Marktplaats stops Right Pass: How can you pay securely?

On the help page of Marktplaats.nl, the auction site is quietly announcing that it will no longer offer Equal Pass. Equal Crossing was a service that made it safer for buyers and sellers to use Marktplaats. When agreeing on the selling price (and using Equal Pass), payment is made to an agent via iDeal, and after payment the seller receives a barcode used at the post office. After delivering the package and scanning the code, a tracking and tracking link will be sent to the buyer. After acknowledgment from PostNL, the broker transfers the money to the seller.

Although Equal Crossing makes it safer to buy on Marktplaats, it also has its downsides. First of all, additional costs. The service is certainly not cheap: 40 cents transaction fee plus 4.5% of value. Also, acknowledgment comes from PostNL, not from the recipient. If the seller sends something different from the agreed upon, this may result in fraud. Also, it often took a long time for the seller to really count his money.

Marktplaats has announced that it will offer an alternative to Even Crossing, but oddly enough it is not doing that yet. The auction site will not tell you how this alternative will prevent fraud and when it will become available. For now, users should therefore pay more attention to security. Making the resale system fully hack-proof has its challenges.

To buy and sell securely on Marktplaats, it’s wise to first make clear deals on the deal. What is the agreed price? How high are the (possible) shipping costs and who will be responsible for them? When will the package be shipped – or collected?

Of course, it could also be that you find a seller who sends you a box of newspapers instead of your product. To avoid this, you can check in advance what other buyers’ experiences are with reviews. Look not only at the number of stars, but also at the number of reviews. Also, in case of a successful transaction, dare to ask for a review yourself to be more reliable for other users.

When shipping the product, it is normal to do so only when your payment request has been met. But when you see the money in your account, it’s time to go to the post office. You can use a Tikkie (or a payment request link) in chat on Marktplaats for this. Don’t give out your phone number like this so it’s not abused for harassing or spammy purposes.

This can be done at home when you meet physically, and in other cases it is better to do it in a safe place. You can easily get robbed in a remote parking lot. It gives you the opportunity to preview a product before receiving it. You can then choose to pay in cash. Also, if you are using a payment request or in this case Tikkie, check whether it has been paid before submitting the item. In the past, fake banking sites have appeared that allow a buyer to pretend to pay.