How to buy and sell safely online

Most classifieds trades go fine. The ones that do not usually fail in the same few places: money sent before anyone has seen the item, a meetup in a quiet car park at night, or a message that rushes you off the listing and onto a private payment app.

EazyBuySells is a connection platform. We publish listings and messages. We do not hold your money, ship the item, or guarantee the other person. That is not a slogan — it is how you should plan the handover.

Before you message anyone

• Read the whole listing, including the last photo. Faults are often in picture four.
• Check the city and area. If the location keeps changing in messages, stop.
• Search the same item locally. A price far below every comparable ad is not a bargain until you have seen it.

Meet in the open

Choose a staffed public place in daylight: a cafe, a supermarket entrance, a police-station lobby if your city has a ‘safe trade’ zone. Tell someone where you are going. For phones and laptops, test power-on, cameras, ports, and a factory reset if you are the buyer.

Money: keep it boring

Pay after you have the item in your hands, using a method you already use with people you know. Do not buy gift cards, crypto, or wire a ‘holding fee’. Sellers: do not accept a screenshot of a transfer as proof.

High-value items

Cars, phones, jewellery, and designer bags attract impersonation. Bring a friend. Do not go to a private flat for the first meeting. For vehicles, a classifieds ad is the introduction — not the inspection.