What's different now that you're verified

The features that just unlocked and how the new advanced controls fit together.

You're verified — here's what changed

You just turned on the verified subscription. A few things just became available that weren't before. This guide is the index — a quick map of what's new, with links to the deeper guides for each piece.

If this is your first time reading verified-seller guides, this is the right starting point. Otherwise, jump to whichever topic you're looking up.

The headline changes

The blue check mark

Wherever your shop name appears — videos, products, shop page, search results, reviews — a small blue check sits next to it. Buyers see it and recognize it as a trust signal: "this seller has paid to stand behind their account."

The check is bound to your subscription status. If you let your subscription lapse, the check disappears. Re-subscribing brings it back instantly.

What's "more visible"

The algorithm gives a small boost to verified sellers' videos. It's not a giant boost — verification doesn't replace good content. But two videos of equal quality, one from a verified seller and one from an unverified seller, will tend to see the verified one shown a bit more.

In practice: verification helps you a little; great videos help you a lot. Don't expect verification alone to grow you.

The catalog system, in 60 seconds

Before verification, your products lived in your shop's catalog. That hasn't changed — those products still exist and still sell.

What's new is the shared catalog — a bigger pool of products that gets featured in catalog-browsing surfaces, surfaced through the algorithm differently, and made available to creators (in the affiliate program).

You can put products into the shared catalog in two ways:

1. Self-list — you keep all the proceeds (no creator commission). Useful for premium items you want featured more.
2. Affiliate-list — creators can promote them. They earn a commission you set per product. Useful for items you want to reach buyers your videos don't.

Both go through the same submission flow, just with a toggle that says "is this affiliate-eligible?"

The two flows are explained in their own guides:

• Self-list in the catalog
• The affiliate-sellers section covers the affiliate-list path.

Self-promote videos

When you upload a video and that video features one of your catalog products, you can tag the product directly — buyers see a "Buy now" tile on the video that takes them to the product page. The tag is more prominent than for unverified sellers and shows up faster.

Details: Self-promote videos.

Withdrawals

Money you've earned from completed orders sits in your wallet. As an unverified seller, you couldn't move it out (or could only through a slower flow). Now you can request a withdrawal directly to MoMo (MTN or Airtel) or a bank account.

Withdrawals happen Tuesdays and Fridays only (in UG time). That rhythm exists because:

1. It lets us batch the Pesapal payouts efficiently (single batch = lower fees overall).
2. It gives buyers their full dispute window before money leaves the platform.

Full mechanics: Wallet and payouts.

Vacation / pause mode

You could already pause your shop as an unverified seller. Now that you're verified, pause mode interacts with your subscription too — specifically, your subscription keeps running during a pause. You're paying for verified status during vacation just like you would if open.

If you're going on a long break, consider:

• Auto-renew off before pausing — your verified status will expire at month-end, you don't keep paying for nothing.
• Stay paid if the break is under a month — coming back is seamless.

Mechanics: Vacation mode.

Penalty tiers — same as before, now matter more

The penalty system that watches for disputes / strikes hasn't changed. But now that you're paying for verified status, a slide into penalty tiers feels worse:

• You're paying for visibility, but if you're hidden by a penalty tier, no one sees you.
• You're paying for catalog access, but if you've been suspended, the access is moot.

Keep penalty tiers in mind: Penalty tiers.

Disputes — your side of the table

The buyer-side dispute guide is one of the most-read pieces on KampalaSnap. The seller side is just as important and rarely covered. Now that you're verified, how you handle disputes affects:

• Your penalty tier.
• Your verified-status reputation.
• Whether the affiliate program will let you in.

See Handling disputes well for the seller's playbook.

What didn't change

Some things stay exactly the same as before:

• The escrow system. Money still flows the same way.
• The 48-hour dispatch window. Still 48 hours from Paid → must be Dispatched.
• The Delivery PIN. Buyer-controlled, same as before.
• The 48-hour dispute window after a buyer enters the PIN.
• The platform fee (~5% of each sale).
• The shop pages, product pages, video feed. All the same UX as the unverified path.

If you missed the unverified seller guides on these basics, they're worth re-reading. Verification is added on top — it doesn't replace the foundations.

One thing to do RIGHT NOW

Pick one of these to start in the next hour:

1. Set up your payout method (Wallet → Payout methods → Add). You can't withdraw until at least one payout method is verified.
2. Submit 2-3 products to the catalog as self-listed (assuming you have premium items worth featuring).
3. Upload one self-promote video with a tagged catalog product.

You don't need to do all three. Pick the one that fits your immediate goal and start there.

Common questions

Did anything I built as an unverified seller disappear?

No. All your products, videos, followers, reviews, and earnings are intact. Verification adds; it doesn't replace.

Can I un-verify on purpose without canceling?

You can turn auto-renew off; verification ends at your next renewal date. You can re-verify the month after by paying again — there's no permanent record of having been unverified.

How do I check my exact subscription state?

Seller Hub → Edit → Verification. Shows:

• Current status (active / past_due / canceled).
• Next renewal date.
• Subscription cost (locked or current).
• Auto-renew toggle.
• Payment history.

My check mark disappeared.

Three possible reasons:

1. Subscription past_due — payment failed on renewal. Pay the month and the check returns.
2. Penalty tier hidden / suspended — your shop is hidden as a penalty, which also hides the badge. Check Edit → Account status.
3. Bug — refresh the app, reopen. If still not showing after 24 hours, email support@kampalasnap.com.

What's next

Pick the guide for the topic you came here to look up:

• Subscription mechanics
• Self-list in the catalog
• Self-promote videos
• Wallet and payouts
• Vacation mode
• Penalty tiers
• Handling disputes well