Nobody holds your money.
The chain does.

When a painting changes hands here, the money waits on Ethereum until the buyer taps the painting's Hanko seal on arrival. This page explains the system and its rules in full.

From one collector to another

Four steps. The money moves once, at the end.

held on the chain · nobody in the middle
01
Seller taps the Hanko sealSets the price. Their deposit locks.
02
Buyer paysPrice, royalty and deposit lock on the chain. The buyer gives an address.
03
Seller postsSigned-for. Tracking recorded on the order page.
04
Buyer taps the Hanko sealOne tap: seller paid, royalty paid, both deposits back, record moved.

Each step is a button on the order page, and each of you is emailed when the other moves. Direct from the artist is simpler: you pay, the artist is paid at once, the painting is posted. No deposit, no waiting, no dispute.

Your key

The market runs on a key only you hold.

Made on your deviceIn your browser. Nothing to install.
12 words on paperThe words are the key. They open it anywhere, forever.
One tap to signA passkey: your face, finger or PIN. No password.
Never seen by usWe keep a locked copy we cannot open. Lose the words and the passkey, and the key is gone.

A wallet app such as MetaMask is a key too. Without a key you can look, but not buy or list. Make yours.

The deposits

Both sides stake the same. Walking away costs more than finishing.

30%
under 0.5 ETH
20%
0.5 to 5
15%
5 to 25
10%
25 to 100
5%
100 ETH and up
deposit as a share of the price, each side
price
+ deposit
+ 5% royalty
the buyer pays, in one go

Locked for the length of the sale, returned in full when it completes. The artist pays no deposit on a direct sale.

The courier

The buyer chooses the cover and pays for it. The fee travels with the price.

At checkout the buyer picks one of three tiers, priced by the size the seller declared. The fee is held on the chain with the price and paid to the seller when the buyer taps the Hanko seal. If the sale unwinds, it goes back to the buyer. A seller who cancels never pockets it.

TrackedA tracked parcel service. Cheapest, least cover.
Whonational post, DPD, DHL Parcel
Insurancenominal
Riskhighest
InsuredTracked, signed-for, insured to the price.
WhoDHL Express, FedEx, UPS, insured postal services
Insuranceto the sale price; check the carrier's cap for art
Riskmedium
CratedArt box or wooden crate, insured, specialist courier.
Whofine art shippers: ICEFAT and ARTIM member firms in most countries
Insurancefull value, art policy, condition report
Risklowest
Find a fine art shipper anywhereICEFAT and ARTIM are worldwide networks of art shippers; each lists its members by country.
Express carriers cap artDHL Express, FedEx and UPS limit or exclude declared value for artwork. Insure the work separately or go crated.
Pack for the worst dayCorner protectors, glassine, a rigid box or crate, no loose space. Photograph the work and the packing before sealing.
The seller carries the riskSigned-for delivery and the tracking are the seller's evidence. A lost parcel is a lost sale, and any claim is with the courier.

We are not a party to the shipment. The tiers are a guide and a fee; the seller chooses the courier, insures the work, and answers for it.

The clock

Sixty days. You are reminded before every deadline.

Day 0
The buyer pays.
Day 7
Not posted yet? The seller is reminded.
Days 46 · 55 · 59
Not tapped yet? The buyer is reminded.
Day 60
The window closes.
Posted, never tapped, never disputedThe sale counts as delivered. The seller is paid, the buyer's deposit comes back.
Never postedThe sale unwinds. The buyer gets everything back, the seller gets their deposit back.

A tap of the seal, or a dispute, is accepted at any time before the sale settles.

If something goes wrong

A dispute freezes everything. It ends one of three ways.

The buyer can raise one at any time while the sale is open. The seller is emailed with the buyer's words and the conversation opens on the order page.

Sorted between youThe buyer withdraws, or taps the seal when it arrives.
Price + royaltyseller, artist
Buyer's depositback to buyer
Seller's depositback to seller
The paintingto the buyer
The seller refunds the buyerCannot deliver, and ends the sale.
Price + royaltyback to buyer
Buyer's depositback to buyer
Seller's depositback to seller
The paintingstays with seller
Nobody movesEither side ends the deadlock. Nobody is paid.
Price + royaltyback to buyer
Buyer's depositburned
Seller's depositburned
The paintingstays with seller

The deadlock opens seven days after the dispute, and never before a posted painting has had thirty days to arrive. Burned means sent to an address nobody holds. There is no judge. The chain cannot tell who is telling the truth, so it makes sure the person who walks away always pays for it, and writes the outcome next to their address for everyone to see.

The rules

Four habits that make every sale end well.

Post signed-forRecord the tracking. The delivery signature is the seller's evidence.
Tap the Hanko seal the day it arrivesIt is the moment the seller is paid and your deposit comes back.
Talk firstThe conversation on the order page reaches the other person directly. Most problems are a late parcel.
Every address has a recordSales completed, disputes, deadlocks burned. From the chain, shown before you pay, edited by nobody.
If the seal does not respond

Rare, and the one case the chain cannot settle for you. Nobody can bypass the seal.

01
Try an iPhoneSome Android browsers cannot read the seal.
02
Message the sellerFrom the order page.
03
The seller refunds youEverything you paid comes back.
04
Only the artist can replace a sealBy his own hand, after a public waiting period on the chain. If he cannot, the record is closed as "seal offline" and stays with its last holder.
Questions about a sale of yours go through the conversation on its order page. The market's code is public and its address is on every painting's page.