{"id":16534,"date":"2018-08-06T08:48:53","date_gmt":"2018-08-06T16:48:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/?p=16534"},"modified":"2022-04-13T12:27:07","modified_gmt":"2022-04-13T20:27:07","slug":"3-tips-for-buying-stuff-safely-on-facebook-marketplace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/3-tips-for-buying-stuff-safely-on-facebook-marketplace\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Tips for Buying Stuff Safely on Facebook Marketplace"},"content":{"rendered":"

Facebook Marketplace is quickly becoming one of the most popular ways to buy, sell and trade online. But like any internet classified ad site, there can come a steep price if you\u2019re not careful. Here are 3 tips for buying stuff safely on Facebook. <\/span><\/p>\n

Facebook Marketplace: Better than Craigslist?<\/h2>\n

Of the <\/span>7.6 billion people<\/span><\/a> on the planet, <\/span>over 2 billion of them are on Facebook<\/span><\/a>. That\u2019s nearly 30% of the world\u2019s population sharing pictures of their lunch, playing Candy Crush and getting enraged by their cousin\u2019s political beliefs. <\/span><\/p>\n

And now, with <\/span>Facebook Marketplace<\/span><\/a>, you can add \u201cbuying motorcycles and selling iPhones\u201d to the list.<\/span><\/p>\n

Marketplace works much the same way as classified ad boards like Craigslist, and <\/span>some even prefer it<\/span><\/a> citing its more phone-friendly interface and ease-of-use. <\/span><\/p>\n

But just like any site that involves exchanging money with strangers<\/span>, there are a few things you should always do before you take the plunge.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Research the Item<\/h2>\n

This may seem obvious, but really make sure you understand what you are buying. Whether it\u2019s a car or a stereo system, take the time to research the item so you know what it\u2019s worth, how it works and what it should look like.<\/span><\/p>\n

While you can certainly find fantastic deals on a variety of things using Marketplace, if you let your guard down you could be disappointed by finding out you overpaid or they oversold (i.e. didn\u2019t tell you something was busted or missing a key part). <\/span><\/p>\n

If it\u2019s a big ticket item, ask to for pictures to gauge quality and don\u2019t be afraid to demand seeing it in person before committing to buy: it\u2019s your right as a consumer to make sure the darn thing is worth buying.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Research the Seller<\/h2>\n

One possibly advantage Facebook Marketplace has over Craigslist is the relative lack of anonymity. <\/span><\/p>\n

Craigslist, while generally safe, makes it difficult for the buyer to know exactly who they\u2019re dealing with before meeting up. <\/span>With Marketplace<\/a>, however, each posting has a link to the seller\u2019s Facebook profile which will allow you to see exactly who you\u2019ll be meeting. <\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, it\u2019s not difficult to fake a profile, but such cases are likely exceedingly rare. That said, be on the look out for profiles with no pictures or information. Only deal with sellers in your general area. <\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re still suspicious of a certain profile, be sure to <\/span>search their name<\/span><\/a> or <\/span>phone number<\/span><\/a> using a people search engine, which can give you background information including arrest records, aliases and location. <\/span><\/p>\n

3. Deal Locally and Meet Face-to-Face<\/h2>\n

As stated above, you can avoid almost all scams on Facebook Marketplace by dealing locally and meeting face-to-face.<\/span><\/p>\n

Scammers generally target people willing to send money or work through the mail. Don\u2019t make yourself a target. Set up a meeting in a public, well-lit place and feel free to bring along a friend. Make sure the item is as described and only exchange cash. Any seller that asks payment via a MoneyGram or wire beforehand and is unwilling to meet in person is potentially a fraudster.<\/span><\/p>\n

Feel free to refer to <\/span>Facebook\u2019s own safety tips<\/span><\/a> for doing business online. Rest assured that Marketplace, like Craigslist, is overwhelmingly safe and incidents of fraud, theft or assault are exceedingly rare. Most sellers are just normal people trying to get rid of some stuff. Put in a little time up front to research the item and seller and you\u2019ll be just fine. <\/span><\/p>\n

Good luck!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Facebook Marketplace is quickly becoming one of the most popular ways to buy, sell and trade online. But like any internet classified ad site, there can come a steep price…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":16628,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[612,614],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guides","category-safety"],"yoast_head":"\n3 Tips for Buying Stuff Safely on Facebook Marketplace - The Compass Blog | Digital Identity and People Search | Spokeo<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Facebook Marketplace is quickly becoming one of the most popular ways to buy, sell and trade online. But like any internet classified ad site, there can come a steep price if you\u2019re not careful. Here are 3 tips for buying stuff safely on Facebook.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/3-tips-for-buying-stuff-safely-on-facebook-marketplace\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"3 Tips for Buying Stuff Safely on Facebook Marketplace - The Compass Blog | Digital Identity and People Search | Spokeo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Facebook Marketplace is quickly becoming one of the most popular ways to buy, sell and trade online. But like any internet classified ad site, there can come a steep price if you\u2019re not careful. Here are 3 tips for buying stuff safely on Facebook.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/3-tips-for-buying-stuff-safely-on-facebook-marketplace\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Compass Blog | Digital Identity and People Search | Spokeo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Spokeo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-08-06T16:48:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-04-13T20:27:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/FB_Marketplace@2x.jpg?fit=2260%2C1160&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2260\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1160\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Spokeo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Spokeo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Spokeo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Spokeo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/3-tips-for-buying-stuff-safely-on-facebook-marketplace\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/3-tips-for-buying-stuff-safely-on-facebook-marketplace\/\",\"name\":\"3 Tips for Buying Stuff Safely on Facebook Marketplace - The Compass Blog | Digital Identity and People Search | Spokeo\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/3-tips-for-buying-stuff-safely-on-facebook-marketplace\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/3-tips-for-buying-stuff-safely-on-facebook-marketplace\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/FB_Marketplace%402x.jpg?fit=2260%2C1160&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-08-06T16:48:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-04-13T20:27:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/#\/schema\/person\/d064cf67e95f6058dbec1c4eebc53c44\"},\"description\":\"Facebook Marketplace is quickly becoming one of the most popular ways to buy, sell and trade online. But like any internet classified ad site, there can come a steep price if you\u2019re not careful. Here are 3 tips for buying stuff safely on Facebook.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/3-tips-for-buying-stuff-safely-on-facebook-marketplace\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/3-tips-for-buying-stuff-safely-on-facebook-marketplace\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/FB_Marketplace%402x.jpg?fit=2260%2C1160&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/FB_Marketplace%402x.jpg?fit=2260%2C1160&ssl=1\",\"width\":2260,\"height\":1160},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/\",\"name\":\"The Compass Blog | Digital Identity and People Search | Spokeo\",\"description\":\"The official Spokeo blog covers topics such as digital identity, consumer protection and privacy, how to avoid scams and catfishing, and more.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/#\/schema\/person\/d064cf67e95f6058dbec1c4eebc53c44\",\"name\":\"Spokeo\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7e492b2d60c7cf3c148525c45191c0bb108881d6c2d3a2413959adb9829b993f?s=96&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7e492b2d60c7cf3c148525c45191c0bb108881d6c2d3a2413959adb9829b993f?s=96&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Spokeo\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/author\/spokeo\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"3 Tips for Buying Stuff Safely on Facebook Marketplace - The Compass Blog | Digital Identity and People Search | Spokeo","description":"Facebook Marketplace is quickly becoming one of the most popular ways to buy, sell and trade online. But like any internet classified ad site, there can come a steep price if you\u2019re not careful. Here are 3 tips for buying stuff safely on Facebook.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/3-tips-for-buying-stuff-safely-on-facebook-marketplace\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"3 Tips for Buying Stuff Safely on Facebook Marketplace - The Compass Blog | Digital Identity and People Search | Spokeo","og_description":"Facebook Marketplace is quickly becoming one of the most popular ways to buy, sell and trade online. But like any internet classified ad site, there can come a steep price if you\u2019re not careful. Here are 3 tips for buying stuff safely on Facebook.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/3-tips-for-buying-stuff-safely-on-facebook-marketplace\/","og_site_name":"The Compass Blog | Digital Identity and People Search | Spokeo","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Spokeo\/","article_published_time":"2018-08-06T16:48:53+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-04-13T20:27:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2260,"height":1160,"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/FB_Marketplace@2x.jpg?fit=2260%2C1160&ssl=1","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Spokeo","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Spokeo","twitter_site":"@Spokeo","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Spokeo","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/3-tips-for-buying-stuff-safely-on-facebook-marketplace\/","url":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/3-tips-for-buying-stuff-safely-on-facebook-marketplace\/","name":"3 Tips for Buying Stuff Safely on Facebook Marketplace - The Compass Blog | Digital Identity and People Search | Spokeo","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/3-tips-for-buying-stuff-safely-on-facebook-marketplace\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/3-tips-for-buying-stuff-safely-on-facebook-marketplace\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/FB_Marketplace%402x.jpg?fit=2260%2C1160&ssl=1","datePublished":"2018-08-06T16:48:53+00:00","dateModified":"2022-04-13T20:27:07+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/#\/schema\/person\/d064cf67e95f6058dbec1c4eebc53c44"},"description":"Facebook Marketplace is quickly becoming one of the most popular ways to buy, sell and trade online. But like any internet classified ad site, there can come a steep price if you\u2019re not careful. Here are 3 tips for buying stuff safely on Facebook.","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/3-tips-for-buying-stuff-safely-on-facebook-marketplace\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/3-tips-for-buying-stuff-safely-on-facebook-marketplace\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/FB_Marketplace%402x.jpg?fit=2260%2C1160&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/FB_Marketplace%402x.jpg?fit=2260%2C1160&ssl=1","width":2260,"height":1160},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/","name":"The Compass Blog | Digital Identity and People Search | Spokeo","description":"The official Spokeo blog covers topics such as digital identity, consumer protection and privacy, how to avoid scams and catfishing, and more.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/#\/schema\/person\/d064cf67e95f6058dbec1c4eebc53c44","name":"Spokeo","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7e492b2d60c7cf3c148525c45191c0bb108881d6c2d3a2413959adb9829b993f?s=96&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7e492b2d60c7cf3c148525c45191c0bb108881d6c2d3a2413959adb9829b993f?s=96&r=g","caption":"Spokeo"},"url":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/author\/spokeo\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/image\/FB_Marketplace%402x.jpg?fit=2260%2C1160&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8V62u-4iG","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16534"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16534\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16630,"href":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16534\/revisions\/16630"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}