Offerup Review: Is OfferUp a Legit App for Selling Your Stuff?

So, if you’ve got a few items you no longer need, which you’d like to make money from, or you’re on the market for some new stuff, but you’re on a budget, then this might be the app for you.

What is Offer Up?

OfferUp is an app that allows you to buy and sell stuff locally.

It’s sort of like a hybrid of eBay and Craigslist, but with one big difference; It’s a mobile-focused platform.

You can install the app for both Android and iOS devices for free.

And, according to statistics, it’s an incredibly popular one.

A report from Mary Meeker, a venture capitalist who specializes in the Internet and new technologies, stated that consumers spend an average of 25 minutes per day on OfferUp.

Amazingly, that’s the same amount of time as they spend on apps like Instagram and Snapchat, and slightly more time than they spend on Twitter and Pinterest.

OfferUp was created to make the process of buying and selling goods locally, much easier, and much more user-friendly than it is on other platforms, like Craigslist.

How Does Offer Up Work

The process of buying and selling items on OfferUp is really easy.

Here’s a quick breakdown of how it works:

Selling

• Firstly, you download the app to your mobile device.
• You snap a photo of what you want to sell using your phone.
• Upload the image, along with an asking price and title.
• Potential buyers in your area can view your image, and will contact you if they’re interested in buying – you can talk to the buyer within the app’s messaging system.
• Each buyer gets a rating out of 5 stars, so you can easily choose the best person to sell to.

Buying

• Download the app to your phone.
• Scroll through the photos of items that other users have uploaded – sort of like how you browse images on Instagram.
• If you see an item you’re interested in, then contact the buyer through the platform’s secure messaging system – what’s great is that you don’t have to give any personal information.
• Check out the sellers rating to see whether they’re reputable and set up a meeting to view the item.

Payments on OfferUp

As OfferUp focuses on buying and selling between locals, it suggests that you meet up to buy or sell an item and then make the transaction in cash.

Meeting up first ensures that the person buying is happy with the product before they part with any money.

OfferUp does, for some areas/products, offer in-app payments.

These allow the buyer to pay the seller via debit or credit card.

OfferUp vs eBay

OfferUp was created to offer something different to the world of buying and selling online.

And, it certainly does have more to offer, in some respects, than platforms like eBay and Craigslist do.

Here are a few of the features that make it stand out and what sets it back a little:

1. It’s locally focused

With eBay, you can buy things from or sell things to people from all over the world – location is not an issue.

But, Offerup is designed to be more locally focused. Now, this is both an advantage and disadvantage.

It’s advantageous because it means that shipping fees aren’t an issue – and whether you’re looking to buy or sell a product, taking shipping fees out of the equation is a good thing.

Plus, you’re easily able to see an item in person, before you pay anything.

It’s disadvantageous because it means that you are limited to goods from people that are in your area – so you don’t get as wide a range of items to choose from.

2. It’s really easy to navigate

On Craigslist scrolling through headline descriptions to find what you want or searching through tons of different listings on eBay can be a tedious process.

But, that’s certainly not the case with OfferUp.

It takes headlines and huge listings out of the mix and instead, you’re presented with a catalog of items to buy in the form of an image feed.

The image feed on the app is incredibly clean and looks like you’re scrolling through an Instagram feed, rather than an online marketplace.

This makes the process of buying through the app an incredibly enjoyable one, and it’s easy to see why users spend so much time on it – it’s easy to get sucked into scrolling through all of the photos, as you would on a social media platform.

3. Communication is seamless

Communicating with other people on the platform is effortless.

You communicate within the app’s messaging system – which is really easy to use and sort of resembles the clean layout of WhatsApp.

It’s also like WhatsApp in the sense that messages can be sent instantly.

This makes the whole process of buying/selling incredibly quick and easy.

The in-app messaging system is just another feature of OfferUp that makes it arguably the most user-friendly platform out there for buying and selling goods.

And, it’s certainly a feature that puts it miles ahead of platforms, like eBay and Craigslist.

4. Everyone has a Rating

Both buyers and sellers on OfferUp get a rating out of five stars.

So, it’s really easy to see who’s reputable and who falls short.

If you’re wondering how to rate a seller on Offerup or a buyer, you’ll be glad to know that it’s really easy.

To rate a buyer, visit the selling tab, select the sold item, tap on “Rate Buyer”.

To rate a seller, the seller has to mark their item as sold once the transaction has been completed.

Then, you’ll get a notification telling you that the seller has rated you and you’ll be able to rate them.

More about OfferUp…

As you can see, OfferUp is a handy, easy to use app that you should certainly consider if you’re looking to offload something to make a little extra spending money or are looking for some goods in your area.

But, you probably have a few more questions about the platform.

Here’s what else you need to know about OfferUp:

Does OfferUp charge fees?

At the time of writing, OfferUp does not charge fees.

So, if you’re selling, you don’t have to worry about paying any commission or other charges.

Is OfferUp Safe?

OfferUp is a reputable platform, which has won awards, from places like GeekWire.

That being said, you always need to be safe when you’re buying and selling online.

The platform sometimes offers in-app payments, which are secure. But, as it’s designed for local buyers, cash is the method of payment that the app recommends.

It does not recommend shipping items or using third parties to facilitate payments.

It suggests proceeding with caution if you are going to use a platform like PayPal to send money to someone you don’t know.

For more tips on payments with OfferUp, visit this page.

Also, like with any other situation where you meet up with someone you don’t know, you should always take a few safety precautions.

Tell a friend that you’re going to meet up with someone, and give them the address.

And take someone with you for the meeting. Ideally, you should meet in a public location, like a café.

How Does OfferUp Make Money?

As OfferUp doesn’t charge any fees on sales and you don’t have to pay for the app, it’s unclear how it makes money.

It could be that the company is focused on building their brand, growing its audience and increasing its visibility among consumers at the moment.

Closing Thoughts

Overall, OfferUp is one of the best platforms for buying and selling goods.

If you’re interested in making some extra money from stuff you don’t use anymore, then this platform is a really great option.

It’s so easy – plus you don’t have to worry about shipping your stuff.

It’s also an excellent platform for finding new stuff in your area, often for a really reasonable price.

And the process of looking through stuff is also really fun.

I hope this OfferUp review has been useful in helping you decide whether or not it’s a worthwhile app for buying and selling used goods.