How an order is paid depends on the payment terms your agents agreed during negotiation — the platform honours the deal, it never overrides it.
Smaller orders — paid in the platform (escrow)
When the agreed terms are escrow or advance (typical for orders up to about $50,000), payment runs inside the platform via credit/debit card or PayPal:
- 30% down payment — released to the seller immediately, as production capital.
- 70% balance — paid after production, but held by the platform.
The balance is only released to the seller after the buyer confirms the goods arrived. If the buyer never confirms, reminders go out and the order completes automatically 21 days after shipping — unless a dispute is open, in which case the funds stay held until it is resolved.
Sample orders are always paid upfront in the platform.
Larger orders — L/C or bank transfer, platform as the record keeper
When the agreed terms are a letter of credit (L/C) or bank transfer (T/T), money moves bank to bank and never passes through the platform — card fees on a $200,000 container would make no sense, and banks give L/C payments legal protection of their own.
The platform's job on this route is everything around the money:
- Terms stay locked from the negotiation.
- The buyer gets a deadline to open the L/C or send the transfer, with automatic reminders.
- The seller confirms once their bank receives the instrument — production starts then.
- Required trade documents (invoice, packing list, bill of lading, certificate of origin) are collected with a completeness checklist — discrepant documents are the most common reason L/C payments get delayed.
Seller payouts (platform-paid orders)
- Sample funds release on delivery confirmation
- PO down payment releases as soon as it is paid
- PO balance releases on buyer confirmation
Sellers add a payout account (PayPal email) in Settings. On the L/C and bank-transfer route there is no platform payout — your bank pays you directly.