When you want to communicate with a buyer or seller about an item, you can send them a message through the OfferUp app. Messaging allows you to securely chat about items, ask questions, and propose Meetup Spots. To help you get the most out of your chats with other community members, here are some tips for messaging.
Only message through the OfferUp app
For your protection, we strongly recommend you only communicate with other users through the OfferUp messaging feature. This ensures that your personal information stays private, such as your phone number and email address.
Additionally, when you message through the app, OfferUp can keep a record of your conversations in case we ever need to investigate a claim or item dispute for you. Be cautious when users ask you to chat off of our platform as this is a common tactic scammers use to defraud people.
Don’t share personal information
For your protection, don’t share any personal information in messages with buyers or sellers. This includes your phone number, email address, home address, or OfferUp account password. If you’re messaging with someone who you think is suspicious, please protect yourself and the community by reporting them. To learn more, see How to block or report someone.
Respond to messages quickly
Let’s face it, people are in a hurry, so it’s best to respond to messages as soon as you can. Great buyers and sellers typically respond within an hour, and sometimes within a few minutes. Responding to messages quickly can speed up the buying and selling process, and improves your reputation by earning you profile badges, compliments, and positive ratings.
Get notified about new messages
To help you respond to messages quickly, OfferUp sends you email and push notifications anytime that you receive a new message. If you’re not receiving these notifications, we recommend that you check your settings in the app and on your mobile device. For more information, see Managing your notification preferences.
Organize your messages
If you have a lot of messages to manage, try using the inbox tools to help you stay organized.
- The Sort feature allows you to arrange your messages by Newest, Oldest, or Unread. This gives you control over what messages you read first.
- The Pin feature allows you to stick important messages to the top of your inbox. You can keep up to 25 messages pinned at one time. To pin a message in your inbox, swipe right on the thread and tap Pin. To unpin it, swipe right on the thread and tap Unpin.
- The Group by Listing feature lets you consolidate all messages about an item you're selling into a single, convenient view. This is useful if you have multiple buyers asking about the same item, or if you have a lot of active listings.
Ask specific questions
Before you ask questions about an item, we recommend that you read the item’s description thoroughly because it may contain your answers. But if you need to ask a seller about their item, try asking specific questions, like “Is the item damaged at all?” or “Are you the original owner?”. These kinds of questions tend to get more prompt responses from sellers.
Let sellers know if you change your mind
If you tell a seller that you want to buy their item, but end up changing your mind, it’s polite to let them know. Sending a simple message like "Thanks, but I changed my mind" is sufficient. This ensures that the seller isn’t waiting on you and missing out on other interested buyers.
Let buyers know if your item sells
Once you sell your item, make sure to mark it as sold. This removes your listing from the public feed, which lets buyers know that your item is no longer available. It also ensures that you don’t receive new messages about the item.
Suggest safe Meetup locations
When you arrange an in-person sale, you should agree to meet at a safe, well-lit, public location. Need suggestions? OfferUp partners with local businesses and police stations to create safe Community MeetUp Spots. You can find local Community MeetUp Spots in the app, then share the locations with buyers and sellers through messages. To learn how, see Send a meeting location.