QUESTION:
Is it safe to buy from Facebook Marketplace?
ANSWER:
Yes, overall it is.
SOURCES:
Better Business Bureau, Metropolitan Police Department
PROCESS:
Garage sales have gone digital with Facebook Market place. That's where you can sell and buy stuff in your neighborhood. Heck, you may even find a good last-minute Christmas gift there.
It only launched in October 2016 so it's still pretty new. Curious about buying from the site, Verify viewer Wanda Matt asked out team, “Is buying from Facebook Marketplace safe and secure? And what are some tips for using it?"
To get the answer – our researchers looked at how it works.
You snap a pic, describe what you're selling, give it a price and put in your location.
Seems simple enough, but what as for safety and security if you’re a buyer.
Verify researchers contacted Metropolitan Police here in D.C. who say they don't have any reports of crimes in connection to Facebook Marketplace, only reports of robberies involving the Craigslist, OfferUp, and 5Miles.
Two of the most recent incidents of an armed robberies in connection to meet ups after using Facebook Marketplace occurred in Grand Rapids, Michigan over the summer and another near the Missouri State University campus on November 21, 2017 for nationwide reports.
Next, we took the question to the Better Business Bureau, they said, like with any classified ad site, beware of con artists.
Experts tell us about alleged sellers asking for money through a third-party service like Ebay or Amazon even stealing logos to make invoices look legit.
You wire the money, but you never get your stuff.
To avoid this happening to you, BBB reminds to always purchase DIRECTLY from the seller, make sure you see the item in person, and report anything suspicious to Facebook Help Center.
So overall, Facebook Marketplace is as safe and secure as any other peer to peer resale site when exercising precaution.
Officers say if you want to be extra secure when using one of these selling apps, use the closest Safe Exchange Zone location, where you can meet up with the person in a public place like a parking lot of a police station.
WUSA9 received the following statement from Facebook:
Our top priority is that people have a great experience buying or selling on Marketplace, and we actively monitor the platform to ensure all inventory across 35+ countries meets our Commerce Policies and Community Standards. We greatly appreciate the help from our community in reporting any buyers and sellers that are not acting in good faith. Our commerce policies prevent the sale of counterfeit items and we have zero tolerance for it on the platform.
