An order payment is held at an address requiring two of three keys before it can move. The keys are held separately by the buyer, the vendor and the market. No party can move the funds alone, which is the property that makes buying from a stranger workable.

2. Release conditions

3. Scope of protection

Escrow protects the payment attached to an order. It does not protect a balance held outside one, it does not make a vendor competent, and it does not guarantee an outcome in a dispute. Its scope is narrow, which is why it works.

4. Voiding condition

Confirming receipt before goods arrive releases the payment and removes the dispute route in the same action. This is the only user action that voids the protection entirely, and it is irreversible. Requests to do so should be declined as a matter of policy rather than judged case by case, because the ability to distinguish a legitimate request from a fraudulent one is exactly what a buyer lacks.

5. Correct behaviour

Confirm receipt when the goods are physically present and match the order. Not before, not as a courtesy, and not to encourage progress on a slow order.