Question 1

How are eBay, Etsy, Mercari, and Poshmark fees modeled?

Accepted Answer

Brasswren starts with editable fee assumptions: 13.25% for eBay, 10% for Etsy, 10% for Mercari, and 20% for Poshmark. They are planning estimates based on the current defaults—not live marketplace quotes—and real charges can change with processing, ads, seller tiers, order value, or policy updates. Adjust the defaults when you have better information, then compare the resulting margin with the same care you would apply to the asking price.

Question 2

How is the deal decision score calculated, and when is it unknown?

Accepted Answer

The score combines four weighted signals: asking price at 25%, condition at 20%, verified seller rating at 20%, and expected resale margin at 35%. Each factor is normalized to a 0–100 contribution, then the weighted total is shown as a strong, promising, cautious, or weak band. The score becomes unknown—not negative—when any required context is missing, such as a valid asking price/category/condition calculation or a verified seller rating from the source listing.

Question 3

How do holding and authentication costs affect the expected margin?

Accepted Answer

Expected margin is reduced by the asking price, marketplace fees, shipping, authentication, and the cost of holding the item while it waits to sell. Holding assumptions can reflect time, storage, and insurance; the calculator uses the expected hold horizon to make that drag visible instead of pretending the item is free to carry. A known authentication charge is a recorded cost. A category-based authentication reserve or other forecast is an estimate, so keep that distinction visible when deciding whether a crown, jewelry piece, or game item has enough room.

Question 4

How does private deal sharing work?

Accepted Answer

A shared collection uses a private token link to expose a read-only view of the deals you selected, including their saved context, source checks, and decision signals. It does not give the recipient editing access. Revoke access to make the current link unavailable. Regenerate the link to create a new token; Brasswren revokes the active link as part of that change, so the old link stops working.

Question 5

How do listing checks and last-checked timestamps stay fresh?

Accepted Answer

Brasswren caches a listing check for ten minutes. If the saved check is still inside that freshness window, the trust view reuses it; once it is stale, the next trust request checks the source again and updates lastCheckedAt. The check is deliberately cautious: blocked or rate-limited pages, unsupported marketplaces, redirects that leave a supported marketplace, and pages without a clear active/sold/unavailable signal can remain unknown. The timestamp tells you when Brasswren last looked—not that a marketplace guarantees the listing has not changed since.

Question 6

What should I do when a deal or listing is marked unknown?

Accepted Answer

Treat unknown as a request for judgment, not as a pass or a green light. Keep the missing context visible, use a conservative assumption only when you can explain it, and look for more evidence about the price, condition, seller, or source listing before committing cash. A deal that only works after every unknown resolves favorably deserves more caution than one with room for uncertainty.

Question 7

What does Brasswren keep with a saved deal?

Accepted Answer

A saved deal can keep the listing context, asking price, resale assumptions, fee and shipping inputs, authentication notes, photos, costs, and next action together. That record helps you compare a considered buy, hold, or pass with what actually happened later.

Question 8

What does Brasswren not do?

Accepted Answer

Brasswren does not authenticate or grade items, guarantee sale prices, automatically buy listings, submit offers, or move marketplace payouts. It gives you a clearer record for making and reviewing your own decisions.

Question 9

How do I get started with Brasswren?

Accepted Answer

Join early access, then bring in one real opportunity you are considering. Capture the listing context, estimate the resale economics after fees and shipping, record the next action, and keep the outcome with the deal so future decisions have something concrete to learn from.