Sealabid
Fees & commission
Simple: publishing a listing normally requires a £10 listing fee deposit (or you can use a valid relist credit instead). We earn seller commission only when a sale completes through Sealabid.
At a glance
- £10 deposit to publish a listing (unless you use a valid relist credit).
- If a sale completes, the £10 deposit you paid is credited against commission due (it comes off what you owe).
- If commission due is less than £10, the deposit can reduce commission down to £0 — but any unused portion is not refundable.
- If there is no completed sale, the £10 deposit is not returned.
- Relist credit: a £10 credit is issued only when a listing ends with zero envelopes. Any envelopes at all = no credit.
- Relist credits expire after 30 days and are not cash / not transferable.
- Standard accounts can have up to 2 live listings at any one time. Enhanced verification may be required for more.
- Free collection is available from the seller’s postcode outward code (e.g. “SW1A”). Delivery (if offered) is priced by the seller.
Why a deposit?
Because marketplaces attract spam and time-wasters. The deposit helps keep listings genuine. The upside: if your sale completes, that £10 comes off the commission you owe (down to £0, but it isn’t refundable).
You’ll always see what applies before you publish.
£10 listing fee deposit (when you publish)
- The deposit is taken when you publish a listing (when it goes live), unless you use a valid relist credit instead.
- The deposit is not a normal cash refund.
- If your sale completes, the deposit is credited against commission due (it reduces what you pay). It can reduce commission to £0, but any unused portion is not refundable.
- If there is no completed sale (no envelopes, you reject envelopes, you mark no sale, buyer disappears, etc), the deposit is not returned.
Plain English
Publish costs £10. If the sale completes, that £10 comes off your commission (down to £0). No completed sale = the deposit is not returned.
£10 relist credit (zero envelopes only)
A relist credit is a separate credit you can use against the £10 deposit on a future publish. It’s issued only in one specific case.
- A £10 relist credit is issued only if your listing closes with zero envelopes.
- Any envelopes at all — even if you don’t sell — means no relist credit.
- Credits expire after 30 days.
- Credits are not cash, not withdrawable, and not transferable.
Put bluntly
Zero envelopes at the end = credit. Any envelopes at all = no credit. We do this to prevent gaming.
If we reasonably believe there has been abuse or manipulation, we may refuse or reverse credits.
Seller commission (only when a sale completes)
If you accept an offer and the deal completes through Sealabid, we charge commission based on the final accepted price.
| Final sale price | Commission rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £100 | 12% |
| £101 – £500 | 10% |
| £501 – £2,000 | 8% |
| £2,001 – £10,000 | 6% |
| £10,001+ | 5% |
Examples (commission only)
- £80 sale → 12% = £9.60
- £300 sale → 10% = £30.00
- £1,500 sale → 8% = £120.00
- £5,000 sale → 6% = £300.00
- £20,000 sale → 5% = £1,000.00
The rate is based on which band the final accepted price falls into (not a tiered “slice” system unless we explicitly say so later).
How the £10 deposit interacts with commission
- If your sale completes and you paid the deposit in cash, we subtract £10 from the commission due (down to £0).
- The deposit isn’t a cash refund — if commission due is less than £10, you don’t get the difference back.
- If you published using a relist credit, there’s no cash deposit to subtract later.
You’ll see the exact amounts in your dashboard / flow.
Payment processing is handled by third-party providers (currently Stripe). Any applicable provider fees, verification steps or authentication requirements may be shown in the flow or in your dashboard.
Commission avoidance
Completing a deal off-platform to avoid commission breaks the rules. If we reasonably suspect avoidance, we may restrict accounts and may charge the commission that would have been due (where legally permitted).
Listing limits & verification
To keep the marketplace usable and reduce spam/fraud, we apply listing limits and may require extra checks.
- Standard allowance: up to 2 live listings at any time.
- Enhanced verification: may be required to exceed the standard allowance (extra checks and/or payment method on file).
- We may tighten limits, add stricter rules by category, or require additional checks where we suspect spam, fraud or repeated failed deals.
What is “Enhanced verification”?
- Email verification (required for core features)
- Additional checks (e.g. phone/address confirmation)
- Payment method on file and/or other anti-fraud checks
- In some cases, identity checks via third-party tools
Exact checks may vary by risk, category and platform changes.
Delivery & collection
- Free collection is available from the seller’s postcode outward code (the first part of the postcode, e.g. SW1A).
- Delivery (optional): the seller sets the delivery charge based on their own courier/pricing.
- Delivery/collection arrangements are agreed between buyer and seller as part of the deal.