Listings We Purchase and Discard PDF

**LISTINGS WE PURCHASE AND DISCARD** In this module, our objective is for you to have a bigger picture of the items that we scan and purchase and what we discard. All purchases are categorized as **Electronics and Media** such as cell phones, iPads, Cameras, Laptops, etc. Here's the list of the mo...

**LISTINGS WE PURCHASE AND DISCARD** In this module, our objective is for you to have a bigger picture of the items that we scan and purchase and what we discard. All purchases are categorized as **Electronics and Media** such as cell phones, iPads, Cameras, Laptops, etc. Here's the list of the most common items we purchase: 1. **Cellphones** - For cellphones, we only purchase Apple iPhones, Samsung, and Google Pixels with a few exceptions such as various high-value Android phones. 2. **Apple Devices** such as iPhones, Macbooks, iPads, Apple Vision Pro, etc. Please note that we discard some Apple products, such as Apple TV, Airpods, Apple Max, Apple Watch Ultra, etc. 3. **Cameras and Lenses** - We do buy cameras, lenses, adapters, extenders, and flash kits, except tripods unless it is not cheap or it has a good value. The most common brands that we purchase are Sony, Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm, Sigma, Leica, Red, Hasselblad, Mamiya, and Blackmagic to name a few. 4. **Tablets** - The major brands of tablets that we purchase are Apple iPads and Samsung Tablets. 5. **Gaming Laptops and Work Laptops** - We buy high-spec laptops such as Alienware, Razer, MSI, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo to name a few. The higher and the newer the specs the more desirable. 6. **Gaming Consoles & Virtual Reality (VR) Headsets** - Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest Pro, Apple Vision Pro, Steamdeck, Legion Go, Rog Ally, MSI Claw, Switch Oled. 7. **Sonos** - This is brand-specific music gear that we purchase. Sonos has a variety of products such as Sonos Sub, Sonos Connect, Sonos Connect Amp, Sonos Play, Sonos Beam, Sonos Arc, etc. 8. **Drones** - The most common drone brand that we purchase is from DJI. 9. **Servers** - Receivers, DJI Equipment, brands like Blackmagic, Apollo, Yamaha, etc. Blackmagic Web Presenter 4K Ultra HD  Yamaha CR-2020 Receiver In reality, we purchase everything under the Electronics and Media category as long as there's profit to be made. In a different module, we will cover the price-matching products. We do buy defective items as well, as long as there is good profit to be made. We do buy defective phones, cameras, lenses, and a lot more. This will be discussed in a separate module. There are electronic devices that come in hard cases like transmitters and receivers that have a good value. When an electronic item is unfamiliar especially that comes in hard cases, there is no harm in price-checking it to see if it's a good deal. Receiver and Transmitter in Hard Case Usually, this item costs a couple of hundred to a thousand dollars or more. We do buy microphones, film camera monitors, image stabilizers, gimbals, film production equipment, film camera batteries and a lot more that are not mentioned above but again the types of equipment we buy are not cheap in terms of market value. Below is a sample of a wireless transmitter & HDR Video Monitor. Note: The minimum profit that is acceptable is \$150 depending on the location and the \$ that we pay. \$150 profit is acceptable if the location is within 10-mile radius of the zip code provided. We will expound on this topic in a different module.  There are more products that we purchase aside from the list mentioned above, just that those items are the most commonly encountered therefore we will spend more time learning about those products. To give you a brief idea about how we price the items that we purchase, let me share with you an example: The item is a receiver, after we price-checked the item on eBay, we saw that the market value of the receiver is \$1000. We can pay \$500 for a newer or latest model (digital) of the receiver with a \$1000 market value and \$200-\$300 for an older model with a \$1000 market value as older models are prone to defects and worst not working. Just like film cameras (SLR and point-and-shoot that use film rolls) we pay less for those as there is a risk of the camera not working or being defective. Just be aware that there are film cameras that hold a lot of value such as Leica, Hasselblad, and Mamiya. Aside from the price another factor, that we look for in the items that we buy is the demand for the item, we measure the demand for the item by looking at the sales history of the item on eBay. The more listings sold for a specific item on eBay means the item has high demand and vice versa. These are the items/categories that you must scan for. Modules will be shared with you for each category explaining every model. Here are the items that we **DO NOT PURCHASE:** Items listed below will be discarded automatically. 1. Televisions (TV) - Discard listings for televisions whether is a Smart TV, LED, or LCD TV we do not purchase. Including all monitors such as Gaming Monitors and Computer monitors with the exception of HDR camera monitors or film monitors. 2. Apple AirPods and Apple Max - Discard anything earphones or wireless headsets from Apple as the majority of those are fake. Here are some images of the Airpods and Apple Max that you should ignore:   Apple Max - Do not buy Disclaimer: There are other brands that sell headphones such as [Sony and Bose that you will not ignore.] The only brands that you ignore when it comes to airpods, earphones, or headphones are Apple and Beats. The reason is that these products: Airpods, Headsets have been faked from China and those fake products are flooding the market and we can't tell which ones are real and which ones are fake. 3. Apple TV ( Digital Media Players ) - These are Digital Media Players by Apple, these must be ignored as these particular devices are worthless. Here is an example of them:  4. Desktop Computers - Discard PC listings such as desktop and gamer computers as they are too big for individuals to ship out, therefore those listings are discarded. We do not buy PC parts such as wires, CPU, cooling fans, PC cases, and motherboards. **[But we do buy Graphics Cards.]** 5. Speakers from Samsung, Sony, Vizio, Car Speaker, and Kicker Speakers. Bang & Olufsen Beosound Many off-brand products will be ignored, brands that come directly from China as the items don't have any value. Those two brands are very desirable, you won't encounter those brands very often but it\'s best that you are fully aware so that when you do happen to see them, you are able to recognize the product and price check the item. Now, there are many other items that you must be aware of in order to discard those listings, many low-priced items with not much selling history tend to be discarded. The majority of the brands that we will purchase will be from major brands such as Sony, Meta, Sonos, Apple, Samsung, Fuji, Canon, Olympus, Nintendo, Red, Arri, Blackmagic, Nikon, Asus, Alienware, Microsoft, Razer and many more.      **Topic II: Ignoring Listings from Local Small Businesses** We know that small businesses and resellers utilize different platforms to sell their inventory, as we monitor the electronics and media sector, therefore we will only encounter small businesses and resellers selling electronics. Profiles with hundreds of reviews and following, and selling multiple devices under electronics and media posted within 24 hours are resellers. You can easily spot Local Small Businesses as most of the time, these local businesses indicate their business hours on the description, accept credit or financing terms, and usually, the pictures of the item posted have a background of their store. Depending on the platform usually their profile shows verified store status or a blue check mark beside their profile name. Now, we DO NOT PURCHASE items from local small shops, resellers, or companies. We only purchase directly from ordinary everyday people who want to get rid of their old electronics. No resellers, you don't have to worry too much about these resellers or local small shops. As they price their items too high either way, you would just ignore them but if the price of their item is low it is because it\'s defective, and most of the time these resellers will sell their broken and defective product to people without them knowing or they will take parts out of the device. Usually, repair shops sell items that they have fixed or defective. Please beware of this kind of listing as well as we do not buy from repair shops, usually repair shops take out the good parts of the device like the LCD screen, battery, motherboard, etc., and replace them with cheap 3rd-party parts or non-original parts prior to selling. It is important not to engage with resellers and small businesses as they will not negotiate the price. A very common example of this is Face ID. Face ID is not to be viewed as defective although it is but it\'s more like a red flag that might indicate a reseller. Now, Face ID is a feature that was introduced by Apple to all iPhones from iPhone X and up. Face ID is almost like a password but the password is your face as the iPhone scans your face and the device is unlocked. Now, for this feature to work on the device the front screen must be original, meaning it can't be replaced so if the screen was repaired/replaced then the Face ID feature will not work. Now, these phones are unwanted, I wouldn't say you ignore these listings altogether as there are ordinary people selling these devices with this issue for very cheap but I include this information as a framework for why we avoid purchasing from resellers, as when you encounter a cracked/damaged device and if the profile is selling multiple devices and they include in the description Face ID not working then you must ignore the listings. This also applies to non-damaged devices. Below is an example of a listing, if you read closely at the description it says "iPhone Xr unlocked for any carrier paid off Good condition 64 GB no issue just Face ID stopped working".  Now, should we engage with the seller? The answer is "NO", the reason why we are ignoring this listing is that it is priced too high. Just based on the price we should have discarded the listing in the first place. You will learn about prices and high-priority items when buying defective items in our future modules. Disclaimer: Please note that we do buy defective items, that may be cracked, locked, etc. but of course, we do have to weigh in the profit and cost of the products hence we negotiate. We will expound on this in our future modules. Given the example above, we could have discarded the listing but it stated a red flag which is the Face ID not working, it could be on the description or in the images. We already know not to engage with resellers/small businesses as they are not willing to negotiate or lower the price. Note: Face ID issues will also be found with ordinary sellers as they might have gone to a local shop to fix the screen therefore face ID is not working anymore. This lowers the price of the device by a good margin. So, that\'s a very bad sign that the listing states that Face ID does not work. Could they be a reseller? Now, to verify if the listing is a reseller we must look at the profile for more signs. Now here is the seller's profile: As you can see when we clicked the seller's profile, there were red flags that indicated that Rojan is a reseller. The first red flag, he has multiple listings for phones and the second red flag is that his profile has hundreds of reviews. Warning: you should not ignore listings that have hundreds or lots of reviews as that by itself doesn't mean anything. But, it could be a small sign that they could be resellers. Note: Profiles that have a lot of reviews typically are selling something, not all the time but I will explain that more later. The only cause of concern will be if the seller is selling many electronics as it might be likely that they are a reseller. What if the seller is not selling multiple phones/electronics? Knowing that the Face ID is not working and the account has hundreds of reviews but they are not multiple devices then it\'s a 50/50 chance that they are a reseller account. Now, to know for sure we must message the seller, at this point, it doesn't hurt to message and negotiate with the seller as this will confirm whether or not they are a reseller. Note: It\'s also likely that they are ordinary sellers if upon checking the profile page they are only selling one device. If this is the case then you may proceed to send an offer lower than usual as the face ID not working lowers the price of the device. Note: Given the example above, if the profile was only selling 1 device or maybe 2 at the most. I would start messaging the seller by saying: Me: Can you do 20? Note: Most of the time resellers will just ignore the message as resellers tend to be firm on the price, Note: Once the offer is sent you will continue to scan listings as we won't apply any pressure on this listing as it\'s not a high-priority listing. Note: We only apply pressure to high-priority listings. Note: At times you can send ridiculous low offers to sellers who are selling their devices at almost close to market price. But if the reseller were to respond to our offer by counteroffering we would assess the situation. If the counteroffer is very high such as \$120, you will just ignore the listings as resellers will typically only lower their prices by a minimum Or majority of the time they will be firm on the price meaning they won't negotiate the price. When they are firm that\'s a sign that they might be a reseller. Note: If the "reseller" counteroffered at \$50 or \$60, then they might not be a reseller at all, but this would be the case only if the profile is selling at most 1 device, anything more than 2 devices its extremely likely that they are a reseller. But if the seller counter-offered you \$80 then you would counter by offering them \$50. At this point, the reseller or seller will either respond by rejecting the offer or counter offer, if they counter offer that\'s a very good sign that they might not be resellers but we still need to keep negotiating the price. Let\'s suppose the seller said 70, then you would say "60 would be my best offer". Note: This is an example but most likely the listing will be discarded as its high price and it has a reseller defective that being face ID not working.. **Selling multiple items:** Warning: Just because a profile is selling multiple of the same item such as multiple electronics, doesn't necessarily mean they are a reseller although it\'s likely. As its also likely that they might be a scammer as the majority of scammers have high-valued electronics posted on their accounts. Note: Selling multiple items is of course a sign but we need more. There are other reasons why these profiles are selling multiple of the same item as they could be selling all their family phones or they have stolen these iPhones. Defectives such as the devices being locked can justify the reason why this device is selling multiple devices. Or if the devices are damaged. Note: It\'s extremely important that you are aware that just because a seller is selling multiple of the same category which in this case is electronics it doesn\'t necessarily mean you will discard and label them as a scam. The reason is that at times sellers are selling company phones, or also work at a recycling phone center although it\'s very rare for this to be the case you need to know that it does happen. In order to make accurate decisions you must take other factors such as prices, reviews, account age, etc. Note: Another possible scenario would be the seller is selling multiple devices within the same listing, for example, the listing has 100 phones in the image, you might think that they are some sort of business or reseller but it is also possible that it a regular seller that happens to work at a recycling facility or perhaps he stolen them. Those listings can't be ignored. Other factors must be taken into consideration such as the prices, are the phones posted with a professional background, or does the profile appears to be from an ordinary seller. Note: When I state selling multiple of the same thing I mean that if the seller has many listings under the category: of electronics such as phones, consoles, computers, etc. Common Mistake: The only cause of concern is with resellers/small businesses that are selling multiple items under the category of electronics. It doesn't matter if a seller is reselling beds or food, as I stated above the only concern of cause is with those business/resellers that sell electronics. Ordinary sellers also sell multiple items BUT from different categories such as they are selling their beds, cups, dog food, etc.. This is perfectly normal and fine and doesn't raise any red flags. Selling multiple items of the same category Now, if the seller is selling multiple items from a different category such as shoes where they have 50 or even 100 listings that are selling shoes, then they are a reseller/business BUT FOR SHOES, So this doesn't raise any red flags as we buy electronics it doesn't matter if they are reselling beds. NOW, if this profile was selling 10 or 20 listings of electronics such as cell phones then we must be cautious and try to examine more details in order to conclude if they are a business or if these devices were stolen or from a company. Tip: These resellers/small businesses are very easy to spot as these businesses are using the same accounts so with time you will get accustomed to the background of the images as well as the profile. These resellers/small businesses are very easy to spot as these businesses are using the same accounts so with time you will get accustomed to the background of the images as well as the profile. Here is an example of what I am referring to.  As you see above in the screenshot of listings, you will encounter the same layout just different items. But as you see I circled the "Apple iPhone 14 Pro \'\' because that listing is a reseller without even having to open the listings. The reason why I know this is because I have encountered the same background before. It\'s a bright green background almost like grass and the picture is professional in a sense. The listings that I have circled are the ones that you must ignore automatically, there is no need for you to open the listing as they are resellers and local small shops. First of all, all the items I circled are priced high, and you can notice from the two at the top that their price listed is an odd number which is the biggest sign that they are resellers or they are a scam, so as soon as you see an item priced with there ending digit being an odd number that includes, 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9, you should ignore it. What do I mean by this? So, as you see the first two listings which are "Miroir M600 Full HD" & APPLE iMAC 24" M1" and their asking price is \$269 & \$879. These prices are not normal, no regular person prices their items ending in an odd number, As you see in the two prices the last digit is 9 for both, which can be seen as a marketing tactic, you will discard those listings ---\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-- ** What is a Listing?** A listing is an entry to a marketplace to reach out to customers (buyers) and providers (sellers). **What is Scanning?** It is the act of looking for and identifying good and potential good deals in the marketplace or listing websites. **What does Price checking mean?** Price checking means to determine the present market value and demand of an item through the number of listings sold for a specific item on eBay. **What does a listing look like?**  A screenshot of a computer Description automatically generated  **Parts of a Marketplace / Listing Website** There are 3 major areas of a listing that we will encounter on our daily scanning. 1. **Home Page** - This is where all the listings are. You will see all the tiles of images, titles, locations, and prices of all the listings listed under the Electronics and Media Category. The pictures above are some examples of a listing homepage. 2. **Listing Page -** You will be redirected to the listing page once you click a listing from the home page. Inside the listing page, you will see more information about the listing including the full title of the listing, the price, additional pictures of the item listed, the description, the seller\'s name, the seller's location, and reviews if there are any. Here is an example of a listing page. A screenshot of a cell phone Description automatically generated  3. **Profile Page -** This is the part of the listing where you can view the seller's profile. You'll be redirected to this page once you click on the seller's name from the listing page. Just like the listing page, it will show you the seller's name, the time stamp of when they joined the marketplace or listing website, the seller's reviews, their verifications, and their active listings. Here are some samples of the profile page view: A screenshot of a website Description automatically generated  **SCAMMERS** In businesses including this one, there are individuals who have malicious intent to deceive others - we call them "scammers". It is important for us to know how to identify scam listings through certain indicators, we call "red flags".  Now we categorized scammers into 2 categories: D1 & D2 Scammers **D1 Scammers** D1 listings/scammers are the most common scams that you will encounter. This listing is easy to recognize as it has multiple red flags. It is crucial to dismiss D1 listings immediately. You should be able to determine that the listing is a scam as soon as you open the listing.  This D1 listing exhibits numerous red flags in the picture, profile, title, and price all indicating a scam.  Dismissing this listing actually saves us time and helps us focus on deals that matter.  **D2 Scammers** D2 scammers are sellers asking for payment outside the app through platforms such as Cashapp, Venmo, Zelle, Paypal, and Apple Cash. The reason for this is that if payment is sent through these platforms as mentioned above, they have no obligation to ship out the item that was purchased or show up at the meeting place, as the money is not insured or protected.   Usually in the pick-up sector, these sellers wanted you to make a deposit through those platforms. But the majority of the time you will encounter these D2 scammers in the Shipping sector, as these sellers do not want to receive the money through the listing platforms or marketplace because of high fees, and sometimes they need the money immediately to pay their rent, loans, utilities, car, etc. One common reason is that the listing website/app/marketplace holds the money until we have received the item and are given 2 days to confirm the details, which can be inconvenient for sellers who prefer immediate payment. For the shipping sector, it is important to refuse this request and inform them that payment can only be made through the app. If the seller persists in requesting payment outside the app, you must discard the listing. It\'s important to note that these sellers are not scammers for the most part, and their listings do not exhibit any scam characteristics The shipping option may have been enabled without their knowledge, as most people on OfferUp prefer selling items locally for its simplicity and immediate payment. However, when you advise them to ship the item, they may realize that if payment is made outside the app, they can potentially scam and run away with the money. Therefore, always inform the seller that you will complete the payment within the app.  If you're doing the pick-up sector, these D2 scammers usually ask for deposits through different online platforms but don't get confused because there are times when a legit seller for pick-up asks for online payment through different online platforms the difference is the transaction takes place once Daniel meets up with the seller to pick up the item. For pick-up, we usually ask Daniel's confirmation first before making an agreement to pay face-to-face using online platforms.  However, it is completely impossible to avoid these D2 scammers as their intention as scammers was not immediately apparent until we message them. Regardless of how well-versed you are in identifying scammers and learning the lessons, you will inevitably come across these sellers. The reason is that these particular listings do not exhibit any red flags or indications of being scams until you start messaging them.  Note: It\'s important not to engage in prolonged conversations with sellers who insist on receiving payment outside the app. You should only reiterate, at most 1 to 2 times, that the payment can only be made through the app. Continuing the conversation beyond that point will not be productive. **Time and speed are important in closing great deals.** **RED FLAGS** As mentioned earlier, Red Flags are indicators of scam listings. Scanning listing can be broken into 3 sections: The home page, the listing page, and the profile page. Each section serves as our barrier in scanning and determining whether the listing is legitimate or a scam. First, we\'ll analyze the listing itself to see if it passes the initial barrier. If any doubts arise, we\'ll move on to the second barrier. In case we still have concerns, we\'ll carefully examine the profile page to make a final determination. Our first barrier is the Home Page, the following will cover discarding the listing directly on the Home Page.  **I - RED FLAGS ON THE HOME PAGE** The first thing that we will notice from the home page is the price and the first image on display. It is important to have a good understanding of various indicators that could identify a scam on the home page. We will be scanning to find good deals and we will be scanning to identify scammers so we can discard those kinds of listings. We will be discarding listings that are NOT good deals as well as discarding listings that my company doesn't purchase Our first Red flag from the Home page is the **IMAGES**, 1. Pixelated Images that appear to be copied from the internet 2. Professional images from businesses or stores. 3. Unrealistic pricing and/or odd pricing Most of the images from the listings are very homemade, very casual, simple, poor lighting. The background could be their bed, inside their car, or their house. Sometimes the picture is ugly and dark and hard to identify but do not ignore those pictures because sometimes those pictures are the best deals of the day. Marketplace and other listing websites are for ordinary people who just want to get rid of their items thus the pictures are poor quality but not pixelated as they are not professional photographers or with just little to no background in photography as well. Bad image quality is not the same as pixelated. Here is an example of a listing with a quality image, it is a bit blurry. A black camera on a green surface Description automatically generated This is completely normal and fine, there are NO RED FLAGS here and this is the kind of listing we frequently encounter. You will also encounter a listing where the seller uses stock images or screenshots from the website of the product they are selling. Scammers do not post screenshots of stock images as they prefer to use screenshots of other listings to blend in and make their listings look legit. Stock images are images that don't show the actual picture of the item. Here is an example:  A black gaming console and controller Description automatically generated As you can see here's an iPhone 16 and a PS4 stock image. This is the form of imagery used by legit sellers to showcase their items. Scammers do not use stock photos in their listings as they want to blend in as much as possible and make their listings look legit. They use pictures with homemade backgrounds in an attempt to deceive buyers. **PIXELATED IMAGE** Pixelated images are a bit tricky as sometimes it was confused to be blurry and bad quality images. Pixelated images tend to be distorted and very distracting image and if you look closely there's a pattern of small squares on the images. Scammers usually use this kind of picture to scam other buyers.  Here is another sample of a pixelated image: A collage of a dog on a mountain Description automatically generated As you can see on the left-hand side the picture is very pixelated, it has a pattern shape texture and looks so unreal.   **MAJOR RED FLAG: IMAGES IN PROFESSIONAL SETTING** Our company does not buy products from official stores, resellers, and repair shops. All listings under professional settings or stores should be DISCARDED. As well as if the listing contains any characteristics of a store, reseller, or shop. Here is a list of store, reseller, and shop listing characteristics: 1. Images are extremely professional and display multiple of the same item. 2. Images appear to be inside their store. The background is very professional showcasing other items that they sell. You can also see their glass cabinet in the background. 3. Description - Usually stores indicate their store hours and location and that they accept credit and financing terms in the description. 4. Odd pricing - ending in competitive pricing such as 99, 98, 97. Scammers as well as stores used these types of pricing, they are more like marketing tactics to appear more welcoming to buyers. Ordinary seller looking to sell their old tech doesn't really do this as it is a hassle to give change or to look for spare coins to give to their buyer. These professional store accounts may have hundreds of reviews. Typically, scammers mimic store setups by using extended titles, well-scripted descriptions, and images used by the stores. Usually, professional stores list their products at a high cost or market value thus we discard them, but scammers usually use this type of image posting deceiving other buyers. Resellers are less formal types of professional sellers as they buy items to flip or resell in the marketplace or other listing websites. We discard listings that belong to resellers as sometimes they offer low pricing but the items are defective. Overall professional-looking listings and odd pricing were considered minor red flags. Here are some examples of professional setting listings:  Circled in red are listings that belong to professional sellers, as you can see the listing displayed multiple products of the same kind the background also shows their store premises and glass cabinet. Note: I circled in yellow the listing in the top left corner as it may be related to a reseller, although just based on this image we can't be certain but it\'s likely. In this case, you would need to open the listing in order to be certain if the seller is a professional or an ordinary seller. Going back to the listings circled in red. Here is a closeup of the images circled in red. A hand holding a couple of iphones Description automatically generated  A hand holding several cell phones Description automatically generated All listings that have these professional backgrounds, those being a store or displaying multiple items (Warning): Just because a listing is showing multiple items doesn't necessarily indicate that it\'s a professional seller although it\'s common for professional stores to showcase multiple items in one listing, its also seen from ordinary sellers that picture multiple devices, the only difference would be the background, the background is the biggest red flag that indicated that it\'s a professional seller if the background is a store it\'s automatically discarded.  Note: This section is only for the homepage but I will go off-topic and cover the description for professional sellers, but as you can't access the description from the homepage you would need to open the listing which I will cover all the information in regards to the red flags that can be found on the listing page below.  **PROFESSIONAL SELLER DESCRIPTION** Professional seller descriptions are very detailed, including their store hours and location, and indicating their payment options like cash or credit terms. Going back to our previous sample the one circled in yellow, we can't completely label the listing as from a professional seller just based on the image although it's likely, therefore we need to open the listing in order to be certain. We must open the listing and analyze the description to make sure that the listing belongs to a professional seller therefore we can discard the listing. Note: As we have learned all the characteristics of a professional seller, you must be aware that stores will be discarded anyway as their price were out of range for negotiating. Therefore our concern is focused more on those individuals who are less formal and just want to make a quick profit they are the resellers, as they usually offer competitive prices but the majority of the time the items are defective. Here is an example of a description from a professional seller:  Here's a closeup look at the description: A close up of text Description automatically generated As we analyze the description, you will see that the store is selling iPhones, and the description is trying to convince or persuade the buyers to buy their product. Please do note that ordinary seller will NEVER write their description like this instead they just write a description about the condition of the product and a few details regarding the item. Another key factor that this description is from a professional store would be the payment plan, as the description states, "\$29 down" this means that they offer credit terms/payment monthly plans.  Note: At times these professional stores, set their price at \$50 as only \$50 is required as a down payment for monthly plans. But this information would be stated in the description, as well as if the listing has a store background it must be discarded instantly.  Another key feature of a professional seller is they have a verified local badge on their account page. Let me show you an example:  As you can see, they have the "Verified Local Business" badge which means that they are a store. **PROFESSIONAL STORE: ODD PRICING** Professional stores have odd pricing which is also correlated with scammers which I will explain below, but the professional stores also utilize this as it can be seen as a marketing tactic. **SECOND RED FLAG - PRICES ( HOME PAGE )** Prices can be tricky as you can easily get confused and mistakenly discard legit listings.With that being said we should only discard a listing from the home page if it has extremely unusual pricing and/or odd pricing as well as if the images are the same as discussed above. RULE OF THUMB: When discarding a listing from the home page we have limited details about the listing, therefore we must be certain that it is a scam. Discard the listing when it has 2 or more red flags, but there are scenarios where 1 major red flag is enough to discard the listing and consider it a scam. With the limited information that is available from scanning the listings from the homepage, there are a total of 3 red flags that can be identified.  1. Odd Pricing  2. Unusually Low Pricing  3. Images: Pixelated or if the seller is a professional store  Typically odd pricing as well as extremely low pricing is sufficient to conclude that the listing is a scam, therefore we discard it.  Note: It all depends on the red flag as major red flags are enough to determine that the listing is a scam although it\'s recommended that the listing have at least 2 red flags. But at times when the red flag is major that\'s enough to draw a conclusion.  For example: If the listing image background is a store that is automatically discarded, that red flag is major therefore it\'s sufficient to conclude that it\'s either a scammer or a professional store.  For example: If the price is extremely low and the price has an odd number. Ending in 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9 I will explain more below. These two red flags are enough to discard the listing.  For example: Low price and the image appears to be pixelated and unrealistic. This is enough information to determine that the listing is a scam.  There are key characteristics that a D1 scammer has on their listings that indicate a scam. Those include uneven pricing, which means that the price is too low that it doesn't match the worth of the item. But in order to discard the listing it should have another red flag which is the pixelated image or professional images. Because there are instances where legit sellers price their items at low prices so we DO NOT want to discard those listings, that\'s why it\'s very important that you understand that just because a listing has a very low price for what the item is worth doesn't mean you will discard the listing. Do note that we also buy defective items sometimes it is not written on the title or not seen on the home page thus the item was priced low. It won\'t cause you any harm if you check the description and the additional photos to check if the item is defective or not. All scammers have very low prices. You only discard the listing from the home page if it has a very unusually low price and the images are very scam-like. This means the images have a professional business setting or the images appear to be pixelated. But since we are only scanning from the homepage we may miss some details of the item such as the item being damaged, locked, or nonfunctional that justifies such a low price, all this information is displayed in the listing but viewing from the homepage we only are able to view the first image and price.  We can also see the beginning words of the title directly from the homepage. We are only shown 2-3 words  Here are some example below: A screenshot of a computer Description automatically generated Highlighted are the titles visible on the home page, in order to view the full title we would need to open the listing or you can point the cursor to the title of the listing and it will show you the full title. There are times when the seller mentions that the items were defective at the start of the title it says For Parts, Locked, etc. although it's rare because most of the time the defects were mentioned in the description. These few words are enough to know what the seller is selling. You are only allowed to discard listings directly from the homepage if they display sufficient scamming characteristics if any doubt arises on whether it\'s a scam or not you must proceed to open the listing and analyze from there. As we DO NOT WANT TO DISCARD LEGIT LISTINGS.  **MAJOR RED FLAG - UNUSUAL PRICING / ODD PRICING ** This type of pricing is usually utilized by scammers and businesses, but do note that there are times when legit sellers use this type of pricing as well. Unusual and Odd pricing raises a red flag as the last digit of the price ends in unusual numbers. Unusual number / Odd pricing means that the last digit of the price does not end in 0 or 5, as these numbers were utilized by legit sellers/listings. 98% of the time legit ordinary sellers do not use odd/unusual pricing. Unusual or Odd Pricing usually ends in 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9. For example, the price is \$101,\$102, \$103, \$104, \$116 etc. Note: For Odd/Unusual Pricing we only refer to the last digit of the price, not the first. 99% of the time ordinary sellers do not include cents in their pricing usually those are the stores and resellers who use cents in pricing their items as its part of their marketing strategy to attract buyers. Legit sellers do not use Odd or Unusual numbers as they are ordinary people trying to sell their stuff, and pricing the item at odd/unusual numbers is also a hassle on their part. Imagine the seller is selling a \$267 phone and the buyer pays him \$300. Do you think that the seller always has that spare/change to give back to the buyer? No. Pricing the item with an odd/unusual number is just weird and odd, and the majority of the time stores or resellers are the ones who utilize this type of pricing. Note: Discarding listings directly from the homepage may save time but it comes at a cost which is discarding legit listings but **this must not happen** therefore you will only discard listings from the homepage if and only you are certain that they are a scam, based on the price and the first image shown as well as the title, While factoring in any positive green flags.  Note: If any positive flags are found in the listing, then you should proceed to scan the listing by opening the listing.   Note: Most of the discarding of listings will occur on the listing page as well as the profile page as that\'s where you will know for certain that they are a D1 scammer, you will also be discarding listings from the homepage but not as frequently compared to the listing and profile page Remember, multiple red flags are needed to discard scammer listings as there are different severities among red flags, some more significant than others. By keeping these points in mind, you can approach the evaluation of listings with a more informed perspective, understanding the importance of considering multiple red flags rather than making a judgment based on a single red flag unless it\'s a major one. All said and done, you will become an expert when evaluating these listings, but please remember that it takes practice to be able to discard listings within seconds as that\'s the final objective.  Now, we will move over to the red flags that can be found on the Listing Page. **II - RED FLAGS ON THE LISTING PAGE** The first one on our list is the **Time Stamp.** **What is a Time Stamp?** **Time Stamp** indicates the time when the account was created, it shows the month and the year the seller's account has been created. This part of the listing cannot be edited so it will show how recently the account was created. **For shipping**, accounts created in the current month raise a **major red flag** as most of them are D1 scammers who don't ship the item once bought. But there is an exception to this, the **only exception** here is when the seller indicates that the item is defective like cracked, locked, doesn't turn on, etc. We will proceed with messaging the seller even though their account was recently created when they stated the defect of the item. Sellers indicating defects of an item is considered as **GREEN FLAG** but we still have to be cautious as sometimes scammers adapt and get sneaky at scamming buyers.  However, on **pick-up**, we still message sellers who have recently created their accounts, but we still have to be cautious as sometimes there are scammers on pick-up with recently created profiles, and most of the time they have their shipping option enabled. Another indicator that they were scamming on pick-up is when they are listing an item that is very highly in demand for a cheaper price usually these scammers used popular camera models like Canon G7X Mark II & Canon G7X Mark III and the latest mobile phones at a very low price. Note: All D1 scammers have recently created profiles when we say recently the accounts were created in the the current month and year. Time Stamp is visible on both the listing page and the profile page. Below is an example: 👈 Here is a view of the listing page. You can see the pictures of the item, the full title, price, description, location, the time it was posted, the shipping cost, the seller's name, the seller's photo, and the time stamp. Here is a close-up view of the time stamp: A close up of a text Description automatically generated Imagine the date today is January 15, 2024, and you see this listing for shipping, the account was created this month and year as the time stamp shows "Joined Jan 2024", now this is a MAJOR RED FLAG but is not enough to draw the conclusion that it is a scam although it is likely. **CASE \# 1: ** Given the details and image above I would conclude that this is a scammer listing therefore I would discard it. Aside from the account being newly created the price is too low versus the market rate for this item. Now there could be a slight possibility that the listing is not a scammer but with 2 red flags it is sufficient to discard the listing.  Above is an example of a good listing based on time stamp. Circled on the photo was the time stamp, "Joined May 2021" This is a good indicator that the listing is not a D1 scammer, as mentioned previously D1 scammers have newly created accounts. As a recap, the timestamp is found at the bottom right corner of the listing page showing the month and year the account was created. Our objective is to determine if the account was recently created in the current month and year. If the account was created in the current month and year that would raise a red flag. Imagine today is October 2024, and you saw the timestamp created the same month and year "Joined October 2024" That should immediately raise a red flag. However, if you saw that the time stamp was created last month or even from an older date and month, then that's a positive sign that it's a legitimate listing. Here are more examples: A hand holding a bottle Description automatically generated Close-up look with timestamp:  Imagine today is January 2024, time stamp shows that it was currently created "Joined Jan 2024". This raises a red flag because the seller just joined the marketplace/listing website suggesting a potential scam but that alone is not sufficient to discard the listing as we need a minimum of 2 red flags to discard the listing. Another example A screenshot of a video game box Description automatically generated The timestamp shows "Joined Aug 2017", today is 2024. Upon analyzing the listing there are no red flags identified when examining the timestamp. It is evident the account was created a few years ago, based on the time stamp information. Note: We are not saying that all newly created accounts are scammers, but it's very likely, especially for shipping. But for pick-up, we still do messages and engage with sellers with newly created accounts. Our second **Major Red Flag is the seller showing their number in the description or Images.**  Close-up look: A black background with white text Description automatically generated This is the **biggest red flag** found on the listing page, it is when the scammers include their number or email in the description or in the images and this red flag is sufficient to discard the listing right away. Regardless of whether you're doing pick-up or shipping once you see this red flag, we should automatically discard. Here is another example:  Usually listing websites like OfferUp block mobile numbers in the description thus this seller includes letters between the numbers as they know about this policy. Oftentimes, these sellers tell lies as a reason why they are selling the product like it is their birthday, anniversary, giveaway, break up with their partner, and such to justify the low price to victimized people with their scam. Legit sellers price their items low because it is defective or they don't know what they are selling and they mention it in the description. Now let's talk about **Positive Flags**. **POSITIVE FLAGS** Positive Flags are indicators of legit listings. As mentioned above, the first one is the time stamp not created in the current month.  But let's talk more about **Reviews,** reviews serve as positive flags as it means that they are trustworthy but not all the time. Reviews can be faked fairly easily as scammers tend to get one or a few 5-star reviews in their accounts to appear trustworthy. But, they can be identified as their accounts were recently created.  Note: If an account was recently created, and if they have reviews then it\'s a red flag as reviews don't count if the account was recently created.  Reviews serve as a positive reassurance that the seller is reliable and is a trusted seller, and vice versa if the account has bad reviews such as 2 stars or 3 stars we tend to discard the listing. Bad reviews are red flags as that shows that the seller is not TRUSTWORTHY. Typically if the seller has 2 or 3 stars the listing is discarded.  Reviews can only be seen on the listing page as well as the profile page which we will get to later on.  Note: Reviews also mean the likelihood of an item being shipped out as I will cover this in another molecule but overall reviews are a positive flag.   Another positive flag would be the description of the item as well as the images. **Any item being sold that is defective or locked will automatically be considered a legit real listing**.** ** Note: The reason is that a listing that describes the condition of an item as being poor or having a certain defect usually 95% of the time the listing is from a legit real seller. Scammers wouldn't describe the condition as being poor in fact scammers typically don't write descriptions but when they do they just copy and paste from online websites.  Note: Just as defective items are automatically labeled as real legit listings they are also seen as listings where you must send offers regardless of their asking price (As I will explain later on, listings that have very high asking prices must be discarded unless the item is defective.) When an accurate description of the item is given such as it is scratched or not working properly, it signals a positive flag for the listing. Disclaimer: As mentioned earlier, scammers are adapting and being sneaky with their listings as well, so we have to thoroughly analyze the listing before engaging. There are times when scam listings, use defects like minor wear and tear or scuffs just be aware and look for other red flags and weigh in the pros and cons prior to engaging. **CHARACTERISTIC OF SCAMMERS** As you start scanning listings you will start to see all the differences that exist between a legit real listing compared to a scammer one. As there are many little details that you will start to notice.  For example: Scammers usually tend to exaggerate the title of the listing such as writing in all caps or adding too many information details while this is not considered a red flag it is something to take note of. It\'s almost as if they copied and pasted the title from an online website. Here is an example: A screenshot of a device Description automatically generated You see the title on the right side, how it\'s so informative and lengthy, this is not common with legit real listings. As I mentioned before real legit listings are from ordinary everyday people, they will not write a title similar to this one. Instead, they would write: DJI Mini 3 Pro, Simple and straightforward.  Another noticeable thing scammers do is that they use emojis in writing the title of the listing. While this isn't a red flag by itself, it is something to take note of.  Another characteristic of scammers would be in the description, these scammers like to add a very formal and detailed description of the item as if they just copied and pasted the information from Google. Real legit sellers do not do this as they add their own description, now there are a few cases where a legitimate seller has decided to copy and paste a formal description but it\'s rare.  Here is an example:   Notice how there is an excess of information and it\'s very professional and formal, it\'s very likely that this scammer copied and pasted from an online website. Now, this is not always the case as legit real sellers do this but it\'s very rare. This characteristic is often used by scammers.  Note: Another characteristic of scammers is how they structure the description, notice how they separate each detail from top to bottom. Real legit sellers typically don't structure the description in that order, as instead they just write all the details in a runoff sentence without the unnecessary separation of each detail/sentence as seen above.       Note: Another characteristic of scammers can be found in the pictures as it\'s very common for scammers to screenshot images from the internet. But specifically, they commonly screenshot images from different places which makes the images not congruent with each other. As the pictures do not add up. For example; The first image can be a blue iPhone and the second one shows a purple iPhone. While it\'s not a red flag, it is something that you can take note of.   Another example is when the seller posted pictures of the item with different backgrounds where you will notice that the tiles or the sheets are not the same as if they just randomly get screenshots from different listings. **RED FLAGS ON THE PROFILE PAGE** We are down to our last barrier, the Profile Page, our last stick to conclude whether the listing is a scam or not. Before you hit the Profile page, you must check the home page and the listing page first, and if you're in doubt about whether the seller is a scammer or not that's when you go through the seller's profile page as this is the ultimate place to know if the listing is legit. A screenshot of a phone Description automatically generated In order to access the profile page, just click on the seller's name found on the listing page at the bottom right corner of the listing page. The profile will have details regarding the account such as confirmations of email, facebook account, phone number, and also ID.  These confirmations are very important when determining if the seller is a scammer or not. As scammer accounts DO NOT have any confirmations, they don't verify email, NO phone number verified, these accounts have nothing verified. When you view the account page and the seller has no confirmations it\'s a red flag.  Disclaimer: For pick-up, verification doesn't really matter as we engage in newly created profiles for pick-up, however, this verification matters a lot in the shipping sector. But note, a large majority of scammers still have 1 or 2 confirmations verified such as their email or phone number.  95% of accounts that don't have any confirmations are scammers.  Accounts with only one confirmation are also likely to be scammers, especially if their verification is email, as email verification is the least significant among the rest as emails can easily be created.    If the seller has 2 confirmations 50-60% of the time that seller is a legitimate one.  Now, one verification can be more significant than another, for example, a phone number verified is a stronger indicator that the account is a legitimate one compared to an email verified.  I will rank the verification from the strongest indicator that the account is a real legit seller to the least.  1. Facebook Verified  2. Phone Number Verified 3. Email Verified  The last one is ID verified which means that the seller verified their government ID on the platform, while this is extremely rare to see on an account, I won't mention it as ID-verified only concerns listing regarding local pickup, not shipping. For the Shipping sector, we only focus on the 3 major verifications that I mentioned above.   1. Facebook Verified - Means that the seller verified their account by signing into their Facebook account. This is an extremely positive flag that indicates that the seller is real and legitimate.  Note: D1 Scammers will likely NOT verify their Facebook on their account.  2. Phone Number Verified - This is the second strongest indicator that the account is real and legitimate. That being that in order to receive the phone number verified badge one must enter their US phone number and receive an SMS code, while scammers 60% of the time do not have this badge as offer up won't allow fake numbers and every US number is restricted to only having 3 accounts.  3. Email Verified - It\'s the last among the 3 because a large majority of scammer accounts have their email verified. Scammer accounts have their email verification badge more frequently compared to the other 2 verifications because emails could be created more easily.  Some accounts may have 1 verification badge while others may have 2 or all 3. The most common occurrence is accounts having 2.  Here is an example of an account having badges:  I circled the 2 badges that this seller has. As we see above this account has their phone number verified as well as their Facebook account. This is an extremely positive flag indicating a real legitimate seller.  Note: The other badge that is shown saying, "85% reply rate" should be ignored; it doesn\'t mean anything.    Another example:   A screenshot of a cell phone Description automatically generated As you see in the profile above, this account only verified their email.  As I mentioned before, email verification is the least and doesn't have much significance, as offerup sometimes require newly created accounts to verify their email but not all the time.  When trying to determine whether it\'s a scammer or not, we will continue to scan the profile for any other red flags in order to discard the listing or send an offer to the seller.  Now, there is another red flag present on this profile page which I haven't gotten to yet, I will below. But this seller is selling 2 items at an extremely low price, it may be justified if we view the listing page as if the item is in poor condition or is defective it\'s automatically seen as a legitimate listing.  My opinion in regards to the seller profile above: When determining if they are a scammer or not from the profile page we must have first scanned over the listing page but just based on the account page we can see that this account was just recently created (which raises a major red flag), but I would conclude that this is a scammer. Without a doubt I know 100% this seller is a scammer. Now, I don't expect you to know with certainty that this seller is a scammer as I haven't reviewed with you the other major red flags that can be found on the profile page. There is another red flag within the profile page that I will explain more in depth below but for now know that this seller is a scammer due to the recently created page and because the prices are extremely low (Now, perhaps the items are defective to justify such low prices but we would need to check the listing page) and the seller just has their email confirmed.   But if you were scanning this listing you would have first scanned the listing page before scanning the profile account and that would have guaranteed any doubts in regards to the items being defective which would explain such low prices.  Now remember that just because items are very low in price doesn't mean it\'s a scammer but rather multiple red flags must be present in order to conclude that the account is a scammer but I don't expect you to be able to identity what a good, high or low price just yet, later on in another molecule I will cover prices. Usually, accounts not having verified nothing raise a major red flag, and depending on other factors the listing must be discarded.  Other factors can be very low prices without justification. Or the selling of multiple very low-priced items (I will explain in more detail below), or other red flags that can be found on the listing page such as odd pricing, etc.  If accounts have nothing verified and if the item is priced at a very low price without justification meaning the item is not defective, then the listing must be discarded.  If 2 red flags are present the listing must be discarded, at times 1 major red flag is at times enough to conclude that the listing is a scam, although not that common as usually 2 red flags must be present in order to know with certainty that the seller is a scammer.  Here is an example of a profile page:  As you see from the profile above this seller doesn't have any VERIFICATIONS, this is a major red flag, 90% of the time these accounts that didn't verify anything are complete scams.    Not only doesn't the account have any badges but it was also recently created, therefore this profile has 2 major red flags, with complete certainty this profile is a scam.  Another example: A screenshot of a website Description automatically generated As you can see from the profile page above this seller has 2 verification badges I am certain that this is a real legit seller as it has a few positive flags.  1. First, positive flag: This seller verified their phone number and email 2. Joined in August therefore the account is NOT recently created  3. The seller is selling multiple different items from different categories  (I will explain in more detail below) 4. The item of concern here would be the iPhone 12 Mini as we are interested in purchasing that device. Another positive flag is that the iPhone 12 Mini is defective. Now I don't expect you to know this as of now as I will cover these topics in another module but just from the picture shown of the iPhone, I can tell it says, " iPhone is disabled" In other words it\'s locked which justifies the low price.  Note: When scanning listings there will be many red flags and also positive flags.  Note: In the screenshot above, on top of the verification badges we can see that it says, "Active a few minutes ago". At times some profile pages will have this displayed such as "Seen" which means they are currently active on the platform as well as "Active in the past hour" meaning they were active 20 or more minutes ago.  Why is this important? Knowing when the seller is active on the platform may be important when trying to lowball especially when the deal is already priced low as if they are "seen" meaning they are active on the platform and they are not responding to you're messages its most likely because there is another buyer. I will discuss this further in another molecule.  Note: It is very common for scammers to have the email verification badge, while this isn't a red flag, it is something to keep in mind as if other red flags are found, the listing must be discarded.  Another example of a scam: Imagine today is Nov 2023.  This profile has verified both their phone and email as the badges are shown, which is a positive flag.  Now, we also see red flags such as the recently created account as well as the profile selling 2 items at low prices. Now, I would label this a professional scammer as they can blend in with other legitimate listings. But overall the most notable red flag would be the recently created account. The low prices are not necessarily a red flag but it is something to take note of. This profile can be very tricky but overall I would say that this account is most likely a scammer. Now, I wouldn't necessarily know with certainty that this is a scammer but I would 80% chance it is.  Note: In a situation where you are not certain that the profile is a scam I would recommend discarding the listing ONLY if the profile is very likely to be a scam meaning 80-90% it\'s a scam. Now if the account has multiple positive flags and it\'s likely that the account might not be a scam then you will proceed to send messages.  Note: The primary reason why I wouldn't want you to get in contact with likely scammer accounts is because it will result in a waste of time, while there is a slight possibility the account is not a scammer it\'s not worth the effort trying to figure it out unless the likelihood of it being a legitimate account is over 50%.  Note: Scammers are becoming smarter as they attempt to appear as legitimate as possible but as I mentioned before the only red flag that these scammers can't fake would be the time stamp displaying when the account was created.   Another **Red Flag that we can see from the Seller's profile is the active listings with different locations (states) posted on the same day**. To determine whether they were posted the same day, you have to open the other listing to see the time when it was posted.  If the listings were posted the same day in different locations that should raise a red flag especially if the location is from one state to another state. Example: The seller posted an iPhone 16 Pro Max, one minute ago and the location is in Anaheim, CA. You check the home page and you check the listing page and you are still in doubt whether the seller is a scammer or not so you went to check his seller's profile page. You saw that he has an active listing for an Apple Vision Pro posted 15 minutes ago and the location is Houston, TX.  This listing should be discarded as a person cannot travel from Anaheim to Houston,TX in a span 15 minutes. This applies for both Pick up and Shipping sector. However, if the seller's active listing locations are under one state but in different cities it is very likely that the seller is legit. For example, The seller posted an iPhone 16 Pro Max, one minute ago and the location is in Anaheim, CA. You check the home page and you check the listing page and you are still in doubt whether the seller is a scammer or not so you go to check his seller's profile page. You saw that he has an active listing for an Alienware laptop posted 30 minutes ago and the location is East Whittier, CA. These cities are not far apart as the seller can be in this area when he was posting the listings, he might be traveling for work or running some errands around the area. **MAJOR RED FLAG - SELLER SELLING MULTIPLE ELECTRONICS & MEDIA ** This major red flag is the most significant in the sense that if the profile has this red flag, the profile & listing must be discarded. Out of all the red flags I mentioned above, this one is the absolute worst as 100% of the listings that have this red flag are certainly a SCAM.  There are certain characteristics that this red flag has which is not to be confused with other factors as it can result in discarding legitimate listings.  When scanning the profile page, all the listings from that particular seller will appear, usually, sellers will be selling multiple items or only one item. It\'s common for sellers to have various listings on their profile page but there are a few key indicators that can hint towards a potential scam.  For example:  If a seller is selling their cell phone as well as sports items or furniture. That\'s completely normal and NO red flag is triggered based on this.  Now, suppose that this seller is selling multiple cell phones, now that raises concerns on whether or not this red flag is present. Now, just because the seller is selling multiple cell phones doesn't necessarily mean the seller is a scammer, other factors will have an effect on the decision such as how low the prices are, was the account recently created, are there any cracks or defects with the item.  Note: Another very important factor would be when the listing was posted, as sometimes the seller will still have listings that were posted months or even years ago on their account. For example, if the seller has 3 phones posted on their account but 2 of them were posted months ago then this shouldn't raise any red flags as the posts were made months ago.  This only takes effect if the listing were posted within 24 hours, then it should raise concern. As well as it must be in the same category which is electronics. Note: If the seller is selling multiple cell phones but they are locked or defective then it doesn't raise any red flags, as the same concept applies here where if a seller is selling defective items then the seller should be considered real and legit.  Note: Common mistakes: While it\'s common to find multiple listings that belong to a particular seller, it\'s worth noting that sellers will have listings that were posted months or even years ago.    **ODD PRICING** Odd Pricing was mentioned in the Home Page red flags. Low Prices alone do not disqualify a listing and be tagged as scam. We know that we need 2 or more red flags prior considering the listing as a scam. Sellers have a lot of valid reasons as to why they price their items low. Reasons as to why Sellers priced their items low. I - The Item is defective II - Seller wanted to get rid of the item quickly III- Seller doesn't know what they are selling and doesn't know the value of the item. IV - The seller wants the buyer to make an offer. Most of the time, defective items that we encounter are phones. Either they are iCloud locked, Cracked, Blacklisted, Remote Management, etc thus they were priced low. The sellers who want to get rid of their items quickly are the sellers who priced their items low for so many reasons either they have no money for gas, they need to pay a loan, need to pay their rent or just simply want to upgrade their equipment. The sellers who do not know what they are selling and don't know the value of their items mean that they are not the owner of the item. It's either they stole it, they may have picked it somewhere, it belongs to their partner, parents, and other relatives hence they don't have any idea about the cost of the items. There are also times when you see that there is no price or it's priced at \$0 or \$1 and when you open the listing seller either would like to do a trade or takes any offer. Low prices do not automatically mean that the sellers are scamming and what was mentioned above was the reason why they priced their items low. Some key attributes in the pricing can signal scammers such as unusual pricing, listing may be discarded within a second directly from the homepage without having to scan the listing if they include this key attribute that I will describe below: As I mentioned before, Marketplace and Listing websites or apps are platforms for everyday people who are just looking to sell their stuff. When it comes time to set a price for their items, they do so following a rule of thumb, whatever the price may be, they will never set their price ending in a 1,2,3,4, 6,7,8,9 as discussed previously. Listing priced at an odd or unusual number should have been discarded from the home page where the prices are displayed. Here are some examples: A screenshot of a computer Description automatically generated The listings circled in red should have been ignored automatically because of it's unusual pricing. Note: I highlighted in yellow the \$9 as either way regardless of the price you should ignore that listing as you can see it\'s a book, with nothing to do with electronics.  **SUMMARY:** **All scammers have the same format and characteristics - Newly created accounts, pixelated photos, or pictures where in professional settings, prices are extremely low to deceive buyers in buying their items.**