Before you bid or buy: verification and payment

Creatures is built so that both sides of a sale know who they are dealing with. Before you place your first bid, make an offer, or buy an animal, there are a few one-time things to set up. You only do them once, and they unlock buying everywhere on the marketplace.

Verify your phone number (required)

A verified phone number is the baseline requirement to take part in a sale. When you go to bid or buy and your phone is not yet verified, Creatures asks you to verify it first. The steps are in Verifying your phone number.

• What it is: Creatures sends a code to your mobile number, and you enter it to confirm the number is yours.
• Why it is required: it ties your account to a real, reachable person. That is the single most important trust signal on a marketplace where real animals and real money change hands, and it protects honest buyers and sellers from anonymous bad actors.
• What it means for you: once your number is verified, the bid, offer, and buy controls become active. You do not have to repeat it for every listing. Verify once and you are set across the marketplace.

Save a payment method

When you check out, Creatures can securely store the payment method you use so your next purchase is faster.

• What it is: the card or bank account you pay with at checkout. Creatures saves it for future use through its payment processor (Stripe), so your full card number is never stored on Creatures itself.
• Your options: a debit or credit card, a US bank account (ACH), and, once you have a balance, your Creatures Wallet and Creatures Credit. Each is covered in the payment articles linked below.
• What it means for you: a saved method means one-tap checkout next time, and it is what makes the per-bid hold on auctions possible without re-entering your details on every bid. You stay in control: you can change or remove a saved method at any time.

ID verification (for higher-value sales and where the seller requires it)

Some sales involve a further identity check through Stripe Identity.

• What it is: a secure identity verification step handled by Stripe, where you confirm who you are with a government ID. It is the same trusted flow sellers use to get verified to sell; see Verifying your identity.
• When it comes up: identity verification is most relevant for higher-value transactions and for sellers, and a listing's checkout may indicate when an extra verification step applies before payment can complete. The listing itself tells you what is needed before you can pay.
• What it means for you: completing it raises your trust level and clears the way to complete the purchase. If a listing does not ask for it, you do not need it.

A note on buyer applications

Separate from account verification, an individual seller can require you to fill out a short application before you can buy or bid on their listing. That is a per-listing gate the seller sets, not an account-wide step. See Buyer applications: what they are and how to apply.

Related information

• How buying works: payments, held funds, and protection
• Finding animals: search, filters, and distance
• Saving searches and using your watchlist

Updated on: 23/06/2026