Buying safely - Top Tips for Buyers & Sellers

The vast majority of DoneDeal users are trustworthy and genuine. Nevertheless, it is very important to have the same common sense and take the same precautions online as you would offline.

Communicating and Making Payment Online:

The safest way to transact on DoneDeal is via stripe on the platform.

• Avoid transacting or communicating via WhatsApp or other channels off-platform.

• Enable Stripe payments when selling your products on DoneDeal. The safest way to send or receive payment online is through Stripe.

• Use the message centre for on-site communications. The safest way to communicate with a buyer or seller is through our message centre. And the safest way to receive payment or send payment is via stripe on the platform. Ask your seller to connect with stripe on DoneDeal in order to receive payment. You may opt-out of showing your phone number in order to restrict communication to the message centre.

• If you sense a buyer or seller is not legitimate, stop communicating with them immediately.

• Beware of any buyer or seller who asks you to click on a link to another website.

• Avoid sharing your bank or credit card details with anyone or through any link they may send.

• If you decide to pay via PayPal make sure you select that you are paying for goods and services - not to friends and family. This is one of many eligibility criteria for the Paypal Protection for Buyers. Ineligible items include motor vehicles, motorcycles, caravans, aircraft, boats and some industrial machinery.

• Never pay for goods through Western Union or other similar money transfer services.

• DoneDeal does not endorse any escrow company i.e. companies that will transfer money on behalf of a buyer other than our payment partner Stripe.

• Meeting in Person:

• It's best to try to deal with people locally, who you can meet in person as this will help you avoid 99% of the safety or security issues people face.

• Arrange a time and place you feel comfortable with and meet in a well-lit public place (covered by CCTV if you want to be extra cautious).

• Give somebody else the details of whom you're meeting and where and keep your mobile phone with you.

• If you are meeting at your home, keep valuables out of view.

• Be cautious if a seller is putting pressure on you to make a quick decision.

• Be careful about carrying cash to pay for goods or else pay with a bank draft.

• If using bank draft, verify with the issuing bank before handing over the goods.

• Never accept foreign cheques as payment.

General Safety Advice:

• Beware if the goods are cheaper than normal - it's probably too good to be true.

• Be wary of forgeries of big brand name goods, tickets and electronics.

• Items purchased from private sellers on DoneDeal are purchased "as seen", so it is important that before purchasing you are happy with the working order of the item.

• As a seller, do not hand over goods until having received full payment.

Beware of Phishing.

Phishing is the use of email, phone calls or text messages to deceive persons into revealing information, or to unknowingly do something that is harmful to them. It is a type of activity known as social engineering, where people’s trust is exploited to obtain or do something that they would not otherwise agree to.

Email and text phishing usually try to convince the person who receives them to click a link to enter login details, to open a file or to ring a number. They often do so by creating a sense of urgency, for example by saying that the victim’s account has been compromised and must be verified, that they have won a prize, or that a penalty charge will be applied if they do not respond immediately.

What should I do about phishing?

In most cases, the simplest thing to do is to delete the phishing email or text message. Before doing so, check if your email software or phone allows you to flag the message as ‘spam’ so that you do not continue to receive repeated messages or calls from that number or so that they can be “quarantined” and you are not put at risk by them.

You should also change your password and review your privacy settings as required.

You can protect yourself by being aware of the following:

• If you have not placed a call to an organisation, never give the other party information that they should already have. For example, if a bank calls you, they should not be asking for your number.

• If you believe that the call is not legitimate, hang up.

• Never allow a third party to take control of your computer or download software.

• Never bypass security policies or procedures.

• Do not click on any links in a suspicious email. You will never be asked for personal details or to verify account details unexpectedly.

• Remember that in all cases, when you are contacted via email, phone call or SMS, that you are the one in control over what personal data you provide, and what action you take, regardless of what the sender has stated. Phishing techniques are designed to gain your trust and/or put a sense of urgency on you. Verify things before reacting to what the message is asking you to do.

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Please note that these guides do not constitute legal advice and any information provided in the guides should not be construed as legal advice or legal interpretation. We do not accept any liability for any loss caused by your reliance on this guide.