# FAQ

The questions everyone asks, answered straight. If yours isn't here, the deep-dive guides are linked throughout — or [ask us directly](/contact).

## The basics

**What is Weird Requests, in one paragraph?**
A marketplace for absurdly specific requests. You post the weird thing you want done and what you'll pay ($25–$2,500). People apply. You pick one — that's when your card is charged, into **escrow** (held by the platform, paid to nobody). They deliver, you accept, the money releases to them. A human moderator reviews every request and every delivery along the way.

**Is it free?**
Browsing, posting, and applying cost nothing. Money only moves when a poster picks a fulfiller: the poster pays the price **plus 5%**, and the fulfiller eventually receives the price **minus 15%**. Those two fees are the entire business model — no subscriptions, no listing fees, no pay-to-message.

**Do I need separate buyer and seller accounts?**
No. One account does both. Post when you want something done; apply when you see something you can do.

**What can I ask for?**
Anything specific, creative, and legal. Custom videos, songs about your cat, someone to stand somewhere in a costume, a phone call in an accent, a painting of your boss as a Renaissance duke. The [rules](/rules) draw the line: nothing illegal, hateful, exploitative, or involving minors. Weird is the point; harmful is the line.

**Which languages does the site speak?**
Seven: English, Spanish, Dutch, French, Italian, German, Portuguese. It follows your browser's language; force one by adding its code to the URL (`/es/discover`).

**Is there an app?**
The website *is* the app — it's built mobile-first and works beautifully in any phone browser. No install needed.

## Money — posting side

**When exactly is my card charged?**
At the moment you **pick a fulfiller** — and never before. Posting is free. If your request expires with no pick, you were never charged anything.

**Why do I need a card on file before posting, then?**
So fulfillers know the money behind your request is real. It sits unused until you pick. Add it in [Settings → Payments](/settings/payments).

**How much does a $100 request actually cost me?**
$105 — the price plus the 5% poster fee, charged at pick. The fulfiller receives $85 (price minus their 15%). The full math, with worked examples: [Fees & pricing](/docs/fees-and-pricing).

**What are the price limits?**
**$25 minimum, $2,500 maximum** (converted to your currency automatically). Below $25 the escrow-and-moderation machinery costs more than the job; above $2,500 a job needs milestone-style protection we don't offer yet.

**Can I pay with crypto?**
Yes — at pick time you can fund the escrow with BTC, ETH, USDC and friends (converted to USDC on receipt). Fees are identical to card payments.

**What happens if nobody applies?**
The request expires (14 days by default), nothing is charged, and you can repost any time — usually with a sharper description or a better price. You can also [boost](/docs/fees-and-pricing) it for visibility: $5–$25, fixed prices.

**Where do I see what I've spent?**
[Billing](/billing) — every charge (picks, boosts, tips), its status, refunds, and a **printable receipt** for each.

**How do refunds work?**
If the fulfiller backs out, never delivers, or a dispute goes your way, the price comes back to your card in full. Refunds are free. Details: [Escrow & payouts](/docs/escrow-and-payouts).

## Money — fulfilling side

**How do I get paid?**
Set up a payout method in [Settings → Payments](/settings/payments): bank (a short Stripe verification, then automatic forever) or a crypto wallet (USDC). When a poster accepts your delivery, escrow releases — price minus the 15% fee — and the transfer starts immediately. First bank payout typically lands in 2–7 business days; after that, faster.

**I was accepted but haven't set up payouts. Is my money gone?**
No — it waits safely in escrow, flagged **deferred**, and retries automatically every few hours once you finish setup. Money never evaporates; it waits.

**Where do I see my earnings?**
[Earnings](/earnings) — what's in escrow with your name on it, lifetime payouts, tips received, and a receipt per job.

**Is there a minimum payout?**
No. A $25 job releases $21.25 to you, automatically.

**What about taxes?**
Payouts are income and handling tax on them is on you. Depending on country and volume, the payments partner may issue tax paperwork — the payout onboarding covers what applies. We withhold nothing.

**What's the deal with tips?**
After accepting, posters can tip — and the platform takes **zero**: the full tip minus only the card processor's exact fee reaches the fulfiller. A $50 tip lands as roughly $48.25.

## Posting & picking

**How does moderation work? How fast is it?**
A human reads every request before it goes public — usually well within a day. Rejected? You get the reason. Same for every delivery before it reaches the poster.

**Can I edit my request after posting?**
Yes, while it's open. Substantive edits may pass moderation again. Closing it is always free — applicants are notified.

**How do I choose between applicants?**
Each application shows the pitch, the proposed price, and the applicant's track record (completed jobs, on-time rate, ratings). Chat with anyone before committing. Full guide: [Picking a fulfiller](/docs/picking-a-fulfiller).

**Can applicants propose a different price?**
Yes — applications can counter your price, and mid-chat either side can send a **custom offer** ("Make an offer" in the thread). Accepting an offer locks it as the application's price: the pick charges exactly that number.

**Can I pick two people for one request?**
No — one request, one fulfiller, one escrow. Want three versions? Post it three times.

**What if my fulfiller never delivers?**
They have **7 days from pick**. Miss it and the system flags them (a strike), and you can pick someone else or take a full refund. Your escrow is protected the whole time.

**What's a revision?**
Close-but-not-right deliveries get **one revision round per request**: you write what's off, they resubmit once. After that it's accept or dispute — no infinite loops.

**What's the 5-day timer I keep hearing about?**
Once an approved delivery is waiting on you, you have **5 days** to accept, request the revision, or dispute. Do nothing and escrow auto-releases to the fulfiller — they shouldn't be held hostage by a quiet inbox.

## Applying & delivering

**How do I write an application that wins?**
Quote the request's weird specifics back (proof you read it), say how you'd nail the hard part, and price honestly — a thoughtful counter beats a desperate discount. Guide: [Fulfilling requests](/docs/fulfilling-requests).

**When should I start working?**
Only after you're **picked** — that's when the poster's money is locked in escrow. Never start work on an unfunded promise; here, you structurally can't be asked to.

**How long do I have to deliver?**
**7 days from pick.** Running late? Say so in chat early — a poster who knows is a poster who waits. Silent lateness is a strike.

**Can I back out after being picked?**
Yes, and sooner is better — backing out is a strike, but ghosting is worse for everyone including your on-time rate. The poster's escrow returns to them either way.

**Someone wants to pay me directly on PayPal/Venmo to "skip the fees." Should I?**
No. Off-platform deals are against the [rules](/rules) — the chat filter catches contact-info swaps, a confirmed off-platform deal is an instant ban for both sides, and the moment money moves outside, escrow and disputes can't protect you. The 15% buys you a guarantee of getting paid.

## Chat, offers & negotiation

**Where do conversations happen?**
[Messages](/messages) — one thread per application. Attachments ride along with the paperclip. Everything is timestamped, which is exactly what protects you if there's ever a dispute.

**What's a custom offer and why not just type a number in chat?**
An offer ("Make an offer" above the composer) is a price proposal as a tappable card: the other side hits Accept or Decline. Accepted offers **become** the application's price automatically — no "wait, we said $60, right?" archaeology at pick time.

**Why was my message hidden by moderation?**
Messages are screened (automatically, with humans for the gray areas). Contact-info swaps and harassment get held or removed; repeat attempts earn strikes. Keep it on-platform and you'll never meet this system.

## Direct requests, favorites & alerts

**Can I send a request to one specific person?**
Yes — a **direct request**. Hit "Request @them directly" on their profile (or "Request @them again" on a finished job). It's completely private: never on the feed, in search, or visible to anyone but the two of you. Same moderation, escrow, and protections as a public request.

**How do I save a request for later?**
Tap the **🔖 bookmark** on any card. It lands on [Saved](/saved), visible only to you.

**Can the site alert me when matching requests appear?**
Yes — set your filters on [Discover](/discover), hit **"Save this search"**, name it, and pick a cadence: instant (hourly check), daily, or weekly. Manage or mute them on [Saved](/saved).

**What's away mode?**
A switch in [Settings → Profile](/settings/profile) that shows an "Away" badge on your profile and applications, and warns anyone sending you a direct request that replies may be slow. Nothing gets locked — it just sets expectations honestly.

## Trust & safety

**How do I know a stranger will actually deliver / actually pay?**
You don't have to trust them — that's the point of **escrow**. The money is locked before work starts and only moves when the work is accepted (or a human referee decides). Track records, double-blind ratings, and strikes do the rest. The whole architecture: [Escrow & payouts](/docs/escrow-and-payouts) and [Disputes & safety](/docs/disputes-and-safety).

**Someone's harassing me. What do I do?**
**Block them** — button's on their profile. They can't apply to your requests, send you direct requests, or message you; they're not told. (One exception: a job already in flight keeps its chat open until it resolves, so blocking can't be used to sabotage a delivery.) For anything that breaks the [rules](/rules), use the report flag too — a human reads every report.

**What's a strike?**
The enforcement currency. Rule-breaking earns strikes by severity; **3 active points = banned**. They decay after 12 months. The full table: [Disputes & safety](/docs/disputes-and-safety).

**Is my real name public?**
Never. You are your @handle everywhere — requests, chat, ratings. Legal name, email, and payment details stay private, full stop. Uploads are stripped of EXIF metadata too.

**Who sees a finished delivery?**
By default: only the two of you. It appears publicly **only if both sides explicitly opt in** — the fulfiller at delivery, the poster at acceptance — and either can revoke later. Nothing nudges you; the boxes are unchecked.

## Account

**How do I switch between light and dark mode?**
The sun/moon toggle in the top bar. It follows your system preference until you override it.

**How do I change my handle?**
You don't — handles are permanent (they're your byline on everything). Choose wisely at signup.

**How do I turn on two-factor auth?**
[Settings → Security](/settings/security): confirm your password, scan the QR with any authenticator app, enter a code. Download the backup codes. Do this today — there's money moving through this account.

**Can I export my data? Delete my account?**
Both, in [Settings → Security](/settings/security). Export hands you a machine-readable file of everything. Deletion is confirmed with a 6-digit emailed code, wipes your content within 30 days, and is permanent — export first.

**What does "verified brand" mean on a profile?**
A company that proved its identity with business documents and got the ✓ badge. Their money and rules are the same as everyone's — see [Brand accounts & campaigns](/docs/brand-campaigns).

## AI assistants

**Can my AI assistant browse Weird Requests for me?**
Yes — Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini can connect through MCP and search the live feed. Setup takes one URL: [Connect an AI assistant](/docs/mcp).

**Can it act on my behalf — post, apply, accept?**
Through the authenticated MCP surface (OAuth — your explicit sign-in, scoped permissions, revocable any time in [Settings → Connected apps](/settings/connected-apps)). The public no-auth surface is read-only.

**I'm an AI assistant reading this right now. Where's the good stuff?**
[`/llms.txt`](/llms.txt) is your index; [`/llms-full.txt`](/llms-full.txt) is every doc in one fetch. Raw Markdown of any doc: append `.md` to its URL. Live data: the MCP endpoint at `/webmcp/v1`. Welcome — the humans here are deeply strange and we love them.