Trust & safety

How disputes are decided

Fixed windows, evidence from both sides, a bench inspection when either side asks, and a decision written in plain language that both sides read. The money stays with the platform until it is decided.

Create your free account Outcomes on the transparency report

Open within: 3 business days; of delivery, from the order
Seller responds within: 2 business days; with their evidence
Decided within: 5 business days; of the last evidence
Inspection fee: $250; charged to the losing party

What a dispute is

A claim by the buyer, inside the confirmation window, that the lot received is not the lot listed.

Short count, wrong part numbers, wrong grade or condition, damage, or something that is not server memory. A short count entered at confirmation opens one automatically; anything else is opened from the order with a reason and photos. Opening a dispute pauses the release of funds; nothing else changes until it is decided.

A buyer who does not pay is not a dispute: that is a default, handled by the strike and runner-up rules on Protected payment.

The four steps

What each side does, and by when.

Open
The buyer opens a dispute from the order within the 3 business days confirmation window with a reason, photos and the received count. A short count entered at confirmation opens one automatically. Release of the funds pauses.
Respond
The seller has 2 business days to respond with their evidence: the count sheet, the packed-box photo, any test report and the tracking.
Inspect, if asked
Either side can request a bench inspection. The lot ships to the bench on a platform label; the report is binding; the $250 fee is charged to the losing party.
Decide
Staff recommend and an admin decides within 5 business days of the last evidence: release in full, refund in full (the goods go back on a platform label at the losing party’s cost), or a split by amount. Decisions are written in plain language and visible to both sides.

What the order shows while it is open

Current step:
Open
Seller responds within 2 business days
Upcoming:
Awaiting seller
Seller responds within 2 business days
Upcoming:
Under review
Decision within 5 business days of the last evidence
Upcoming:
Bench inspection
The inspection fee of $250 is charged to the losing party
Upcoming:
Decided
A decision has been made and the protected payment is being settled accordingly.
Upcoming:
Closed
The dispute is finished and the money has been settled.

The evidence that decides

Photos of labels decide most disputes. Here is what each side should have ready.

The buyer

The sealed and opened box
Before anything is removed.
Each tray, labels up
Legible part numbers in every photo.
The filled count sheet
Received per tray and the variance. Print one from Receiving and confirming.
The wrong or damaged modules on their own
Close enough to read the label.

The seller

The listing photos and the count sheet
Already on the lot; the automated check’s read of the labels stands beside them.
The packed-box photo
Uploaded before the order was marked shipped. The single strongest piece of seller evidence.
Any test report
For lots sold with a functional claim.
The tracking record
Weight at pickup and the scans, from the platform label.

The bench inspection

When photos cannot settle it, the lot comes to the bench.

Either side can ask. The lot ships to the bench on a platform label, is counted and graded module by module, and the report is binding on both sides. The $250 fee is charged to the party the decision goes against. For lots that were already Inspected before they listed, the count was ours to begin with, and a short-count dispute is our problem, not the seller’s.

Outcomes

Three possible decisions, each written in plain language and visible to both sides.

Release in full
The lot was as listed. Funds release to the seller as if the buyer had confirmed.
Refund in full
The lot goes back on a platform label, at the seller’s cost if the seller lost and at the buyer’s cost if the buyer lost, and the buyer is refunded from the order’s own payment.
A split by amount
The buyer keeps the goods and is refunded the difference; the seller receives the rest. Used for short counts and partial misdescription.

Decisions are recorded on the order and counted in aggregate on the transparency report. The process is governed by the protected payment terms.

Strikes and the house rule

The consequences, and why the company behind the platform cannot tilt a decision.

Strikes are issued for payment default, late shipping beyond grace and confirmed misrepresentation; 3 strikes in 12 months ends the account, and banned organisations cannot re-register. A lost dispute for confirmed misrepresentation is one of those strikes; 3 strikes in 12 months ends the account.

ITAD Authority, the company behind Memory Traders, trades on the platform as an ordinary house account. It cannot bid on its own lots, it gets no early data, and in a dispute about one of its lots it is a party like any other: it submits evidence and reads the same written decision. Who may trade here and how accounts are verified is on Who is allowed to trade here.

Questions people ask

Who decides?

Staff review the evidence and recommend; an admin decides within 5 business days of the last evidence. The decision is written in plain language and both sides see the same text. ITAD Authority, the company behind the platform, trades as an ordinary account and gets no say in disputes about its own lots beyond the evidence it submits.

What does an inspection cost and who pays?

$250, charged to the losing party. Either side can ask for one; the lot ships to the bench on a platform label and the bench’s report is binding.

Can a dispute be opened after I confirmed?

Confirming releases the funds. After release a transfer can be reversed only within 30 days and only when the seller’s balance allows; otherwise the seller’s future releases are offset. Count before you confirm; the 3 business days window exists for that.

What happens to the goods after a refund?

They go back on a platform label. If the seller lost, the seller pays the return; if the buyer lost, the buyer pays. A split keeps the goods with the buyer and refunds the difference.

Does a dispute hurt my account?

Opening one does not. Losing one for misrepresentation earns the seller a strike; 3 strikes in 12 months ends the account. Dispute rates are published per member and in aggregate on the transparency report.