Social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter have made life so much easier for not just business owners, but for buyers too. There is nothing like ordering a bunch of stuff from the comfort of your sofa, and getting it delivered to your doorstep, instead of spending hours store hopping or walking around a mall. But before you buy that dress, or those pair of shoes off Instagram you should probably go through these tips.
- Never ever transfer money into an account, before getting a rock solid confirmation that you are going to get what you are paying for. A random person behind an untraceable number, sending you texts assuring that you’ll get what you are paying for is definitely not enough.
- Find out if they have a return policy, because what you see is not always what you get. Once again getting a “yah we dew”text is probably not evidence enough.
- Make sure you get to know everything you can about the seller. Get an address, contact details and if possible a name with a face to accompany it. Of course all of the above can be faked so check it out on Google, just to be sure its not a Kenyan celebrity making the sale to you from an abandoned building in Lagos Island.
- Stick to familiar pages. There are a ton of Instagram pages everyone knows and trusts, like “The5kshop”. Buying Loubs from a page called “hawtest_fashion_stylezz” is probably not advisable.
- Never give out your card details over the phone or in a text message. No reliable business owner would ask you for them in that manner.
- Always trust your instincts, if something feels off then the odds are that it is. For example an Instagram page advertising Gucci flip flops for five thousand naira, no matter what kind of sale they might claim to have on is definitely off.
- And finally, always remember if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
That’s about it, happy shopping!