Payment protection
How your money moves when you pay with Buy now.
Pay with Buy now and your money never goes straight to a stranger. It is held by Grails, with our payment partner Stripe, and moves in four steps:
- Paid — held by Grails. The seller can’t touch it.
- Posted. The seller has 3 business days to post it tracked. If they don’t, you can take every cent back.
- Delivered. The tracking scan starts your 3-day check window.
- Released. You confirm — or 3 days pass — and the seller is paid.
If the card never arrives, the money never reaches the seller. If it arrives wrong — damaged, not as described, or fake — report it within the window and the money stays frozen while it’s sorted. Counterfeit claims backed by a grading company get 30 days, even after release.
What protection doesn’t cover: changing your mind, and anything you agree to outside the app. Pay outside Grails and none of this exists — that’s why we don’t recommend it.
The protection fee at checkout is charged at cost — it’s what moving money safely costs, not a margin — and it’s refunded in full whenever an order fails.