One model versus another
Verified-First vs Self-Reported Listings
Whether you're buying or selling, this is how Kairos checks the numbers a listing shows you. Most marketplace listings run on self-reported numbers: a seller's own claim, backed by a screenshot anyone can edit. Kairos verifies instead, reading revenue straight from a store's own Shopify order data before a listing goes live. Kairos hasn't closed a deal yet, and this page says so instead of pretending otherwise.
Two Ways a Listing's Numbers Get to You
A listing's numbers arrive one of two ways. In the self-reported model, a seller states the numbers directly: revenue, profit, traffic, whatever the listing form asks for, often illustrated with a screenshot of an analytics dashboard or an order summary. Nobody outside the seller's own login checks that the screenshot matches what actually happened in the store, and an export like that is trivial to edit before it's shared. Kairos runs the verified-first model instead. Before a listing goes live, its revenue figures get read from the store's own Shopify order data directly, not typed in by the seller. A number that doesn't match what the orders show doesn't get published as proven. That difference sits underneath every listing on this site, not just the ones a buyer happens to scrutinize closely, and it's why a Kairos listing states plainly which figures were checked this way and which weren't.
Read the Named Comparisons Below
The grid below this intro moves from models to specific companies. Each named comparison sets Kairos against one particular marketplace or brokerage, built from two kinds of facts. The first kind reads directly off that company's own live pages: their stated fees, their stated process, in their own words. The second kind draws on public record or review-sourced material, such as a company's BBB profile or a theme that public reviews name repeatedly, and every fact of that second kind carries its source inline rather than being stated as something Kairos simply knows. Neither kind is Kairos's opinion of a rival. Each named comparison below states what a company itself publishes, or what the public record shows, side by side with what Kairos actually does on its own pricing and verification rules, so a reader can weigh two real accounts against each other instead of a marketing claim against a rebuttal.
Where do the revenue numbers come from?
- Kairosverified-first
- Read from the store's own orders over read-only APIs
- Self-reported modelmost marketplaces
- The seller types them in, often backed by screenshots
Is there a written verification memo?
- Kairosverified-first
- Yes - checks listed, human-signed, shown to buyers
- Self-reported modelmost marketplaces
- Not part of the model
What does a trust badge mean?
- Kairosverified-first
- Gold appears only when data was proven; amber means unverified
- Self-reported modelmost marketplaces
- Varies - badges often reflect seller activity, not proof
Is escrow the default?
- Kairosverified-first
- Every deal settles through licensed third-party escrow
- Self-reported modelmost marketplaces
- Usually optional - the parties arrange payment themselves
Are the numbers protected after unlock?
- Kairosverified-first
- NDA-gated, and every document is fingerprinted to its buyer
- Self-reported modelmost marketplaces
- Not part of the model
Does verification expire?
- Kairosverified-first
- Live data re-checked weekly; drift drops the tier automatically
- Self-reported modelmost marketplaces
- Not part of the model
Is there a price floor for verification?
- Kairosverified-first
- No - a EUR 2,000-a-month store gets the same checks as a EUR 200,000 one
- Self-reported modelmost marketplaces
- Common - listings under a price bar are often self-reported only
What does it cost a buyer to see the numbers?
- Kairosverified-first
- Nothing. Verify your funds - it is free - then sign one NDA
- Self-reported modelmost marketplaces
- Non-refundable subscriptions or unlock fees are common
When do you pay?
- Kairosverified-first
- Listing and the data check are free - a success fee only at close
- Self-reported modelmost marketplaces
- Listing or subscription fees are common, sale or not
This compares business models, not any specific company. Individual marketplaces vary - check what the one in front of you actually verifies.
Named comparisons
Want the specifics? Each side-by-side page names names, with every fact sourced to the company's own pages or a public record, cited in place.
The People Checking Your Store
Eight years, 200+ ecom brands, EUR 200M+ in tracked sales - and we read the source data every morning. When we say a number is real, it is because we read the source it came from - not the listing form.
ZenoX ad-management figures, not Kairos deal volume - Kairos hasn't closed a deal yet.
The short version
Trust Is Nice. Proof Closes
One model asks the buyer to trust the seller. The other one checks.
Buying a Store Somewhere Else?
Kairos Due Diligence works on any deal - Flippa, a broker, a private sale. A person reads the store's raw numbers and writes you a report. If the deal is bad, the report says walk away. From EUR 1.5K, no account needed.
See the Difference Yourself
The proof-first model opens soon. Get on the list, then compare us against a real listing - not a table.