Classifieds website OLX has partnered with a secure payment platform to facilitate transactions and deliveries between buyers and sellers across South Africa.
The platform, E-Escrow, will offer a means of trading across great distances easily while limiting any potential financial risk to buyers and sellers. “The partnership between E-Escrow and OLX means that OLX users can buy and sell safely from one province to another, with a guarantee that the seller will get paid when the buyer receives the item,” said OLX country manager Stephen Ballot.
How a transaction works is that the buyer pays E-Escrow for the product being purchased. “E-Escrow lets the seller know that they have received payment and dispatches a courier to collect the product. When it arrives, the buyer inspects the product and releases the funds to the seller by simply logging into their profile and clicking ‘release payment’.”
During this process the guaranteed funds are kept securely in the E-Escrow trust account.
For those still dubious about the veracity of goods sold online, the payment method also guarantees that buyers can reject items if they do not arrive as they were advertised.
“The item is then returned to the seller at no cost to either party. This is ideal for buying and selling items across distances or when buyers and sellers are unable to meet,” Ballot says. “We have effectively reduced the distance between parties to the effect that they might as well as be living next door to each other.”
Ballot says deliveries are sent and received within an average of three days and items can be tracked through the E-Escrow web site. Delivery times are even quicker when trading from city to city.
The cost to the seller is the standard delivery fee and to the buyer a transaction fee from using E-Escrow. OLX covers the return fee if items are rejected by buyers.
”Traditionally online classifieds have been a means of trading goods in or around your neighbourhood,” Ballot adds. “Now, with added technology such as this payment and delivery platform, location is no longer a barrier. It has made buying and selling that much easier for consumers across the country.”
