Equimeta Deal Room
Secure horse payment & escrow funds held until the buyer confirms receipt.
Buying or selling a $5,000–$150,000 horse from someone you have never met should not run on a wire transfer and a handshake. Equimeta collects payment through Stripe, holds the funds during the inspection window, and releases to the seller only when the buyer confirms the horse arrived as agreed.
- Funds held until buyer confirms receipt
- Seller contact details protected until payment confirmed
- Stripe-processed payments — no card data on Equimeta
- Sellers typically paid in 2–3 business days on eligible deals
The riskiest part of a horse sale, on rails.
Inspection still happens in person under the agreed terms. Payment, paperwork, and timing run inside one documented flow so neither side is asked for blind trust.
Held-funds payment
Buyer checks out through Stripe. Funds are collected by Stripe and held — the seller cannot access them until the buyer confirms receipt under the deal terms. No direct wires to a stranger; no cashier-check rendezvous in a parking lot.
Inspection window before release
Once the seller arranges transport or hand-off, the buyer has the agreed inspection window to take possession, complete the Pre-Purchase Exam if it was a contingency, and confirm the horse matches the listing. Money releases on confirmation.
Seller contact protected
Seller contact details are not released until the payment is confirmed. That removes the most common off-platform fraud route — a fake buyer extracting a phone number, then disappearing to a different platform with no payment trail.
Run on Stripe Connect
Payment infrastructure runs on Stripe Connect — the same rails used by Lyft, Shopify, and thousands of other platforms. Equimeta does not store or process card data; sensitive payment information is handled by Stripe.
Fast seller payouts
On eligible deals, sellers typically receive their payout in 2–3 business days through their connected bank account once the buyer confirms receipt. No chasing the buyer for the second half of a wire transfer.
Dispute path before release
If the horse arrives materially misrepresented or fails an agreed PPE contingency, either side can open a dispute before funds are released. Equimeta reviews using the listing record, the agreed deal terms, and Deal Room communication.
What buyers and sellers ask about held-funds payment.
- Is this technically escrow?
- Functionally yes — funds are collected and held by the payment processor (Stripe) and only released to the seller when the buyer confirms receipt. The exact regulatory framing depends on the deal; the payment protection policy is the authoritative reference for terms, fees, and dispute handling.
- Who pays the Equimeta fee?
- Equimeta uses a tiered fee schedule on both sides of a completed marketplace deal: 3% on the first $10,000, 2% on the next $40,000, and 1% above $50,000 (minimum $1 per side). All fees are shown to both parties before any deal is confirmed.
- How fast does the seller get paid?
- Once the buyer confirms receipt, Equimeta releases the held funds to the seller's connected Stripe Connect bank account. On eligible deals, sellers typically receive their payout within 2–3 business days. Cross-border transfers (US ↔ Canada) supported; bank-side currency conversion fees are outside Equimeta's control.
- What happens if the horse fails a pre-purchase exam?
- If a PPE contingency is included in the deal terms and the horse fails the agreed criteria, the buyer can cancel and receive a refund (minus any non-refundable processing costs). Funds are not released until the buyer confirms receipt, so the seller is never paid out on a failed PPE.
- Can I use payment protection on a sale I started off-platform?
- Yes — the Deal Room can be opened on a sale that started elsewhere as long as both parties have Equimeta accounts, the listing exists on the platform, and the seller's Stripe payout connection is verified. Equimeta also offers a separate offline records/ownership transfer flow for closed off-platform sales (see the payment protection policy).
- What if there is a dispute?
- Either party can open a dispute before funds are released. Equimeta's support team reviews the case using the listing record, the agreed deal terms, Deal Room communication, and any submitted evidence. We aim to respond within 2 business days. Complex disputes may be referred to binding arbitration per the Terms of Service.
Stop wiring strangers. Run the sale through the Deal Room.
Pick the horse you want, then move into a Deal Room. The buyer pays through Stripe, funds are held until the horse arrives as agreed, and the seller is paid in 2–3 business days on eligible deals.