9 Misconceptions Buyers Have When Purchasing Locally

Yay, you found a ‘great’ deal!  Or did you?  Our last blog examined safe local commerce from the seller’s point of view.  Now let’s look at common misconceptions that buyers may have that could put them at risk when transacting locally and how to avoid them.

1.    “I gotta to have it now!”

·     We live in the age of instant gratification.  In
our haste to ‘have it now’, it’s easy to forget
to verify things.  Before jumping into the car and speeding off to acquire your new loot, ask
a couple of questions about the item and seller
to get to know them a little bit.

·     Advice:  If you find an item you like, ask a few questions about it.  Use a fully integrated marketplace where you can ask questions without having to expose your personal email or go to some other site.

2.    “Paying in cash is easier.”

     ·     Cash is nice but always think twice.  Cash can
    really be a bit of a hassle.  First, you have to go
    to the bank.  Then, you have walk around with
    a wad of money to meet some stranger.  Finally,
    there is that whole ‘exact change’ concept. 
    There are so many pre-steps and worries with
    cash.  If something goes wrong, you have no
    recourse.  Plus, you do not get airline miles if
    you use cash.  How is this easier?

     ·    Advice:  Use a marketplace with cashless
   payments preferable tied to a point-
                                              based credit card. 

       3.    “I’ll use Venmo or PayPal.  Everybody’s doing it.”

 ·      So you think paying with third party apps is cool.  But what if the seller doesn’t
  have that app.  You could be forced to run to the nearest ATM at the last
  minute.  Hassle!

 ·      Advice:  Use a seamless marketplace with cashless payments baked right in.

4.    “The pictures don’t do it justice.”

·     We’ve all heard it before.  You gotta see it in person to appreciate it.   Caveat emptor (that’s Latin for ‘let the buyer beware’).  Listings without pictures can be a scam.

·     Advice:  Use a visual marketplace to always see what you’re getting first.  The best marketplaces allow for multiple photos.

5.    “Let’s keep this private.”

·     Meeting in secluded areas is risky no matter
what the circumstances.  While we all don’t
like other people in our business, meeting in a private place is a BIG red flag.

·     Advice:  For your own personal safety,
always meet in a public place such as a
coffee shop.

6.    “I’ll share my info to speed up things.”

·     Sharing is not caring when it comes to buying from strangers.  You can open yourself up to stalkers and other bad people if you’re not careful.

·     Advice:  Never share your personal information.  Use a seamless shopping experience that lets you browse, communicate, and pay all within the security of one platform.

7.    “I’m using an anonymous address so my identity is safe.”

·     While the Craigslist-provided anonymous address is great for receiving e-mails, it doesn't conceal your identity when you choose to respond to someone.

·     Advice:  Use an end-to-end solution that protects your email and contact info at all times.

8.    “They’re in the Free and For Sale group so they must be trustworthy.”

·     We tend to think that someone’s presence in a social media group makes them "ok".  Just because they go to the same school doesn’t mean anything when it comes to your personal safety.

·     Advice: Use a marketplace where you can seamlessly interact with sellers to vet them first.

9.    “I know where they live so they won’t rob me.”

    ·     Let’s face it, it can be a little bit scary
   meeting a stranger off the internet for the
   purpose of buying something especially if it’s
   valuable.  You have never met this person
   before.  You’ll probably never see them again. 
   How do you get comfortable before going to
   make the deal?

     ·   Advice:   Besides using a cashless payment
   system, use a solution that allows you to
   vet sellers first.  Then bring a cell phone
   and friend with you to close the deal.

That’s it for now.  Hope this helps you transact safely next time you purchase locally.  In our next post, we’ll provide tips for local businesses to drive more revenue.

#safelocalselling #nohasslesnosketch #cashlesspayments #seamlessshopping

About the Author

Sean Brown is the Founder and Chief Pixan of Pixiboard and an advocate for making local commerce safe, easy and seamless for buyers and sellers alike.

How to Pay for Your Stuff

Pixiboard^TM is your one stop shop for safe local commerce.  Everything you need to close your sale is in the platform.  In How to Post Your Stuff, we talked about how to get your items on the ‘Board and we provided some posting tips.  Well, once you find what you want, how do you pay for it?  How do you get paid?

Pixiboard^TM is a seamlessly integrated experience.  PixiPay^TM is our cashless payment process within the system.  As a seller, you simply enter your bank routing and account number for where you want to get paid.  Your information is encrypted and stored with our third party partner, Balanced.  Pixiboard^TM never keeps your account information and your account information is never shared with buyers.

As a buyer, you provide your credit card.  This information is also encrypted at Balanced.  Pixiboard^TM does not keep your credit card nor is the information ever provided to sellers.  We simply use encryption keys with Balanced to make your payments quickly and simply.

PixiPay^TM keeps things simple and secure.  You enter your payment information once and reuse it until you swap out accounts or your cards expire.  Both card and account information can be provided at the time of the first invoice or you can enter them ahead of the sale by going to My Accounts under your name in the upper right side of the black toolbar.

While a cash transaction seems instantly rewarding, it can also be inherently dangerous.  PixiPay^TM not only enables you to make cashless transactions, you also protect your purchases with your credit card.  And, if you are negotiating on the fly, sellers can change invoice pricing with a few clicks by going to My Invoices/Sent off of the main menu.

Here’s a couple of things to keep in mind when paying or getting paid:

1.       PixiPay^TM is mobile.  Whether you are placing an order and having it shipped to you or meeting someone to pick your stuff up, PixiPay^TM goes where you need it to.  As a buyer, you don’t pay until you are comfortable with the transaction.  As a seller, you get paid immediately.

2.       PixiPay^TM is secure.  There is no cash to lay on the table.  Until the buyer clicks Pay, no money is moving.  Do not click that Pay button until you are good with the deal.

3.       PixiPay^TM is quick.  From the buyer side, you click Pay and the seller is paid.  From the seller side, once the buyer clicks Pay the money is moved right into your account.  For basic transactions, there is no middleman and there is no waiting period.  Your money belongs to you.

4.       PixiPay^TM is safe.  Your transactions are protected by your credit card.  With cash transactions, it’s caveat emptor.  And for larger transactions, Pixiboard^TM is able to employ escrow.

Pixiboard^TM is a better way to buy and sell your stuff.  Images allow you to virtually inspect items before your even consider a purchase.  PixiPay^TM allows buyers to secure their transactions and enables sellers to get paid immediately.

Thank you for your support.  Next time we will talk about PixiChat^TM, which allows you to vet buyers and sellers without sacrificing your personal contact information.  In the meantime, get out there and sell the stuff you want and find the stuff you need!
 

10 Mistakes Students Make When Selling Their Stuff

Safe local selling.  Easier said than done.  If you’re not careful, you can get robbed or worst when transacting locally.  So that you won't find yourself in this situation, below is a list of mistakes that college students make when selling their stuff and how you can avoid them. 

1.     Relying solely on social media.
Not all students use the “Free and For Sale” groups.  They are great for giving stuff away but just scratch the surface for making the sale.  If people miss your first post, there is no easy way for them to find it or even know to look for it.  There is no way to financially close the deal there.  And, you’ll need to continuously re-list your stuff so it shows up.  If you want to get a bunch of clever comments about your couch or deal with a bunch of lowball offers, these sites are for you.  Otherwise, you are better off posting things you want to sell on sites that sell.
Advice:  Use social media for social media not selling stuff.  That said, social media is a great way to advertise that you are selling something.  Make sure to use a sell site that allows you to post to social media.

2.     Posting flyers.
Really?  Is it 1989?  While that year may work for Taylor Swift, it’s highly doubtful that this approach will work for you.
Advice:  Use an online marketplace designed with colleges in mind to sell your stuff.

3.     Using the old standbys.
Everybody has a Craigslist story.  Got ripped off.  Met a creepy character.  Buyer didn’t show.  The list goes on.  Yes, there are millions buyers sitting in their old underwear surfing the net at 2AM to find your stuff.  But it’s sketchy, text-based, and crowded.  Another way to go is EBay.  But Ebay is an auction site that’s not really meant sell stuff quickly or locally.  Plus, they are going to charge you to post.
Advice:  Steer clear.  Find a visual marketplace that does not charge you to post AND fits your needs.

4.     Not posting photos of items.
People are visual.  We want to see stuff rather than read about it.  I don’t want to wade through a dictionary of text to try and figure out what type of bike it is.  Show it to me!  Plus, for potential buyers, items without pictures tend to be considered shady or of poor quality.  Are you really going to take someone’s word on it or do you want to see it yourself?
Advice:  Always include at least two pictures with your listing.


 

5.     Not properly vetting buyers.
In your haste to make a quick buck, you can easily forget to properly vet out who you’re dealing with.  As a result, you can find yourself in an uncomfortable situation or meeting someone who’s smelly, scary, or worse.
Advice:  While there is yet to be a technology advancement to screen for bad BO, there are sell sites that allow you to see who you’re dealing with.  Use an online marketplace that enables you to check profiles and communicate with potential buyers within the system and before the meet-up.

6.     Exposing personal info to strangers.
No one should ever expose themselves to others.  Once you have a buyer on the hook or an item you want to buy, what is next?  You want to chat.  You may be tempted to give your email and/or phone number to ‘speed up’ the process but what this really does is open you up to an influx of spam or unwanted calls from people you don’t know who may never buy your stuff.  Listen to your mother - never give your phone number or email to people you don’t know.
Advice:  Use sites that have a way to mask your information from strangers and, even better, enable you to do the talking and the selling in one place.

7.     Depending upon third party apps for payment.
You have Venmo or PayPal.  Great!  What if they don’t?  Could be a major hassle.  BTW, do you really want to wait up to three (3!) days to get your cash?
Advice:  Use a seamless marketplace where payments are baked in and you get paid NOW.

8.     Using cash.
There’s nothing like a fresh wad of cash.  Bills of different denominations and grimy coins that have passed through thousands of unfamiliar hands.  Do you eat with those?  Beware.  Any one-on-one transaction where money changes hands is inherently unsafe.  Plus, someone may have to make change or, worse, you open yourself up to last second low ball offers.
Advice:  Find a solution where you can make cashless payments and where closing prices can be adjusted on the fly.

9.     Going to unknown or secluded places to close the deal.
Congrats.  You’ve got a potential buyer.  But a deal’s not done till it’s done.  Next, you have to meet.  The ATM on the residential corner sounds safe… until you think about the bushes and the side streets.  Meet above the public transportation rail?  Yes, that’s a great getaway.  Wait,… that’s a great getaway!  Be smart and careful about where and when you meet-up.  You can still get robbed, even with a friend.
Advice:  Pick brightly lit public places when meeting face-to-face.

10. Inviting strangers into homes.
Hard to believe this still goes on.  Many people throw caution into the wind for the opportunity to make a quick buck.  Vampires cannot enter a home unless they are invited in.  Do you want a vampire in your house?  Do you want a vampire to even come to your house?  Yes, I am sure that your buyer, or that seller, you are going to meet is (probably) NOT a vampire but why chance it?
Advice:  Meet at public places if you can.  If you have to meet someone at your home, vet potential buyers as advised in #5.

That’s it for now.  Hope this helps you transact safely next time you need to sell your stuff.  In our next post, we’ll provide tips for buying locally.
 

#seeitsnapitsellit #nohasslesnosketch #cashlesspayments #safelocalselling

About the Author

Sean Brown is the Founder and Chief Pixan of Pixiboard and an advocate for making local commerce safe, easy and seamless for buyers and sellers alike.

How To Post Your Stuff

Before we talk about posting your items, we would like to highlight some of the new changes we put into Pixiboard^TM in this last week.  First, we made some improvements to PixiChat™ so that message chains are easier to follow.  Both to and from messages on a single chain are grouped together.  Also, you are able to collapse and expand your message chains.  Second, we have added a line on invoices to cover the shipping of items.  Pixiboard™ is a safe place for local buying and selling but we understand that sometimes that the click-and-collect model (buy online and pick-up at the store) just will not work.  Sometimes you just want to click it and ship it.

-------------------------------------------

Pixiboard^TM is a safer, easier, more secure place to sell the stuff you want and buy the stuff you need.  Posting things to sell on Pixiboard™ is as easy as one, two, three.  It is the same process whether you are using your smartphone, your tablet, or your laptop.

Simply sign in, click on the orange Post button on the black toolbar, and select “By You” (“Buy Us” is the PixiPost process which we will talk about another time).  This opens the Build Your Pixi function.  All you need to post a pixi (item) is a photo, a title, a category (select from the list), a location (start typing), a price (you decide), and a description (unlimited text, for now).  After that, click Next, review your pixi, and click Done.  Your pixi is on its way to being posted to the board!

"Well," you say, "that is all simple but how do I create pixis that sell?"  Here are a few posting tips to make the most visually appealing pixi:

1.     Always use more than one photo (preferably from multiple angles).  We allow up to fifteen.  Yes, sometimes you may not have more than one photo but, remember, people are not going to be able to physically inspect your item until the exchange.  The better you present the object, the quicker the deal can be closed.

2.      Always highlight important features.  If the item has unique marks or certifications, take a picture zooming in on that area.  The more visible information you can provide, the less questions you will have to answer.

3.      Order your images from first to last before you upload them.  The first photo in your group is the one that will be displayed for your pixi on the Browse page.

4.      Keep your pixi title clean and to the point.  A good rule of thumb is to use three words.  Sometimes this may not be possible.  Remember, the Browse page displays your pixi’s first photo, its title, the location, the price, and the category.  Clean titles peak interest.  Crazy titles have people looking elsewhere.

5.      Chose a location that is convenient for you.  Living in Haight-Asbury but select San Francisco does widen the available location but it also creates the expectation that you may be willing to travel to any place in the city to make the sale.  Haight-Asbury shows up when people browse in the SF Bay Area of San Francisco, so do not worry about getting the eyes.  We will take care of that for you.  Your location should be as specific as possible for you to exchange your item conveniently.

6.     Price appropriately.  Everyone knows the price they will sell something for but sometimes it is hard to gage what is the price that you can get.  Pixiboard^TM is working on some tools to help do that but, in the meantime, the best way to estimate the going price to do a little search for similar items for sale.  Look in and outside of Pixiboard^TM.  Simple Google searches will fetch valuable results.  Remember, the better your pixi is priced, the quicker it will sell, and the more money will be put into your pocket.

7.      Keep description interesting but relevant.  That usually falls somewhere between A Tale of Two Cities and a couplet.  Your picture(s) lure buyers in, your title grabs their attention, but your description closes the deal.  Add a little color, stick to the necessary details (size, color, condition), and sell, sell, sell.

Pixiboard^TM provides a seamless shopping experience.  You can post, buy, sell, share, and pay all within the unified environment.  You don’t need to go to another messaging system.  You don’t need to figure out how to pay or get paid.  Pixiboard^TM is your one-stop shop for local commerce.

Thank you for your support.  Next time we’ll talk about how PixiPay^TM, our integrated payment system, makes life easier for both the buyer and seller.  Now get out there and sell the stuff you want and find the stuff you need!

 

 

Pixiboard: A Safer, Better Way to Sell Your Stuff

Wow.  It has been some time since we put our fingers to the keyboard and popped out a blog.  Much has happened since then.  We’ve marched the streets of Berkeley, talking up Pixiboard^TM and visiting local businesses.  We ran an Enter to Win contest, passing out free cookies, burritos, Visa cards, and an iPad Mini.  We continue to update the platform, making navigation easier and the purchase process even more streamlined.  People are signing up, connecting, and sharing items.


The mission we started out to fulfill remains the same - sharing, buying, and selling your stuff should not be a complicated or scary experience.  With Pixiboard^TM, we want to create a safer, easier, more secure place to sell the stuff you want and find the stuff you need.  And we think we have it.  Pixiboard^TM provides a seamless shopping experience where everything can be done in three steps or less.

See it. Snap it. Sell it.

First, we start with the PICTURE.  The picture puts the “pixi” in Pixiboard^TM.  Instead of wading through walls of text, people browse images.  You can add up to fifteen pictures per post so people can really see what they are going to buy.  A picture is worth a thousand words and Pixiboard™ uses the power of the image to connect people with products and services.

Safe. Local. Commerce.

Second, we focus on keeping you SAFE.  Pixiboard^TM is a self-contained, all-encompassing offering.  When you message someone, you do it within platform, through PixiChat^TM, without giving your e-mail out to strangers.  Buyers and sellers can ask each other questions, vet items, and communicate without trading personal information.  You don’t have to open yourself up to find out more information on that dresser.

No cash. No fears. No worries.

Third, we keep your money SECURE.  With PixiPay^TM, the integrated payment system within Pixiboard^TM, the buyer and seller make a cashless transaction.  No one has to meet a stranger in a strange place with a large sum of cash in their pocket.  As a buyer, you do not provide your credit card number to the seller.  Just as important, as a seller, when the payment is made, the cash is yours – there is no awkward middle man from where you have to extract your money.

Pixiboard™ is a visual, safer, and simpler way to buy and sell your stuff.  No more wondering what items look like.  No more exposing your e-mail to strangers.  No more sketchy meet-ups.  No more fumbling to make change.  On Pixiboard™, it is free to post and everything can be done in three steps or less.

We are confident that you will find Pixiboard™ a more enjoyable, easier-to-use, more comfortable experience.  We believe that in the sharing economy you can get something in return besides someone’s magical currency.  So get out there and sell the stuff you want and find the stuff you need.  Connect.  Share.  Magic.^TM