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Fatwa CenterPaying Buyer Fees on Online Marketplaces
Question
Assalamo3alaykom, I would like to purchase and sell items from a website called Vinted. The buyer has to pay a buyer fee to the app, It garantees the buyer that he will be reimburserd or will be able to return the item for free if the seller lied about the description or if it got lost or damaged during the transport. Is this fee considered insurance, or a sort of salary that the app takes for providing this service and taking care of the transaction and all the bureaucracy (transport by post)?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
Fees are permissible only when they are taken in exchange for a lawful service or a permissible benefit. However, taking fees in exchange for a comprehensive guarantee is not permissible, because it falls under the ruling of commercial insurance of the product.
It appears from the question that these fees are solely being taken in exchange for guaranteeing the price of the product in all circumstances—whether in cases of return, damage, or loss—and not merely for providing a service such as processing the transaction or following it up.
Allah Knows best.
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