Tips for buyers and sellers

Last updated: 10/04/2024, 09:18

Second hand shopping has been increasingly popular in the UK for a few years now, and it’s still on the up. So what should shoppers look out for online, and what can sellers do to help make their items more appealing? We’ve put together some hints and tips that we hope will help people get the most out of online marketplaces, whether they’re looking to buy or sell.

For buyers

Search skills

Try a variety of different search terms if you’re looking for a specific item. For example, if you are looking for a jacket and you have something particular in mind, try searching for colour, size, original manufacturer and other features - together and separately as a range of searches. While you might not get the results you want searching for ‘black blazer’, you might find just the thing you want comes up when you search ‘medium jacket’!

Bidding wars

Entering bids that aren’t a round number, especially near to the auction’s close, could give you an advantage. As many people bid in pounds or 50p intervals, bidding just above your maximum bid by a few pennies might be what scores you the prize!

Watch out for scammers

One of the most important topics to begin with in our round up of tips is how to avoid bad actors and fake items. Sometimes a deal might seem too good to be true, so look out for some of these factors to help you decide if you can trust the seller:

• Many marketplaces have a reviews feature, and so a reputable seller will usually have positive reviews. If the person you’re considering buying something from doesn’t have any reviews, it doesn’t mean they’re not genuine - their account might be new, or they might be a casual seller who only lists items very rarely.
• If you are in the process of buying something and the seller asks you to leave the platform to message them or make the payment elsewhere, this is a red flag. The seller might be trying to get you to use a method with fewer buyer protections (such as PayPal Friends and Family, which makes it much harder to get refunds). It could even be part of a bigger scam to get your personal information by asking you to enter your details on a fake website.
• Most marketplaces ban the sale of counterfeit goods, whether the seller is open about the item’s status as a counterfeit or whether they are trying to pass it off as genuine. If you see something for sale online that you suspect is a fake, check the site’s terms and conditions and consider reporting the item - you’ll be doing your fellow shoppers a favour.

Sustainable secondhand

Even if you are usually used to buying items that are brand new, you might be surprised by the quality of second-hand items. Second-hand doesn’t always mean well-worn - it could be something that is new and unused, but doesn’t have its original packaging. Even if the previous owner has had it for a while and got some use out of it, whatever product you’re looking at might still be in great condition. And it will often be significantly cheaper than buying it first-hand, too!

Online marketplaces generally allow you to filter your search by the condition of the item. If you haven’t dipped your toes into second-hand shopping before, we would encourage you to expand your search to include these products.

Read the description of the item carefully to make sure you’re happy with it before you buy. Have you found an item you like the look of, but find yourself wondering about its condition before you commit? Check if you are able to message the seller - online marketplaces are often friendly communities, and sellers will usually be glad to help you if you reach out politely.

For sellers

Take some great snaps

One of the best things you can do to give your sales and your profile a boost is to add clear pictures to your items you’re selling. Here are our top tips for item photos:

• Include different angles to help buyers get a better sense of the item - this might mean including a photo of an item of furniture close up to show the details, as well as one further away to give an impression of scale. When it comes to selling clothes, this might mean including a photo of the back of an item as well as the front.
• Make sure your pictures are well-lit and not blurry. A high quality picture will show buyers exactly what your item looks like and what condition it’s in, but it can also improve your listing by showing off everything that’s great about what you’ve got for sale.
• Minimise clutter in the background of your photos in order to give your listings a boost with visually appealing pictures. Also, an untidy background might give buyers the feeling that you’re disorganised, which might not help persuade them to buy from you!

Little things like this will help to demonstrate your trustworthiness as a seller, as well as show off the quality of the item. There might be a few things your buyers are looking for - if the item is a book, they might want to see the year this edition was printed. If you are selling jewellery, it might help to get a quick pic of any hallmarks, such as the tiny 925 stamp that proves your item is 92.5% silver.

Snug as a bug

When you make a sale, packaging is very important, keeping the item safe on its journey as well as making it easy for the postal service or delivery company to get it to the buyer! It’s great to reuse old packaging to reduce waste - just remember to cover over any old labels or addresses that are on there, to make sure the buyer’s address is clearly visible.

If possible, using a smaller box or envelope is usually best as it reduces the chance of the item rattling around in transit. If you are using a larger container, there are lots of options to keep the item secure, from bubble wrap to eco-friendly alternatives such as honeycomb wrap, which is a special type of paper that’s just as good at protecting delicate items. You can also get pre-inflated air cushions made of biodegradable materials from packaging companies.

For everyone

Leave feedback

It helps everyone if you leave feedback about your experience with a particular buyer or seller! Sellers especially will benefit from a few words of positive feedback if you enjoyed buying from them. Help them keep doing what they do by leaving a bit of feedback to say they posted promptly or communicated well - it will encourage other buyers to shop with them in the future.

Research

Whether you’re buying or selling, it doesn’t do any harm to check what the item in question usually sells for on different platforms, brand new or second hand. You can get a sense of what a reasonable amount might be for a ‘buy it now’ price as a seller, or as a buyer, you can find out just how good the deal is for you.

Wrapping up

These tips should help you follow best practice, as well as helping you find what you’re looking for, whether that’s a great bargain or a buyer for your item.

There are so many advantages when you choose online auction marketplaces like jog it on. A wide range of products are up for grabs, from popular everyday essentials to something specific you might have been looking for over quite some time - and equally, by putting your items up for sale online, you make it possible for shoppers from all over the country to take a look and maybe buy something from you!

Our Help section should answer any questions you might have about using jog it on - but the best way to get to know our platform is by making an account and having a look at what people are buying and selling on here! Why not give it a try today if you don’t have an account yet?