Every purchase on SiliconExchange is protected: we hold your payment while your order is in progress. If your item never arrives, you can open a dispute before the seller is paid; if it arrives damaged or not as described, within 3 days of delivery.
Your payment is held securely while your order is in progress.
When you check out, your payment is captured by Stripe and held by SiliconExchange. The seller receives nothing yet, and a dispute opened in time keeps it held.
The seller must ship within 3 business days, unless their listing states a different handling time. You'll see it before you pay, and on your order afterwards. Carrier tracking is wired into your order: USPS, UPS and FedEx tracking updates it automatically from the first scan, and delivery is confirmed by the carrier's scan, by you or by our team, never by the seller's word alone.
Once your item arrives and you're satisfied, release the payment in your dashboard. The funds then go to the seller, typically within 1–2 business days. If you don't, it releases automatically 14 days after delivery, unless you've opened a dispute.
If anything is wrong, open a dispute from your order page: within 3 days of delivery for damage or not-as-described, or before the 14-day auto-release if the item never arrives. The payment stays held while we review both sides.
Buyer protection runs on clocks. Here is each one, before you ever need it.
| Moment | The window | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Seller's ship-by date | 3 business days after payment — unless the listing stated a different handling time | Shown on your order. If nothing has shipped 24 hours after it, you can open a dispute. |
| Cancel before shipment | Any time until the order is marked shipped (by the seller, or at the carrier's first scan). Local pickup orders can't be cancelled; report a problem instead | Full refund, no questions — you never have to wait out a seller. |
| Report damage or not-as-described | Within 3 days of confirmed delivery | Open the dispute from your order page — that keeps your payment held while we review. |
| Report an item that never arrived | Any time before the 14-day auto-release closes | Same dispute button, same held payment. |
| Seller's chance to respond | 48 hours from when the dispute opens (reminder at 24 hours) | A dispute is never decided on one side's word while the other can still answer. |
| Our review | We aim to review within 48 hours | Valid claims are made right from the held funds — full refund, partial refund, or a return. |
| Your refund | Issued within 1–3 business days of resolution | Banks then take their own time to post it — typically on your statement within 5–10 business days. |
| Nobody does anything | 14 days after delivery (3 days after the scheduled date for local pickup) | Payment releases to the seller automatically — release it sooner if all is well, dispute in time if it isn't. |
| Signature on delivery | Required on orders of $750.00 or more | Added automatically to labels bought through SiliconExchange; a seller shipping on their own label must add it. Sellers can require it on lower amounts too. |
Our protection covers the most common problems buyers face when purchasing used hardware.
If something goes wrong, opening a dispute is simple and we resolve it fast.
Go to your order in the dashboard and click “Open Dispute.” You have 3 days from confirmed delivery, or up to 14 days if the package never arrived.
Upload photos, describe the issue, and include any relevant tracking or communication history. The seller has 48 hours to respond. We remind them partway through, and our team sees whether they did.
Our team reviews all evidence from both parties. We may request additional information if needed.
If the dispute is valid, we put it right from the held funds: usually a full refund, or where it fits the case a partial refund or a return to the seller. If the seller recorded the item's serial number before shipping (required for a graphics card over $1,000), a full refund for an item you send back is issued once the returned item is checked and matches that record. If the dispute is found in the seller's favor, the funds are released to them.
If something arrives wrong, a few habits make your case easy to verify and fast to resolve.
Shoot the box, the packaging, and the item exactly as they arrived, damage included. Arrival photos are the strongest evidence a buyer can have.
The box and padding are part of the evidence, and a shipping-damage claim with the carrier can require them. Don't throw anything away while a dispute is open.
If it arrived damaged or wrong, say so before building with it. Once a part has been installed, flashed, or disassembled, verifying what arrived versus what happened after gets much harder, for everyone, including you.
Protection is built around the carrier confirming delivery to the address on your order. Freight forwarders and re-shipping break that chain of custody. Deliveries we can't trace, we can't stand behind.
Selling instead? See how sellers are protected. The same held payment covers both sides.
All payments are processed securely by Stripe, a PCI-compliant payment processor trusted by millions of businesses. Your card details are never stored on our servers.
Apple Pay and Google Pay availability depends on your device and browser. We do not accept PayPal, Venmo, cryptocurrency, checks, or cash payments.
Some listings are exchanged in person instead of shipped. Local pickup orders get the same held-payment protection: no cash, no Venmo, no trust-me handoffs.
You pay at checkout like any order, and we hold the payment. The seller isn't paid for turning up: the payment releases when you confirm the pickup, or automatically 3 days after the scheduled date if you haven't opened a dispute.
Message the seller to agree on a public place and time. The seller sets the pickup date on the order, and you'll see it on your order page.
Your order page shows a 6-digit pickup code. At the exchange, inspect the item first. Satisfied? Give the seller the code: the payment is released when they enter it on their order page (or tap Confirm Pickup to release it yourself). Never share the code before you have the item: whoever has it can collect your payment.
If the item isn't as described, don't hand over the code. Walk away and open a dispute from your order page. If nobody confirms and no dispute is opened, payment releases automatically 3 days after the scheduled pickup date, so check your email reminders.
Safety first: meet in a public, well-lit place. Many police stations offer designated exchange spots. Bring a friend for high-value items, and keep all communication on SiliconExchange.
Your payment is held until delivery is confirmed, by the carrier's scan, by you or by our team. It's then released to the seller when you confirm the item is as described, or automatically 14 days after delivery, as long as no dispute has been opened. We recommend confirming as soon as your item arrives and checks out.
You can cancel for a full refund any time until the order is marked shipped (by the seller, or automatically at the carrier's first scan). You don't have to wait. If it still hasn't shipped 24 hours after their ship-by, you can also open a dispute. Either way, the seller is never paid on their word alone: nothing is released until delivery is confirmed (by the carrier's scan, by you or by our team) or a dispute is decided on the evidence. The ship-by is 3 business days after payment unless the listing stated a different handling time.
Once a dispute is resolved in your favor, we issue the refund to your original payment method within 1–3 business days. If the seller recorded the item's serial number before shipping (required for a graphics card over $1,000), a full refund for an item you send back is issued once the returned item is checked and matches that record. Banks then take their own time to post it. Refunds typically appear on your statement within 5–10 business days, depending on your card issuer.
Yes, whichever way it went. You can review the seller once your order is complete, or once it's been refunded after a dispute you opened with us. A return you asked for under the seller's return policy doesn't count as a dispute here. Honest reviews help the community make informed decisions.
You pay online and we hold the payment. Never pay cash at a meetup. At the exchange, inspect the item first; your 6-digit pickup code is what the seller enters to release the payment (and tapping Confirm Pickup releases it too), so only share it once you're satisfied. If the item isn't right, keep the code, walk away, and open a dispute. If the pickup never happens, open a dispute before the automatic release, which occurs 3 days after the scheduled pickup date.
Your own payment. While an order is in progress, your money sits in our Stripe platform account, not in our operating bank account and not with the seller. A refund simply returns funds that were never paid out in the first place, which is why buyer protection doesn't depend on us chasing a seller for the money. We also fund a dedicated reserve from our platform fees for claims outside that window. SiliconExchange is not an insurer, and our overall liability is set out in section 15 of the Terms.
Every listing is backed by buyer protection. Buy PC components from sellers identity-verified through Stripe, with your payment held until delivery is confirmed.
This page explains the Buyer Protection Program in plain English; the program itself is defined in our Terms of Service (§7), which govern. Last updated 2026-09-25.