Messaging a seller: bidding-first, and the paid chat unlock

On a Marketplace listing, messaging the seller is bidding-first: the moment you engage with the listing, chat is free. QuoteHive keeps casual browsers from cold-messaging every seller, while making it effortless for genuine buyers to get in touch.

Messaging a seller is free as soon as you’ve engaged with the listing in any of these ways:

• You’ve placed a bid on the auction.
• You’ve made an offer on a buy-now or wanted listing.
• You’re already in the conversation (or you’re the seller).

If you haven’t engaged yet but still want to reach the seller directly, you can pay a small one-time fee to unlock the chat: 25¢, taken from your marketplace balance. Only verified accounts can do this. When you open the chat, an in-site confirmation shows the exact charge before anything is deducted, so there are no surprises.

1. On the listing, choose to message the seller.
2. If you haven’t bid or made an offer, a confirmation appears showing the unlock fee.
3. Confirm: the fee comes out of your marketplace balance and the thread opens. If your balance is too low, we send you to top it up first.

The unlock is per listing and one-time: once a thread is open, all further messages are free. Placing a bid or making an offer is always free to message, so the simplest way to reach a seller at no cost is to engage with the listing itself.