Closo wholesale storefronts and the Closo Buy pallet marketplace connect buyers with independent liquidation sellers. When you buy a lot through a Closo wholesale checkout, your purchase is covered by the Closo Wholesale Buyer Protection program described on this page. The seller you buy from is the merchant of record for the goods; Closo operates the platform, holds your payment in escrow, and administers claims.
This page is part of, and should be read together with, our Terms of Service. By completing a purchase through a Closo wholesale checkout you agree to the program terms below.
What the program is
Wholesale Buyer Protection is an escrow-based purchase-protection program for lots bought through a Closo wholesale checkout — a liquidator's storefront on Closo or the Closo Buy pallet marketplace. Your payment is not handed to the seller at checkout. It is held by Closo, through our payment processor (Stripe), and released to the seller only 5 business days after the carrier records delivery of your freight. That period is your acceptance window: time to receive the goods, count them, and compare them against the lot's manifest.
If you open an eligible claim inside the window, the funds stay held until the claim resolves. Approved refunds are paid to you out of the held escrow — you are never waiting on a seller to send money back, and a refund once issued is not clawed back later.
The program applies automatically to every eligible wholesale purchase. There is no fee and nothing to enroll in. It is not an insurance policy and not a warranty on the goods; it is a claims program administered by Closo, and it is the exclusive remedy Closo offers for covered issues (your statutory rights, where they cannot be limited, are unaffected). You can pay by card (instant), by ACH bank debit if you are a verified buyer with a resale certificate on file, or by bank transfer at truckload scale — every method runs through the Closo checkout and carries the same protection.
What is covered
Claims are made at the item level, against the lot's manifest — the line-by-line list of what the lot contains that was published with the listing. Two issues are covered:
| Issue | What it means | Report window |
|---|---|---|
| Shortage | You received fewer units than the manifest states for a line — units missing from the count when you unpack and reconcile the lot. | Within 5 business days of the carrier-recorded delivery |
| Condition not as manifested | Units on a manifest line arrived in a materially worse condition than the condition declared for that line — for example, units manifested as new that arrive damaged, or customer-return grade goods manifested as shelf pulls. | Within 5 business days of the carrier-recorded delivery |
Each claim is filed per manifest line, with photo evidence. Ordinary variation that the manifest and listing already disclose — the stated condition grade, mixed-lot assortment, cosmetic wear consistent with the declared grade — is not a covered discrepancy.
The escrow timeline
From payment to release, every wholesale order follows the same path. Both you and the seller see the same timers in your dashboards at every step.
| Stage | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1 · Paid | You complete checkout. Your payment is captured by Closo through Stripe and held in escrow. The seller sees the order as paid but does not receive the funds. |
| 2 · Shipped | Freight is arranged after purchase — LTL for pallets, full truckload where the order calls for it — and the shipment picks up tracking. |
| 3 · Delivered | The carrier records the delivery scan. This scan, not the invoice date, starts the clock. |
| 4 · Acceptance window | 5 business days from the delivery scan. Unpack, count, and reconcile against the manifest. Filing an eligible claim inside the window holds the funds until the claim resolves. |
| 5 · Released | If no claim is open when the window closes, the escrow is released to the seller. If a claim is open, only the undisputed remainder releases once the claim resolves; approved refunds are paid to you from the held funds first. |
How to file a claim
File from your order page, within 5 business days of the carrier-recorded delivery. A claim is made per manifest line, so reconcile the lot first:
1. Unpack and count the lot against the manifest, line by line.
2. For each disputed line, select the line and state the issue — shortage (how many units short) or condition not as manifested (what condition the units actually arrived in).
3. Attach photo evidence for each disputed line: the units as received, the flaw or the short count, and the freight and packaging where relevant.
4. Submit. The claim timestamps inside the window and the escrow stays held while it is open.
From there the dispute runs on fixed timers, visible to both sides. The seller has 72 hours to respond; no response within 72 hours is treated as a concession of the claim. If the seller agrees, the refund is issued from escrow. If the seller contests, Closo rules within 5 days on published evidence criteria — the seller's publication photos, your delivery photos, and the manifest, weighed against each other. See Section 7 for all deadlines in one table.
Remedies
The remedy under this program is a partial refund with goods retained. You keep everything that was delivered — there is no return freight to arrange, no restocking, and no waiting on a round trip. The refund equals the disputed lines' pro-rata share of the lot price, plus the same pro-rata share of any shipping you paid, and it is paid from the held escrow to your original payment method.
The pro-rata math
The disputed units' share of the manifested total determines the refund. Worked example: a 500-unit pallet bought for $2,500 with $180 paid shipping arrives 40 units short on one line. The shortage is 40 / 500 = 8% of the manifested lot, so the refund is 8% of $2,500 = $200, plus 8% of $180 = $14.40 — a total of $214.40, with all delivered goods retained.
Condition claims work the same way: the units on the disputed line that failed their manifested condition count as the disputed quantity. The maximum amount payable under this program for any order is the total amount you paid for that order. A refund under this program is the sole and exclusive remedy Closo provides for a covered issue.
What is not covered
Wholesale Buyer Protection does not cover:
— Purchases or payments made outside the Closo checkout — a wire sent directly to a seller, deals arranged off-platform by message or email, or any payment that did not pass through Closo's escrow. If the money never entered escrow, the program cannot hold or refund it.
— Transit damage while the goods are in your own carrier's custody. LTL freight is normally arranged after purchase through the platform; if you arrange your own pickup or your own carrier, damage occurring in that carrier's hands is between you and your carrier.
— Unmanifested ("as-is") lots, beyond the lot-level description. With no per-line manifest there are no line-level claims; only a material discrepancy against the declared totals and lot description is reviewable.
— Buyer's remorse — resale margins, sell-through, or market value that did not meet your expectations, where the lot matches its manifest.
— Variation already disclosed by the manifest's condition grades, assortment notes, or the listing's photos and description.
— Claims filed after the 5-business-day acceptance window closes.
— Goods prohibited by our Terms of Service.
Deadlines at a glance
Every timer in the program is fixed and visible to both sides in the order's dispute view.
| Step | Who acts | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| File a claim | Buyer | 5 business days from the carrier-recorded delivery scan |
| Respond to the claim | Seller | 72 hours — no response is treated as a concession |
| Ruling on a contested claim | Closo | Within 5 days, on published evidence criteria (publication photos vs. delivery photos vs. manifest) |
| Appeal | Either side | One step: a single request for re-review of the ruling, on the existing evidence plus anything material that was not previously available |
| Escrow release | Automatic | 5 business days after delivery if no claim is open; otherwise when the claim resolves |
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to send anything back?
No. The remedy is a partial refund with goods retained. You keep everything that was delivered, including the disputed units — there is no return logistics under this program.
When does the seller actually get paid?
5 business days after the carrier's delivery scan, provided no claim is open. If a claim is open, the disputed amount stays held until the claim resolves and only the remainder releases.
What if the seller just ignores my claim?
Silence has a cost — to the seller. If the seller does not respond within 72 hours, the claim is treated as conceded and the refund is issued from escrow.
Can my refund be reversed later?
No. Refunds are paid out of the escrow Closo is already holding, not recovered from the seller afterwards. Once issued, a refund under this program is never clawed back.
I bought an unmanifested ("as-is") lot. What am I covered for?
Unmanifested lots are sold as described at the lot level — sample photos plus declared totals. There is no per-line manifest to claim against, so coverage is limited to the lot-level description. If line-level protection matters to you, buy manifested lots.
I paid the seller directly by wire. Am I covered?
No. Only purchases completed through the Closo checkout are covered — card, ACH bank debit for verified buyers, or bank transfer at truckload scale, all inside the checkout. A payment that never entered Closo's escrow is outside the program, and we cannot hold or refund money we never held.
I sent my own truck to pick the pallets up and they arrived damaged. Is that a claim?
Not under this program. When you arrange your own pickup or carrier, transit damage in that carrier's custody is outside the program's scope — pursue it with your carrier. Condition issues that predate handover, evidenced against the manifest and publication photos, remain claimable within the window.
What evidence decides a contested claim?
Published criteria, applied the same way every time: the seller's publication photos, your delivery photos, and the manifest, weighed against each other per disputed line. Clear photos of the units as received, taken at unpacking, are the strongest thing you can file.
Contact
Wholesale claims and questions: support@closo.co. Include your order number. We usually respond within 2 business days. How we handle your data is described in our Privacy Policy; the program is governed by our Terms of Service, including its governing-law and dispute-resolution provisions.