Safety Tips While Placing Buy and Sell Classifieds Online

The internet has become the biggest marketplace today. Hence, it is little surprise to see the growing trend of placing buy and sell classifieds online. If you too want to buy or sell something through the internet, you should follow a few safety tips to ensure that you are not exposed to any risk associated with online transactions while buying or selling anything on the internet. You need to make sure that you are protected while using any online services including classifieds websites.

The first cardinal rule while posting an ad for buying or selling online is making sure that you do not share any personal information. Thus, it is extremely important that you do not include your home address or landline number in the ad that you place online. It is best to provide only your cell phone number with the advertisement. Keeping your ad minimalistic reduces the risk of being exposed to cyber frauds. Also, it is extremely important that you refrain from providing any financial information with your classified advertisement.

Secondly, never invite a prospective buyer or seller home to transact business. It is imperative that you arrange for a meeting in a public place. At the same time, do not select an isolated public place such as a parking lot or an industrial area to meet a prospective buyer or seller. Some of the best choices of public places for meeting an interested buyer or seller are busy coffee shops, fast food restaurants, shopping malls, and high-traffic stores. Decide on a meeting place that is far from your home and if possible bring along a friend to meet the interested party.

At the same time, inform some of your friends or family members about where you are going, who you are meeting, and when you are expected to return home. In order to be safe, make sure that you set the date, time, and place of meeting. Also, cancel the meet if the other party tries to make any last minute changes. Furthermore, ask the other party to carry a photo ID when he or she is coming to meet you. It is all the more important that you do so, especially if you are letting the other person take your car for a test drive.

To be extra careful, you can run a simple background check on the interested buyer or seller by typing his or her name in your search engine and checking if the person has a valid social profile. Even after you are confident about the person, you should make sure that you carry your mobile phone for the meeting and enable the GPS location application on it.

You can also eliminate the risk of attracting cyber frauds while placing buy and sell classifieds online by ensuring that you photograph the object you want to sell properly, with nothing else in the background that can provide a clue to your home or family. Though online transactions are mostly safe and come with a promise of good deal, following the tips mentioned above will help you to be safe rather than sorry.