A deposit can be made for something that is to be delivered at certain conditions.
An example: I could start a commission thread and claim I will be making movie accurate dark knight cowls.
Then I could charge NRD of 10USD and 50 more when the work is done (purely fictional).
Then I would say because of unexpected delays the cowls will not be ready for shipment until 2018.
Technically, no one could claim back their NRD, right? Making this the perfect (legal) fraud. Not exactly, because the deposit was made under the impression that
Delivery of the item would be fulfilled within a reasonable timespan. As soon as these conditions change (ie significant delay) the contract can be undone.
At least in Germany this is customary.
There is nothing wrong with a deposit. Some amount of money that must be paid upfront.
I just don't understand why it is permanent. What exactly did I pay for, in the event of a significant delay and cancellation of the order?
But, I don't want to start a big discussion, though