Payment and trust on the marketplace

How trades work on the Worldwatch marketplace: a direct deal between two verified dealers. How payment works, why you can trust who you're dealing with, and how to protect yourself.

Every trade on the marketplace is a direct deal between two professional dealers. Worldwatch brings you together, verifies who you're dealing with, and gives you the tools to trade, but the sale contract is between you and the other dealer, not with us.

That's a deliberate choice. This is a trade network, and you deal the way the trade always has: dealer to dealer, on your own terms, with one difference. Here, you know who's on the other side.

The trade, step by step

A buyer sends a buy request on a listing.
The seller accepts the request. From this moment, the agreement is binding for both sides.
The buyer completes payment within 72 hours.
The seller ships the watch to the buyer.

Accepting is binding. The moment a seller accepts a buy request, the deal is binding for both sides, so ask your questions and confirm the watch before you send or accept one.

How payment works

Payment goes directly from buyer to seller, typically by bank transfer against the seller's invoice. Worldwatch does not hold funds and is not part of the payment.

You and the other dealer agree the payment terms, delivery, and any warranties between yourselves, just as you would in any trade deal. You can also choose to pay through a payment service integrated with the platform (such as Stripe or Mollie); those services are provided by third parties under their own terms.

Escrow is coming. We're building a payment-protection layer where funds are held until the watch is delivered as described. It's on the roadmap, and dealer demand moves it up the queue. If you want it sooner, tell us at support@worldwatch.market or through the feedback option in your dashboard. Every request counts.

Why you can trust who you're dealing with

There's no anonymous counterparty on this marketplace. Before any dealer can trade here:

Every dealer is verified. The marketplace is open to approved, verified professional dealers only: we confirm the business behind every account before it can list or buy, and marketplace access requires approval on top of a subscription. See dealer verification.
Every dealer has a track record you can see. Open any seller profile before you trade and check the objective numbers: how many watches they have listed, how many they've sold and bought on the platform, and how long they've been here. These stats come from real platform activity. They can't be bought or edited.
Every dealer has skin in the game. Failing to pay for a watch, failing to deliver one, or misrepresenting a listing violates the User Terms and puts a dealer's access to the entire platform at risk: the marketplace, the network, and the community.

Verification confirms who you're dealing with. It doesn't replace your own judgement on the deal itself. That stays with you, as it always has in this trade.

Before you trade: your due diligence

You're a professional dealing with a professional. Protect yourself the way you would in any trade deal:

Check the seller's profile first. Listings count, sold and bought history, time on platform, and country. A dealer with 200 listings and months of activity is telling you something.
Confirm the watch before you commit. Reference, condition, and included items: ask your questions before you accept or send a buy request, because acceptance makes the deal binding.
Agree the practical terms up front. Payment method, shipping, insurance, and who carries the risk in transit. Who creates the shipping label depends on the listing: the seller sets it to seller label (they ship) or buyer label (you ship), so check which applies before you commit. Insured shipment is strongly recommended on every trade.
Keep the conversation on the platform. If something goes wrong, a documented trail matters.

If something goes wrong

Talk to the other dealer first. Most issues between professionals resolve directly. If you can't reach a resolution, contact us at support@worldwatch.market with the trade details. We're not a party to the sale and can't force an outcome, but we can assist where we're able, and conduct that breaches the User Terms (non-payment, non-delivery, misrepresentation, counterfeit or stolen goods) is grounds for suspension or removal from the platform. Report it, always: it protects the next dealer too.