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Purchasing and selling items via websites and online platforms has become integral to the retail economy. While most are familiar with websites like eBay, MaxSold, and CTBids, the rise of selling platforms like Facebook Marketplace and Nextdoor means that independent collectible and vintage sellers often sell items via community pages. Such transactions often mean in-person meet-ups, cash payments, and safety concerns.
When collectible items, expensive computers or other tech items, and precious antiques are involved, sellers and buyers can stay safe and still be successful at sales. It’s a balancing act that takes a lot of work and awareness.
MEET UP SAFELY
Safety should be the first concern of any buyer or seller. While standard e-commerce is often entirely online, the rise of Facebook Marketplace and mobile apps like OfferUp has resulted in more in-person transactions. Sales on these platforms are usually location-based, so people typically opt for meeting somewhere to exchange items and payment rather than ship them.
In-person transactions have become so common that many local agencies are offering the use of their buildings and parking areas for the safe exchange of payments and merchandise. Safe exchange “zones” for legal sales are popping up in several cities, including police departments, municipal buildings, and public spaces for sellers and buyers to meet up.
For example, the city of Springfield, Massachusetts, has informed area residents that its police station, located at 130 Pearl Street, is open twenty-four hours a day for sales exchanges. Buyers and sellers can use the outdoor parking lot or the lobby, and video surveillance is available 24/7 for an added layer of protection.
Springfield Police Superintendent Cheryl Clapprood said,
Internet purchase exchange locations reduce the likelihood of theft or crime and provide an additional sense of safety. If the exchange is a scam or for nefarious reasons, it would be quite brazen for the other person involved to show up at the police department. If the other person doesn’t show up or asks to meet somewhere else, that is a red flag. We believe Springfield Police Headquarters is a much safer option when conducting business with strangers.
Many buyers and sellers want to save money on shipping fees and auction platform charges, driving the increase in “peer-to-peer” marketplace sales. Sellers in the vintage space want to make money on the items they sell. Carrying inventory and storing items long-term are expensive parts of any business, but fees and shipping items, while pricey, do provide some protection.
Nothing ruins the bottom line more than a robbery, which is a real risk. Many items for sale on local marketplaces are high-ticket items like computers and cell phones, but collectibles like sports cards and vintage items like jewelry and watches are common. Bad actors know the value of collectibles like coins and artwork, which puts vintage dealers and sellers at risk when completing sales in person.
There are dozens of robbery reports from sellers and buyers meeting up to complete a sale. Thieves will often target sellers who advertise expensive or highly collectible items like Rolex watches, vintage jewelry, and sneakers, agreeing to purchase the items but then showing up armed. Sellers are not the only ones at risk; buyers must also beware. If someone decides to buy an expensive item, the seller usually knows that the buyer will arrive with a large amount of cash. Most buyers and sellers are honest, but it’s a good idea to be aware of the risks on both sides of the transaction.
In addition to meeting in a public place, such as a police parking lot or station lobby, other safety tips include bringing another person along, not going to a stranger’s home or arranging for them to come to your residence, exchanging items and payment during daylight hours, and trusting your instincts when a deal sounds too good to be true.
TRUST BUT VERIFY
The risk of a sale going badly during an in-person exchange isn’t the only problematic part of selling in community marketplaces. A concern that is especially relevant for buyers and sellers of vintage or antique items is authenticity. It’s always been an issue in selling secondhand items in the vintage space, but independent online marketplace sales make it more essential to know whether that Louis Vuitton bag or Rolex watch is genuine or a “knock off.” Buyers don’t want to get scammed into paying hundreds for a fake watch, and sellers want to protect their reputations as honest vendors.
Certificates of authenticity (often noted in listings as COAs) are one way sellers can reassure buyers, but, like anything, there are false ones out there. Knowing how to look for marks, tags, and logos will reduce the risk of getting scammed. WorthPoint has a database of more than 250,000 marks that can help buyers and sellers identify an item. From jewelry and accessories to china and glassware, logos and identifying marks can sometimes pinpoint the age of an item and verify its authenticity.
Online search tools are also helpful. The WorthPoint mobile app includes image search capabilities, meaning buyers, sellers, and vintage enthusiasts can find hundreds of millions of sales records from major auction sites like eBay, as well as images to guide users on their thrift crawls for new finds.
The community of vintage dealers, antique sellers, and collectors is a close one, and most who do business in it regularly are honest and want to share their knowledge and their finds. Still, it’s wise to be aware that, like any industry, there are risks.
Brenda Kelley Kim lives in the Boston area. She is the author of Sink or Swim: Tales From the Deep End of Everywhere and writes a weekly syndicated column for The Marblehead Weekly News/Essex Media Group. When not writing or walking her snorty pug, Penny, she enjoys yard sales, flea markets, and badminton.
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