We have listed our guidelines for safe buying below. If you combine them with common sense, they will ensure many a safe trade.

Know your seller

Review the member's selling feedback.
Click their feedback rating. This shows other items they've sold recently and comments from previous buyers.

Make sure the seller is Verified.
Sellers can verify themselves for free and it helps us track the seller down in the rare event that something goes wrong.

Know what you're buying

Carefully read the item description and answers to questions.
Before you bid you need to know exactly what is being auctioned - including any free accessories, the age and condition of item and even why it's being sold. Poor language or communication skills may be an early warning sign that the auction could lead to problems, if you struggle to understand each other.

Ask your own questions and ensure the seller answers them. Lots of unanswered questions are a danger sign.

Be very careful of sellers who bypass the auction process.
Transactions conducted outside of SASell have a much lower chance of being resolved if they go wrong. Bypass the standard process at your own risk.

Check the postage or courier costs. Postage typically costs extra and will vary greatly based on the item and your distance from the seller. Make sure you understand the delivery costs before bidding. If the seller will let you pick up, we suggest you do.

Pay wisely

Only pay into South African bank accounts or by credit card. Never pay for goods with cash, cheques, money orders, Western Union, or any form of instant cash transfers that cannot be traced. Payment by PayPal is uncommon in South Africa and is not recommended. Credit card payments via SASell is a safe and secure method for online credit card payments.

Get a phone number. If you are the winning bidder on a higher value item, ask the seller for a phone number and address in case you need to call them.

Keep all payment details and emails exchanged with the seller.
These details will help us locate the seller if things go wrong.

We recommend using a Third Party escrow service for higher value items from higher risk sellers with low feedback ratings or who are not Verified.

If something does go wrong...

Most problems are the result of either poor communication or differing expectations between the buyer and the seller.

Stay in contact with the seller and ensure you understand when to expect delivery. Sellers will typically wait for payment to clear before shipping goods, which can take a couple of days or longer on weekends and bank holidays. Delivery itself can reasonably take another 2-4 business days meaning a possibility of seven days or more between paying and receiving goods.

Frequently buyers and sellers may not be receiving one another's emails due to spam filters or email filtering. Check your junk or bulk email folders.

If you have paid and the seller isn't responding to your emails, place a neutral or negative feedback on the seller saying so. This should prompt them into action and serves to warn other buyers. You can edit the feedback you place, but only once.

If you still can't contact the seller after several days, or think you are the victim of fraud, please contact us immediately. We normally suspend the accounts of sellers/buyers connected with proven fraud.

The vast majority of problems reported to us resolve themselves through good communication and patience. So be patient, use your common sense, and happy buying and selling.