Buying from Facebook Marketplace

Forums › Social networks, social media and tools › Buying from Facebook Marketplace - any protection?

OnceBitten

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#295907 4-May-2022 12:33

Does anyone know what protection Facebook marketplace has or what their terms / conditions are? – e.g. if we buy something and the sale turns sour?

Reason for asking is wife and I were interested in buying a piece of furniture on FB marketplace

It was too big to fit in our car but seller offered to deliver it for a bit extra – which we were happy with

Seller then said they wanted full payment in their bank beforehand… and this is where we were a bit skeptical.

We didn’t have any of the sellers details apart from their Facebook name (the name the item was listed under) and the suburb they lived in.

I’ve read stories online of people buying stuff on FB marketplace and paying in full, then the seller either doesn’t send the item or does a runner and disappears or closes down their FB account never to be heard from again.

We didn’t want to pay over $400 only for something like this to happen to us, so we politely declined to purchase the item

My question is – what are our rights if this does happen? Will FB be able to do anything – or is it buyer beware?

I know if something like this happens on Trade me, they will act and provide sellers details or disable sellers account, but I'm not sure about FB Marketplace

any advice would be helpful thanks

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#2910091 4-May-2022 12:35

The market place is the wild west, you have no protection. Apply Common sense.

Groucho

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#2910095 4-May-2022 12:39

Don't officially know but curious myself. TradeMe for some time been promoting they have buyer and seller protections in place for trades that go south stopping short of pointing fingers at platforms that don't.

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#2910097 4-May-2022 12:41

Based on Facebook's track record you can safely assume that they will show zero interest if there is a problem. Your only options would be to make a complaint to police or try to recover the funds through the disputes tribunal but the 'seller' could probably evade either of those by giving you a false name and address.

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#2910098 4-May-2022 12:44

Its a free for all.

In that situation, you could offer a deposit and the rest on pickup.

Some people try treating it like TradeMe innocently enough, but it just doesn't work without the middle man.

If someone wants money before proof of good, look elsewhere.

Even proof such as ID etc means nothing these days due to Photoshop skills etc...... had a friend lose money for an iPhone purchase even though they had a "legitimate" ID for the person.

Anything I've sold via FB, is pickup only and cash on the day.

XPD / Gavin

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#2910106 4-May-2022 13:00

As above.. zero protection whatsoever, I've only ever paid cash when collecting an item, and even then only purchased low value items.

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#2910112 4-May-2022 13:07

I've had a couple of people deliver furniture. Paid 10 or 15% upfront to show we're both serious.
Rest on delivery.
It's basically classifieds like the old trade and exchange or Craigslist in the US.

100% buyer beware.

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OnceBitten

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#2910113 4-May-2022 13:13

thanks for all the replies - some good advise there

freitasm

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#2910140 4-May-2022 14:43

OnceBitten: Does anyone know what protection Facebook marketplace has or what their terms / conditions are? – e.g. if we buy something and the sale turns sour?

Protection? Don't buy on Facebook marketplace.

Also. @OnceBitten username checks out.

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#2910156 4-May-2022 15:11

We got burgled once. One of the items stolen was a very identifiable custom kayak, A fellow kayaker who knew my kayak had been stolen saw it on FB market place. The cops found the people but the kayak and other gear was gone. The cop I was dealing with said the market place is a favoured outlet for selling stolen goods.

Mike

OnceBitten

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#2910157 4-May-2022 15:11

freitasm:

OnceBitten: Does anyone know what protection Facebook marketplace has or what their terms / conditions are? – e.g. if we buy something and the sale turns sour?

Protection? Don't buy on Facebook marketplace.

Also. @OnceBitten username checks out.

thanks - but what do you mean my username checks out?

freitasm

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#2910160 4-May-2022 15:21

OnceBitten:

freitasm:

OnceBitten: Does anyone know what protection Facebook marketplace has or what their terms / conditions are? – e.g. if we buy something and the sale turns sour?

Protection? Don't buy on Facebook marketplace.

Also. @OnceBitten username checks out.

thanks - but what do you mean my username checks out?

A joke about someone's username and how it relates to the topic e.g. "Buying from Facebook" posted by "OnceBitten"...

Could be seen as "once bitten by a scam buying online" or similar.

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1101

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#2910164 4-May-2022 15:48

OnceBitten:

It was too big to fit in our car but seller offered to deliver it for a bit extra – which we were happy with

Seller then said they wanted full payment in their bank beforehand…

Seller drives all the way out to your house. You change your mind & say dont want it now (or just dont bother being home). Seller has wasted his time & petrol .
So seller might be trying to cover his arse

Facebook BUYERS , often , after saying they want & will buy it , will change their minds & you never hear from them again, they wont even answer FB messages
Ive had that too many times on FB .
So that seller is taking a chance by driving to you house with it in the back of his van/trailer.
That may be why he wants payment first .
Or it may be a con .

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#2910173 4-May-2022 16:03

1101:

Seller drives all the way out to your house. You change your mind & say dont want it now (or just dont bother being home). Seller has wasted his time & petrol .
So seller might be trying to cover his arse

Facebook BUYERS , often , after saying they want & will buy it , will change their minds & you never hear from them again, they wont even answer FB messages
Ive had that too many times on FB .
So that seller is taking a chance by driving to you house with it in the back of his van/trailer.
That may be why he wants payment first .
Or it may be a con .

Sure, but expecting payment in full prior to delivery is going too far and is totally unreasonable (even if not a scam).

I agree with some others above in that a meaningful deposit before delivery is appropriate in such situations; while I don't and won't use FB, I have used this exact approach recently with a relatively expensive purchase arranged here on GZ.

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#2910174 4-May-2022 16:06

I sold a set of golf clubs on Marketplace this week ($800). I offered the buyer cash on pick-up so they could inspect them and make sure they were happy with what they had bought. He said he preferred to do a bank transfer and then collect after funds had cleared. He completely put his trust in me as a seller with good morals.

Now the transaction went without a hitch but it could easily have gone differently is the buyer put his trust in someone else.

OnceBitten

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#2910177 4-May-2022 16:12

freitasm:

A joke about someone's username and how it relates to the topic e.g. "Buying from Facebook" posted by "OnceBitten"...

Could be seen as "once bitten by a scam buying online" or similar.

ahh... I get it now.... all good

I used to be in a band called 'Once Bitten' and chose that as my username here

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