Safety Tips
General safety tips
Whether you’re buying or selling, these tips will help you do it safely:
- Be careful if you receive messages from someone who is not local to your area (especially if they claim to be overseas).
- Block and report any users in the app who behave inappropriately.
- Please familiarize yourself with your local government’s current restrictions, and take the proper precautions to protect yourself and others. For safety, and if local restrictions allow, we recommend meeting in a public place during the day. Learn more about Buy Sell NOW's COVID-19 response here.
- Bring a friend with you, especially if the item you’ve arranged to purchase or sell is high in value or too large for one person to carry.
- Stick to cash. Don’t accept or attempt to pay with wire transfers, cashier’s checks, personal checks, money orders, or prepaid debit/gift cards.
- Trust your gut if anything raises a red flag. If someone insists you come alone, changes the meeting place at the last minute, or refuses to meet in a public space, simply find another deal. (There are literally millions of others to choose from!).
How to buy safely
Want to score an unbeatable deal in your neighborhood? Here are a few extra things to keep in mind if you are buying on Buy Sell NOW:
- Ask questions about what you’re buying ahead of time. You can avoid surprises later by using Buy Sell NOW’s in-app chat to ask a seller about an item’s age and condition, or anything else you want to know.
- Be wary of significant discounts on high-ticket items (vehicles, etc.) with a story about the owner being overseas, in the military, or involved in an accident.
- Inspect the item carefully before paying the seller.
How to sell safely
Ready to make a sale and make some money? Here are some extra tips to keep in mind if you’re selling on Buy Sell NOW!
- Beware of common check scams, where a buyer offers to pay by check. Frequently check scammers will offer more than the listed price, and may ask that you return the difference between their check and an agreed price. Unfortunately, these checks turn out to be fake more often than not.
- Beware of offers that involve shipping the item before you receive payment.
- Count and inspect the money while you and the buyer are at the meetup.
