How to Buy/Sell on Open Marketplace

Quick walkthrough of Buy-Sell flow on Particl Open Marketplace

If you’ve already installed the Particl Open Marketplace and have it enabled on your Particl Desktop client, then you’re all set and ready to start buying and selling stuff for crypto without giving away your data.

If you haven’t installed or enabled the Particl Open Marketplace yet, then follow our Getting started with Particl Open Marketplace guide!

The following steps will show you how to use the Open Marketplace by going, in detail, through a complete purchase using the Open Marketplace.

At each step of the process, an encrypted P2P network called SMSG makes the secure transmission of data and messages between the buyer and the seller. It is on this network that any marketplace content (i.e. listing pictures, orders, etc) is stored.

SMSG messages are shared in a peer-to-peer way between all the nodes running the marketplace. Only the party you’re transacting with will be able to decrypt your messages, orders, and any other kind of information, and therefore be notified about orders and their updates.

The Seller lists an item for sale

1. To list an item, first go to the Sell page of Particl Desktop
2. On the Sell page, you will see a list of all previously listed items. To add a new one, click on + Add new listing
3. Fill the Listing’s details and add pictures. Note that the first picture you add is going to be used as the thumbnail for your Listing
4. Click on Save & Publish and then type your encryption password to temporarily unlock your wallet. An unlocked wallet is required to publish Listings
5. Choose the duration of the Listing and click on Confirm & Publish – e.g. if you choose 1 week, then your Listing is going to stay up on the Open Marketplace for 7 days
6. Wait for at least one confirmation and your Listing will appear in the Listings page of the Particl Open Marketplace

Listing fees are calculated based on the duration and size of your Listing.
In other words, the longer it stays up, and the more images/text your Listing has, the more expensive listing the item will be.

The Buyer places a bid on item

During this step, the Buyer is going to place a bid (an order) and “soft lock” twice the amount of the item being purchased (including shipping costs). Placing a bid will most probably use more than twice the value of the purchased item, but the extra funds will be refunded after ~30 minutes. To know why, checkout FAQ: Why is a big portion of my Anon balance getting locked after bidding on an item?

1. Go to the Listings page
2. Browse the Marketplace, and click on the item you want to purchase
3. On the Listing’s pop-up page, verify the total amount required to fund the escrow and then add the item to your cart by clicking on Add to cart
4. To checkout, click on the cart icon at the top right section of the Particl Desktop client or by going to the Buy page
5. Verify the content of your cart, and click on Continue to shipping
6. Fill your shipping information and, optionally, save your shipping profile for future purchases (this profile stays only on your computer)
7. Verify all the information is correct on the next page, and then click on Place order to place your bid
8. Confirm you want to place the order by clicking on Yes, place order on the pop-up confirmation page that appears
9. You can now see the status of your order by clicking on the Orders tab of the Buy page

The Seller accepts/rejects Buyer’s bid

• If the seller rejects the bid, the soft locked funds will release back to you and the Order will be cancelled
• If the seller accepts the bid, the funds required for the escrow will soft lock on his side as well and the Buy flow continues

To accept/reject incoming bids from Buyers:

1. Go to the Sell page and click on the Orders tab
2. Either accept the order by clicking on Yes, accept bid or reject it by clicking on Reject bid & cancel order

The Buyer makes payment into Escrow smart-contract

1. Go to the Buy page and click on the Orders tab to see your order
2. Click on the Make payment button to fund the escrow smart-contract
3. A pop-up window will appear, allowing you to send the seller contact information which may be useful for international shipping – giving out that information is entirely optional
4. Confirm your payment by clicking on Confirm & Buy

The Seller makes payment into Escrow smart-contract

1. Go to the Sell page and click on the Orders tab to see your Order
2. Click on the Complete escrow button to fund the escrow smart-contract and complete the payment process
3. On the pop-up window that appears, confirm your payment by clicking on the Yes, lock escrow button

The Seller packages and ships the item to Buyer

1. Package and ship your item
2. Go to the Sell page and click on the Orders tab to see your Order
3. Click on the Mark as shipped button to let your customer know that you’ve shipped the order
4. In the pop-up window that appears, you can include the tracking number so that the customer can track the shipment online
5. To confirm shipment, click on the Order shipped button

The Buyer receives the item

1. Wait to receive your order – you can go to the Buy page and click on the Orders tab to see the tracking number of the Order
2. Once received, inspect the package as well as the product to make sure it is all good
3. If satisfied, go to the Buy page and click on the Orders tab
4. Mark the order as complete by clicking on the Mark as delivered button
5. On the pop-up window that appears, confirm the transaction as been completed satisfactorily by clicking on the Yes, I received the order button – this will unlock the escrow to both parties and complete the transaction

And that’s it! You just finished buying/selling via trustless 2-party escrow on the Open Marketplace!