Most deals on NoDitto go off without a hitch, and the system is built so that when one doesn’t, you’ve still got a way back. This page explains how that works and what you can do to keep yourself covered.
The one thing that matters most is keeping the whole deal on NoDitto. Pay here, chat here, and record your postage here. Everything we can do to help depends on the deal having happened on the platform, and if someone tries to move you somewhere else, that’s usually the first sign something’s off.
When you buy a card, the seller doesn’t get paid straight away. We hold your payment until you’ve received the card and accepted it, or until your inspection time runs out without a dispute. That inspection time is 7 days from when the carrier confirms delivery, and on a trade it’s 72 hours.
If something’s wrong, raising a dispute within that time freezes the money, so nothing gets paid out while our case team looks into it. And anyone who lists, sells or trades has had their photo ID and a selfie checked by Stripe first, so you always know there’s a real, verified person on the other side.
Scams on card marketplaces tend to look the same. The most common is someone asking you to pay another way, whether that’s a bank transfer, crypto, gift cards or a payment link, or asking to carry on the conversation over WhatsApp, Instagram, Discord or email. Once you leave NoDitto, there’s nothing we can reverse.
Be wary too if you’re being rushed because “another buyer is waiting”, if a valuable card is priced well under what it’s worth, if the seller won’t take the extra photos you ask for, or if you’re asked to post to an address that isn’t on the contract. We’ll also never ask for your password, your card number or a code, so anyone claiming to be NoDitto support who does isn’t us.
If something feels wrong, you can report the listing or the member from their page. They won’t be told who reported them.
These go into more detail. Open whichever one fits what you're doing.
Before you pay, take your time. Nothing is held for you until you pay, and paying is what commits you to the deal. Check that the seller shows as identity verified, and read the contract lines carefully, because they describe exactly what you’re buying in a way the listing title doesn’t. If it’s a graded card, look the certificate number up on the grader’s own website. The price you see includes the service fee, a fixed rate shown before you pay that covers Stripe's costs plus about 1% to NoDitto. Postage is passed through at cost.
When the parcel turns up, photograph it before you open it, with the label in view, and then film yourself opening it in one continuous take. Hang on to the packaging until the sale is finished. It sounds like a lot, but if anything’s wrong, that footage is what settles it.
You then have 7 days from carrier-confirmed delivery to accept the card or raise a dispute. If you do neither, the sale completes on its own. If you’re meeting the seller in person instead, there’s no inspection time afterwards, because confirming the handover completes the sale, so check the card properly before you confirm.
You’ll need to verify your identity before you can list, and it’s worth setting up payouts at the same time so there’s nothing holding up your money later. Describe each card precisely, because if there’s ever a dispute, it gets decided on what the contract says rather than on the listing. You'll receive your full price and postage. The buyer pays the service fee on top.
Once the buyer has paid, you’ve got 3 business days to post. Only send it once the contract itself shows the payment as collected, never because of a message or a screenshot. Before you seal the parcel, photograph the card and the packed box, then photograph the sealed parcel with the label showing, and keep your postage receipt. Use tracked postage and record the tracking in the contract room.
Your payout is sent once the sale completes and your payout account is active. Keep your photos and tracking even after that, since a card payment can occasionally be reversed by the buyer’s bank weeks later, and they’re your defence if it is.
A trade works a little differently, because instead of anyone paying, both of you put a temporary hold on your card for the value of your side. Nothing is charged and no money moves, but that hold only lasts about a week, which is why the deadlines on a trade are shorter than on a purchase.
You’ll both need verified identity and a saved card. When you agree the terms, write down exactly which cards you’re getting, then wait until both holds are in place before you post anything or meet up. Photograph your card before it leaves your hands, and either post it tracked or meet somewhere public.
If you meet in person, confirming the handover only records that you swapped. It isn’t the same as accepting the card. If the other person doesn’t show or a parcel goes missing, use “Handover failed”, which freezes the trade without charging anyone.
After the swap, you get 72 hours to inspect, and never less than 24. That clock starts at the agreed meeting time, or when the later of the two parcels is delivered. If the other trader turns out to have committed fraud, their hold is captured and paid to you, and their account is banned.
Pick somewhere public and busy with cameras around, like a card shop or a shopping centre, and either bring someone along or let someone know where you’ll be. Take your time checking the card. If the other person is hurrying you, treat that as a warning sign.
It helps to know what confirming the handover actually does. On a purchase, it completes the sale and releases the money to the seller, so there’s no going back. On a trade, it only records the swap, and you still have 72 hours to inspect what you received.
Sealed boxes and cases are the one thing the inspection window can’t really help with. Your 7 days runs whether you open it or not, and opening it is usually what destroys its value. If you keep it sealed, you’re accepting the contents without seeing them, and once the sale completes there’s nothing we can do.
So the checking has to happen before you pay. Ask for close-up photos of the seams, flaps and case code, and look for signs of resealing like wrinkled or re-shrunk film, glue, or re-taped flaps. Check that the seller has a history of completed sealed sales, ask for the weight on their postage receipt, and weigh it yourself the day it arrives.
Raise a dispute in the contract room while you’re still inside your inspection time, even if you haven’t gathered your evidence yet. You can add photos, video and tracking afterwards, and our case team reads everything both of you send. If you manage to sort it out between yourselves, you can withdraw the dispute.
If you’re refunded and you’ve still got the card, you’ll need to post it back within 7 days, and the refund goes through automatically once the carrier confirms it’s been delivered. A dispute freezes the money while we review it, which gives everyone time to sort things out, but it isn’t a promise that every loss will be covered.
We never handle the cards ourselves, so we can’t authenticate them, and we can’t help with anything that was paid for outside NoDitto. When neither side has any evidence, we usually can’t decide a claim either way. Binder and bulk listings don’t reserve individual cards, so nothing on them is held for you. And we’re not a replacement for the police, so if you’ve been the victim of serious fraud, report it to them and to ReportCyber as well.
If you were scammed outside NoDitto, we still can’t get your money back, but you can tell us about it. We check every report by hand and watch for the same person turning up here.
For more on identity checks, card holds and private deals, have a look at the Help page.
