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NFT trading has taken the world by storm, with digital art and collectibles selling for millions of dollars. This new form of ownership and value exchange is changing the way we view art and assets in the digital age. 

There are now more NFT marketplaces than ever before, offering creators and collectors a plethora of options to buy, sell, and trade unique digital assets. But as each one is unique in its own right, not every platform is able to secure sustainable profits and ensure a safe and easy trading process.

Why use web3 escrow and marketplace for NFT trading?

Are you tired of the limitations and cons of popular NFT marketplaces like OpenSea and Rarible? While these platforms have their benefits, they also have their fair share of drawbacks. At OpenSea, you may struggle to stand out in the crowded marketplace without a substantial following on other social media platforms. And with Rarible, connecting your wallet and creating a wallet with the platform can be a complicated and frustrating process. Plus, both platforms charge fees on every successful NFT transaction, making it harder for you to earn what you deserve for your NFTs.

Luckily, Zenland offers a better solution for NFT trading. With Zenland’s web3 escrow and marketplace, you can enjoy zero fees, fast transactions, and full control over your sales. You don’t have to worry about standing out in a crowded marketplace, as Zenland’s unique escrow model ensures that buyers and sellers can trade confidently without competing for attention. 

Plus, Zenland’s customer support team is always ready to assist you with any questions or concerns you may have, so you can focus on creating and selling your NFTs with ease. Say goodbye to the limitations of traditional NFT marketplaces and try out Zenland for your next NFT trade!

See how Zenland compares to popular NFT marketplaces in the table below.

Platform to buy/sell NFT and crypto artwork	Royalties and Fees	Special conditions
OpenSea	2.5% fee per sale +up to 10% royalty fee paid by the seller	NFT listing expires after 6 months (max)Sellers list NFTs against 80 million other NFTs Canceling a listing or bid have gas fees
Blur	0% transaction fee +0.5% enforced creator royalties	Enforces royalties in full (can be set up to 50%) on secondary sales if the NFT is not delisted on OpenSea Royalties are paid in $BLUR Airdrop
Binance NFT	1% transaction fee +1% creator royalty paid by the seller (0% to 10%)	Geared towards existing Binance users.Not available for users located in the U.S.
Rarible	2% transaction fee (by 1% from both buyer and seller) Up to 50% creator royalty paid by the seller (!)	Users can make purchases with a credit card (but NFTs must be sent to a wallet).
Gem (rebranded as OpenSea Pro)	0% transaction fee +0.5% enforced creator royalties	Very much Blur clone with similar policies on proceeds.
Nifty Gateway	Depends on the Transaction version(v1 or v2)$0.30 fixed + 10% transaction +Up to 10% royalty fees (usually amounts to 15% of the listing price or less)	Users can buy NFT with USD. NFT proceeds are also paid in USD to the user’s internal account Can be cashed out to a bank account.User accounts must be set up to receive any proceeds or royalties.
SuperRare	15% fee (on first a.k.a.a primary sale); 10% royalty paid by seller + 3% marketplace fee paid by the buyer (on all secondary sales)	Best fit for big-name creators.Requires an authentification process before NFT trading.

And what about Zenland you may wonder?

Zenland escrow contracts walkthrough [screenshots]

Now, as you know what the popular NFT marketplaces and their policies look like, it’s time to turn your attention to Zenland.

With its low fees for both primary and secondary sales (1.75%), smart contract escrow protection, and direct payouts to ETH wallets, Zenland can be the only NFT marketplace you need.

The selling/buying process is described below 🙂

Step 1. Morty logs in with a Metamask wallet address (anonymous web3 login)

Unlike some of the NFT marketplaces that require you to install their own wallets before trading NFTs, Zenland supports non-custodial wallet login. No registration or password is required.

Step 2. Morty adds an item to the profile and sends the link to Anonymous

On Zenland any NFT owner can set up a web3 store to trade items at no additional cost. Sellers add NFT collections as items and their clients can view them on store profiles (both with and without logging in).

Sharing through social media accounts and forums gives clients access to items on sale.

Step 3. Anonymous selects the item and approves the terms of the purchase

Once the seller sets the item as pre-approved (see the step on adding item), buyers can place orders to purchase it. They first must review and approve the terms described in the item contract (such as delivery time, quality of an item, buyer protection time, etc. 

Step 4. Anonymous sends the contract to the blockchain and locks payment inside

To confirm the order placement for a specific NFT or other crypto collectibles, the buyer sends the payment inside the smart contract so that the seller can see the payment deposit.

Step 5. Morty sends the skin to Bono and confirms the completion

Seeing the payment inside, the seller transfers the NFT to the buyer’s Metamask wallet. If you store NFT in crypto wallets other than Metamask you should first transfer it to your connected Metamask address.

The order is confirmed through the blockchain and the buyer is notified via the platform’s notification system.

Step 6. Anonymous inspects and releases payment from the contract to Morty

The buyer has time, known as buyer protection time to verify that the order is delivered on time and according to the seller’s description. Also within this time frame the payment deposit is unlocked and sent to the seller’s web3 wallet address. 

At any point before the release of payment, Morty and Anonymous can dispute their deal and negotiate anonymously via the Contract Chat.

Step 7. Morty and Anonymous rate and review each other

After the NFT trade both sides rate and review each other to help other users see if they want to buy or sell from a particular user.

Want to see for yourself?

Currently, we are giving $25 as a sign-up bonus to all new users. Once logged in you should see a $25 balance on your dashboard to fully cover the service fee for contracts worth $500 or less. All users (buyers & sellers) are welcome to try escrow smart contracts for their web3 shops.

If you are struggling to rank your website for a specific keyword in Google search, chances are you have heard about search engine optimization (SEO). Without diving into the specifics of SEO, people often do internal (on-site) and external (off-site) work to better optimize their websites for search engine rankings. Building the backlinks from the authority sites to your site is a common practice.

Why use escrow for SEO services?

Most backlinks providers sell their services in a set of packages that include a diverse mix of backlinks from niche blogs, news sites, social media, etc. Because the price of such packages varies from hundreds to thousands of dollars, using an escrow contract is a smart move.

The escrow contract serves as a warrant for both sides by keeping the terms and the payment until the seller completes the order. Once complete according to the purchase terms, the seller is guaranteed to be paid.

But how to use such an escrow contract? Below is the step-by-step guide to walk you through.

Zenland escrow contracts walkthrough [screenshots]

Step 1. Sign in with Metamask wallet and create the contract with the seller

Before you create the contract you ask the seller to send his/her Metamask wallet address.

Then, fill out a simple one-page form entering important details of backlinks purchase. Such details include two Metamask addresses, the due date when the seller must confirm order completion, inspection time, agreed payment and backlinks quality description.

Step 2. The seller logs in and approves the escrow contract

Whenever questions arise both sides can communicate via a private chat linked with the particular contract.

Step 3. Send the contract to the blockchain and lock the payment inside

First, you send the contract to the selected blockchain. This is contract deployment which gives the contract a permanent address in the database of that blockchain. 

Then, send the agreed payment inside the contract to lock until the seller fulfills the order.

Step 4. The seller builds the backlinks and confirms order completion

At this point, the seller has completed building the backlinks and sent an order completion message to you.

You let the seller know the report is received via the Contract Chat.

Step 5. Inspect the service and release payment to the seller

You check if the backlinks report is as agreed in the terms, and release payment from the contract to the seller’s wallet address. 

Step 6. Both parties rate each other

Unlike the traditional review system which only allows reviews from buyers, Zenland escrow lets both parties rate each other. This serves as a foundation for other users to see whether they want to do business with a specific seller or buyer.

Want to see for yourself?

Currently, we are giving $1 to new users. Once logged in you should see a $1 balance on your dashboard to fully cover the service fee for contracts worth $50 or less. All users (buyers & sellers) are welcome to try escrow smart contracts.

If you are a hardcore video games fan chances are you have traded game skins for profit. You play well and sell well to buy more and boast new skins. Buy, rinse, repeat. While in general, all is GG (good game), your skin-trading game may not be worth it. After all, no matter how much cash is in your Steam wallet these funds can only be used internally, for games and assets sold on the Steam store or its community marketplace.

Why selling in-game assets has both sides?

Steam Community Marketplace will add a 10% game fee and a 5% Steam fee to the price sellers set. To avoid these fees, buyers and sellers often complete their trade as gifting between “Steam friends” or through third-party websites.

While these platforms provide some form of security, granting full third-party access to your Steam account with tradable assets is risky. A well-known platform CSMoney was hacked and items worth an estimated $1.6M were stolen. 

Equally risky is your “Steam friend” gifting you a skin who may get your payment but never deliver the “gift” or send a low-value item. High fees and conditional withdrawals add to the already risky game.

Platform to buy/sell in-game assets & accounts	Fee(s)	Deposit & Withdrawals
Steam Community Market	5% Steam commission + 10% game-specific fee is paid by the buyer.	Sellers receive funds to their Steam wallet and cannot withdraw as real money (for inside use only).
CSMoney	CSMoney commission is 7% – 4% (with Prime subscription)	Buyer tops up the in-app wallet before purchasing. Payments cannot be withdrawn as real money but are spent internally.
PlayerAuctions	Seller pays transaction fee per sale (9.99% – 12.99% based on the type of sale: currency, in-game assets, accounts, power levelling) Buyer pays 4.75% + $0.29 (3% + $0.29 for crypto)	Disbursement fees (3.5% – 4%) based on the selected disbursement method. Withdrawals can take between 1 – 31 days depending on after-sale protection, product type, and seller level.
Skinport	12% – 6% (for high-value items and on private sales) off the selling price.	Buyers pay by selecting from available payment methods Withdrawals can be made only via bank transfer.
DMarket	Sellers pay 7% commission per sale	Buyers deposit and sellers withdraw funds through their DMarket accounts (Skrill, PayPal, crypto)
Tradeit.gg	Sellers pay 2% + $0.05 for bot-trading and 60% (!) + $10 for instant trading	Buyers can top-up and pay through internal wallets or choose available payment methods. Sellers can withdraw using available methods.

Zenland escrow contracts walkthrough [screenshots]

As a safe and trustless alternative to high-priced platforms for selling in-game assets and gaming accounts, Zenland

does not require a Steam login or middleman. Users trade their items directly (without auctions at this point) through escrow contracts. These contracts and payments are stored on the blockchain and managed by the two users through a simple UI. Once fulfilled and inspected, the payment is released from the contract directly to the seller’s cryptocurrency wallet (not the in-app wallet) by the buyer.

The service fee starts from 1.75% of the contract amount and decreases as the contract amount grows. 

Note that all contract operations are blockchain transactions that have their gas fees paid by the users to blockchain networks. The breakdown of contract costs and Zenland fees can be found here.

To see how gamers use Zenland contracts follow our use case for in-game asset workflow below.

Contract terms	Details
Contract participants	Ari, the current owner (the seller),                      Bono, the future owner (the buyer)
Object of sale	Immortal shoulder | Avowance of the Crimson Witness
Due date	December 23, 2022 22:24
Selected network	Goerli Test Network
Agreed amount	159 USDC
Buyer protection time	24
Zenland fee	$2.78 (paid by Ari)

Step 1. Ari logs in with Metamask wallet address (anonymous web3 login)

Step 2. Ari adds an item to the profile and sends the link to Bono

To add an item:
1. Ari clicks “My Items” from the left panel
2. Clicks “Add Item”
3. Provides item name, description, delivery time, and buyer protection time. Then, sets the price, payment method, and currency. Finally marks a website delivery as a one-off product and allows pre-approved contract creation.
4. Shares the URL of the profile with Babu

Step 3. Bono selects the item and approves the terms of the purchase

For our example case, Ari only has one payment method and currency so Bono selects what is available. For other skins though Ari has stated 2 and more ways to pay.

Clicking “Buy” prompts the contract for a particular item. Bono reads the terms and approves the contract.

Step 4. Bono sends the contract to the blockchain and locks payment inside

Sending a contract to the blockchain (contract deployment) gives the contract a permanent address. Similar to your Steam inventory where every item has an address, it is a blockchain address where the contract terms and the buyer’s payment are stored.

Learn more about smart contracts here.

Step 5. Ari sends the skin to Bono and confirms the completion

Meanwhile, both users can message anonymously about their order in the chat linked to their contract.

Step 6. Bono inspects and releases payment from the contract to Ari

Bono will have time to inspect the skin before releasing Ari’s payment from the contract. You can learn more about how buyer protection time works.

Step 7. Ari and Bono rate and review each other

Want to see for yourself?

Currently, we are giving $1 to new users. Once logged in you should see a $1 balance on your dashboard to fully cover the service fee for contracts worth $50 or less. All users (buyers & sellers) are welcome to try escrow smart contracts.

You are a freelance writer who does professional copies for websites and social media, script, or technical writing. Whatever it is, you are the wordsmith who knows how to turn up a working solution for your clients who find you through Facebook groups, Craigslist, or various forums. As much as you are confident in your copywriting skills, you are uncertain about your clients. After all, no forum, marketplace, or social media group guarantees you get paid. 

Why being a freelance writer is tricky?

One of the perks of freelancing is being your own boss who decides which deals to take. On the flip side, 

who can you blame for time unpaid when the client turns out to be fake? On top of that, solid fees and “client-is-always-right” policies on popular marketplaces make freelancing less fulfilling and profitable.

Platform to buy/sell services	Fee(s)	Allowed bids
Fiver	Seller pays 20% per sale Buyer pays a 5.5% fee + an extra $2 on orders under $50	5, 10, and 20 free bids per day for basic, standard, and premium packages.
Upwork	Seller pays 20% – 5% (for gigs >$10K) per sale Buyer pays 5%	Required 1 – 6 connects to submit a proposal ($0.015 – $0.90) with no guarantee of the deal.
Freelancer	Sellers pay 10% or flat $5 (whichever is greater) Buyers pay 3% or $3 (whichever is greater)	Depending on paid membership ($4.95 – $59.95/month), from 50 to 1500 bids. Free members can bid only 6 times per month.
People Per Hour	20% – 3.5% (for gigs >$7K) per sale. Buyers pay 10% + $0.70 per sale.	Freelancers get 15 free proposal credits each month. Extra credits cost around $1 per credit.
Guru	Seller pays 9% – 5% depending on the membership plan.  Buyer pays 2.9% per invoice.	10 free bids per month for free members. 50 bids for paid members.
Craigslist	Generally free except for the US and selected Canada areas. There’s a monthly listing fee for Gigs ( $3 – $10) and Service ($5) ads.	Users handle contacts they get on their own.

It’s clear that as a freelancer you have escaped the dreading 9 to 5 job. But have you escaped the limitations and risks of today’s gig market?

Zenland escrow contracts walkthrough [screenshots]

As an alternative to costly freelance marketplaces and risky classified ads websites, Facebook groups, and forums, Zenland escrow contracts are safe, trustless, and affordable. Through a simple UI, the two users (buyer and seller) interact with their contracts (and payment) stored on the blockchain. This ensures blockchain protection for every purchase without external help or influence. 

Also, as seen from the analysis above, the majority of platforms charge between 5% and 20% per sale and have limited availability for free users. In contrast, Zenland fee starts from 1.75% per sale and has no additional fees (listing fee, membership plans, etc.).

To get a sneak peek of how Zenland works, follow our contract workflow for a copywriting gig below.

Contract terms	Details
Contract participants	Ava, freelance copywriter (the seller)                    Ben, website owner (the buyer)
Object of sale	SEO-optimized web copy | 500 – 1000 words
Due date	December 24, 2022 16:08
Selected network	Goerli Test Network
Agreed amount	235 USDC
Buyer protection time	24
Zenland fee	$4.11 (paid by Ava)

Step 1. Ava logs in with Metamask wallet address (anonymous web3 login)

If you are new to Metamask wallet and payment with cryptocurrency, Third Party Wallets category is a good place to start exploring the opportunity.

Step 2. Ava adds an item to the profile and sends the link to Ben

To add an item:
1. Ava clicks “My Items” from the left panel
2. Clicks “Add Item”
3. Provides item name, description, delivery time, and buyer protection time. Then, sets the price, payment method, and currency. Finally marks a website delivery as a one-off product and allows pre-approved contract creation.
4. Shares the URL of the profile with Ben.

Step 3. Ben selects the item and approves the terms of the purchase

Ava has indicated that she is accepting multiple payment methods (networks) and currencies (tokens) so Ben is free to choose one of them.

Ben doublechecks the purchasing terms and takes the first contract action – approves the contract.

Step 4. Ben sends the contract to the blockchain and locks payment inside

Sending the contract to the blockchain gives it a permanent address inside a specific block. Just like the data assigned a space in the database. Once the contract is there Ben locks the payment inside the contract until Ava sends him the article for inspection.

If interested, read more about smart contracts and how they work.

Step 5. Ava sends the article to Ben and confirms the order fulfillment

Ava sees a new contract for SEO writing but finds no keywords or the topic. So she contacts Ben via the contract chat linked to their contract. Ben sends it over and Ava starts writing the article.

As soon as the article is ready she sends it to Ben. To confirm the contract completion on her part she types in the completion message and clicks “Complete“.

Step 6. Ben inspects and releases payment from the contract to Ava

Ben can also dispute Ava’s work if he is not satisfied with its quality. Read the Escrow Disputes category for more information on how disputes are handled.

Step 7. Ava and Ben rate and review each other

Want to see for yourself?

Currently, we are giving $1 to new users. Once logged in you should see a $1 balance on your dashboard to fully cover the service fee for contracts worth $50 or less. All users (buyers & sellers) are welcome to try escrow smart contracts.

Let’s say you are a designer selling your art online – anything from printable graphics for hoodies and cushions to custom design work as a freelancer. You sell your artwork through eBay, and Etsy, and sometimes through social media. All is good, except for fees and policies that seem to favor buyers. Such as in your recent eBay sale, when you only got half of the original payment despite sending the exact order on time (the buyer got a 50% refund). 

Why selling your artwork is disappointing?

There are plenty of websites to post your artwork – from Instagram and Behance to eBay and Etsy. Even so, only a few of them are suited for selling it. That said, most platforms that offer a “Buy” feature also have tangible fees and commissions and tricky refund policies. What is more, most art marketplaces make payouts monthly (not immediate) and only after the minimum payout threshold is met. 

Platform to buy/sell artwork	Fee(s)	Refund policy
Ebay	Fee: 5% of the sale amount Listing: free for the first 250 items	Return policy allows to recover up to 50% of the item value.
Etsy	Transaction fee: 6.5% per sale Listing fee: $0.20/item	Eligible orders up to $250 are refunded without impacting the seller’s profit.
Amazon	Referral fees: 5% – 20% Selling plan: $0.99/sale or $39.99/month	Decided by Amazon on a case-by-case basis.
Fine Art America	Base fee is set by the platform, and the seller keeps the markup. The base fee can be as much as 50%.  Listing for the first 30 items is free.	30-day money-back guarantee.
Society6	Sellers keep custom markup for prints.  For all other artwork sold through the platform keeps 90%.	If the buyer is refunded within 30 days after purchase, the seller receives no commission.
Zazzle	The platform sets a base fee of up to 90%. The sellers receive custom-set royalties per sale (usually 10% – 15%).	Seller commission is not impacted by the refund if all the conditions are met.
Redbubble	The platform keeps 80% for packaging, return, customer support, etc. Sellers are paid a 20% royalty per sale.	If a buyer is refunded after receiving the purchase, the seller keeps the commission.

Given the situation, the process of selling the artwork by talented artist-preneurs demands resolution.

Zenland escrow contracts walkthrough [screenshots]

Zenland is a smart contract platform for direct sales without a middleman or high commissions. Through escrow smart contracts any purchase/sale is done under blockchain protection and without external help or influence. Simple UI lets anyone without advanced technical knowledge create and manage their escrow contracts.

The service fee is 1.75% on sales below 10K. 

To illustrate the actual selling process, below is a sample case. For test reasons contract has been executed on test networks but is identical to real cases executed through main networks.

Without further ado, let’s dive right in.

Contract terms	Details
Contract participants	Ali, the artist (the seller),                      Bob, the customer (the buyer)
Object of sale	Custom car print | Vector art | Perfect Gift
Due date	December 25, 2022 17:44
Selected network	Binance Test Network
Agreed amount	29 BUSD
Buyer protection time	24
Zenland fee	$0.51 (paid by Ali)

Step 1. Ali logs in with Metamask wallet address (anonymous web3 login)

Need a little intro to Metamask and how people pay with cryptocurrency? Third Party Wallets category is your place to start learning about the future of payment.

Step 2. Ali adds an item to the profile and sends the link to Bob

To add an item:
1. Ali clicks “My Items” from the left panel
2. Clicks “Add Item”
3. Provides item name, description, delivery time, and buyer protection time. Then, sets the price, payment method, and currency. Finally marks a website delivery as a one-off product and allows pre-approved contract creation.
4. Shares the URL of the profile with Bob

Step 3. Bob selects the item and approves the terms of the purchase

Ali may have more than just a car illustration but a single item is shown for the sake of clarity. Artists can list as many items as needed without listing fees.

Bob carefully reviews the details of the car illustration contract with Ali. Then, approves the terms and moves to the next step.

Step 4. Bob sends the contract to the blockchain and locks payment inside

Sending the contract to the blockchain (deployment) gives it a permanent contract address. Just like any data in the registry. Following that any requested contract action (transferring the money into the contract, for example) will be delivered to the contract address.

If interested, read more about smart contracts and how they work.

Step 5. Ali sends the file in the agreed format to Bob and confirms the completion

Whenever needed Ali and Bob message via anonymous chat (contract chat) linked to the car illustration contract.

Step 6. Bob inspects and releases payment from the contract to Ali

Bob can release (unlock) payment from the contract at any time during 24 hours – buyer protection time Ali and Bob agreed in the contract. If disagreed, Bob can open a dispute and re-negotiate terms with Ali. More about how the disputes are handled is under the Escrow Disputes category.

Step 7. Ali and Bob rate and review each other

Want to see for yourself?

We are giving $1 to new users! Once logged in you should see a $1 balance on your dashboard to fully cover the service fee for contracts worth $50 or less. All users (buyers & sellers) are welcome to try escrow smart contracts.