

Ask HN: Is there a way to set up an "escrow" online in case of fraud/damage? - Qworg

I&#x27;d like to set up a rental service for expensive, easily stolen goods.  In order to prevent fraud, I&#x27;d like to set up some sort of escrow service to cover the cost of the goods in case someone just declines to return them or damages the goods.<p>Is there a clean, unable to be &quot;charged back&quot; method to do this?  It doesn&#x27;t necessarily have to be credit cards, but that was the first thought for ease of use.
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egosophist
An easy method would be a deposit...we did this at one f my jobs in the
80's...people would rent VCR (yeah I know how old this makes me)...we had a
$125 charge that was released back to visa or MasterCard through the merchant
account...check with your banks merchant division. If they're worth their salt
they can easily help you with this...remember merchant accounts are not
afforde the same protections as personal accounts.

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jeffmould
Take a look at [http://balanced.com](http://balanced.com). They offer an
escrow service. Another option would be to initially charge the customer the
full price and refund when the product is returned. Or you could authorize the
credit card for the full amount for say a period of 7 days.

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Qworg
Thanks!

I thought about holds, but people may want to hold these goods for longer than
a week.

Are there any options that doesn't require them to lay out the whole amount of
money up front?

