Order Flow

How a paid order moves from checkout to funds release, what happens at each step, the deadlines that apply, and the automatic checks that run behind the scenes.

Overview

Every paid order on igitems is protected by escrow. Your funds are held by the platform until both sides confirm the order, or until a deadline closes it on your behalf. This page walks through that protection. The delivery time the seller commits to, the confirmation window that follows, and the automatic close-outs that stop an order from sitting open indefinitely.

The order lifecycle

Every paid order on igitems follows the same six-step path from checkout to funds release. The example below uses an account purchase.

1
Checkout
You start checkout and the order is created, waiting on your payment. If you do not complete payment within 15 minutes, the order is closed and the listing returns to the marketplace.
2
Payment received
Once your payment lands, the order is locked in and the seller is notified. This is the moment escrow begins.
3
Delivery
The seller delivers within the delivery time listed on the offer. That time can be Instant, 20 minutes, 2 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, or 48+ hours (48+ gives the seller up to 96 hours). Manual-delivery listings cannot commit to Instant or 20 minutes. For account sales, the seller delivers by posting the login on the order page.
4
Reveal and review
You reveal the login on the order page. The seller cannot confirm the order until you have actually opened the credentials. Before you can reveal them, you pass a quick captcha. If your account is not yet verified, you also complete identity verification.
5
Confirmation
Both sides confirm the order. You confirm delivery, the seller confirms the handover. Once both confirmations are in, the order is marked completed. Either side can confirm first. If you confirm first and the seller never does, the order closes automatically 5 days after your confirmation.
6
Funds release
Once the order is complete, funds are released to the seller's payout balance. At the same moment, 4% cashback on the order total is credited to your wallet, and the order counts toward your order history.

Timers and deadlines

Every timer you can encounter on an order, with the exact value and the condition it applies to.

Payment window

A pending payment holds an inventory reservation for a fixed window before the order is released back to the marketplace.

1
Reservation TTL
17 minutes from when you start checkout — the 15-minute payment window plus 2 minutes of slack, so the hold always outlasts the order it protects. For as long as your order is still payable, the listing stays off the marketplace.
2
Abandonment cutoff
15 minutes from when you start checkout. If your payment has not arrived by then, the order is closed and the listing returns to the marketplace.
3
Amount tolerance
The platform accepts payments up to about 10% short of the order total (plus roughly one dollar of slack for currency conversion). Anything below that is rejected and you are asked to pay again.

Delivery clock

Delivery time is set by the seller when they publish a listing. It starts counting from the moment payment is received.

1
Duration options
Instant, 20 minutes, 2 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, or 48+ hours. When a seller picks 48+ hours, they have up to 96 hours to deliver.
2
Manual delivery minimum
Manual-delivery listings cannot commit to Instant or 20 minutes. The floor is 2 hours.
3
Overdue state
If the delivery time elapses without a confirmation from the seller, the order is flagged as overdue on your dashboard. The order stays open and nothing is canceled automatically at this point.

Auto-confirmation

If neither side confirms an order after the seller marks it delivered, the platform closes it on your behalf after a wait. The length of that wait depends on whether the seller is verified.

1
Verified seller
With a verified seller, the order closes 4 days after the seller marks it delivered.
2
Unverified seller
With an unverified seller, the wait is 14 days, and only if the seller has messaged you on the order and you have been silent for at least 7 days.
3
You confirmed first
If you confirm before the seller does, the order closes automatically 5 days after your confirmation.
4
Lower bound
No order is considered for auto-confirmation until it is at least 3 days old, regardless of which branch applies.

※The automatic close-out runs on a schedule, so an order may close a few hours after the stated deadline rather than at the exact minute.

Reminder ladder

While you are waiting on delivery, the platform sends up to four reminders to move the order forward.

1
R1 at 16h
Sent if the seller has not messaged you on the order.
2
R2 at 2d
Sent if the seller has not messaged you.
3
R3 at 4d
Sent whether or not the seller has messaged.
4
R4 at 10d
Sent whether or not the seller has messaged. No more than four reminders are ever sent on a single order.

Delivery modalities

The order flow is the same across every category. Only the way the item actually changes hands varies, in one of two ways.

Credential and code delivery

Applies to accounts and to game keys or codes. The seller posts the credentials or the code to the order page, and you reveal them. For account sales, the seller can only confirm the order after you have actually opened the login. For Kinguin key orders, the platform holds the key on your behalf until you reveal it, and once you do, the key is yours and the reveal cannot be undone.

In-game and coordinated delivery

Applies to in-game currency, in-game items, gifts, and services (including boosting, where you grant the seller temporary access to your account). Delivery happens in-game or by coordinating directly with the seller on the order chat. Escrow, delivery deadlines, and the confirmation window work exactly the same as in the main flow. Only the handover itself is different.

Order status

Every order shows a status on your dashboard. The status tells you what stage the order is at, what actions are open to you, and what notifications you will get next.

The stages an order moves through

Every order passes through the same short sequence of stages. If you see one of these labels in an email or in a message from our staff, this is what it means.

1
Awaiting payment
The order is created and waiting for your payment to arrive.
2
In progress
Your payment has landed. The seller has the delivery window to hand the item over, and after that you have the confirmation window to accept it.
3
Key ready to claim
Only on Kinguin key orders. The platform is holding the key for you until you reveal it. If you have not revealed it after 24 hours, the platform claims it for you.
4
Completed
Both sides confirmed the order (or it was auto-closed after the deadline). The seller has been paid out.
5
Refunded
Funds have been returned to you.
6
Canceled
The payment did not go through, or it was canceled before the order started.
7
On hold
The igitems staff is reviewing the order before it moves further. This is rare.

The status label on your dashboard

At the top of each order page, a status label tells you where the order stands and what to do next.

1
Awaiting payment
Waiting for your payment to arrive.
2
Awaiting delivery
Your payment has landed. The seller has not yet handed the item over.
3
Needs your confirmation
The seller has marked the order delivered. Confirm on the order page once you have received what you paid for.
4
Your key is ready
A Kinguin key is waiting for you to reveal on the order page.
5
Completed
The order is finished and the seller has been paid.
6
Refunded
The order was refunded and the funds have been returned to you.
7
Canceled
The payment did not go through, or the order was canceled before it started.
8
On hold
The igitems staff is reviewing the order.

What happens automatically

Alongside your actions and the seller's, the platform runs a short set of automatic checks on every order. These run in the background and you do not need to trigger them. The list below is here so you can see exactly what the platform does on its own.

Reservation and payment sweeps

1
Reservation expiry
The platform checks for expired holds every 30 seconds and returns those listings to the marketplace. This is a backstop — an abandoned order normally releases its listing first.
2
Abandoned-payment sweep
Any unpaid order that has sat for more than 15 minutes is closed within about a minute, and the listing is returned to the marketplace.
3
Auto-confirmation sweep
Every few hours, the platform reviews orders that are at least 3 days old and closes the ones whose deadlines have passed, using the timers described in section C above.

Right after your payment lands

The moment your payment lands, the platform runs a few checks before showing you the success screen.

1
Post-purchase risk check
On orders above $20, the platform runs a short risk check on the payment. If anything looks off, you may be asked to complete identity verification before the order continues.

After an order completes

The moment an order is completed, a few things happen for you at the same time.

1
Cashback credit
4% of the order total is credited to your wallet as cashback. This is applied once per order, automatically.
2
Review reminder email
Sent 3 to 5 days after completion, once per order.
3
Auto-review closure
45 days after a completed order, if you or the seller has not left a review, the platform fills in a neutral 5-star review with no comment under an Anonymous name, so that the other side is not left waiting forever.

Notifications

Every step on the order sends a notification. The list below covers the four you will receive.

Payment received

You receive an email and an in-app notification, and a welcome message is posted on the order chat. The seller is notified at the same moment across every channel they use, so your paid order reaches them within seconds.

Seller marks delivered

You receive an email and an in-app notification, and a note is posted on the order chat that the seller has marked the order delivered.

Order completes

When both sides have confirmed, the order is marked complete. You receive a completion notification, funds are released to the seller, and your 4% cashback is credited to your wallet.

Auto-completion

When the order is closed automatically, you and the seller each receive an email, a push notification, and an in-app notification, plus a note on the order chat that the order was closed on your behalf.

See it live

Your orders — This page shows the current status, timers, and confirmation controls for every order you have on igitems.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

When do funds actually reach the seller on an igitems order?

Funds are released the moment the order is marked complete. That happens when both sides confirm the order, when you confirm and the seller stays silent for 5 days, or when the platform automatically closes an order whose deadline has passed. Until then, your payment sits in escrow on the platform.

How long do you have to confirm delivery on igitems?

It depends on whether the seller is verified. With a verified seller, the order is auto-closed 4 days after the seller marks it delivered. With an unverified seller, the wait is 14 days, and only if the seller messaged you on the order and you have been silent for at least 7 days.

What happens to an igitems order if you do not pay within 15 minutes?

The order is closed, the listing is returned to the marketplace, and it becomes available to other shoppers. The reset happens within about a minute.

What is an igitems escrow order?

On any paid order, your funds are held by the platform until the order is marked complete. The seller cannot withdraw payment until both sides confirm the order, or until the auto-close deadline closes it on your behalf.

Does igitems reward you for completed orders?

Yes. On any order that reaches completion, 4% of the order total is credited to your wallet as cashback. The credit is applied automatically the moment the order is completed, and it only lands once per order.