How to become a vendor on Catharsis: bond, fees, and vetting
A Catharsis vendor account costs a $150 refundable bond and 4% of every finalized order. To become a vendor on Catharsis you need an ordinary account, a PGP key you can prove is yours, the bond, and some patience while people at the market review the application. Sellers with an established name elsewhere can have the bond waived, at a price in privacy that is easy to underrate, and the rules on what can't be listed are the part to read before any money moves.
The application, step by step
- Register a buyer account first, with a username that hasn't been used on any other market unless you want your reputation to follow you there (more on that below). The registration form is the same one buyers use, shown in the access walkthrough.
- Set up PGP and two-factor login before you do anything else; the PGP and 2FA guide covers it. A vendor account without both is the most attractive thing a thief can find on the market.
- Open the vendor application from the account and fill it in: what you sell, how you ship or arrange handoff, and where your reputation comes from, if it comes from anywhere.
- Pay the bond, or apply for the waiver (below) if you qualify.
- Wait for approval, then list. The review is done by people, not an automatic gate, so expect it to take a while; the exact turnaround isn't something I can promise you, and it varies with how many applications are waiting.
What the application needs, in practice, comes to four things: a working PGP key you can sign with (the GnuPG manuals at gnupg.org cover signing a message), the bond or a waiver, a clear description of what you intend to sell, and a way of being reached, which on Catharsis is the market's own messages, since it holds no email or phone for anyone. Vendor registration is the same account registration that buyers use, with the application added on top, so nothing you entered earlier has to be repeated.
The application is easier if you've been a buyer here first. A vendor whose account has a record of ordinary use, with no sudden jump to selling, is less likely to look like someone who arrived to sell for a week and disappear.
Catharsis vendor bond and fees: $150 refundable, 4% per order
| Cost | Amount | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor bond | $150, refundable | New vendors, paid when applying |
| Bond waiver | $0 | Reputable vendors who prove PGP ownership of their key from another market |
| Sales fee | 4% of the order | Charged on each finalized order, not on one that is cancelled or refunded |
The bond is a deposit and not a fee. It's the market's security against a vendor who misbehaves (the same idea as the deposit in any escrow arrangement), which is why it's refundable when you leave in good standing, and why losing it is the cost of a ruling against you. The 4% comes out of the vendor's side at finalization, so a buyer sees the listed price and nothing on top. Price your goods with it in mind, as a sale that is disputed and refunded pays nothing.
These figures are the current ones and a young market can change them; check them against the application page before you pay.
Getting the bond waived with a PGP-signed message
If you already sell on another market under a good name, Catharsis can waive the bond if you can show the name is yours. The proof is PGP: you sign a message with the same key you use elsewhere, so the market can compare it with the public key on the other profile. That works only if you've kept one key across markets, which is something the market expects, and one reason a vendor who keeps changing keys is treated with suspicion by buyers as well.
The flip side matters. Using the same key and name in two places ties your accounts together by design, for buyers, and for anyone watching either market. A reputation carried over is worth the bond to many sellers, and not to others, and I wouldn't pretend there is one right answer. A seller who cares more about keeping the accounts separate pays the $150 and starts again.
What you can't list, and the rules you agree to
Catharsis has a list of what vendors can't sell, and it's the part of the rules to read slowly before you pay anything. Markets of this kind consistently ban anything involving the exploitation of children and anything meant to hurt people directly, and Catharsis is no exception to that pattern; the market's own list is what binds you, and it is longer than those two lines. I won't reproduce it here, since a copy goes stale the moment the rules are edited. Read it on the day you apply, because a listing that breaks it puts the bond and the account at risk, and appealing is unlikely to go well.
Beyond what's banned, the rules are about behavior. Don't ask buyers to finalize early, don't move customers to messengers outside the market, don't post stealth or misleading descriptions, and answer disputes on time. The first one is the worst offense; a seller who pushes early finalization is, to a buyer, indistinguishable from an exit scammer, and the escrow guide explains how buyers are taught to see it.
Is it worth selling here at all?
Catharsis is a young market, which cuts both ways for a seller. Competition for visibility is lower than on an old, crowded one, and the dead-drop handoff built into the order flow suits sellers who work that way. But a young market also has fewer buyers and a thinner reputation system, and if it ever disappears, a vendor's balance goes with it, bond included. I'd treat it as one place among several and withdraw earnings often. The other cost is legal rather than commercial: in most countries selling is charged far more heavily than buying, and the bond, the waiver, and the 4% are the smallest numbers a seller is weighing.