Active Auctions, Stores, and Escrow When a Seller Dies

When a Trading Partner Dies

What happens to active auctions, your in-flight order, and held funds.

If you've received a notification that a seller you're buying from — or a buyer who bought from you — has passed away, this guide is for you. Our first priority is making sure that you don't lose money or your purchase because of someone else's tragedy. This page walks through what happens automatically, what you can do, and what timelines to expect.

If your seller has died: active auctions

When a seller's account enters a Legacy Case state, our system automatically applies a Closeout Policy to their active auctions. The exact treatment depends on the auction type:

English, Dutch, or Reverse auctions with at least one bid — honoured to completion at the current high bid. The buyer is protected; proceeds enter escrow for the executor.
Auctions with zero bids — cancelled, no fees charged.
Sealed-bid / Vickrey — past the close date, honoured; before close, cancelled and any deposits refunded.
Penny auctions — cancelled, all bidders refunded their credits.
LFT, Trading, Negotiation listings — cancelled with an apology message to active counterparties.

You don't have to do anything for these to happen. You'll get a notification describing the closeout decision for each listing you were involved in.

If you placed bids that were withdrawn

If you were a bidder on someone else's auction and that bidder has passed away, your bid is auto-withdrawn with a polite notice to the seller ("Bidder unavailable; bid withdrawn by NexudeIT support"). There's no penalty to your bid history. Sellers occasionally see a flurry of withdrawals in this situation and that's expected.

If you have a paid order in flight

Orders that are paid but not yet shipped enter a paused state when the seller passes away. Their executor (once one is appointed) has the option to fulfil the order, or to refund it. If no executor steps forward within 90 days, NexudeIT refunds the buyer directly from the seller's escrow balance. Tracking-already-active orders continue to ship as normal, since the carrier already has the parcel.

If escrow funds you're owed are held

Funds in the deceased's account are frozen for 30 days while we open and review the Legacy Case. After 30 days they're either routed to the executor under the Transfer flow (in which case you'll be paid out per the normal escrow release rules), or refunded to buyers if no Transfer flow is opened within 90 days. If you're a seller who is owed money by a deceased buyer's account, the same 90-day window applies: contact our team if it's not resolved by then.

Filing a counterparty claim during a Delete flow

When a Delete flow is in progress on the deceased's account, we send notifications to everyone with an active order, open dispute, or unresolved transaction with that account. You then have 14 days to file a claim — for an unfulfilled order, an unpaid invoice, an open dispute, or any other matter that needs to be settled before the account is permanently erased. File via your order page or by emailing [email protected] with the case ID we sent you.

Refund vs. continue with the executor

If the seller's store passes to an executor under the Transfer flow, you may have the option to continue with your purchase under new ownership (the store keeps its historical reviews, with an "under new ownership since [date]" banner) or to request a refund. You'll get an email when the choice becomes available, and you'll have 30 days to decide. Choosing nothing defaults to continuing the transaction.

If something feels wrong

If a closeout, refund, or transfer decision looks incorrect, or if you suspect the death notification you received is a scam (it does happen), email [email protected]immediately with your order ID and any case reference you have. Our Trust & Safety team will investigate within one business day.