Selling safely on Northern List

A clear, honest listing gets you fewer pointless messages and buyers who already know what they’re getting.

• Photos in daylight, from every side, including the dents and the worn spots. Buyers trust a seller who shows the flaws.
• Fill in the details the form asks for (year, make, model, mileage, size and so on). Buyers filter on them, so a listing without them is harder to find.
• Say what the price means: firm, or best offer, or open to trades.
• Say how it changes hands: pickup only, local delivery, will ship, or will send to the Bush.

• Buyers message you through Northern List, and we email you when one writes. Your email address isn’t shown to them.
• Your phone number only shows if you choose to show it on the listing. Leave it off until you’ve traded a few messages if you’d rather.
• Keep your address out of the listing. Give it once you’ve agreed on a time, or meet somewhere else.
• Check your photos for house numbers, mail with your name on it, and anything else you wouldn’t hand a stranger.

• Meet somewhere public and busy, in daylight, which in December takes some planning.
• Many police departments have a safe exchange spot, a lobby or a camera-covered part of the parking lot. Call your local department’s non-emergency line and ask.
• Bring someone, or at least tell someone where you’re going.
• For big things sold from home, move the item to the driveway or garage first, have someone else there, and keep buyers out of the house.

• Cash, counted in person, is still the safest way to get paid. For large amounts, meet at your bank and have a teller check and deposit it.
• Cashier’s checks can be fake. Watch it printed at the buyer’s bank, or call the issuing bank on a number you looked up yourself, not one printed on the check.
• Payment apps are for people you know. Payments can be reversed, and many apps offer no protection on sales between strangers. If you use one, wait until the money is in your bank account.
• Never accept more than your price and send back the difference. That’s a scam every time.

• The verification code. A “buyer” asks you to read back a code they texted you, to prove you’re real. They’re using your number to open an account in your name. Never share a code someone sends you.
• “My mover will pick it up.” Someone who can’t come themselves, wants to pay by check, and has a shipper lined up is almost never a real buyer.
• The fake payment email. Northern List doesn’t handle payments between buyers and sellers, so an email saying a buyer “paid through Northern List” and you need to do something to release it is fake.
• Pressure. Real buyers can wait a day while you check something. Anyone who can’t is working an angle.

• Mark it sold from the listing or from your listings. It comes out of search right away, and people stop asking.
• Still selling? Listings run 30 days, and renewing is free in the last 7 days or after it expires.
• Delete it if you’d rather it was gone for good.

Before you post, check the list of prohibited items, and see the help pages for how posting, renewing and messages work. When you’re ready, post a listing. It’s free.