The stages

Every stage a deal passes through, in order, and who has to act at each one.

Awaiting approval. Only for listings whose seller ticked require my approval. The buyer has asked; nothing else happens until the seller accepts, and there is a 48-hour window before the request lapses. Most listings skip this stage entirely.

Negotiation. The deal exists and both sides can still change its shape — the steps it is broken into, and what each is worth. Nothing is committed and either side can cancel freely.

Payment pending. The terms are agreed and the buyer owes money. This is the stage where a payment page appears, and it is where a deal sits if a buyer opened checkout and did not finish.

Payment received. The buyer has paid. The deal is now recorded as funded, and what happens next depends on what was sold.

Fulfilment. The thing is being delivered — the session happens, the item ships, the work gets done.

Completed. Everything agreed has been delivered and settled. The deal is finished and drops out of the active list.

Two stages sit outside that line: cancelled ends a deal that never completed, and disputed pauses one that both sides disagree about.