Help Centre

Buy Now lets you purchase an item immediately at the seller's full price - no waiting, no bidding. The Buy Now button is available at all times, even once an auction is underway.

Auction starts automatically 7 days before the seller's deadline. The item goes to the highest bidder when the auction ends. Auctions start at the seller's minimum price and go up to (but not including) the Buy Now price.

First, contact the seller directly through your order page using the message button. If you can't reach an agreement:

• MaltaPost orders: open a dispute before clicking "Confirm Receipt". Once you confirm, the escrow is released and refunds require seller cooperation.
• Hand-to-hand orders: inspect the item carefully before clicking "Confirm Receipt" - that is your protection. Do not confirm until you are satisfied.

No. You cannot buy or bid on your own listings. This is enforced automatically by the platform.

Yes. On any active listing you can click Make an Offer to propose a price below the Buy Now price. The seller is notified and can accept or decline in the chat thread. If accepted, you'll receive a notification and can proceed to checkout at the agreed price.

Offers expire automatically after 24 hours if the seller doesn't respond.

A Bundle Offer lets you select two or more items from the same seller and make a single combined offer for all of them. To create one, open the seller's profile page, tick the items you want, enter your offer amount, and submit.

The seller can accept or decline in the chat. If accepted, you pay for the whole bundle in one checkout. Bundle Offers also expire after 24 hours.

No. Make an Offer and Bundle Offer are only available during the active (non-auction) phase. Once an item enters the auction phase, only bids are accepted.

You'll receive a notification and a message in your Messages inbox. Open the conversation and click Accept or Decline. If you accept, the buyer is notified and can proceed to checkout at the agreed price. Offers expire automatically after 24 hours if you don't respond.

Auctions start automatically 7 days before the seller's deadline. During the auction phase the Buy Now option is no longer available - only bidding. The auction ends exactly at the seller's deadline date.

Each new bid must beat the current highest bid by at least:

Current highest bid	Min increment
Up to €50	€1
€51 – €200	€5
€201 – €500	€10
€501 – €1,000	€25
Over €1,000	€50

Yes. Placing a bid is a commitment to buy at that price if you win. Your card is charged at the time of bidding - if you are outbid, your payment is automatically refunded. Do not bid unless you intend to pay.

Bids cannot be removed once placed. This ensures a fair process for all participants. Note that listings cannot be edited once a bid has been placed, so bids are always for the item as originally described. If you have a genuine concern, contact us via the Contact page.

Since your card was already charged when you placed the winning bid, your order is created automatically - no further payment step is needed. You'll receive a notification and can track your order from the Orders page.

The listing is marked as Expired and the seller receives a notification. To sell the item again, the seller can create a new listing at any time.

You set two prices when creating a listing:

• Buy Now price - the full price someone can buy immediately.
• Minimum price - the lowest amount you will accept at auction.

The listing shows at the Buy Now price until 7 days before your deadline, when an auction begins at the minimum price. Bids can go up to - but not including - the Buy Now price.

Listing is completely free. We charge a 10% service fee (minimum €1.00) only when your item sells. The fee is automatically deducted from the sale price before your payout is transferred to your Stripe account. There are no hidden or monthly charges.

Yes. To receive payouts you must connect a Stripe account via your Profile page. Stripe is our payment processor and handles all money transfers securely. Setup takes about 5 minutes and requires a bank account or debit card for payouts.

Hand-to-hand: as soon as the buyer clicks "Confirm Receipt", the escrow is released immediately and your payout is sent to Stripe. If the buyer paid but never came to collect, the escrow is released automatically after 7 days.

MaltaPost: your payout is released when the buyer clicks "Confirm Receipt", or automatically 5 days after you enter the tracking number - whichever comes first. Unless the buyer opens a dispute before then. Stripe then transfers funds to your bank on their standard schedule (usually 2–3 business days).

You can edit or delete a listing from My Listings, but only if it has no active bids. Once a bid has been placed, the listing is locked - this protects bidders who have already been charged.

Yes. On Step 3 of the listing wizard you will find an Enable auction toggle. When turned off, your listing stays active at the Buy Now price until your deadline - no auction phase, no minimum price required.

The trade-off: if no one buys at full price, the listing simply expires. With auction enabled, buyers can compete for the item in the final 7 days, which gives you a chance to sell at or above your minimum price even if the Buy Now price wasn't met.

On Step 1 of the listing wizard there is a New item toggle. Enable it if the item is brand new and unused. Items marked as new display a New badge on their listing card, and buyers can filter for new items using the Condition dropdown on the listings and category pages.

Use natural light and photograph against a plain background. Include multiple angles - front, back, sides, and any defects or damage. The first photo becomes your main thumbnail. Clear, honest photos lead to faster sales and fewer disputes.

We accept all major credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex) via Stripe. Apple Pay and Google Pay may also be available depending on your device and browser.

Yes. All payments are processed by Stripe, which is PCI-DSS Level 1 certified - the highest level of payment security. Malta's Garage never sees or stores your card details.

When you pay for an item, the money is held securely by Stripe (in escrow). The seller cannot access it until the transaction is confirmed complete. This means if the item never arrives or doesn't match the description, you have a window to dispute the transaction before the seller is paid.

MaltaPost orders: do not click "Confirm Receipt" if there is a problem. Open a dispute from your order page - our team will review the case and can issue a full or partial refund.

Hand-to-hand: do not click "Confirm Receipt" until you are satisfied with the item. Once confirmed, the escrow is released immediately and refunds require seller cooperation.

Auction bids: if you are outbid by another bidder, your payment is automatically refunded. The refund typically appears within 5–10 business days depending on your bank.

Hand-to-hand: you and the seller arrange to meet in person. After paying, the buyer goes to the order page and clicks "Confirm Receipt" once they have collected and inspected the item. This releases the payment from escrow immediately. Inspect the item carefully before confirming.

MaltaPost: the seller ships via Malta Post and provides a tracking number. Once 5 days have passed since the tracking number was entered, the escrow is released automatically - or sooner if the buyer clicks "Confirm Receipt".

Sellers are expected to ship within 3 days of receiving payment. If the seller has not entered a tracking number within 3 days, a "Cancel Order" button will appear on your order page. Cancelling will issue a full refund to your original payment method. You can also try messaging the seller first via the order page.

First, check the tracking number on your order page. If the item is significantly delayed or tracking shows no movement for several days, message the seller via the order page. If you can't resolve it, open a dispute before the 5-day escrow release window closes. Do not click "Confirm Receipt" if there is an issue.

Only the buyer can open a dispute, and only while the order is in one of these states:

• Hand-to-hand (Paid): after paying but before clicking "Confirm Receipt".
• MaltaPost (Shipped): after the seller marks it as shipped but before you confirm receipt.

Once you click "Confirm Receipt", the escrow is released and a dispute can no longer be opened.

• Item not received - the parcel never arrived or MaltaPost tracking shows no delivery.
• Item not as described - the item differs significantly from the listing photos or description.
• Other - any other valid reason; please describe in detail.

1. The order is frozen - the escrow release is paused.
2. Both buyer and seller are notified and our team is alerted.
3. Our team reviews the case and may mark it "Under Review".
4. We will resolve the dispute by issuing a full refund to the buyer, partial refund, or releasing payment to the seller, depending on the evidence.
5. Both parties are notified of the outcome.

Yes. If you resolve the issue directly with the seller, you can withdraw the dispute from your order page. The order will return to its previous status and the normal escrow release process resumes.

You'll receive a notification when a dispute is opened. Message the buyer through your order page to try to resolve the issue directly - many disputes are resolved without our involvement. If the buyer withdraws the dispute, the order resumes normally. If our team gets involved, we may contact you for evidence such as shipping receipts or photos.

Go to Account Settings and use the "Change Email" or "Change Password" buttons in the Account Security section. If you've forgotten your password, use the "Forgot password?" link on the login page.

After a transaction is completed, the buyer can leave a star rating (1–5) and a written comment for the seller. Ratings are averaged and displayed publicly on the seller's profile. You can leave one review per transaction.

Go to Account Settings and use the toggles in the "Email Notification Preferences" section. All activity is always visible in your in-app notification bell regardless of email settings.

Go to Account Settings and click "Delete Account" in the Danger Zone section. You'll need to confirm with your password. Account deletion is permanent and removes all your personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Note: you cannot delete your account while you have active orders (Paid, Shipped, or Disputed) or active auctions with bids. Please resolve or complete these first.

• Meet in a public, well-lit location - a café, shopping centre, or petrol station forecourt works well.
• Bring a friend if possible, especially for high-value items.
• Inspect the item carefully before clicking "Confirm Receipt" - once confirmed, the payment is released and cannot be undone.
• Trust your instincts. If something feels wrong, leave and contact us.

Use our Contact page and select "Report a listing or user" as the subject. Include the listing ID or username and describe what you found. We review all reports and take action where necessary.

• Never pay outside the platform. All transactions must go through Malta's Garage checkout - this is your protection.
• Be sceptical of listings where the price is unrealistically low.
• Don't share personal contact details (phone, email, WhatsApp) before the transaction is complete.
• Malta's Garage staff will never ask for your password or card details.