To buy and sell safely on Facebook Marketplace, you should look at the accounts of both buyers and sellers, meet in a public place to buy or sell something, bring a friend or family member with you to the exchange, use safe payment methods, and more.
Find out more about Facebook Marketplace scams and how to avoid them when you buy or sell on the site by reading on.
What is the Facebook Market?
Facebook Marketplace is a part of Facebook where you can use your account to find, buy, and sell new and used things like furniture and sports equipment. Facebook Marketplace uses your location to show you things that are for sale close to you. When you see something you want to buy, you use the Messenger app to get in touch with the seller and make an offer. If the seller agrees to your offer, you and the seller agree on how you will pay for and pick up the thing.
Facebook Marketplace makes it easy for people to buy things at a lower price. You can compare Facebook Marketplace to sites like eBay or Craigslist.
When people buy or sell things on Facebook Marketplace, they only talk to each other on the Messenger app. For your own safety, Facebook strongly advises that you do not share phone numbers.
How to Shop on Facebook Marketplace Without Risk
Here are some safe ways to shop on Facebook Marketplace.
Look at seller biographies and feedback.
There are a few things you should do before you decide to buy something on Facebook Marketplace. The first is to look at the seller’s page and reviews. People who are selling fake items often make fake accounts to get people to buy something they don’t have.
You might see reviews left by other buyers when you look at a seller’s page. Pay attention to what people have said about the seller in those reviews. You should be wary of buying from someone whose profile doesn’t have any reviews. This is because a selling profile without reviews could be fake or not have been checked out.
Instead of having things brought, pick them up
People who sell things on Facebook Marketplace are asked if they want to let buyers ship items instead of picking them up. This feature is often used in scams on Facebook Marketplace to take payment for an item but never ship it or ship an item that is in worse shape than what was advertised. Instead, you should pick up the item. This way, you can check it out in person to see if it’s exactly what the seller said it was. You can also be sure you won’t be scammed into paying for something you won’t get when you pick up the item in person.
Go somewhere public to meet the seller
Make sure you meet the seller in a public place if you can when you pick up an item you want to buy. If the thing is big, like a couch or other piece of furniture, this might not be possible. Meeting the seller in a public place is best if you know the item you want to buy is small. That way, you’ll know there are other people around in case something goes wrong, like the seller trying to rob you.
You can ask the seller to meet you in front of a police office to be safe.
Bring a friend with you when you pick up something
You should never go alone to pick up an item you bought on Facebook Marketplace, especially if it’s a big item that needs to be picked up from the seller’s house. Always go with a family member or friend. Not having someone with you on the day and time you plan to pick up the item? Tell a friend or family member when and where you’ll be meeting the seller.
Check out the thing you want to buy before you pay for it.
Some sellers may try to trick you into buying something that isn’t what they said it was online. Check the item carefully before you pay the seller to make sure it meets your needs and that you want to buy it as it is.
Use safe ways of payment
Make sure you always use safe ways to pay when you buy something on Facebook Marketplace. PayPal is a safe way to pay because, unlike Venmo, it will look into scam claims for you as a buyer.
When you pay for something, don’t use cash, especially if you know you’ll have to carry a lot of it. Pick PayPal or another third-party app that checks scam claims instead as your payment method. People will try to steal from you if you carry a lot of cash. You could lose your money if something goes wrong during the exchange. People who want to be paid in cash should be a red flag that they might be trying to scam you.
Tips on How to Sell Items Safely on Facebook Marketplace
Here are some safe ways to sell things on Facebook Marketplace.
Read reports and look at buyer profiles
When you sell something on Facebook Marketplace, you should look at the buyer’s picture and reviews, just like when you buy something. A lot of con artists will make fake Facebook accounts and say they want to buy something. People who buy things on Facebook Marketplace are often scammed. When buyers pay, it looks like the payment goes through, but later it’s refused, so sellers never get the money. People who are selling something give it away for free.
Go somewhere public to meet the buyer
Should you decide to sell something on Facebook Marketplace, try to avoid having the buyer come to your house as much as possible. Instead, meet them in a public place. Larger things that are hard to move might not be able to do this. Meeting the buyer in a public place is safer, though, especially if the item is small and easy to take. This makes sure that there are other people around you in case something goes wrong.
Tell a family member or friend that you’re meeting someone
When you meet a possible buyer, you should try to bring a friend or family member with you. If you can’t do this, the next best thing is to let a friend or family member know where and when you’ll be meeting the buyer to trade goods.
Don’t take an extra
Some con artists will try to get you to pay more than you should for a thing they want to buy. Don’t take the extra money; it’s usually a sign of a scam. A con artist will pay you too much and then demand that you pay the difference. You will lose both the money you “returned” and the thing you “sold” if you pay the difference. This is because the first payment the buyer sent was fake, and you never actually got it.
Don’t give the thing to them until you get paid for it
When you sell something, you should not give the buyer the item until you get paid in full. If you give someone something and then leave without looking to see if they paid for it, you may have given it away for free.
What Could Go Wrong When You Buy and Sell on Facebook Marketplace
There are some risks when you buy and sell on Facebook Marketplace.
Can cause you to lose money
There are scams everywhere, even on Facebook Marketplace. You could lose money if you don’t take care when you buy or sell things on Facebook Marketplace. Tech Jury says that there are more than a billion daily users on Facebook Marketplace, and that scammers have tried to scam one in six of those users.
Two of the most common scams on Facebook Marketplace are people calling users from fake Facebook accounts and not sending buyers the things they’ve already paid for.
Scams that use “bait and switch”
People pull a bait-and-switch scam when they offer an item at a price that seems too good to be true. If you try to buy the thing, the seller might raise the price. In this kind of scam, the seller offers low prices to get people to buy something, then tries to sell them something else that costs more. If you message a buyer and then they raise the price of the thing, don’t message them again because this is a bait-and-switch scam.
Not real cash
Scammers also go after people who sell things on Facebook Marketplace. Sellers are often scammed with fake payments. This could happen if a scammer sends you a fake picture that looks like they sent you money when they haven’t. Before sending an item to a buyer or giving it to them, you should always make sure that you have received payment.
What You Should Do If You’ve Been Scammed on Facebook Market
If you tried to buy or sell something on Facebook Marketplace and were scammed, do these things.
Facebook should be told about the buyer or sale
The first thing you should do if you think you’ve been scammed on Facebook Marketplace is to tell Facebook about the seller or buyer. Follow these steps to make this happen:
- Please sign in to your Facebook account.
- Click on the market icon.
- Choose the seller whose page you want to report and click on it.
- Click on the name of the seller.
- After clicking the three dots, click “Report.”
- Just do what it says on your screen.
Report it to the cops
You could report the buyer or seller to Facebook, but you could also call the cops in your area. Reporting Facebook Marketplace scams to the cops will help them know about them in your area.
Report it to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) of the FBI
Report the seller or buyer to Facebook and the cops. Then, report the crime to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. Visit their site to do this. Telling the FBI about the crime helps them keep track of scams and see if there are any patterns or trends that can help them catch scammers and other crooks.
Be careful of scams on the Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace is a handy way to find cheap things, but because it’s online, there is a chance that someone will try to scam you. When you use Facebook Marketplace to buy or sell things, make sure you follow these tips to stay safe and avoid losing money.
