Frequently Asked Questions

An online marketplace where every sale is protected by escrow — the buyer's payment is held by TradeSafe, an independent escrow provider, until the buyer confirms the item arrived as described. Members are KYC-verified and trade under an alias, so real names and contact details are never exposed.

Yes. There's no charge to sign up, browse, or list an item. Fees only apply when a sale actually happens — see the Fees & Commission section below.

SafeList doesn't use passwords. Enter your email address and we send you a one-time magic link — click it (and enter your 6-digit code, if you've set up two-factor authentication) and you're signed in. The same account works for both buying and selling.

You can browse and message without it, but completing KYC (an ID document and proof of address) is what earns your profile the Email + KYC badge other members look for before dealing with you.

Look for the Email + KYC badge on their profile, and remember that regardless of badge status, your payment is always protected in escrow until you personally confirm the item is as described.

Yes — every listing supports offers and counter-offers. Track the state of every negotiation under My Offers. Once an offer is accepted by either side, that becomes the checkout price.

The seller is notified and ships your item once both payment legs (item price and courier fee) have cleared. You'll see the waybill number and tracking link on your order page as soon as the shipment is booked.

Use your order's inspection window to check it before confirming receipt. If something's wrong, raise a dispute from the order page before that window closes — this hands the case to TradeSafe's own resolution process instead of releasing funds automatically.

Yes — use a listing's message option to ask questions before you commit to an offer or purchase.

Go to Sell Something, add photos, a title, description, price, and category, tick at least one delivery method you're willing to offer, and submit. New listings go through a brief moderation check before they go live.

Complete Seller Onboarding to add the bank details your payouts will be sent to. If you're selling as a registered business, also complete Business Verification.

Funds release automatically once the buyer's 3-day inspection window closes without a dispute — TradeSafe, the escrow provider, handles the release on its own schedule. The buyer clicking Confirm Receipt early is a courtesy signal; it doesn't change when you're paid. Check your Payouts page for your payout history.

You choose, per listing, which of the four delivery methods (Door-to-Door, Locker-to-Locker, Locker-to-Door, Door-to-Locker) you're willing to offer. Door-based methods need a collection address on file first, set once during Onboarding.

Nothing happens to your listing — it simply stays active until a buyer actually completes both payments. You're never asked to ship anything on the strength of an offer or an unpaid order.

Yes — pay to Boost a listing for extra visibility in its own featured strip on the Home page and in Browse results. This is a separate fee from your sale commission.

Straight into escrow held by TradeSafe, an independent escrow provider — never to the seller directly, and never held by SafeList itself.

The item price goes into TradeSafe's escrow. The courier fee is a separate payment, handled via PayFast, that funds the actual shipment — it's never part of the escrowed amount and is never paid to the seller.

No. Every escrowed payment sits with TradeSafe under its own licensed process. SafeList has no ability to release, withhold, or redirect those funds itself.

A "resume payment" link is always available on your order so you can pick up exactly where you left off. The seller isn't told to ship until both payments clear.

Four courier methods — Door-to-Door, Locker-to-Locker, Locker-to-Door, and Door-to-Locker — whichever of these the seller has enabled for that listing, each quoted with a real, live courier rate at checkout. Some listings instead use SafeList Standard, where the seller arranges and pays for delivery themselves and there's no courier fee for you; the seller adds a tracking reference to your order once it's shipped.

Every order carries the same fixed windows: 7 days to deliver, then 3 days to inspect once it arrives, before funds automatically release to the seller.

Yes — once the seller marks it shipped, your order page shows the courier's waybill number and a tracking link.

If your chosen method involves a locker on your end, you'll pick a specific one from a searchable list at checkout. Tap the "i" next to any locker to see its real size and weight limits before you commit.

Raise a dispute from your order page before the inspection window closes. This hands the case to TradeSafe's own resolution process rather than letting funds release automatically.

TradeSafe, as the independent party holding the escrowed funds — not SafeList. SafeList staff can still see the order and step into the message thread if needed.

Every order's buyer/seller thread can be opened by a moderator or admin if a dispute or report needs attention, and it can be paused during a review — in which case both parties simply see a generic "paused for review" banner, with no other detail shared.

A seller can flag an order they can't fulfil rather than leave it stalled — this goes to SafeList staff for review rather than being resolved automatically.

A one-time magic link sent to your verified email removes the risk of a reused or weak password being guessed or leaked elsewhere — there's simply nothing standing credential to steal.

It's optional for buyers and sellers (enable it from your account for extra protection) and mandatory for every Admin login.

No — you trade under an alias. Your delivery address is only shared with a seller after your payment clears, purely so they can ship to you.

From your account's Manage pages, at any time.

Register from the Become an Agent link to get your own Account Name — anyone with a SafeList account can join.

A commission share on completed sales made by the sellers you refer, at no extra cost to the buyer or seller. Referral levels are unlimited in depth, with five commission tiers that grow as your network's completed sales grow.

Payouts are requested from your Agent Dashboard and reviewed monthly.

No — a referral can't point back at your own account. This is enforced automatically when a referral is set.

No platform fee beyond the item's own price. The only other possible cost at checkout is a courier fee, and only if you pick a courier delivery method — a SafeList Standard listing has no courier charge.

Commission follows a price-bracket ladder — higher-value and urgent sales carry their own rates. There's no single flat percentage; the exact rate for a sale is shown before you list.

A separate, optional fee a seller pays to promote a listing for extra visibility — it's independent of, and never affects, the commission charged on the eventual sale.