Let the seller beware.
May 8, 2021 3:24 AM Subscribe
First time seller on Facebook Marketplace. The app seems to allow you to get paid directly to your bank account, which seems convenient at first glance. But how do I avoid getting scammed?
As I said, you can set up the app with your bank account details. I suppose this means FB will transfer the payment to your bank account... at some point.
For me I don't really want to ship until I see that money in a place where buyer would have a hard time reversing the payment. But I don't know what FB allows buyer to do. Can they reverse the payment after I post a tracking number in the app? Scary.
I'm thinking TransferWise or PayPal might be a better way to go.
Looking for tips from experienced FB sellers.
As I said, you can set up the app with your bank account details. I suppose this means FB will transfer the payment to your bank account... at some point.
For me I don't really want to ship until I see that money in a place where buyer would have a hard time reversing the payment. But I don't know what FB allows buyer to do. Can they reverse the payment after I post a tracking number in the app? Scary.
I'm thinking TransferWise or PayPal might be a better way to go.
Looking for tips from experienced FB sellers.
Some perspective from the other side. I am never going to be interested in buying items from outside my local area to be shipped on Marketplace, and it drives me crazy that Facebook keeps defaulting to show those items. I would be using EBay, Etsy, or some other platform for those kinds of purchases, and my preference for payment would be with a credit card that I can initiate a chargeback with if the item doesn’t show up, and that doesn’t immediately debit my bank account. PayPal would maybe be an acceptable alternative if it was something I just had to have and there were no other payment options. But I’ve successfully avoided using it for at least a decade so obviously there aren’t many of those.
Your desire to have the payment be in a place that is difficult for the buyer to reverse before shipment is exactly the opposite of what a cautious purchaser is looking for, because unfortunately the scams run in both directions.
And Facebook is the last company that I would trust to handle transactions. I would sooner send you a money order in the mail than use their payment platform. (I buy things off Marketplace all the time, just locally and with cash.)
posted by Jawn at 10:50 AM on May 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
Your desire to have the payment be in a place that is difficult for the buyer to reverse before shipment is exactly the opposite of what a cautious purchaser is looking for, because unfortunately the scams run in both directions.
And Facebook is the last company that I would trust to handle transactions. I would sooner send you a money order in the mail than use their payment platform. (I buy things off Marketplace all the time, just locally and with cash.)
posted by Jawn at 10:50 AM on May 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
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If you're concerned about returns, chargebacks, and reversed payments, you might have better luck with something like eBay or a specialized website for whatever you're trying to sell; something with a full payment system.
posted by sagc at 10:05 AM on May 8, 2021 [1 favorite]