Sorry it's long but I wanted to put in as much info as I could.

Recently I almost got scammed by a seller on olx. I saw an add for a phone about a month ago and contacted the seller. After we agreed to a deal I asked him to send more photos of the phone but he never did. Feeling that he was a scammer I didn't contact him again either. (Nope, not the end of the story, keep reading).

About a week later, the same seller called me to ask why I didn't place an order I told him point blank that I had a feeling he wasn't a genuine seller since he never granted my request of send more photos and he was like no, he was a genuine seller that I shouldn't be suspicious of him just because of that. He presented a very long and sound argument that made me almost certain he was genuine. But I still had my doubt. He asked me if I was still interested in the phone and I said yes.
We got into a long discussion of payment and delivery. I made sure it was payment at delivery and was further convinced he was genuine when he agreed. Little did I know that he had a backup plan.

After finalizing the agreement he said I'd have to pay an advance of any amount of my choice so that he could send it to olx and they'll send my pick up code which the driver would use in identifying me, even though I'd never gotten an item on olx I found it fishy but I disregarded my suspicion. After all, I was only paying 5k as advance.
But my mind kept nagging at me when the seller kept calling to confirm my payment.

Another telling clue was when a received a message from olx with the bank details of the seller. The sender was OLX/NG. Hmmm. Fishy. So I went back to the message olx sent to me for my activation code and behold the name was just OLX. It might not be much but coupled with all other suspicions, I because 70% certain I was about to get scammed.

I came up with a plan then. Since the seller said he was in Lagos and I reside in ilorin, I called him and told him I couldn't make payment cause I kept getting an invalid pin notice anytime I wanted to make the transaction and I could not go to the bank to make a deposit. I told him I had a cousin in Lagos (which is true) that has agreed to meet him to collect the package and give him the money cash so he should send me his address or a public location so I could give my cousin.

That's when he made it obvious he was a scammer. He said erm, even if my cousin wants to come he still needed a pick up code that would be sent by olx and it's only a week after the transaction he'll receive payment. I reminded him that even olx don't advice buyers to pay any dime before receiving their order and that both parties could meet in a public place to make the transaction. He still insisted that he I'd be paying to olx and it's after a week he'll be getting his own portion of the payment. That he caution was for unverified sellers and he was a verified seller. I said okay, he should just send his address so that I'll give my cousin, he shouldn't worry about the pickup code, I'll discuss it with my cousin and call him back.

He said I should talk to my cousin and call him when I'm ready to do business with him and ended the call. And that people, is how I escaped being scammed. One thing I learned from this experience is to always listen to your gut feelings when shopping online, if it tells you something is fishy about the ads or seller, check them out and investigate.

You people should understand that OLX method and Jumia are different

Jumia verifies their third-party sellers and ship through their warehouse. They also have products on their own to sell directly to buyers

OLX is just a platform you advertise your products and sell. No guarantee
They even insist that you meet up with seller and inspect product before paying but una no wan hear word

HOW TO AVOID GETTING SCAMMED ON OLX OR ANY OTHER ONLINE MARKET

1. If the price looks too good to be true, then it probably is too good to be true. If seller is selling at a ridiculously low price, please don't go there or if you want to, make sure you can meet him or her at a very public place to make the transaction. Go with a friend or two if possible.

2. Don't pay any kobo in advance unless you know and trust the seller completely. You might think it's small but multiply that amount by the possible number of people they scam weekly, it'll become a small fortune.

3. Make sure to screen every detail given by the seller clearly such as product details, photos etc

4. Request for lots of photos of the product you want to buy or make sure to see and check it's condition before making payments.

ITbomb:
You people should understand that OLX method and Jumia are different

Jumia verifies their third-party sellers and ship through their warehouse. They also have products on their own to sell directly to buyers

OLX is just a platform you advertise your products and sell. No guarantee
They even insist that you meet up with seller and inspect product before paying but una no wan hear word

You didn't read everything did you?
Even though the statement you made is true, your comment showed you didn't read through the post before commenting.

Angel196:


You didn't read everything did you?
Even though the statement you made is true, your comment showed you didn't read through the post before commenting.

You yourself said this

I reminded him that even olx don't advice buyers to pay any dime before receiving their order and that both parties could meet in a public place to make the transaction.

You are in Ilorin, buyer is in Lagos, if you can't have physical inspection and payment, why all these stories.
Even jiji (like OLX) organize their products based on location for easy meet up and sales knowing that it's not a site you just pick an item and order

The seller will arrive nairaland to tell us how he outsmarted someone trying to rob him.

ITbomb:

You yourself said this


You are in Ilorin, buyer is in Lagos, if you can't have physical inspection and payment, why all these stories.
Even jiji (like OLX) organize their products based on location for easy meet up and sales knowing that it's not a site you just pick an item and order

Even though you are right, remember I made that statement when he wouldn't release his address for my cousin to help me finalize the transaction or at any public location for them to meet.
Besides, if the seller is genuine he could send it through a reliable transport company who could complete the transaction for them like the people who buy around me do or if you have someone at the seller's location let him or her help you finalize the transaction like I tried to do. Thanks for your input anyway.