FOR BUYERS
Buyer resources
Everything you need to buy with confidence. Your money is held until you have received what you agreed and said you are satisfied, so the work that protects you happens before you fund, not after.
Funds held until you approve
Inspect before you release
Terms agreed in writing
Dispute route if needed
Seller identity verified
Before this page is published. The default inspection period and the verification levels described here must match the terms and conditions and what the account system actually enforces. Nothing on this page promises a protection the platform does not deliver, and it should stay that way.
What you are actually buying
The protection is the sequence, not a promise
Your money is funded to Rbcpay, not to the seller. It is held while the seller delivers, held while you inspect, and released only when you say you are satisfied. The seller knows the money is real, and you know it has not left your control.
That sequence only protects you if you use it. A buyer who approves the release before inspecting, or who pays the seller directly to save time, has stepped outside the thing that was protecting them.
What Rbcpay does not do
- Value, authenticate or inspect the item for you
- Guarantee that the item is worth what you paid
- Recover a payment you sent outside Rbcpay
- Reverse a release you have already approved
- Give you legal, tax or financial advice
Rbcpay holds the money and records what you agreed. Judging the item is still your job, and it is worth paying someone to do it properly.
How buying works
Five steps. You control the one that matters most, and it is the last one.
1
Agree the terms
Price, description, delivery, inspection period and who pays the fee. In writing, on the transaction.
2
Fund the transaction
You pay Rbcpay, not the seller. The seller sees that the money is real.
3
The seller delivers
Shipped or handed over, by the method recorded on the transaction.
4
You inspect
Check it against the written description, inside the inspection period.
5
You approve
Only when you are satisfied. The seller is then paid and the payment is final.
Nothing reaches the seller until you approve. If you are not satisfied, raise it inside the inspection period rather than approving and hoping to sort it out afterwards.
Before you fund anything
Most buyer losses are decided at this stage, not at delivery.
Check the item
- Get the description in writing, in detail, not in a chat
- Ask for photographs taken today, not stock images
- Ask for serial, VIN, IMEI or hallmark numbers and check them
- Ask what is not included as well as what is
- Get service history, certificates or provenance where they exist
- Pay for an independent inspection on anything substantial
Check the seller
- Confirm the seller is verified on Rbcpay
- Check the name on the account matches who you are dealing with
- Search the listing text and the images for duplicates elsewhere
- Be careful with a seller who will only talk on one channel
- Ask why the price is low, if it is low
- Take your time. Pressure to hurry is information
Check the terms
- Exactly what is being delivered, and where
- The inspection period, and whether it is long enough for you
- What counts as grounds to reject
- Who pays for shipping, insurance and any return
- Who pays the Rbcpay fee
- Any deadline that actually matters to you
STOP
Never pay the seller directly
Every reason you will be given sounds practical. Fees are cheaper, the platform is slow, the seller has a problem with their account, there is another buyer waiting. A payment sent outside Rbcpay is not held, not protected and usually not recoverable.
- Do not send a bank transfer, e-transfer or Zelle direct to a seller
- Do not send cryptocurrency to a wallet given to you in a message
- Do not send gift cards, vouchers or cash by post, for any reason
- Do not pay a deposit outside the transaction to hold an item
- Do not act on payment details sent by email or message, ever
Warning signs worth stopping for
None of these proves anything on its own. Two together is worth a pause. Three is worth walking away.
Urgency you did not create
Another buyer is waiting, the price expires tonight, decide now. Urgency exists to stop you checking.
A change of payment details
New bank account, new wallet, new email, sent by message. Treat every change as a stop sign, not an inconvenience.
Moving the conversation off-platform
A seller who wants to talk somewhere with no record is removing the record on purpose.
A price that does not make sense
A genuine seller of a valuable item rarely needs to sell it far below what it is worth to someone they have never met.
Photographs that are not theirs
Stock images, reused images, or a refusal to photograph the item next to today's date.
A story that explains everything
Overseas, deployed, bereaved, moving, ill. The story exists to explain why the normal checks cannot happen.
The moment that decides everything
Inspect properly, and do not approve until you have
The inspection period is the only window in which you can reject something. Once you approve the release, the seller is paid and the payment is final. There is no chargeback and no reversal.
Approving early is the most expensive mistake a buyer can make on this platform, and it is almost always made out of politeness or impatience rather than because the buyer was satisfied.
On the day it arrives
- Photograph the packaging before you open it
- Film the unboxing where the value justifies it
- Check serial and reference numbers against the description
- Confirm everything listed as included is actually there
- Test that it works as described, not just that it looks right
- Compare against the written description, line by line
- Raise anything wrong on the transaction the same day
- Keep the packaging until the transaction is complete
The default inspection period on this site is To be confirmed. If the item needs a specialist check, agree a longer period before you fund.
Extra checks by category
Some purchases carry risks that a general checklist does not cover.
Vehicles
VIN check, service history, outstanding finance, and an independent mechanical inspection before you fund.
Property
Title, searches, survey and your own solicitor. A transaction platform does not replace conveyancing.
Art and jewellery
Provenance, certification and an independent valuation. Authenticity is the whole risk here.
Technology
Serial numbers, activation locks, warranty status and whether it is reported lost or stolen.
An independent inspection costs a fraction of what it protects. On anything substantial, pay for one and agree an inspection period long enough to get it done.
If something is wrong
Act inside the inspection period and act on the transaction, not in a private message. The funds are still held, so nothing is lost by raising it.
- Message the seller through the transaction first
- Photograph or film what is wrong, dated
- Do not approve the release while it is unresolved
- Raise a dispute if it is not settled between you
- Keep the item and the packaging until the case closes
Protect your account
Most account losses are not clever. They are a reused password, or a code read out to someone who called.
- Use a password you use nowhere else
- Turn on two-factor authentication
- Never give a verification code to anyone, including support
- Check the sender address on any email about a transaction
- Log in by typing the address, not by following an email link
- Report anything you did not do immediately
Buyer questions
When does the seller get my money?
When you approve the release, and not before. Your funds are held while the seller delivers and while you inspect.
Can I get my money back after I approve?
No. A release is final. There is no chargeback and no reversal, which is why the inspection period exists and why you should use all of it if you need to.
What if the item never arrives?
The funds stay held. Raise it on the transaction rather than waiting, and if it is not resolved between you and the seller, raise a dispute.
Do I have to pay the fee?
Only if that is what you agreed. The fee can be paid by the buyer, the seller or split, and it is decided and recorded before the transaction is funded.
Is the seller checked before I deal with them?
Accounts are verified before they can transact. Verification confirms who someone is. It does not confirm that a particular item is genuine or worth the price, which is what your own checks are for.
The seller wants to complete outside Rbcpay for a lower price. Should I?
No. That price difference is the cost of the protection you would be giving up, and in many cases the request itself is the fraud.
Can I inspect the item before funding?
Yes, if the seller agrees, and it is a good idea for anything substantial. Record what was inspected and what was agreed on the transaction before you fund.
What if I change my mind after funding?
That depends on the terms both parties accepted. A transaction is an agreement, not a reservation, so cancellation should be covered in the terms before you fund.
Buy with the money still in your control
Agree the terms in writing, fund the transaction, inspect what arrives, and approve only when you are satisfied.
Rbcpay is a marketplace transaction platform and is not a bank, appraiser, inspector, insurer or law firm. Nothing on this page is legal, tax or financial advice. Assessing an item, a seller and a price remains the buyer’s responsibility, and the terms and conditions govern every transaction.