Common Reseller Scams and How to Spot Them Before You Send an Item

Published 2026-10-25

If a buyer has sent you a strange message, the odds are it follows one of a handful of familiar patterns. Most reseller scams work by getting you to act before you have checked anything: sending an item, paying into a different account, or handing over a login code. The good news is that the warning signs are consistent across marketplaces. The bad news is that none of the checks below are foolproof, and scammers adapt. Treat every unusual request as suspicious until you have verified it through the marketplace itself.

The patterns that come up most often

Most reseller scams are variations on a few themes. The first is the off-platform payment: the buyer asks you to take money by bank transfer, PayPal friends-and-family, or a gift card, or to move the conversation to WhatsApp or email. Marketplaces generally offer buyer and seller protection only inside their own checkout, so moving the payment outside it removes your safety net. The second is the fake overpayment: the buyer sends too much and asks you to refund the difference, usually from a payment that later reverses. The third is the fake courier or 'shipping label' request, where you are sent a link to pay for postage or a label that is really a phishing page.

The fourth pattern is account takeover. A message claims your account has a problem, or a 'marketplace support' contact asks you to confirm a code or log in through a link. Legitimate marketplaces do not ask you to read out verification codes or enter your password on a page reached from a chat message. The fifth is the item-swap or 'not as described' claim after a parcel has been delivered, where the buyer asks for a refund and returns an empty box or a substitute.

Checks to run before you act

Before you send anything, do three things. First, check where the money is going: if the payment route is not the marketplace's own checkout, stop and ask why. Second, check the buyer's history on the platform, including how long the account has existed, whether it has reviews, and whether it has been active recently. A brand-new account asking for an unusual payment method is a strong signal. Third, check whether the message is inside the marketplace or has been sent through a different channel that claims to be from the marketplace.

Also look at the wording. Scam messages often create urgency ('I need this today'), mention a deadline that expires soon, or are written in a way that does not match the buyer's earlier messages. If you are unsure, do not reply through the link or the number in the message. Open the marketplace directly in a browser, log in there, and check the conversation in its own inbox.

• Do not move a sale off the marketplace's checkout to take payment elsewhere.
• Do not enter your password or any verification code on a page you reached from a message.
• Never refund a 'overpayment' before the original payment has cleared and is confirmed in your marketplace account.
• Check the buyer's account age, reviews and recent activity before shipping a high-value item.
• If a courier or postage link came from a buyer rather than the carrier or marketplace, go to the carrier's site yourself.

Worked example: the overpayment

Suppose a buyer offers to pay for a jacket by sending a payment that is more than the asking price, and then asks you to send back the difference through a different app. The mismatch is the warning sign. The payment you are sending back may be funded by a card or account that is later reversed, and by the time the reversal lands, the item and your refund are both gone. The safe response is to decline the overpayment, ask the buyer to buy through the marketplace checkout at the agreed price, and wait until any payment is confirmed in your marketplace's own record before you ship.

The same logic applies to a request to 'pay the courier' or 'confirm your address' through a link. Ignore the link, check the marketplace's own order screen, and only pay postage through the carrier or the marketplace's own label flow.

What automation does and does not protect you from

Crosslisting tools can help you spot patterns across several marketplaces, but they do not decide whether a buyer is genuine, and they will not stop you from sending an item to a scammer. Swiftlisted lists and delists items for you and keeps your inventory in step, but it does not read your buyer messages or vet customers. Its sold detection marks an item sold once a sale is detected, and its delisting reduces the chance of selling the same item twice. Those are useful, but they are not a fraud check.

Be realistic about the limits of any automation. Marketplaces change how they report sales and messages, and a scheduled check can lag behind a live sale. Automation also cannot tell you whether a message from a 'buyer' is real. The extension acts inside your own signed-in browser session on Depop, Vinted, Grailed, Whatnot and Facebook Marketplace, and it only does what you ask from your dashboard. Keeping your own marketplace passwords and two-factor settings secure remains your responsibility, and lowering your risk means reading messages carefully yourself rather than relying on a tool to catch a scam for you.

Each marketplace sets its own rules on buyer protection, payment routes, messaging and what counts as a valid sale. These differ by marketplace and they change over time, so check each marketplace's current policy before you rely on any protection. Your marketplace's help centre is the authoritative source.

What to do if you have already been caught

If you have already sent an item or money, act quickly. Report the buyer through the marketplace's own reporting tool, and keep every message, tracking number and payment record. If a payment was made outside the marketplace, contact your bank or payment provider as soon as possible, because some protections depend on speed. If you gave a verification code or password to someone, change that password immediately, sign out other sessions, and turn on two-factor authentication if it is not already active. There is no guarantee of recovery, so the earlier you act the better your chances.

• Report the buyer and keep all messages, tracking details and payment records.
• Contact your bank or payment provider quickly if an off-platform payment was made.
• Change your password and sign out other sessions if you shared any login details.

Common questions

Is it ever safe to take payment outside the marketplace?

Taking payment outside a marketplace's checkout removes the protection the platform offers and is the most common warning sign in reseller scams. Do not do it, and if a buyer insists, decline the sale.

How can I tell if a message is really from Depop or Vinted?

Do not click links in the message. Open the marketplace directly in your browser, log in there, and check for the same message in its own inbox. Official marketplaces do not ask you to share verification codes.

Will Swiftlisted stop a scammer from buying my item?

No. Swiftlisted posts and delists listings and marks sales, but it does not read buyer messages or check whether a buyer is genuine. Checking the buyer and the payment route is still your job.

What should I do if a courier link asks me to pay postage?

Ignore the link and go to the carrier's website yourself, or use the marketplace's own shipping label flow. Only pay postage through a route you have verified.