How it Works

KnifeMarket is the first online marketplace for knives and knife-related products. It is simple to use, and most importantly, a transparent and secure platform dedicated to trading knives.

Learn about the BUYING and SELLING process on KnifeMarket.

BUYING ON KNIFEMARKET

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Buying Process

Buying a knife on KnifeMarket is almost the same as buying from an online shop, but there are some specifics. The buying process is secure and the Seller only receives your payment once you confirm the delivery of the ordered item(s). Learn more about our Buyer Protection.

To buy a knife, you must be registered on KnifeMarket.Log in to your KnifeMarket account with your email address and password. Sign up if you haven't registered yet, it's free.

Buying a knife on KnifeMarket is done in 3 steps:

  1. Browse to find your new knife, then click on the "Add to cart" button. You can add multiple items to your cart, even from different Sellers, regardless of their location.
  2. Head over to your Cart. Select the delivery method offered by the Seller(s).
  3. Click on "Checkout", enter your delivery address and proceed to payment. Enter your credit card information and place the order.

IMPORTANT: Once you submit your order, we check if enough funds are available on your card and create a pre-authorization (no money is taken from your card at this time).

Payment

Seller has 72 hours to accept or decline your order. When the Seller accepts your order, your funds will be transferred to a secure Escrow account at Stripe (the world's leading credit card processor) where it is kept safe until you have the knife in your hands. Only when you confirm that you have successfully received your order, the payment will be transferred to the Seller.

All payments are processed directly on KnifeMarket. We accept all major debit and credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Diners Club, JCB).

In case the Seller declines your order, pre-authorization will be removed from your card in 1-3 business days.

Service fee

We charge a 3% service fee for every accepted order. Only if the seller accepts the order, a fee will be charged. If the order is rejected, the full amount, including the service fee will be refunded.

A service fee is added at checkout. With the service fee, we can keep the lights on and continue providing knife communities with a safe and transparent platform to trade knives and knife-related products.

Example: You want to purchase a knife priced at $100. At checkout, a 3% service fee will be added, changing the total amount to 103$.

Shipping Process

Shipping is organized by KnifeMarket to ensure the best deliverability, traceability and security.

Every order placed on KnifeMarket is shipped with a tracking number and is 100% insured for the full amount (including the shipping cost).

When the Seller confirms your order, they receive a prepaid shipping label from KnifeMarket. Once it is shipped, you will receive an email notification with the tracking number. You can also find the tracking number by logging into your KnifeMarket account under Orders.

Confirming Delivery

Once you receive your order and everything looks OK, you should confirm delivery by clicking on the link in the email you received when your order was shipped. You can also confirm delivery in your KnifeMarket's account dashboard, under Orders.

The money is not transferred to the Seller's bank account until you complete this step within 5 days after delivery. If you don't confirm delivery in 5 days, the payout will be automatically initiated to the Seller on day 7.

 

Returns & Refunds

Buyers have 5 days upon delivery to initiate a return and receive their money back. To successfully file a return & refund request, send an email to returns@knife-market.com with proof photos of any damage to the item and a clear description of the claim. Our team will guide you through the rest of the process.

There are two types of Return Policies here at KnifeMarket. Learn about them here: Return Policy.

Contact Us

The KnifeMarket team is always available to help ensure the entire purchasing process runs smoothly. Contact us if you have any questions or concerns.
Please note: Your contract partner is always the Seller.

SELLING ON KNIFEMARKET

Table of Contents:

 

Create a Listing

KnifeMarket is a secure platform to sell your knives. We provide protection not only for the Buyers, but also for you, our Sellers. A transparent and secure place to trade knives and knife-related items. Read on to learn more about the selling process on KnifeMarket.

You can start selling your knife on KnifeMarket in a few minutes:

  1. Sign up to KnifeMarket with your email address.
  2. Create your first listing. Select the category of the item you want to sell.
  3. Provide the details of your item and upload photos. Quality images sell better. Read our Photo Guidelines for tips.
  4. Select your own Return Policy. Learn about the Sellers' Return policy.
  5. Select shipping regions that apply to you.
  6. Publish the listing.

Listing Verification

Every time you submit a new listing, you will receive an email from KnifeMarket to verify your listing. We will email you a randomly generated code which you need to write down on a piece of paper and take a photo of the code next to the item you are selling. Then email this photo back to us. This is to ensure you indeed own the item you are selling.

Until you complete this step, you will not be able to sell the item. Buyers will be able to place the order, but we will cancel it unless we receive your verification photo.

You have 5 days to submit the verification photo. After 5 days, we will hide the listing from KnifeMarket until you submit the photo.

Dishonest Listings

We want to provide a safe place for trading knives, and this means creating trust between Buyers & Sellers. That is why every purchase on KnifeMarket is covered by our Buyer Protection program. In case the item you are selling is not in the same condition as advertised, Buyers are eligible for a full refund with the two-way shipping costs included. In such cases, all shipping costs are covered by you, the Seller.

Buyers may be eligible for a refund for the following reasons:

  • Inaccurate match to the listing
  • Not authentic / counterfeit
  • Undisclosed damage
  • Wrong item

This means there are no upsides to creating dishonest listings. It will only cost you additional money and can result in being banned from the KnifeMarket platform, and/or legal action.

KnifeMarket will investigate every claim presented to determine if the item is as described or warrants a return or refund. We understand that there might be dishonest buyers out there, so we will investigate every claim in detail. It is in your best interest to take photos of the item and the package with the visible shipping label before shipping it to the Buyer.

Find more information about KnifeMarket's Return Policy.

Stripe Connect Onboarding

After creating your first listing on KnifeMarket, you will be redirected to the ID check and bank account information section. Complete the information required by Stripe so you will be able to receive the payout once you sell your knife. The listing you created will be published, but until you complete Stripe's Verification process, buyers will not be able to purchase your item. The "Add to cart" button will be hidden until you complete the verification process.

This process is called “Know Your Customer” (KYC) and is required by Stripe (our payment processor and Escrow account provider). These requirements come from Stripe's regulators and are intended to prevent abuse of the financial system.

Generally, private sellers need to enter the following information, but this can vary depending on your country:

  • Full name
  • Date of birth
  • Address (validated city, state, and ZIP code)
  • Email
  • Phone
  • Tax information (US-only, last 4 digits of SSN)

Commercial sellers will need to provide additional details about their business. For a complete list of requirements by country, see Stripe's documentation: https://stripe.com/docs/connect/required-verification-information.

Understanding Escrow Account

Escrow is an agreement between two people or organizations in which money is kept by a third person or organization (in our case this is Stripe, the world's leading payment processing platform) until a specific condition is met.

On KnifeMarket, the Buyer will pay for the goods or services by transferring money to a third-party escrow account until the order is completed. Then the money is transferred to you, the Seller.

Accepting an Order

When the Buyer makes a purchase, you will receive an email notification. You have 72 hours to accept or decline the order. If you accept the order, the Buyer's money will be transferred to the Escrow account. You can start preparing your order for secure shipping. You will receive a pre-paid shipping label from KnifeMarket via email.

IMPORTANT: You are shipping sharp blades. Protect the knife so it won't hurt anyone along the way!

Shipping

For full transparency and traceability, all orders placed on KnifeMarket are shipped with trackable and fully insured courier shipping labels. All shipping labels are provided by KnifeMarket. At the moment, it is not possible to use your own shipping services.

You can choose between multiple shipping options for each listing you create:

  • Domestic shipping only
  • Domestic & International shipping
  • Local pickup (free)

Shipping costs are predetermined based on your location and the location of the Buyer. We have negotiated rates from multiple courier services to get the best prices available for most destinations around the world.

Shipping cost is added at checkout and is covered by the Buyer. We currently do not offer a "Free shipping" option, but you can always lower the price of your item.

Once you confirm the order for your listing (you have 72 hours to do so), you will receive from KnifeMarket a prepaid shipping label via email. You have 5 business days to ship the order, otherwise the order will be canceled and the Buyer will receive a full refund. Contact us if you will need more than 5 business days to arrange for shipping.

Selecting Shipping Options

Only choose shipping profiles that apply to you - From [[SELECT YOUR COUNTRY]] to [[CHOOSE LOCATIONS]]. Since the Buyer pays for shipping, we recommend selecting all shipping destinations available from [[YOUR COUNTRY]].

Note: Please only choose shipping options that correspond to your own country. It will only create confusion among Buyers and disrupt the process of generating shipping labels.

Local Pickup

Only select the Local pickup option if you are willing to meet with customers in-person. Buyers will need to contact you before making a purchase to arrange a delivery time and place. We recommend a safe, public place for the meeting.

IMPORTANT: While it may be enticing to handle payment during the pickup (to avoid paying KnifeMarket's commission fee), we highly recommend that the payment is handled via KnifeMarket as both you and the Buyer will lose all the privileges our platform offers. Also, handling cash in front of strangers can lead to uncomfortable situations.

My country is Not Listed

KnifeMarket is a fairly new platform. If your country is not listed, this simply means that you are the first to sell from your country. Congrats!

Contact us and we will add your country to shipping profiles. We will determine shipping prices from your country to destination countries based on our negotiated rates.

IMPORTANT: To not lose the work you did on your listing, select "Local pickup" as a shipping option, hit "Save" and then contact us.

Can I add my own shipping profiles and prices?

At this moment, it is not possible to add your own shipping profiles and prices. All orders need to be shipped with the shipping labels we provide. This is to ensure that every shipment can be tracked, fully insured, and securely delivered to the Buyer.

 

KnifeMarket's Commission Fee

Creating a listing on KnifeMarket is completely free. For every accepted order, we charge a commission fee of 7% 1%* (promotional fee). This fee is deducted from the Seller's account during payout.

*Note: KnifeMarket was created and is supported by SharpEdge, an online shop for Japanese kitchen knives. The 1% commission fee is a promotional fee to help bring in new sellers, as KnifeMarket is a new service in the knife industry. We invite all sellers to join now and take advantage of the promo fee. The promo fee will eventually end, and a standard 7% fee will apply, but we will announce any change in fees ahead of time via email.

 

Receiving Payment

Your earnings will be released from our Escrow account 7 days after the successful delivery has been made (based on the courier's delivery time on the tracking information). Your earnings (minus KnifeMarket's 1% commission fee) will be transferred to the bank account you specified during the Verification process. Please allow for an additional 1-3 business days for your earnings to reach your bank account.

Contact Us

The KnifeMarket team is always available to help ensure the entire process runs smoothly. Contact us if you have any questions or concerns.