Buying Safety

When swapz introduced the ability to sell on the site we saw it as a service that should be local with members, ideally, meeting face to face. By meeting locally you can see the item and take it away with you there and then. If it is not as described you can walk away.

If someone asks for an upfront payment or deposit before you meet, then show caution. If you do decide to send a deposit for an item you have not yet seen make sure you use a secure method.

Use caution and common sense when meeting what is effectively a stranger. Meet in a mainstream and well lit public place and take a friend with you if you can. If you don’t have a friend to take with you, make sure someone knows where you are going and who you are meeting.

Carrying large sums of money in public is not good practice. If the item you are hoping to buy is expensive we recommend you view it first. Once you are happy to go ahead with the purchase you can either go to a bank and withdraw the funds or meet in a safe place.

We recommend you read our Scam Watch article and, if for any reason, you feel uncomfortable about a deal then do not go ahead with it.

For electrical items you can do a background check on them at www.checkmend.com and we always recommend you HPI (or similar) any vehicle you are considering buying.

Finally, and we have said it many times before, use your common sense. If it seems too good to be true then it probably is!