Updated: This post on Facebook Selling Groups has been updated on October 2020 with new and relevant information.
“The world of social media can be very unpredictable, it could leave you without pocket” www.writtenbysadia.com
Facebook selling groups, the new platform that is widely and popularly used to sell and buy items.
What is Facebook Marketplace?
Facebook Marketplace is a community-oriented service to bring regular people together to buy and sell.
There is no built-in payment system, such as eBay or Amazon.
It also requires that you have a Facebook profile in order to use the service.
Once you have an item you sell, you simply take it’s photo, add a description, choose a price and once you have a buyer you simply receive the payment and post/sell it.
It’s not difficult, but can be an easy target for scammers to lay their hands on.
I’ve been scammed on Facebook marketplace?
Facebook selling groups offers a wide range of sellers who are selling items ranging from sneakers to toys to branded handbags and even furtniture.
I didn’t think that finding a “fake” seller on Facebook selling groups would be possible. Since there all genuine people right?
I was wrong. I was scammed into purchasing “designer branded” items which in fact were NOT designer originals.
There are so many Facebook groups who offer to sell original items or even sell you their supplier list so you can become an original reseller?
But infact there selling you a knockoff fake replica list?
I became fed up!
Nothing was genuine anymore, not even people!
When searching upon forums, I come across people saying,
I’ve been scammed on Facebook marketplace?
I got scammed on Facebook what can I do?
This made me think, wait, I’m not the only one who falls for these traps.
Not going to lie, I’m sure there are a tons of genuine sellers on the platform too. I’ve just not found them yet.
Selling On Facebook Groups
Facebook has become so lucrative in today’s day and age that almost every person is on it.
The reality is however, nobody knows how many of these people are actually real.
I’ve seen so many fake profiles and even scammers who are trying to be real on the platform but unfortunately there’s nothing that can be done to stop them.
We just need to educate ourselves to not put our money in the pockets of which they do not belong.
What To Look Out For When Buying From Facebook Marketplace
It’s easy to fall attracted to an item easily and quickly.
However, click on the seller’s profile and look at their bio too.
Do they look authentic, or could they be a scammer?
Here’s what to look out for:
- Is the person local? If they are on a local sales page but don’t live near you, that’s a red flag.
- If they are local, are they offering pick up of the item? or requesting that they use a postal service only.
- Do they have a lot of friends or just a few? Scammers tend to have either just a few friends, or a lot of friends with names that sound made-up. Some even have none, because it’s a new account made solely to scam.
- Does their profile picture look real? You can do a quick reverse search on Google to identify the real identity.
- Spammy links on a sellers profile usually tailgating to adult rated sites or tarot card sites can be another warning sign too.
Facebook Marketplace Scams
Facebook groups are very active in selling items.
I have come across many groups especially selling designer brands at wholesale prices which are NOT original.
I have spoken to the admins who have advised these groups are real and that the items they sell are ORIGINAL too.
Surely you can not get a GUCCI handbag from a small Chinese for more than half the price? Isn’t GUCCI Italian. http://www.gucci.com
Here are some things you can do below to prevent being scammed.
How to know if a Facebook group is a knockoff
1.Request access to the group, show interest that you want to become a reseller, (hold tight on your money though)
2. Have a scroll through the feed and see what items they have on for sale
3. Get in touch with the suppliers themselves, they will be the ones advertising their merchandise – usually admin
4. Go in with the question – so are these original or replicas?
The suppliers do generally be honest, SOME suppliers that is and not all.
Common sense is to make sure you ask as many questions you want because at the end of the day they don’t want to lose you as a customer so they will have to answer.
I know when I started of becoming a reseller in this business I came across a lot of businesses on Facebook which I will list below but they were not real.
I was afraid to ask them questions incase they blocked me or saw me as unprofessional.
Don’t be afraid to ask.
If the supplier shows attitude of rudeness, you will clearly know they are not a valuable/respectful supplier to do business with.
Is Selling Fake Items Illegal On Facebook
Selling replica designer items is not the end of the world.
If the customer knows they are getting a replica and are happy with it then fair enough, there are many makeup groups that sell fake makeup which advertise it as FAKE, however their sales are growing day by day because customers LOVE the price and like to be treated truthfully.
However it would be wrong to sell the replica items as originals because that is FRAUD.
Not just that there is a TERM popularly used called “UNAUTHORIZED AUTHENTICS” which is used to sell almost anything today as ORIGINAL.
This term basically means that the item you are buying is actually Genuine and Original, however due to the requesters demand being met they don’t require the extras, hence they are sold privately as AU’s.
For example let’s say Nike pays a factory in china or wherever in the world to make them 1000 Air Jordan Sneakers, they provide the material and the cost of the job.
The factory then ends up making more shoes than Nikes order so lets say 1200 pairs of sneakers, but as Nike only contracted for 1000, the factory will end up keeping the extra 200.
Selling the remaining 200 behind closed doors through Facebook and other Social Media Platforms to individuals like you and me classifying them as UNAUTHERIZED AUTHENTICS.
Can I Sell Unauthorized Authentic Items
Now you could say “well that’s fine” after all I am still getting an ORIGINAL item for almost half the price and that would be legal to resell.
YES I agree
However, Nike is not aware of this and it doesn’t befit their contract.
Surely Nike would not want to be laid flat in business by losing their customers to factory providers.
This is the most popular explanation a supplier will give you when requesting information on whether the product is real or replica.
Some Factory resellers classify the products as High Quality , Top Quality, Grade 1, 2 3 etc.
All these are still replica wouldn’t you say? At the end of the day my advice is to make sure you are covered by the laws of your country.
In USA it is fairly easy to get away with selling a knockoff Air Jordan Sneaker pair, however in the UK, guidelines are a little tighter and your lucky if your accounts don’t get banned off very quickly.
The only issue with Facebook is that, a scammer may get blocked but will easily make a new profile with a completely new name and profile picture and begin selling again.
Facebook guidelines on opening new accounts is NOT strict at all.
Fake Selling Accounts On Facebook
Below are three Facebook selling groups which I came across selling Fake replica items.
1: Richkicks Exclusive
2. Lings Fashion Gallery
3. The Fashion Dealership
Whatever you wish to do on Social media, Just be vary and careful.
Never fall for money making get rich schemes which are just after your money.
No “get rich scheme” exists yet to be true!
Re-selling can be such a good business if it is done in the right way.
Facebook Marketplace Buyer Protection Program
The Buyer Protection Program is free and automatically covers eligible orders.
However, this is only for orders made via the checkout system on Facebook. (Not a feature that is enrolled to all of Facebook yet)
Purchases made through third-party sites, local pickups (the marketplace), Messenger transactions, or through other messaging services don’t qualify for the Purchase Protection Program.
Have you ever been scammed on Facebook? leave me a comment if so.
Arise work from home Review – Scam or Legit?
WONDERFUL Post.thanks for share..more wait .. ?
Thank you 🙂