Discussion about escrow service offered by forum users

[Igebotz]

Hope this isn't too far off topic, but this is a thread about escrowing: Do escrows get a fee or a tip for their services usually?

I think it's typically 1% ($500 in the above case), which I think is a lot of money for very little work. It would totally be worth it if real security was offered including a refund for messing up, but clearly that's not the case.

Sorry if this appears to be a silly question, but knowledge is power, and I've been meaning to ask this question for a long time but have always forgotten.

Who pays the 1% fee for an escrow service between the buyer and the seller? Or is the money withdrawn automatically from the escrowed amount before it is sent to the seller by the escrow provider?

The Satoshi multi-sig idea of simple escrow service is not longer in use, it is still the best practice since it protects both the buyer and the seller from the escrow provider - at the very least, it prevents the escrow from fleeing with the money.

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Back to the bL4nkcode case, I'd say he should have applied this:

I'd say: "Rule One: Never change the deal." applies (quote taken from The Transporter movie). If anything changes, a good default would be to delay the release of escrowed funds quite a bit.
Maybe a better solution would have been to refund ~ if anything changes. ~ But that requires strict rules from the escrow, known upfront, which wasn't the case here.

about the bL4nkcode case, crwth just confirmed that they did everything completely amateurishly. He finds where the funds should be spent, says to cabalism and he asks from blankcode to send bitcoin. Without any document, or any specification how exactly will cost and time when he will do it all.
So there are no strict rules because everything was based on the fly an agreement through a couple of messages.

When we talk about Bitcointalk escrow (based on the bL4nkcode example, he is not logged in here on the forum, even if he is active on Telegram), someone says escrow is "very little work", is it a good practice not to have escrow appear here for a week? It's a "little work", but that means little is always available here?

[owlcatz]

Hope this isn't too far off topic, but this is a thread about escrowing: Do escrows get a fee or a tip for their services usually?

I think it's typically 1% ($500 in the above case), which I think is a lot of money for very little work. It would totally be worth it if real security was offered including a refund for messing up, but clearly that's not the case.

Sorry if this appears to be a silly question, but knowledge is power, and I've been meaning to ask this question for a long time but have always forgotten.

Who pays the 1% fee for an escrow service between the buyer and the seller? Or is the money withdrawn automatically from the escrowed amount before it is sent to the seller by the escrow provider?

The Satoshi multi-sig idea of simple escrow service is not longer in use, it is still the best practice since it protects both the buyer and the seller from the escrow provider - at the very least, it prevents the escrow from fleeing with the money.

In collectibles, the buyer always pays the escrow fee.

If I sell someone something, and they want escrow, it's just going to cost them more money and more time. Not to say I don't accept escrow, but generally most people don't request it from me anymore, as trust is earned here and I believe I've more than earned mine.

I don't know of anyone using multi-sig for escrow on the forum for anything, other than forum funds held by thermos & "treasurers"..

[Igebotz]

I think it's typically 1% ($500 in the above case), which I think is a lot of money for very little work. It would totally be worth it if real security was offered including a refund for messing up, but clearly that's not the case.

Sorry if this appears to be a silly question, but knowledge is power, and I've been meaning to ask this question for a long time but have always forgotten.

Who pays the 1% fee for an escrow service between the buyer and the seller? Or is the money withdrawn automatically from the escrowed amount before it is sent to the seller by the escrow provider?

The Satoshi multi-sig idea of simple escrow service is not longer in use, it is still the best practice since it protects both the buyer and the seller from the escrow provider - at the very least, it prevents the escrow from fleeing with the money.

In collectibles, the buyer always pays the escrow fee.

If I sell someone something, and they want escrow, it's just going to cost them more money and more time. Not to say I don't accept escrow

Okay, so whoever thought of hiring an escrow pays for it—this clarifies the whole concept. I've never used an escrow because I'm the type of person who places a lot of trust in others. I've had some financial dealings with random internet users without doing much research, and it's always worked out well in the end. I'm not sure if assuming everyone is honest because I'm honest is a good practice.

I don't know of anyone using multi-sig for escrow on the forum for anything, other than forum funds held by thermos & "treasurers"..

This where people got scammed entrusting funds to escrow without multi-Sig I believe most escrow users don't know about this.

[owlcatz]

I'm not sure if assuming everyone is honest because I'm honest is a good practice.

This where people got scammed entrusting funds to escrow without multi-Sig I believe most escrow users don't know about this.

It's definitely NOT a good practice, you will get burned sooner or later.

I think most people get scammed not because of no multi-sig, but lately more because their forum account is hacked mid-transaction, and then all hell breaks loose ... Case in point:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5367587.0

[LoyceV]

I think most people get scammed not because of no multi-sig, but lately more because their forum account is hacked mid-transaction

I wouldn't even call that "hacked", it's just phishing: the scammer sends a fake forum link, the user enters his password, and the scammer is in. Even 2FA isn't going to help against it, as the Man In The Middle can still use that to login.
I've been sent to a phishing site once, and when it asked me to enter my password (instead of my browser doing it for me) I knew something was wrong.

One solution against hacked accounts would be to only accept signed messages and ignore anything else, but that's more work.

[shasan]

How could someone offer escrow service where he do not have enough financial solvency to pay off the money if something gone wrong in a trade or if he found guilty of sending the escrow amount to wrong person?

Shouldn't be an escrow need to have enough money of his own before performing an escrow in a marketplace?

If any forum member offer escrow service and both parties agrees to use that escrow means the user is trustworthy. So they can depend on the escrow and there is almost no issue for that escrow. If anyone offer escrow and face a problem like received fake/spam/scam token to the escrow wallet and then another party release the fund. But while escrow will release and then it may caught as spam/scam/fraud in that case escrow should be liable for that. In this case escrow should bear the loss. if the escrow has not enough fund then the escrow should borrow the amount.