If you use an automatic alert, you have one clear advantage: you see new listings before anyone else has opened them. Scammers are after the same advantage. They deliberately post offers too good to last and count on the fact that people who rush in don't stop to think.
You don't need to be suspicious of everyone. You need a short routine, always the same, that takes a minute while the listing is still yours. Below is the one we recommend, followed by the details for each platform.
The one-minute check
As soon as you open the listing from the notification, before you write or pay, look at these five things in the order you find them on the page.
- The photos. Are they real shots, with the same background and the same light, or images taken from the manufacturer's website? A private seller who actually has the item usually photographs it on their kitchen table. If there are only catalog photos, ask for a shot with a sheet of paper next to it showing your username and today's date.
- The profile. How old it is, how many reviews it has, what kind of other items are for sale. An account created yesterday, with no reviews and ten new iPhones at half price, is not a private person clearing out their closet.
- The text. Look for phrases meant to move you elsewhere: “message me on WhatsApp”, “I'll pay the shipping if you send a bank transfer”, “I'm abroad, I'll ship it to you”. They've been the same for years.
- The price compared with the market. We cover this below, because it's where people go wrong most often.
- How you pay. If the payment doesn't go through the platform, stop. This always applies, even when everything else looks fine.
Being fast means opening the listing first, not paying first. A minute of checking won't cost you a real deal: the one that disappears if you don't pay within thirty seconds often wasn't a deal at all.
When the price is a warning sign
A good second-hand deal is usually between 15 and 40 percent below the price that item actually sells for. Any lower than that, and you need to work out why. Sometimes there's an honest reason: the seller is in a hurry, doesn't know the value, or the item has a stated defect. Other times the low price is the bait.
To find out what an item is worth, don't look at the prices of open listings, which are what sellers hope to get. Look at the ones already sold. On eBay, just search for the model and turn on the “Sold items” filter in the filter column: you'll see what the latest units changed hands for, with dates. In our guide on how to find the right price we explain how to use this figure to set the maximum price for your searches too.
A rule of thumb: if the price is less than half the average sold price and the profile is new, it's not a deal worth chasing. If the profile has years of good reviews, it's worth writing and asking a couple of questions.
The payment rule
Vinted, eBay and Subito offer buyer protection, but only if you pay through their system. The moment you agree to a bank transfer, a prepaid card top-up, a “friends and family” payment or a link sent in chat, that protection is gone and getting your money back becomes very hard.
There's a recent variant to know about: the scammer sends you a link that looks like it's from the platform, with the right logo and colors, to “confirm shipping” or “receive payment”. Platforms never ask you to enter your card details on a page opened from a link in chat or by email. If in doubt, close the page, open the official app and check the order status there.
Vinted
On Vinted you pay inside the app, and the seller receives the money only after you've confirmed that the parcel arrived and the item is as described. That's why the delicate part is delivery, not payment.
- Open the parcel as soon as it arrives and check everything right away. The time to report a problem after delivery is short, and if you do nothing the order closes by itself as completed.
- If the item doesn't match, open a report from the order in the app and attach clear photos. Don't confirm receipt “to be nice” while you're discussing it with the seller in chat.
- Be wary of anyone who asks you to complete the purchase outside the app to save on the fee: that fee is exactly what pays for your protection.
- For designer clothing and sneakers, ask for photos of the inside labels, stitching, product code and sole. Anyone with the genuine item will send them without a problem.
eBay
On eBay the most useful thing to look at is the seller's feedback: the percentage of positive ratings and, above all, how many there are and how recent they are. 100 percent from three ratings says little, 99 percent from two thousand says a lot.
- Check whether you're buying from a private or a business seller. With a business seller in Europe you normally have fourteen days to withdraw from an online purchase; with a private seller you don't, and you're left with only the platform's guarantee if the item doesn't arrive or isn't as described.
- Always pay through eBay's checkout. If the seller offers to close the deal off the platform at a lower price, the answer is no.
- With auctions, notifications don't help much with the final price, which is decided in the last few seconds. They are very useful, though, with “Buy It Now” listings and with “Best Offer”, where getting there first gives you a real advantage.
- Check where the item ships from and the delivery times shown. An item shipped from another continent can come with customs duties and weeks of waiting that you don't see in the price.
Subito
Subito is the platform where people most often meet in person, and also the one with the most scam attempts by message. You have two safe options: payment with shipping handled by Subito, or an in-person exchange.
- If you choose shipping, use only the process inside Subito. Don't accept payment links sent in chat, on WhatsApp or by email, even if they have the right logo.
- If you meet in person, choose a busy public place, in daylight. Many people prefer a shopping center parking lot or a station entrance.
- Check the item before you pay, calmly. An honest seller won't rush you.
- Be wary of anyone who can never meet you but asks for a deposit “to hold the item for you”. A deposit is the most common way to lose money on a listing that doesn't exist.
Phones, consoles and graphics cards
These are the items L.O.O.T. searches most often find at a good price, and the ones where a hidden defect costs the most. A few specific checks:
Smartphones
- Ask for the IMEI number (you can see it by dialing
*#06#) and check that it matches the one on the box or in the settings. - On an iPhone, make sure the phone has been removed from the seller's Apple ID. A phone with Activation Lock still on can't be used.
- Check the battery health in the settings and test the camera, speakers and charging.
Consoles
- Turn it on, start a game and check that it connects to the internet: a console banned from online services is worth much less.
- Check that the serial number under the console matches the one on the box, if there is one.
Graphics cards
- Ask whether it was used for mining and for how long. That's not necessarily a problem, but the fans and thermal paste may need replacing.
- If you're picking it up in person, ask to see it running in a computer with a stress test of a few minutes.
- Watch out for photos with stickers covering things up, or with the model written only in the title: there are low-end cards modified to look like high-end ones.
If something goes wrong
If you paid inside the platform, open a report from the order right away and keep everything in writing in the official chat: photos of the parcel sealed and opened, of the contents and of the shipping label. Platforms decide based on what they can see.
If you paid outside the platform, contact your bank or the service you used immediately and ask whether the payment can be blocked or disputed. Then report it to the police, attaching screenshots of the conversation and the payment details. For purchases in Italy that means the Polizia Postale (Italy's cybercrime police), which you can also reach online through the Commissariato di P.S. online website; outside Italy, contact the police in your country. Report the profile to the platform so it can't target others.
L.O.O.T. alerts you to listings but doesn't sell anything or handle payments: for any problem with a purchase, the platform you bought on is the one to contact. If suspicious listings of the same kind keep showing up in your notifications, though, with a Reseller plan or higher you can exclude them with the right keywords: we explain how in the guide to advanced filters.
