For buyers
Buyer Protection
Every order on Makers Nearby is covered — start to finish. Your payment is held safely until you actually have what you paid for. Here's exactly how we protect you, how we vet every maker, and the rules that keep both sides honest.
What's covered
🔒
Your money is held until delivery
We don't release a cent to the maker until your order is delivered and confirmed. If it never arrives, those funds are still here to refund — not gone.
📦
Didn't arrive
Report it, and unless the maker can prove it was delivered, you're refunded in full.
🔍
Not as described
If what shows up is significantly different from the listing, send us the details and we'll make it right.
💳
Secure payments
Card payments run through Stripe. We never see or store your full card number.
✓
Verified makers only
Every shop is hand-reviewed and approved by us before it's allowed to sell a single thing.
📋
Regulated goods checked
Food, meat, beverages, body care and pet treats can't be listed until the maker's license is on file and verified.
How we verify every maker
"Verified" isn't a sticker here — it's a gate. Nobody sells on Makers Nearby without clearing it.
- ✓Hand-reviewed before selling. Every application is reviewed and approved by our team. No anonymous resellers, no drop-shippers — just real Florida makers, growers, and builders.
- ✓Licensed for regulated goods. Makers of food, meat, beverages, body care, or pet treats must submit the right state or federal license. We verify it and hold it on file — and because licenses expire, we track the dates. A lapsed license automatically pulls that maker's regulated listings until it's renewed. You can view a maker's verifications right on their shop page and on each product page. See what each category requires →
- ✓Cottage foods clearly disclosed. Home-kitchen foods sold under Florida's Cottage Food Law carry the required disclosure directly on the listing — you always know how something was made.
- ✓Reviews from real purchases. Ratings come only from verified orders, so what you read is from actual neighbors.
How it works when you order
The maker marks it delivered
When your order is handed off, dropped at your door, shipped, or collected at pickup, the maker marks it delivered. That starts your confirmation window.
You have 5 days
You'll be notified. Confirm you got it and everything's good — or report a problem right from your account.
Nothing to do? It auto-confirms
If all's well, you don't have to lift a finger. After 5 days the order confirms on its own and the maker is paid.
Reported a problem? We get proof from both
You describe what went wrong; the maker shows their evidence. We review both sides and resolve it — refund you, or release the funds to the maker.
Until you confirm — or the 5-day window lapses — the maker hasn't been paid.
That's the whole point: the money stays put until you're satisfied. It's your leverage and your protection, on every single order.
The proof rule — fair to everyone
When something's disputed, we ask both sides for proof. Here's how it lands — and it cuts both ways on purpose.
✓ If you were wronged
If your order genuinely didn't arrive, or it isn't what was described, and the maker can't
show valid proof otherwise — you're refunded. Full stop. A maker who ships nothing has nothing to stand on.
📦 If the maker can prove delivery
If you report "it never came" but the maker shows valid proof of delivery — carrier tracking
marked delivered, a signature, or a dated photo/record of the hand-off to your address — then the package
left the maker and reached you.
A package that was proven delivered but is lost or stolen afterward is a shipping-carrier matter, not a
marketplace refund. We'll help you open a claim with the carrier — that's exactly what their insurance is
for — but Makers Nearby won't refund against valid delivery proof. This protects you from a maker who ships nothing,
and it protects honest makers from "it never arrived" fraud. We can only keep prices fair for real makers
if the guarantee can't be gamed.
What we require of sellers — so you're covered
A maker only earns the benefit of the "proof rule" if they ship responsibly. These are the requirements every seller agrees to. When a maker skips them, the benefit of the doubt goes to you.
🚚 Shipped orders
- ✓Ship with a tracking number and mark the order shipped — no tracking, no delivery proof.
- ✓Signature confirmation on orders of $150 or more, so high-value deliveries are provable.
- ✓Ship only to the address on the order, within the stated handling time.
- ✓Package securely and appropriately for what's inside.
📍 Hand / local delivery & pickup
- ✓Hand delivery: capture proof of hand-off — a dated photo at the door or the recipient's confirmation — and deliver only to the order address.
- ✓Pickup: confirm the right buyer is collecting, and mark it collected only when they actually have it in hand.
- ✓Mark delivered at the moment of hand-off — not before.
On every order
- ✓Keep the evidence. Tracking, receipts, and hand-off photos are what a maker shows if an order is ever disputed.
- ✓Respond to a dispute within the window with that proof. Silence counts against the maker, not you.
- ✕Never take payment or arrange delivery off Makers Nearby. Off-platform deals carry no protection — for you or for them.
Bottom line: if a seller can't produce valid proof under these rules, your report stands and you're refunded.
What's not covered
- ✕Buyer's remorse after you've confirmed receipt — a change of heart isn't a defect.
- ✕Normal variation in handmade or grown goods — grain, color, size, and seasonal look differ piece to piece. It's made by a person, not stamped out by a machine. (A listing that's flat-out inaccurate is still covered.)
- ✕Loss or damage after you've confirmed delivery.
- ✕Anything bought or arranged off Makers Nearby.
- ✕Cottage-food taste preferences. Personal taste isn't a defect — but safety issues or mislabeling always are, and always covered.
This page explains how Buyer Protection works in plain language; it isn't a substitute for our full rules. See the Terms and, for makers, the Seller Agreement.
Shop with confidence.
Every order covered. Every maker verified. Your money held until you're satisfied.
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