Facebook Marketplace 102: Staying Safe While Buying & Selling

Welcome to part two of my Facebook Marketplace 101 series! (If you missed part one on how to list and sell items, you can read that here!) It can feel a little overwhelming and scary to navigate meeting up with random strangers, but with these safety steps, you can do it safely!

Part 1: When You Are the Seller

Vetting the Buyer:

Facebook does a pretty good job of allowing you to vet the buyer on the item page. Here is what to look for!

Look at their account creation date: New accounts may be a red flag.
Verify their location: Make sure their listed city matches the general area where you’re selling.
Do a reverse image search: If something seems suspicious, take a screenshot of their profile picture and use Google Lens to see if its a stock image
Check for ratings: If the buyer has been rated by other users, review their feedback. A positive reputation is reassuring!

Meeting up with a Buyer:

Meeting in a neutral location where there will be other people around, like a gas station or grocery store parking lot, is the safest choice. Police stations often have areas for exchanging expensive items under video surveillance.

If you are selling heavy furniture and would rather the person come to your house, there are still ways to stay safe doing this. I recommend three levels of giving out your location:

Your Town: In the post's caption, you will include the town you are. ie: "local pickup in Atlanta, GA"
A Nearby Cross Street: when someone says that they are ready to pick up the item that day, give out a nearby cross street. This way, if they end up ghosting you or changing their mind, they don't have your address. ie: "I'm off the Main St. and 3rd Ave. Let me know when you are in the car headed this way and then I'll give you the street address"
Your Address: only when the person is on the way, driving towards you, do I give them my actual address

BONUS TIP: Have the item already outside if possible (or at least in the foyer) so that they don't have to enter your house to get it

Getting Paid:

Most of the scams surrounding FBMP revolve around payment methods. The best way to avoid these scams is to accept only cash. Since that's not always possible, here are a few things to keep in mind:

Venmo: make sure they toggle OFF "for purchases." If this is switched on then someone who paid you can "get a full refund if an eligible purchase isn't what you paid for"
Paypal: You are protected if you use the "Goods and Services" option, but it does charge a fee
Zelle: Zelle is generally very safe because it is nearly impossible to reverse a transaction, but it is still possible for the buyer to dispute the charge with their bank and get refunded.

Bonus Tip: If your price isn't in the 20's denominations, be ready to have change or you may be forced to give a discount (ie. you are charging $70 but they only have $20's)

No matter what the person says, NEVER REFUND OVERAGES. This is a very common scam where they send you money that isn't in their bank, so the payment will eventually not clear, and in the meantime you sent them your money.

Part 2: When You Are the Buyer

Vetting the Seller & the Product

Vetting the seller is going to be almost the same as vetting the buyer from part 1, but with a few added things to look for.

Do a reverse image search of the item. You can do this by opening the google app and tapping the camera button next to the search bar. This is especially important for items that will be shipped to you (ie. camera gear, computers, phones, etc). If the exact photo comes up in your search, the person may not actually own the item.
If there are multiple angles of the same item, make sure they are the exact same product in the same room.
If you are unsure, ask the seller to write your name and the date on a piece of paper and take a picture of them item with that, and then make sure its not photoshopped in (yes I have had someone try this on me before!) To do that, make sure it's not the exact same photo as before with just the paper added in.
Read all the reviews of the seller and make sure no one has said they are a scammer.
You can also see the list of all the other things the seller has listed. Check to make sure they're all listed in the same city and that there aren't multiple listings of the same item.
Make sure if you are doing local pickup of the item that the person actually lives in your city.

Checking the Item During the Pickup

It is perfectly okay to walk away and not buy the item after meeting up with a seller. Take the time to look it over, check for damage, and test anything out. If it's electronic, see if you can plug it in and test it.

For safety tips on meeting up, read section 1. If you are driving to someone's house, bring a friend, share your location, and tell someone where you are going. Try to go in the daylight if possible.

Paying for your Item

If you are the buyer, it is much safer to use payment platforms like Venmo, Zelle, Cash App, etc. I use these often when buying! It is safest to not pay in advance, but if you are asking them to hold the item, it is sometimes common practice to pay or to put a deposit down. When I do this, I always toggle ON the Venmo refund option in case I end up needing a refund. I have done this a couple of times and have not been scammed, but I only pay in advance when the seller has a really good rating.

Scam Alert: If you are buying something that requires shipping, do NOT take payment off of the Facebook Platform, even if they say "Facebook isn't working"

I will share the most common scams in the next blog post, so be sure to check back!

xoxo,

Melissa