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ESCROW

Escrow reduces the risk of fraud for parties buying or selling merchandise from each other over the Internet, whether it be a consumer-to-consumer, business-to-consumer, or business-to-business transaction.

Online escrow is simply holding the buyer's payment by a trusted third party, Comag. Payment is released to the seller when the buyer has inspected and accepted the seller's merchandise. If the buyer is unhappy with the merchandise, payment is returned to the buyer after the seller inspects and accepts the returned merchandise.

Dictionary meaning:

es·crow           n.

Money, property, a deed, or a bond put into the custody of a third party for delivery to a grantee only after the fulfilment of the conditions specified.

v. tr. es·crowed, es·crow·ing, es·crows.   - To place in escrow.

Idioms:
in escrow       In trust as an escrow.

Derivation:

[Anglo-Norman escrowe, variant of Old French escroe, scroll; see scroll.]

We've summarised the escrow process in 4 steps:

[1] Agreement: Either buyer or seller begins the transaction by providing terms and information about the merchandise.

[2] Payment: The buyer submits payment where it is verified. We then secure the payment in their trust account.

[3] Delivery: We notify the seller that the buyer's payment is securely held in escrow. The seller then delivers the merchandise to the buyer.

[4] Inspection: The buyer decides to accept or reject the merchandise within an inspection period agreed to by both parties. If the buyer accepts the goods, Comag releases the funds to the seller

Simple
Four Easy steps to complete a transaction. And we keep you in touch at each stage via email.

Secure
Buyers inspect merchandise before payment is released to the Seller.

Sellers know we have received payment before the merchandise is shipped.

Convenient
Trade anywhere with anyone.
Pay in your chosen currency by cheque,card or wire. Be paid by cheque or wire.

Comag guarantee that the Buyer gets the goods or their money back, and the Seller gets the money or their goods back.

How can Comag help me?

Security
It is our job to protect the interests of both the Buyer and the Seller. Our escrow service provides the highest possible level of security, meaning that you can buy and sell with confidence.

Simplicity
When you use our services we do a lot of the work for you, for example by telling you when payments have cleared the banking system. Because we guide you through each step of the process, there is far less chance of something going wrong.

Convenience and speed
Buying with a credit card is not only convenient, it provides immediately accessible funds - so it can speed up the whole process. Using our services, we can enable everybody to accept credit card payments, and Buyer´s only have to give their card details to one organisation, rather than a number of unknown individuals.

We can save you money too. The charges made by credit card companies and the cost of currency conversions are all included in our fees.

If you are selling, you do not need to send the goods until you know that the money to pay for them has arrived. The payment process is quicker and simpler through us, and we may even be able to save you money.

Is my money safe with Comag?

Money paid to us is held, after deduction of our fees, in a client account specifically for the benefit of the Buyer and the Seller.

What is the total transaction time?

The length of a transaction will vary with the Buyer's payment method and on the time both parties take to act at each stage. If the Buyer pays with a credit or debit card and the Seller uses an overnight carrier service, the goods can be delivered within 1-3 days. Comag vet all credit card transactions which can add a delay to the overall time depending on the response of the Buyer. This can increase the transaction time to over 5 working days. Other payment methods take a little longer. We will ensure that all bankers drafts, money orders and cheques are banked within two working days of receipt. Banker's drafts and money orders clear within two further days whereas personal cheques take five working days to clear.

Ok what is the bottom line - the cost of all this?

Buyers: nothing! Sellers: Comag will provide links to add to your site, connecting to a secure part of our A1sale site, designed to be compatible with your site, where we will provide [order] buttons against information and images provided by you. All the rest is provided by Comag including credit card and merchant bank facilities.

Costs consist only of a small set-up charge, negotiable but around $50 or £40 (we may waive this charge) plus transaction charges as follows:

The basic escrow charge is 5%  of the transaction value for each transaction, plus $2.00 or £1.50 per transaction.

If this also involves a credit card transaction then the percentage increases to 8% because of bank charges.