An illustrative story — the situation repeats in many lofts; names and details are changed. Not a customer testimonial.
Nora from Ismailia breeds Egyptian Shami. In the Ghuzar market she saw a new store selling plastic nest bowls and drinkers 30% below the going price. She ordered for 950 EGP, chose the shipping company the store offered, and paid from the wallet.
A week: the order was "preparing." Ten days: the same status. She sent a message — no reply. Two weeks — the store had stopped replying to anyone.
Where was the money?
This is the difference between buying with escrow and anything else: the 950 never went to the seller. When Nora paid, the amount was held in escrow — nobody can touch it until one of two things happens: Nora taps "Received," or 48 hours pass after a recorded delivery. There was no delivery at all — so the money stayed put.
What she did
From the order page ⇐ Dispute: she wrote up the situation and uploaded screenshots of the messages. The admins reviewed: the order was never shipped, the seller did not reply within the deadline ⇐ order cancelled and the full amount returned to the wallet. The stock went back to the store automatically (not that it mattered).
The store received a suspension from the admins with a written reason until its owner responds and explains — the suspension shows in the seller dashboard, and its previous orders were reviewed.
How it ended
Nora bought the same supplies from the official Ghuzar store at a slightly higher price, and they arrived in 3 days. She now looks at two things before any order: the store's rating and the number of completed orders — the new store had zero on both, and the cheap price was the tell.
The lesson: on Ghuzar the money goes to the seller after you receive, not before. Use the dispute if it's late, and rate after you receive so the next person knows. Details in part 5 of the guide.
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