Paintball Vault Protection

Paintball Vault Protection is what makes our community so strong. Here's how we ensure a positive experience within the Paintball Vault marketplace, whether you're a buyer or a seller.

Paintball Vault Protection For Buyers

With Paintball Vault, you're protected from any fake, faulty, or falsely advertised items.

What Protection Costs

Paintball Vault Protection is a 2.5% + $0.30 fee on your order total (your items plus shipping), shown as its own line at checkout. The rate is the same no matter how you choose to pay. It funds the guarantee behind every order:

• You're only charged when your order ships. No shipment, no charge.
• Shipping insurance is included on every Paintball Vault label.
• If your order is lost in transit, you get a full refund.

Buy Safely & Securely

Paintball Vault understands the excitement that comes with getting new gear as well as the disappointment that sets in if there's any issues. In the unlikely event that a problem with your order arises, please let the seller know within 48 hours of receiving your item and enable a dispute when reviewing the transaction. For more information on how to handle returns or disputes, visit our Cancellations & Refunds page.

Qualifying For Paintball Vault Protection

Orders must be carried out directly through the Paintball Vault apps or website to qualify for Paintball Vault Protection. This includes record of both payment and shipment. Any order transacted through private messaging or offsite does not qualify. Additionally, disputes not resolved between the buyer and seller must be communicated to Paintball Vault within 7 days of the shipment being delivered (or within 14 days of the anticipated delivery date in cases of non-delivery).

If Your Gear Never Arrives

How we handle it depends on what the tracking shows. See If Your Gear Never Arrives for what to do.

Paintball Vault Protection For Sellers

Secure Transactions

Paintball Vault makes it simple and safe for buyers to purchase from you, no matter what payment method is used. Paintball Vault handles the payment processing and fraud prevention. After a buyer receives your item and submits a review that is not marked as a disputed transaction, your earnings will be transferred to your linked earnings account. For no additional fee, every seller is opted in to accepting credit card payments, as well as financing options through Affirm, Klarna and Afterpay. For more information on seller fees, see our Selling guide.

If A Buyer Says It Never Arrived

We start with the carrier's tracking on the Paintball Vault label. Insurance claims are decided by our third-party shipping insurance provider, not by USPS, UPS or Paintball Vault.

• Tracking shows the package is lost: we file the claim for you. The label is insured for the sale price of the gear. Once the claim is approved, the buyer is refunded and you receive the claim amount. Claims can take several weeks.
• Tracking shows delivered: the carrier's delivery record is our starting point. We review the claim and gather information from the people involved. A claim is never guaranteed.

A claim made within 48 hours of delivery holds your earnings until we've looked into it.

Contact us first if a package goes missing. We may ask you to help open a trace with the carrier, but the insurance claim goes through us.

This only applies to packages shipped with the label from the order. The carrier has to scan the package for insurance to apply, and gear shipped with your own postage or handed over in person can't be verified or insured.

If A Buyer Says The Box Was Empty

Tell us right away and keep everything. We review the records from both sides before anything is decided.

Shipping insurance covers loss or damage in transit. It doesn't cover gear taken through fraud or deception. That makes your own records the best protection, especially the packing photos and receipt below.

If A Buyer Files A Chargeback

A chargeback is when a buyer disputes the charge with their bank or card issuer instead of with us. Stripe notifies Paintball Vault, not you, so here's what happens:

1. The order moves to Payment Disputed. If your earnings haven't been sent yet, they're held.
2. We contact you for anything that will help, then submit the evidence to the bank through Stripe. You don't deal with Stripe or the bank yourself.
3. The bank makes the decision, which can take weeks or months. Paintball Vault doesn't control the outcome.
4. If the bank rules in your favor, the order goes back to normal and your earnings are released. If it rules for the buyer, the payment is reversed.

Sellers are responsible for chargebacks. If a chargeback isn't reversed, you can lose both the gear and the payment, even if the buyer received the gear and even if you've already been paid. Paintball Vault doesn't cover that loss, and neither does shipping insurance. We may recover the amount by reversing your payout or deducting it from future payouts, as described in our Terms & Conditions.

We will work with you to dispute fraudulent chargebacks, and we've gotten them reversed before. Your evidence is what helps win these cases, so take the photos below before you ship.

How We Review A Claim

Every claim gets reviewed, and a buyer's word alone doesn't decide it. We look at the order, the carrier's records and the messages between you, and we hear from both sides. Some decisions belong to our insurance provider or the buyer's bank, but we'll tell you where things stand.

We don't publish everything we check, because that would help the people trying to cheat the system.

Paintball Vault has the final say on how orders, refunds and disputes are handled on our platform. Banks and our insurance provider make their own decisions, and we can't overrule them.

If You Get A Claim

• Tell us right away and answer quickly when we ask for something.
• Keep the conversation in Paintball Vault messages.
• Don't send a refund, a replacement or money outside of Paintball Vault. We can't protect a payment we can't see.
• Don't agree to a return until you've talked to us.

Warning Signs Before You Ship

Contact us before shipping if a buyer:

• Asks you to ship to a different address, or to change the delivery after it ships
• Offers to pay or finish the sale outside of Paintball Vault
• Pressures you to ship right away or skip the label
• Asks you to leave the value or contents off the package

Trust your gut. You can always block a member and ask us to review the order.

False Claims Are Fraud

Knowingly making a false claim is fraud and is illegal, whether it comes from a buyer or a seller. That includes saying a delivered order never arrived, saying a box came empty when it didn't, filing a chargeback on an order you received, or shipping an empty box or the wrong item on purpose.

If we suspect a false claim, we may hold funds, suspend or close the accounts involved, and report it to local authorities and our insurance provider. We may also share order, message and shipping records with them. See our Code Of Conduct for the full policy.

What To Keep For Every Sale

Do this before you seal the box. You can't go back and take these photos after a dispute starts. Banks can accept a chargeback for up to about 120 days after a charge, so hold on to these for at least six months:

• Photos of the gear before you pack it, including any wear and any serial number
• A photo of the gear in the open box
• A photo of the sealed box with the label on it
• Your post office or UPS drop-off receipt
• Your listing photos and description

Keep all of your conversation with the buyer in Paintball Vault messages. We can see those messages and use them as evidence. Video of you packing isn't required, but it doesn't hurt on high-value gear. Never ship to a different address than the one on the label, even if the buyer asks, since that voids your proof of delivery.

Pack with insurance in mind too. Claims can be denied if the gear is packed poorly or the outer box describes what's inside, so use a plain box and not a manufacturer's or branded one. If there's a problem with a delivered package, keep the box and all the packaging until the claim is finished.

Giving Your Buyers More Payment Options

Safely accept the most popular payment methods, including credit and debit cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay. Paintball Vault also offers the buyers financing for your items. You get paid the same no matter what method of payment the buyer uses, but with the added benefit of letting your buyers pay how they choose.

Choosing Who You Deal With

Protection also means being able to step away from a member you'd rather not transact with. Blocking a member stops them from messaging you, making offers on your gear, or buying from you, and closes any offer still open between you. See Blocking A Member for how it works and how to undo it.