Help centre

A South African marketplace for buying and selling second-hand and new things between people who have proved who they are. Every member confirms a cellphone number and an email address and passes an ID check before they can list or message.

Yes. During the beta it’s free to list and free to buy.

Anyone who is 18 or older. You need a cellphone number that can get SMSes, an email address, and a South African ID or a passport. It’s one person, one account.

So every member is a real person with one account. That keeps out throwaway accounts, which is how many marketplace scams start. You take a photo of your ID document (a smart ID card, green ID book or passport) and a live selfie, and our verification partner compares the two. MarketSafe keeps the result, not your selfie, your ID photo or your ID number.

Your smart ID card, green ID book or passport, and a phone or computer with a camera. Find good light, and take off sunglasses, a cap or anything else that covers your face.

You can try again. If it still doesn’t work after a few tries, a person on our team checks it.

Tap “Message seller” on the listing. The chat stays on MarketSafe: phone numbers, email addresses and requests to move to WhatsApp or other apps are hidden, which makes it much harder for a scammer to pull you off MarketSafe.

In person, when you collect the item: in cash, or by an instant EFT that the seller sees arrive in their own banking app before handing it over. MarketSafe doesn’t handle payments yet.

No. Never pay a deposit or send money for something you haven’t seen. If a seller asks for one, please report the listing.

If a listing says “Negotiable”, the seller is open to offers. Make yours in the chat, and keep it friendly.

Tap the heart on a listing. Everything you’ve saved is on your Saved page (you need to be logged in).

New: never used. Like new: used a little, with no marks. Good: works properly, with normal signs of use. Fair: works, but with clear wear or small faults that the seller should describe. For parts: doesn’t work properly; for repair or spares.

Tap “Sell”, choose a category, and add a few clear photos of the real item (and a short video if you like), a title, an honest description and your price.

Nothing during the beta.

A person checks some listings before they go live: listings with a video, listings in higher-risk categories like electronics, and listings that trip a safety check (for example a price far below normal, or contact details in the description). It helps keep scams off MarketSafe.

No. Contact details in a listing are hidden, and the listing goes for review. Buyers message you on MarketSafe, and you agree where to meet in the chat.

Use your own photos in good light, show any marks or faults, check what similar items are listed for, mark it “Negotiable” if you’re open to offers, and answer messages quickly.

Delete the listing from My listings in your dashboard, so buyers stop asking about it.

Be careful if someone wants a deposit, sends a “proof of payment” screenshot, asks you to move to WhatsApp, sends you a payment link, or asks for a code that was sent to your phone. Those are the most common tricks.

Please don’t. Many scams start when a chat moves to WhatsApp or SMS: there’s no record on MarketSafe, and our safety checks can’t help. Keep the chat here, and meet in person to finish the deal.

In a busy public place in daylight, like a shopping centre. Tell someone where you’re going, and take a friend for big items or if you’re going to someone’s home.

Stop the deal, report the listing on MarketSafe, and keep the chat. If you’ve lost money, call your bank’s fraud line straight away and report it to SAPS.

Log in, tap “Report this listing” on the listing page and choose a reason. The seller isn’t told who reported them.

Not yet. For now, buyers collect in person and pay at hand-over. We’re working on “Pay safely”, which would let you buy from sellers further away, with delivery.

No. Don’t pay for an item, or for a courier, before you’ve seen the item. A seller or “courier agent” asking for a fee first is a common scam.

No other member. They’re never shown on your listings, and they’re hidden if someone types them in a chat.

Go to your dashboard, then Profile. Use the name you want other members to see.

Go to the Delete my account page, or the button at the bottom of your Profile. You’ll need your password. It happens straight away and can’t be undone.

Go to your dashboard, then Profile. Under “Your devices”, log out the one you don’t use any more, or tap “Log out everywhere else”.

We use it to run your account, check that members are real, and keep MarketSafe safe. We never sell it, and we don’t use advertising or tracking cookies.

Things like weapons, medicines, alcohol, tobacco and vapes, live animals, fakes, stolen goods, adult content, ID documents, tickets and vouchers, and financial products.

It broke a posting rule, or members reported it and our team agreed. If you think we got it wrong, contact us and we’ll look at it again.