Buyer FAQs
Q: What is a buySAFE Merchant?
Q: How do I know if a transaction can be bonded?
Q: What is the buySAFE Seal
Q: How can I verify that a buySAFE Seal is valid?
Q: What is buySAFE Shopping?
Q: What is the Smart Buyers Club?
Q: Why should I buy from a buySAFE Merchant?
Q: How is buySAFE better than other programs that protect buyers?
Q: What is the maximum bond guarantee for a single transaction?
Q: How can I verify that a merchant is a buySAFE Merchant?
Q: What is the cost of buySAFE to me as a buyer?
bond FAQs
Q: What is a surety bond?
Q: How long does a bond's protection last?
Q: I live outside the United States. Am I covered by the bond?
Q: What does the bond guarantee?
Q: What is the bond amount?
bonded transaction FAQs
Q: I haven't received my item. What should I do?
Q: My item did not arrive as described in the buySAFE Merchant's listing. What should I do?
Q: Why did I receive an e-mail from buySAFE about my bonded transaction?
Q: How did buySAFE get my contact information?
Q: How do I unsubscribe from your mailing list?
Q: How do I reach the merchant from whom I purchased a Bonded Item?
Q: I will not receive my item before the bond expires. Can you extend the length of time to report a problem?
Q: I cancelled my order with the merchant; why did buySAFE e-mail me?
problem resolution FAQs
Q: What is buySAFE's Problem Resolution Process?
Q: Does buySAFE's Problem Transactions Resolution Service cost anything?
Q: How long does buySAFE's Problem Resolution typically take?
Q: How do I close an outstanding problem report?
Q: What is a buySAFE Merchant?
A buySAFE merchant is an online retailer that has:
- passed the rigorous buySAFE Inspection Process;
- invited buySAFE to monitor their performance daily; and
- qualified to bond their transactions up to $25,000 from buySAFE and its surety partners — Liberty Mutual, Travelers, and ACE USA.
A buySAFE Bonded Merchant is among the best and most reliable merchants on the Internet.
Q: How do I know if a transaction can be bonded?
A transaction can be bonded whenever a buySAFE Seal is present. To be safe, one should always click on the Seal to verify its authenticity.
Q: What is a buySAFE Seal?
The buySAFE Seal is a graphic element that appears throughout a merchant’s site that increases buyer confidence. It let’s shoppers know the merchant has partnered with buySAFE to:
- inspect their website operations,
- monitor their performance daily and
- bond purchases at their website, up to $25,000.
To be safe, one should always click on a buySAFE Seal to verify its authenticity.
Q: How can I verify that a buySAFE Seal is valid?
To verify a buySAFE Seal, simply click on the Seal to view that Seal’s verification page on the buySAFE Website. Alternatively, you may visit www.buysafe.com, click the Verify Seal link in the top right corner, and enter the buySAFE Merchant’s marketplace User ID or Website information. If you believe that you have encountered an unauthorized Seal, please report it by sending an e-mail to fraud@buysafe.com.
Q: What is buySAFE Shopping?
buySAFE Shopping is a one-of-a-kind comparison shopping site that lets shoppers search all Bonded Items from a single location. Only buySAFE Shopping comprehensively inspects, verifies, and monitors each merchant on its site. And only buySAFE Shopping stands behind the merchants that we display by bonding every purchase, up to $25,000. Bonded Items are available for purchase from marketplaces including eBay, Overstock.com Auctions, and TIAS, with many more items added every day.
Visit buySAFE Shopping at www.buysafeshopping.com
Q: What is the Smart Buyers Club?
The Smart Buyers Club is a free loyalty program that allows online buyers to receive points for every Bonded Item they purchase. Smart Buyers Club points may be redeemed for rewards like iPods, TiVO's, and discounts from buySAFE Merchants. To learn more or to sign up, visit the buySAFE Smart Buyers Club at www.buysafeshopping.com.
Q:Why should I buy from a buySAFE Merchant?
buySAFE is like an online shoppers’ guardian angel.
- buySAFE inspects every buySAFE Merchant’s website operations and monitors their performance daily to ensure they are of the highest quality, consistently reliable and committed to delivering on the promises they make you (terms of sale).
buySAFE is an exclusive club.
- buySAFE approves only a small percentage of the merchants that apply so when you see the buySAFE Seal, you know you’re dealing with one of the best merchants online.
buySAFE bonding is the safest & smartest way to buy online.
- Every buySAFE Merchant has been approved to bond your purchases, up to $25,000, by buySAFE and its surety partners — Liberty Mutual®, Travelers®, and ACE® USA — so you can rest assured, you’ll always get what you pay for.
Q: How is buySAFE better than other programs that protect buyers?
Put simply, buySAFE is the strongest trust signal in e-commerce.
The buySAFE Certification Process is the industry’s most rigorous inspection process. Only the best merchants qualify so buyers can avoid problems in the first place. And, we feel so strongly about the merchants who qualify for buySAFE, that we are willing to guarantee every transaction up to $25,000 with a bond.
No other company offers a complete performance guarantee or a qualification process as comprehensive.
Q: What is the maximum bond guarantee for a single transaction?
The maximum possible bond guarantee is the amount of the item's final sale price, up to $25,000.
Q: How can I verify that a merchant is a buySAFE Merchant?
Simply look for a buySAFE Seal on the online item listing or retail Website. Then, be sure to click on the Seal to verify its authenticity. A valid buySAFE Seal, when clicked, will reveal a Seal verification page with details of the merchant.
Q: What is the cost of buySAFE to me as a buyer?
Shopping at a buySAFE Bonded Merchant website costs you nothing so the added peace of mind that buySAFE provides is free. At the merchant’s discretion, they can either have a bond guarantee automatically included with your purchase at no cost, or provide you the option to purchase the bond for an additional fee. In that case, it is entirely at your discretion as to whether you’d like the added peace of mind that comes from a bonded purchase.
bond FAQs
Q: What is a bond?
A bond is a financial instrument that has been used for centuries to help two parties to a contract have greater confidence that everything will go as expected.
A bond is issued by a bonding company (such as buySAFE's bond partners) when they are so confident that a merchant will honor their promises that the bonding company is willing to guarantee those commitments with their own assets.
A bond is one of the strongest signals of professionalism and competence available.
buySAFE is the only company to enable e-commerce merchants to use bonding to provide increased confidence and a bond guarantee for customers. See the buySAFE Bonding Tutorial if you'd like to learn even more about bonding.
Q: How long does a bond's protection last?
The bond offers protection for 30 days following the close of a transaction.
To report a problem, you must complete a Report a Problem Transaction form found in the Buyer Service Center on the buySAFE Website within 30 days after the close of a bonded transaction.
If notice of a problem is provided to buySAFE within the 30 days, claims can be made against the bond until the statute of limitations expires. Please see The Bond Sample for details.
Q: I live outside the United States. Am I covered by the bond?
buySAFE protects all shoppers independently of their location. Non-US shoppers are protected through a corporate guarantee and enjoy the same level of protection as US shoppers. Please refer to our terms of service for further details on bond guarantees and corporate guarantees.
Q: What does the bond guarantee?
When a bond is issued by buySAFE and its surety partners to guarantee a transaction, the bond guarantees the merchant's terms of sale as stated on the item listing or Website policies page.
bonded transaction FAQs
Q: I haven't received my item. What should I do?
In the rare instance that a buySAFE Merchant does not ship a bonded item within the stated time frame, we recommend that you first contact the merchant directly. If you are having trouble reaching the merchant within the time period of the bond coverage (within 30 days after the item’s sale), we recommend that you log into the buySAFE Buyer Service Center to report a problem transaction and initiate buySAFE’s Problem Transaction Resolution Process.
Q: My item did not arrive as described in the buySAFE Merchant's terms of sale. What should I do?
In such rare instances, we recommend that you first contact the merchant directly and try to resolve the situation on your own. If you are having trouble reaching the merchant within the time period of the bond coverage (within 30 days after the transaction) and/or aren’t able to resolve your concerns with your merchant, we recommend that you log into the buySAFE Buyer Service Center to report a problem transaction and initiate buySAFE’s Problem Transaction Resolution Process.
Q: Why did I receive an e-mail from buySAFE about my bonded transaction?
buySAFE is legally obligated to notify buyers about a bond’s issuance and coverage expiration. This e-mail provides you with information about your bonded transaction and confirms that you know about the protection that the seller purchased on your behalf.
Q: How did buySAFE get my contact information?
buySAFE is a certified developer for several marketplaces, including eBay, Overstock.com Auctions, and TIAS.com. buySAFE Merchants in these marketplaces and on retail Websites where buySAFE is available provide buySAFE and our bonding partners with access to their customer transaction details so that we can issue bonds to their buyers. buySAFE takes your privacy very seriously and does not use this information other than to notify you of the bond issuance and coverage expiration. buySAFE does not and will not ever use your e-mail address for solicitation purposes or sell/share your e-mail address with any other companies.
Q: How do I unsubscribe from your mailing list?
buySAFE is legally obligated to notify buyers about a bond’s issuance and coverage expiration. You will not receive any additional e-mail from buySAFE unless you opt-in to other buySAFE subscription-based services (like the Smart Buyers Club) or make a subsequent bonded purchase. To unsubscribe from subscription-based communications, please follow the unsubscribe instructions in the e-mail.
Q: How do I reach the merchant from whom I purchased a Bonded Item?
buySAFE Merchants will typically notify their buyers by e-mail after a transaction has occurred. This e-mail usually contains the transaction details as well as the merchant ’s contact information. If you are having trouble finding the contact information for a merchant, contact buySAFE and we will help you reach the merchant. If you have the seller’s contact information but are receiving no response, log into the buySAFE Buyer Service Center to report a problem transaction and initiate buySAFE’s Problem Transaction Resolution Process.
Q: I will not receive my item before the bond expires. Can you extend the length of time to report a problem?
In order to extend the protection beyond the standard 30 day time length, you must log into the buySAFE Buyer Service Center to report a problem transaction and initiate buySAFE’s Problem Transaction Resolution Process. By doing this, you can protect yourself from any problems if the merchant fails to deliver outside of the 30-day window following a transaction.
Q: I cancelled my order with the merchant; why did buySAFE e-mail me?
buySAFE is legally obligated to notify buyers about a bond’s issuance and coverage expiration. The e-mail provides buyers with information about their bonded transaction and confirms they know about the protection that the merchant purchased on their behalf.
You received this e-mail because you completed a transaction with a buySAFE Merchant. If the transaction has been mutually terminated, you may disregard this and any future e-mails from buySAFE regarding the specific transaction.
problem resolution FAQs
Q: What is buySAFE’s Problem Resolution Process?
In the rare instance that a buySAFE Merchant does not honor the terms and conditions of a bonded transaction, we recommend that buyers first contact the merchant directly to attempt to resolve the matter. Typically, buyers and merchants can come to a reasonable resolution on their own without buySAFE's intervention.
If a buyer and merchant are unable to reach resolution, buyers can log into the buySAFE Buyer Service Center to report a problem transaction and initiate buySAFE’s Problem Transaction Resolution Process.
Once a problem transaction is reported, buySAFE offers Problem Transaction Resolution services through which buyers and merchants can “talk to” each other using a moderated online communication area. If the problem can’t be worked out, a buySAFE Problem Resolution Specialist can help assist in finding a solution. If a resolution still cannot be met, buySAFE will, upon request, refer the matter to the bonding partner for handling as a bond claim (for U.S. residents only).
Q: Does buySAFE's Problem Resolution Service cost anything?
No. buySAFE offers this service to both sellers and buyers at no cost. It’s just another great benefit of buying from buySAFE Merchants!
Q: How long does buySAFE's Problem Resolution typically take?
Typical problem resolution should take no longer than two weeks.
Q: My issue has been resolved. How do I close an outstanding problem?
To close an outstanding problem, please log into the buySAFE Buyer Service Center, click on the Manage Problem Transactions tab, and click the green “Resolved” button under the Resolved column.
