There have been a run of unpleasant and illegal scams in recent times, where someone emails a seller and pretends to be a buyer, when all they are interested in is getting financial information from them or operating a ‘cashback’ scam (generally via email as an initial contact).

Be cautious of anyone who asks for your banking details or offers to send you a cheque or bankers draft.  Does it seem likely that someone would send a  payment of this kind without trying the dress? An offer of  some complicated shipping method where they would arrange a carrier to visit you, the seller is often part of the set-up.

It has been noted that some of these email propositions are signed by men (although not impossible for a man to be interested in buying a dress, it is a little more unlikely), however more recently there have been a number signed by women, so be cautious.

If you are selling a dress we recommend using Paypal as a payment method (if you have a Paypal account you can send a Paypal invoice by email to the buyer) or plain old cash on collection. Cheques and bankers drafts are not a reliable method of payment anymore -see: this link for more information.

It may seem obvious, but if you are not sure about someone visiting to look at the dress, make sure that you have a friend or family member with you when they arrive.