Facebook brings in the revolution by launching Marketplace. It provides an option of selling old goods that you no longer require on the platform. It’s a decent way to reuse products by supporting eco-friendly living. However, it is prone to scams. Rest assured, most people sell or purchase items from Facebook Marketplace and are satisfied with the result. But as we know, prevention is better than cure. It is better to watch out for such risk factors before making the transactions. We will explain 10 Tips to Use Facebook Marketplace Safely in the article below.
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10 Tips to Use Facebook Marketplace
1. Avoid Sharing Personal Information
When you make a peer-to-peer transaction with someone on Facebook Marketplace, there is no need to share personal information. You should not share contact details or address with anyone.
Make sure you are keeping professional and personal information separate in a transaction. Even if someone asks for your address to pick up the product, you can provide the name of your street and only share your exact location with the person coming to pick up the stuff. Also, you can keep the product in your driveway or garage so they don’t need to come inside your house.
2. Ensure You Deal With a Genuine Profile
Before dealing with someone online via Facebook Marketplace, make sure to stay in touch with a genuine person. It is pretty easy to create fake profiles on the platform. You can keep an eye on the products they have listed or look for hints indicating a slim profile. Another suspicious activity can be when someone is eager to wrap the transaction quickly. It can be because they want to scam you before you figure it out. Facebook Marketplace is also prone to hacking, so keep an eye out for the activities of your Marketplace profile.
3. Communicate Safely With Buyers & Sellers
When you use Facebook Marketplace, make sure you are communicating via Facebook Messenger. You can keep a record of all the conversations happening this way. Make sure you are not sharing your contact details like mobile number or email, and avoid communicating with them over call.
When you talk with someone, observe the way they talk, their language, or style. If they become pushy, it’s a red flag for a fraudster who wants to finish the transaction quickly.
4. Meet in a Public PlaceÂ
If you are done with the deal and want to exchange the product, make sure you meet in a public place. Avoid sharing your address or meeting at your place. Instead, meet at a neutral place, say a restaurant or other public place. You can also consider below tips while choosing a location:
- Ensure you choose a well-lit place like a departmental store or park, coffee house, etc.
- You can also explore if some police stations near you offer parking spots for transactions.
- When meeting with someone, keep your close one informed about the time and venue.
5. Pick or Drop an Item With a Friend
Another helpful tip is to keep a friend or loved one in look when making a transaction. It’s always the more the merrier. If you are going to deliver a product or pick it up, take someone with you.
It will be helpful when you deliver a large item, say furniture, and is appropriate for safety concerns. We recommend below tips you can consider when scheduling pick up and drop of an item:
- Make sure you are taking your spouse or friend with you.
- Keep your phone fully charged and your emergency contacts handy.
- Follow your guts and trust your instincts. If you don’t feel comfortable in meeting someone, postpone it.
6. Always go for Contactless Pickup & Drop
When you buy or sell any product from Facebook Marketplace, ensure you opt for contactless pickup and drop. Unless it’s a fragile or valuable product and you prefer to go and get it offline. It will make sure you get the product safely delivered to your home without any risk factors involved.
7. Never Pay for the Product Before Receiving Them
When you buy a product from Facebook Marketplace, always prefer to pay for it after receiving the product and checking its quality. If you pay for a product before receiving it, the seller might scam you. There can be performance or quality issues with the product, and there will be no way to get a refund from the owner in such a situation.
8. Limit High-Value Transactions
Again, if you purchase a High-Value product from Facebook Marketplace, make sure you don’t pay them unless you have ensured the quality of the product. The higher the value, the more the chances of scams. If you are meeting for a transaction in public, don’t carry cash with you, as it will alert thieves.
9. Report Scams
Facebook Marketplace is full of scammers; however, you can use some tips to identify a scammer. And if you do, report them to avoid scamming some other users. You can use the below steps to report a scammer on Facebook:
- Go to the Marketplace and navigate to the listing you wish to mark as a scam.
- Tap it and scroll down to find Report Listing.Â
- Click scam and submit your report with the platform.
The platform will likely remove this listing after assessing your request.
10. Keep an Eye on Buyer Scam
Sometimes, when you list a product as a seller, some users can show interest in the product, make you deliver it to their door, and refuse to pay for it. There are also some cases where people show interest in buying your product and ask for your payment ID or scanner. But later received the product and asked for a return, saying they never got the listing.
Also Read: Ultimate Guide To Control & Manage Facebook Notifications For A Hassle-Free Experience In 2024
Also Read: A Quick Guide To Block Someone On Facebook In 2024 (Android/ IOS/ Web)
Also Read: 7 Best Facebook Privacy Settings: Keep Your Facebook Data Secure!
Wind Up
All the online retail apps are prone to scamming. It is not limited to Facebook Marketplace. However, if you use Facebook Marketplace, make sure you follow the above given 10 Tips to Use Facebook Marketplace Safely. Many people make transactions on these platforms daily and get a good deal, but there are also cases where they get scammed. Staying a little cautious can help you ensure safety while using the platform.
