---
title: How buying works
description: The order a purchase moves in, from inquiry to payout and stock, and the screens you use at each stage.
sidebar:
  order: 1
---

Toreca Cloud records each purchase as a deal. Deals are grouped under their customer, and you work through each stage on the tabs of the customer's page.

## The purchase from start to finish

1. **Intake**

    A deal starts with a request through LINE or a form, or at your counter. Its
    status is **New**. See [Customers and deals](/en/guides/purchase/customers).

2. **Preliminary appraisal and quote**

    Appraise the cards from the customer's photos and description, and present a
    quote. When you record the customer's acceptance, the deal becomes
    **Accepted**. See [Appraisals and quotes](/en/guides/purchase/appraisal).

3. **Shipping and arrival**

    Ask the customer to send the cards, and receive them when they arrive. See
    [Shipping and final appraisal](/en/guides/purchase/shipping-and-final).

4. **Final appraisal and acceptance**

    Check the cards that arrived, do the final appraisal and present the final
    quote. Record the customer's acceptance.

5. **Identity verification**

    Record the customer's identity verification. It can be done before or after
    the final quote is accepted. See [Identity
    verification](/en/guides/purchase/identity).

6. **Stock and payout**

    With acceptance and identity in place, use **Create stock and payout**. The
    purchased cards go into inventory and a payout request is created.

7. **Payout and receipt**

    Approve and make the payout, then record the result; the deal becomes
    **Purchased**. Once you record that the customer received the money, the
    stock can be sold or shipped out. See [Payouts](/en/guides/purchase/payouts).

Along the way, cards with no clear market price go to research, and high-value cards get a review from another member. See [Research and reviews](/en/guides/purchase/research-and-reviews).

## Deal statuses and screens

A customer's page has the tabs **LINE chat**, **Appraisal requests**, **Quotes**, **Shipping**, **Final appraisal**, **Payout** and **Customer details**. Which tab you work on depends on the deal's status.

| Tab             | Deal statuses                                                                                                       |
| --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Quotes          | New, Appraising, Quote sent                                                                                         |
| Shipping        | Accepted, Awaiting ID verification, Awaiting shipment, In transit, Final quote declined, Arranging return, Returned |
| Final appraisal | Received, Final appraisal, Final quote sent, Final quote accepted                                                   |
| Payout          | Awaiting payout, Purchased                                                                                          |

You don't pick a deal's status by hand. It moves forward as the result of what you do, such as presenting a quote or recording acceptance.

:::note
Recording acceptance of the final quote doesn't complete the purchase. The deal becomes **Purchased** when you record the payout as **Succeeded**. If cards have to be returned, the return delivery must also be recorded.
:::

## Check the next step

At the top of every deal page is **Next step**. It shows the one thing to do now, and anything holding it up, such as a missing identity check or a pending market research answer. When in doubt, look at **Next step** first.

## Buying at the counter

For cards brought into the shop, add a purchase request with the intake channel set to **In store**. After the preliminary appraisal of a counter deal, click **Record in-store handover**. Confirm that the customer accepted the quote and handed over the cards, then click **Record and start final appraisal**. This records the quote, acceptance, receipt of the cards and arrival check in one go, so you can move straight to the final appraisal. An identity verification must be recorded first.