Vinted and eBay are great but there are red flags to watch out for says expert

ONLINE marketplaces where you can shop directly from other people are fun, sustainable, and also often much more affordable than buying brand new.

Sites like eBay and Vinted also make it easy to sell things you no longer need, whether you’re clearing up old clothes or changing up your living room with new furniture. 

However, there are a few things that everyone should look out for when using online marketplaces – not just to get the best deals, but to protect themselves from scams. 

Online marketplace jog it on has revealed that there are things that buyers should look out for as well as tips for finding exactly what you want for less.

SNEAKY SCAMS 

When it comes to looking out for online scammers, jog it on highlighted a red flag that shoppers should look out for. 

Someone who asks you to leave the platform you’re on, either to continue the discussion or to pay on a different platform, might be trying to either steal your personal information or to get you to pay using a method that doesn’t offer buyer protection. 

Also, if you see counterfeit goods on an online marketplace, most platforms do not allow their sale – check the terms and conditions, and report the item and the person who posted the ad so they do not trick others into wasting their money. 

SEARCH SUCCESS

When it comes to finding what you’re looking for, jog it on advised that you should try a variety of different search terms in order to find the item that you want. 

Try using the item’s colour, size, original manufacturer and other features in different combinations to see what comes up in the results.

A NUMBERS GAME

Another tip is to enter bids that are not a round number – lots of people will default to bidding either in a full pound or in 50p increments, so bidding just above your maximum bid by a few pennies might make all the difference.

PRE-LOVED

Jog it on also encouraged shoppers to consider buying second-hand, explaining that items sold in this category might be almost new, only used a few times or taken out of their original packaging.