SEATTLE — When your new year goals include decluttering your home or apartment - you may start thinking about how to make some money off your used items.
There are several online marketplaces such as Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, eBay, and Poshmark, to name a few, that make it easy to sell without even leaving your home.
While there are many options to sell your gently used clothing, furniture, exercise equipment, home items, or electronics - the Better Business Bureau Great West + Pacific is warning Washingtonians about scammers and thieves who are also checking out your items for sale.
Dale Dixon with the BBB said there are active reports of Google Voice scams. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has warned of a verification scam targeting people who sell items on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist.
"The scammer sends a message expressing interest in buying an item and asks the seller to text them. They then request a six-digit Google Voice verification code to confirm the seller’s identity," Dixon said. "By sending back that code, the seller unknowingly helps the scammer set up a Google Voice number linked to their phone number, which the scammer can use to conceal their identity and scam other people."
Aside from digital options to sell items - Dixon said there are items that can't be shipped to a confirmed buyer such as exercise equipment or large furniture, which means you have to arrange an in-person meeting or pickup for the item.
"There are many reports of assaults, robberies – even murders – involving people selling through an online platform, meeting in-person for the sale and being attacked," Dixon said. "If you are meeting up with the buyer at your home to sell big items like furniture or exercise equipment, prepare those items ahead of time so they are ready to go to the buyer. Have friends or family be present to help you move the furniture to an area that is easily accessible, like near your front door or in your garage, so that the buyer doesn't need to enter your home."
The BBB recommends, when possible, to meet in a populated public space like a police department parking lot. You should also never share personal information.
You can also look for the buyer's online profile to see if they are who they claim to be.
"If it’s a new profile, I won’t sell," Dixon said. "I look through posts. Again, never meet up with a buyer you don't know alone."
If you don't have anyone to help you, Dixon said you should consider hiring a moving service to haul those big items away to the seller.
For more resources and safety reminders from the BBB, click here.