MerkatoHQ
An escrow-protected peer-to-peer marketplace where anyone can buy and sell almost anything, safely. Payment is held in escrow until the buyer confirms they received what they paid for — so there are no scams and no chargebacks, just fair trades between real people.
The challenge
Peer-to-peer trades online are plagued by scams and chargebacks. Buyers risk paying for items they never receive, while sellers risk fraud and reversed payments — and there was no simple, storefront-free way for ordinary people to trade with each other and actually trust the deal.
What we did
MerkatoHQ holds the buyer's payment in escrow the moment they buy, and releases it to the seller only after the buyer confirms receipt — or automatically after a protection window, so sellers aren't left waiting. Open offers let both sides negotiate in the open, seller reputation (star ratings, reviews and verified-payout badges) makes trust visible before you buy, listings are ranked nearest-first for local handovers, and a dispute-and-refund flow keeps funds protected if a deal goes wrong.
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