User Guide

Stripe is one of the world's largest and most strictly regulated payment providers. It is not a bank, but a licensed payment intermediary that processes card and mobile payments securely.

Stripe is used by hundreds of millions of online stores worldwide — well-known companies like Amazon, Shopify, and Uber rely on it daily. Stripe is PCI DSS certified, meaning your card details are processed to the highest security standards in the industry.

All payments on DropBid go through Stripe. The platform never handles your money directly, and the seller never sees your card number, expiry date, or security code. You enter your payment details directly into Stripe's secure checkout.

By law, Stripe verifies every seller's identity (AML/KYC regulations) before they can receive payments. This protects everyone from fraud and is a one-time process during seller onboarding.

Create an account, then go to Profile and fill in your full name, phone number, street address, city, country, and postal code. Choose your account type (private or company — if company, add your company name and VAT number).

This information is required before you can list items. Your address is also used as the pickup/origin address for freight shipping.

Go to Seller Dashboard — you'll see a yellow banner saying "Connect your bank account". Click Connect Bank to start the Stripe onboarding process.

Stripe will ask for your bank account details and verify your identity. Once complete, the banner turns green and you're ready to receive payouts.

You can list items before connecting Stripe, but you won't receive payouts until it's connected. Your payout is 92% of the sold price (8% platform commission).

Click Sell in the navigation to start the listing wizard:

• Step 1 — Photos: Upload 1–5 photos. AI automatically analyzes them and recognizes the product.
• Step 2 — Details: Review and edit the AI-filled details (title, category, brand, model, color, condition).
• Step 3 — Description: AI generates a bilingual (EN/FI) description using internet research. Review and approve it.
• Step 4 — Pricing: AI suggests market-based starting and floor prices. Set your starting price, floor price, price drop amount, and drop interval. Choose shipping method (freight, other, or both) and enter package weight and dimensions if offering freight.

Publish — your listing goes live immediately and the price starts dropping.

The price starts at your starting price and drops automatically by the drop amount at each interval you set. The first buyer to click Buy Now and complete payment wins the item.

The auction runs in up to 5 rounds (24 hours each). If no one buys in a round, the price resets and drops again in the next round. The floor price is reached only in round 5.

Want more eyes on your item? Go to Seller Dashboard or My Listings and click Boost on any active listing.

Choose 1–7 days at €4/day. Your listing appears at the top of search results for the entire boost duration. Pay via Stripe checkout.

The buyer pays via Stripe — funds are held in escrow (not released yet).

• Freight shipping (Posti, PostNord, FedEx): Go to My Listings → Create Shipment to generate the label and tracking number automatically for the carrier the buyer selected.
• Other method: Confirm delivery once you've shipped or handed over the item. This starts a 48-hour dispute window.

After delivery is confirmed and the 48-hour dispute window passes (or the carrier confirms delivery), your payout (92% of sold price) is released to your Stripe account. For other-method purchases, you also receive the €10 seller share of the €20 service fee (the platform retains €10).

Track all your sales and payouts in the Seller Dashboard.

→ See the Shipping Guide for full freight instructions

Visit the home page to see all active auctions. Filter by category and search by keyword. Each listing shows the current price, condition, and round number.

Prices drop automatically over time — the longer you wait, the cheaper it gets. But someone else might buy it first!

Click the heart icon on any listing to add it to your watchlist. Set a price alert threshold — you'll get an email when the price drops to or below your target.

View your watchlist anytime from the navigation.

The auction runs in up to 5 rounds (24 hours each). The price drops by a fixed amount at regular intervals. The floor price is the absolute minimum — it's reached only in round 5.

When you see a price you're happy with, click Buy Now before someone else does!

Click Buy Now at the current price on any active listing:

• Choose your shipping method (freight or other, if both are offered).
• If freight: compare shipping costs from Posti, PostNord, and FedEx and enter your delivery address to get a shipping cost estimate.
• If you choose other method (pickup / personal delivery), a fixed €20 service fee is added at checkout (€10 to the seller, €10 platform commission).
• Review the total: item price + 8% auction fee + freight shipping (if applicable) + €20 service fee (if other method).
• Accept the terms and proceed to Stripe checkout.
• Pay with card, Google Pay, Apple Pay, or MobilePay.

• Freight shipping: The seller creates the shipment with the selected carrier (Posti, PostNord, or FedEx) and books a pickup. You'll receive tracking updates by email.
• Other method: The seller confirms delivery, which starts a 48-hour dispute window. If there's a problem, file a dispute within 48 hours.

View all your purchases in My Purchases.

→ See the Shipping Guide for delivery and tracking details

Contact the seller directly from any listing page by clicking Message Seller. Use the Messages page to coordinate delivery details, ask questions, or arrange pickup.

If there's a problem with your delivery, you have 48 hours after the seller confirms delivery to file a dispute. After the 48-hour window, the seller's payout is automatically released.