OfferUp Review
Everyone has heard at least one story about the horrors of selling things online. While online selling options have made things much more convenient than yard or garage sales, they have led to their own set of problems. A quick online search will show people the truly awful things that happen when people go to buy or sell their belongings online to complete strangers.
For sellers online, one of the biggest difficulties is knowing if buyers are truly legitimate. Anyone who has tried to sell something online has seen the warnings posted by the website saying that people shouldn’t make deals that involve sending money overseas or sharing banking information. Still, despite how many people know that these are signs of scams, people still try. And, scammers get more and more creative every day, finding new ways to get something for nothing.
For buyers online, there’s always the fear that the person they’re meeting isn’t actually who they claim to be. And, even if they meet in a public space or bring friends to help with support, there is always the possibility that the item advertised on the website isn’t at all what it actually looks like. Not only does this make buyers on these online stores extremely suspicious, but it makes them miss out on the simpler, cheaper possibilities they could be buying if they did buy used items locally.
OfferUp was designed and created to help bring safety and reliability to selling online, but while also focusing on helping people buy and sell locally. Through its superior safety measures, OfferUp is able to create a competitive buying and selling area for those who have things they don’t need anymore, but without the worry that comes with so many of the other website options.
About OfferUp
OfferUp was made by two fathers who realized that with all the baby items filling up their houses, they needed to find a fast and safe way to sell off the things they no longer had space for or needed. Their solution was OfferUp, an app that is offered completely free that makes posting, buying, and selling items online simple and safe.
OfferUp uses an app, which started out only being available for the iPhone but is now available for Android phones, to do all its processes. Buyers can get the app and browse through thousands of local images that are added to every single day.
These images are all posted by people who live close to the potential seller, making pick up and drop off very simple.
While OfferUp is extremely easy for buyers to use, it’s even more convenient for sellers. Those who have an item or multiple items to sell can simply log in to the OfferUp app and, within the app, take a picture of the item they want to sell, which will then post. The entire posting process takes about a minute, making it a simple and fast option for those who don’t want to spend their valuable time uploading, downloading, typing, and verifying their posts.
OfferUp became extremely popular due to the safety precautions it takes with its users. When everyone signs up, they are verified through a state of the art, protected system which uses licenses to determine the accuracy of those who sign up. In addition to the steps required for people to sign up for OfferUp, there is also a rating system used on the app. Buyers and sellers can rate their interactions with each other, so if something does go a bit wrong, future buyers or sellers can know to be careful or be on their guard.
While the OfferUp app makes it extremely easy for buyers to post the items they want to sell, it is its devotion to safety that has made it the preferred option for people to buy and sell things locally. And, as OfferUp grows and continues to expand its features and options, it will continue to be the best option available for those ready to buy and sell locally.
Benefits of OfferUp
While most users of OfferUp will claim that the convenience and safety measures created by the platform are its best benefits, there are many other reasons it has become one of the best options available today. Many of these options are being experienced by local buyers and sellers on a daily basis, with over three billion sales being made on OfferUp since it started in 2011.
One of the keys to the success of OfferUp is that instead of allowing people to post their goods anonymously, it requires users to make a profile. Their profiles are then verified through the secure upload of valid IDs. Not only does this give buyers more confidence when they buy, but it also provides them with more information on the seller. Buyers will be able to see how often sellers respond, as well as the ratings given to them by previous buyer interactions.
Other commerce sites require users to communicate through their own emails, even if they are made anonymous at first. However, with OfferUp, all communication is done through the messenger on the app. Not only does this allow users to keep their email addresses completely safe and unexposed, but if there is a problem, OfferUp is able to easily access the communication.
For those who want their friends and connections to know that they’re selling things, OfferUp makes it very easy for them to share their posting information through their social networks. OfferUp is able to connect to Facebook and other social media platforms to share the item being sold, allowing as many people as possible to see each and every post.
Because everything is done through the OfferUp app, users won’t have to keep checking their emails to see if their posts are getting any attention. OfferUp uses instant alerts to let sellers know the moment a buyer has contacted them. This allows users to communicate faster with potential buyers or sellers, so they can purchase or sell what they want as soon as possible.
Everyone knows one of the best things about local commerce sites is that they allow for a little bit of haggling. While OfferUp may be much more sophisticated than other website options, it still leaves room for a little back and forth. With the OfferUp bidding system, users can make their own personalized offers on the items that they want, allowing them to get the best deal possible.
Purchasing OfferUp
With all the amazing features and benefits that come with OfferUp, most people expect the app to cost quite a bit of money to access. However, OfferUp is available for everyone completely free of charge. Not only does OfferUp make buying and selling items locally easier than ever, but it does so without charging users for its app, making the entire process even better.