Trust and safety
Pay in a way you can undo.
Every payment method falls into one of two groups: the ones you can reverse, and the ones you cannot. Only use the first group.
Use this
PayPal Goods and Services. Carries buyer protection on private party sales. If the item never arrives, or arrives materially different from the description, you can open a dispute and get your money back. The seller pays a small fee, which is the cost of the protection working.
A credit card, where the seller accepts one. Chargeback rights sit behind it.
Never use this
- PayPal Friends and Family. No protection whatsoever. A seller who insists on it is asking you to give up your only recourse, and that request is itself the warning sign.
- Bank transfer, Zelle, wire. Instant and irreversible. These are the preferred methods of every scammer, for exactly that reason.
- Gift cards or cryptocurrency. There is no legitimate reason for a private seller to ask.
- Cash by post. Obvious, and it still happens.
Meeting in person
Local pickup removes shipping risk and lets you inspect. Meet somewhere public and busy in daylight. Many police stations offer designated exchange zones. Test the item before money changes hands: fire the shutter, check every aperture, look through the lens against a bright surface for fungus and haze, and check the sensor with a photograph of a plain bright wall at f/16.
Cash is acceptable in person, because you are holding the item when you hand it over.
The pressure test
Urgency is the common thread in almost every scam. Another buyer is waiting. The price is only good today. They are about to travel. A legitimate seller with a fairly priced item does not need you to decide in ten minutes.
If you feel rushed, that feeling is the product, not a coincidence. Slow down.