Escrow in one sitting

Escrow is the step where your payment sits in an address the market controls instead of the vendor's. You pay, the coins confirm, and the vendor sees the balance but cannot spend it. You release the coins when the item arrives as described, and only then does the money move on.

What that buys you is a window. Between the confirmation and your release, the vendor knows the money is real and you know the vendor cannot simply run with it. If the item never arrives, you open a case and the market's admins review the evidence before deciding where the coins go.

The one case it does not cover is your own haste. If you release before opening the package, the window is closed and the item is gone. Escrow protects the transfer, not the timing, so the discipline is on you to wait until the goods are in hand.