How to Be Safe on Olx and Quickr?
OLX and Quikr are a very useful website in theory. These websites provide a platform where you could potentially sell anything. From cars, motorcycles to pen and earphone. Anything you want to sell you could post it on the website and there would be people willing to pay for what its worth. As you get older however you realise that things are not the way they seem to be. There are multiple horror stories of sellers getting into trouble when selling stuff on OLX or Quicker. There are hoards of OLX scammers and fake buyers/sellers that make this place hell to navigate through. The disappearance of an Engineer in Bangalore when he went to meet the buyer of his car is still an unsolved case. The incident happened in 2017 and there is still no trace of him. While OLX and Quicker would tell you that selling something on their website is a very fun experience I’m here to tell you that it’s not. Though it could be if you follow certain instructions. Here are safe ways and checklists while selling something on OLX or Quicker.
1. Meet near a petrol pump
This is probably the most important thing to remember while selling something on OLX and Quickr. You should only meet the buyer where there are cameras around. Petrol pumps are required by law to have CCTV cameras which makes them a safe place for meeting strangers from the internet. If you happen to fall for an OLX/ Quickr scammer at least he’ll be caught on camera. If anything goes wrong there will be videos to prove your innocence and probably catch the other person. CCTV cameras are also present at traffic light and intersectins, so you could meet the buyer in those places too. Just make sure the meeting is recorded in any so you have something to show for if anything goes wrong.
2. Chat on WhatsApp, Facebook or SMS rather than OLX or Quickr
After you find someone who is interested in buying your stuff, ask them to chat over either WhatsApp or Facebook where the messages can be downloaded from. Whatsapp and Facebook both have options to delete messages for everyone in chat so it might be a good practice to download messages or take screenshots. SMS could be another safe way to message each other. Document everything said between you and the buyer so you have it afterwards if needed. Having proof of your chat with a potential OLX scammer is the only way you can get your back your stuff.
3. Stamp is your best friend
If you are selling a car, motorcycle or something else, use an Rs10 stamp on a paper mentioning the name of the person his address, amount that it’s being sold at and any other info you want. You could get it notarized to make it a legal document. If not it’s still a valid document. If you happen to meet an online scammer or fraud he would run at the first sight of a legal document, if he doesn’t, it means he’s probably a decent buyer.
4. Take pictures of everything
Pictures are valid documents that could be presented if anything goes wrong. Take picture of the person buying, his Aadhar, the stuff that you’re selling, everything that you can take pictures of. This will help resolve any claims or issues after the sale.
5. Take money in the account, not cash
Avoid cash for any of these transactions. Not only does it the buyer trustworthy but also makes the whole transaction legal. You never know if the cash being used is stolen. Documentation is your friend when selling on OLX or Quickr. Make sure to document everything even the money that comes to you. The only way to document money is if you get it through a bank account.
These steps are the basics that you need to follow while selling anything on OLX or Quickr. These steps would make the buying or selling process safer and would come in handy if something goes wrong. Remember not every person selling/ buying is trying to scam you, it’s just a small minority of people who make that place a hellhole. We, however, need to be prepared for those small percentage of people as you never know who you’re dealing with while using OLX/ Quickr.
