Escrow is what holds your money between paying and receiving. Understanding it is the difference between trusting the market blindly and knowing what protects you.
The flow
You fund the order, the vendor ships, you confirm receipt, and the coin releases to the vendor. If you never confirm, the order auto-finalises after a set window so a vendor is not left waiting on a buyer who wandered off.
Disputes
If something goes wrong, you open a dispute and a moderator reads the evidence and the message thread before deciding. A refund returns the coin to you. See opening a dispute.
The one wrong move
Finalising early means confirming receipt before the package arrives. It releases the coin to the vendor and removes the dispute path. On an unproven vendor it undoes your protection. Do not do it, whatever reason is offered. See why not to finalise early.