Ether Escrow features in the Business Search Directory
An Ether Escrow allows the Seller to confirm that the Buyer has available funds,
and allows the Buyer to cancel the transaction before the Expiration Date.
  • Sell your products and services with no risk of chargebacks, bounced checks, or dangerous cash transactions.
  • Retain a record of each transaction; including Buyer and Seller Identity, Terms, Price, and Item Description.
  • Instead of using bank wires that cost more than $25, instantly send and receive funds via Ether for less than $1.
  • Ether has lower transaction fees, and faster transaction times, than Bitcoin. It has gone from $10 to over $500 in 12 months.
Create an Ether Escrow in less than 15 minutes:
  1. Install the MetaMask Chrome Extension. MetaMask is then displayed by clicking the 'dog' icon on the upper-right corner of the browser.
  2. Select Ropsten Test Net (on the upper-left corner of MetaMask), and then click [Buy], [ROPSTEN TEST FAUCET], and [request 1 ether from faucet]. In about a minute, you will have 1 ether of play money.
  3. Sign-up at the Business Search Directory. It's free! You will immediately receive an email with login instructions.
  4. On your Business Search Directory Administration page, click the Ether Escrows tab. By default, your ID will be entered as the Buyer ID#, and the Expiration Date/Time will be 48 hours from the current time.
  5. For this demonstration, enter a Purchase Price of $10, an Item Description, and (optionally) Terms, and click [Create New Escrow].
  6. If you selected the default Buyer ID (your ID), you can view the escrow as the Buyer, by clicking the grid entry directly beneath the Buyer heading.
  7. The escrow is always displayed as read-only to the Buyer. Imagine that you (the Buyer) accepted the terms of this escrow, and click [Transfer Funds To Escrow].
  8. The MetaMask Notification popup will ask you to confirm the transfer. Click [Submit] (remember this is only play money).
  9. The Status column of the grid entry will show Buyer Deposited pending. Wait 30 seconds and click the Refresh link at the top of the tab, and pending should go away.
  10. To again view the escrow as the Buyer, click the grid entry beneath the Buyer heading. You will then have two options: [Complete Purchase] or [Cancel Escrow]. To complete the purchase, click [Complete Purchase]. When the MetaMask Notification popup is displayed, click [Submit].
  11. When pending is not displayed (beneath 'Escrow Completed' in the Status column), display MetaMask (by clicking the icon on the upper-right corner of the browser).
  12. From within MetaMask, you will see that two transactions have occurred. The first transaction transferred funds from the Buyer's account to the contract (you were the Buyer), and the second transaction transferred funds from the contract to the Seller's account (you were also the Seller).
  13. If you had clicked [Cancel Escrow] (instead of [Complete Purchase]), the funds would have been transferred from the contract to the Buyer's account (instead of the Seller).
Rules:
  1. The user must be logged into MetaMask, with an account selected in either the Ropsten Test or Main Ethereum Network.
  2. When Seller clicks [Create New Escrow], no activity occurs in the Ethereum Network until Buyer clicks [Transfer Funds To Escrow].
  3. Buyer may not view an escrow unless they are logged into the same Ethereum Network (Ropsten Test or Main Ethereum) that was used when Seller created the escrow, and the same Account that Buyer used when they clicked [Transfer Funds To Escrow].
  4. Seller may not view an escrow unless they are logged into the same Ethereum Network AND Account that was used when Seller created the escrow.
  5. When Buyer clicks [Transfer Funds To Escrow], if they confirm the prompt that is displayed by MetaMask, then the funds are transferred from Buyer's account to an Ether Smart Contract.
  6. After Buyer has transferred funds to escrow (and before Expiration Date/Time is reached):
    • 'Buyer Deposited' is displayed in the Status column.
    • Seller may not edit or delete the escrow.
    • Buyer may Cancel the escrow at any a time, which will cause the funds to be returned to Buyer's account.
    • Buyer may Complete Purchase at any a time, which will cause the funds to be transferred to Seller's account.
  7. All Ethereum actions (including Deposit, Cancellation, Completion, and Default) will display 'pending' in the status area until a confirmation has been received from the Ethereum network.
  8. If the Expiration Date/Time has been reached:
    • If Buyer has not yet transferred funds to escrow, then the escrow will not be shown to Buyer. The escrow will appear to Seller with the status 'Expired'. The Seller may then delete the escrow, or edit the escrow with a later Expiration Date/Time.
    • If Buyer has transferred funds to escrow, but has not completed the purchase or cancelled the escrow prior to the Expiration Date/Time, then Seller may click a button to [Declare Default], which will cause the funds to be transferred to Seller's account.
Terms of Use:
  1. BusinessSearchIndex.com (the "Site") does not perform any Ethereum transfers. The Site sends messages to MetaMask, which requires that you perform an additional confirmation before any Ethereum transfer occurs.
  2. The Site is not affiliated in any way with MetaMask, or the Ethereum Network. Therefore, the Site is not responsible for any loss or damages caused by your usage of MetaMask or the Ethereum Network.
  3. The Site does not require that you provide any of your confidential information, and does not access any of your confidential information, such as private keys.
  4. The Site highly recommends that you perform the examples described on this webpage, and that you experiment with the Ropsten Test Network ('play money'), before participating in a 'real money' escrow.
  5. All terms contained in the Site's Terms Of Use also apply to the 'Ether Escrow' features.