8 tips to buy and sell things online safer and faster

1. Use a fake phone number

Spammers often use popular classifieds sites to collect phone numbers, e-mails, and other contacts. And then they call and send ads. Database numbers are also used by scammers. Therefore, when you create or edit an ad on Avito in the categories "Cars" or "Real Estate", you can use the service of protecting the number. This way you will preserve confidentiality, and your phone will not fall into such a database. The service connects a substitute number to the ad. Calls will be forwarded to your real one, but only those to whom you call back or send an SMS will see it. As soon as the ad is closed, Avito turns off forwarding and calls will stop coming, even if the number is in the spammers' databases.

Forwarding to a virtual number works only for calls. Messages in instant messengers (WhatsApp and others) and SMS will not go through: this helps protect you from spam. Customers will still be able to write to you in the Avito messenger.

Number protection is enabled by default. Therefore, if you want to receive SMS and messages in instant messengers, you will have to disable the function in the ad settings.

Purchase on Avito: how to protect your number from spam

2. Hide your phone number

If you do not want to receive calls and SMS, on Avito you can hide your phone number and communicate with customers or customers exclusively in chat. To activate the feature, create a new ad or edit an existing ad. In the "Contacts" section, select the communication method "In messages". After that, the buttons "Call" or "Show phone" will disappear from your ad.

Purchase on Avito: how to hide the number

3. Study ratings and reviews

On Avito, you can rate sellers and leave reviews about them, so if you like a product, you can always study the rating of its owner and make a purchase decision. The rating is the average value of all ratings that buyers gave to the seller if their deal took place or failed. The estimates after a personal meeting and after the order with delivery are also taken into account. If you have not agreed or have not communicated with the seller at all, your rating will not be taken into account in the rating. But the review will remain on the site and other users will be able to see it.

If a seller has a high rating, it means that he behaves correctly and sells good things. Avito's specialists have drawn up standards of expected behavior, and it is better for the seller to follow them: do not deceive, respond promptly, comply with the agreements, then the rating will be excellent.

Buying on Avito: how to find the seller rating

You can leave feedback in your profile once a day and only once for a specific seller. So Avito protects against spam, fake reviews and rating cheating. At the same time, you can leave as many reviews as you like from the notification in the messenger and from the "Waiting for evaluation" page.

To generate a review, click on the corresponding button in the seller's profile. On the next page, select the ad for which you worked with it. Write how you talked and rate it. After you click "Submit", Avito will check the review within seven days. This usually takes up to five hours, but sometimes the moderators need more time. Then the review will either be published or rejected: for example, for swearing, false information, advertising, or the use of a foreign language. In the "My Reviews" section, you can see which of them have been published, which have been rejected, and which are being reviewed.

Serious sellers should, of course, remember to ask buyers for feedback.

4. See ads on the map

Convenient when you can walk to work, and not stand for several hours in traffic jams. Going to a manicure halfway through the city is also a so-so prospect. And apartments are usually looked for in a certain area. On Avito, announcements of the categories "Real Estate", "Vacancies" and "Services" can be viewed on the map. For example, if you are looking for an apartment closer to your place of work, you can go to the appropriate category and click "Show ads on the map":

You can customize filters, move, zoom in and out the map to make the selection even more convenient. If you want to return to the usual Avito view, click "Hide map" in its upper right corner. Not all ads may appear on the map. The function works only for those where the authors were not too lazy to specify the exact address. This is how we found 15 apartments for rent near Gorbushkin Dvor.

5. Use search by radius

Avito mobile applications for Android and iOS have a function to search for ads in a certain radius. It is available in the general category, as well as for job and service announcements.

To use radius search, indicate in the application what you need, and then refine your request. Avito will ask for access to GPS coordinates or offer to enter the address manually. Then you will need to select the search radius - from 1 to 100 km. When you apply this filter to search results, you will only see ads within the specified radius.

6. Subscribe to sellers

If you often buy on Avito, then it is convenient to always have a list of personally verified sellers on hand. Especially if a person sells goods of a certain subject: for example, things for a child of a particular age or interior items. Go to the profile of the seller you like and click on the "Subscribe" button. In the profiles of individuals, the button is in the left column, for companies - in the upper part of the profile. Everything! Now ads from your favorite sellers will be displayed in a special section.

Purchase on Avito: subscription to sellers

If you decide to sell a lot and often on Avito, tell your customers about the subscription function so as not to lose them. Plus, a seller with a subscriber base will generate more credibility.

7. Save requests and announcements

Keeping hundreds of tabs open with relevant ads to watch later is inconvenient. Besides, suddenly there will be a new ad, better and cheaper? Avito allows you to:

Adding ads to Favorites is convenient when there are a lot of interesting offers and you want to compare them.
Save search parameters: you will be notified of all new ads for the query you are interested in, so don't miss a thing. It also becomes easier to search for ads: you don't have to type in a request with your hands - you just need to turn on the necessary filters. For example, you can save the search for a car by year of manufacture, type of engine, body, availability of additional options.

8. Use delivery within Russia

It is not always possible to meet a seller or a buyer in person, and often the product of interest is located in another city. Therefore, Avito has its own delivery service. Users can contact more than 5,000 parcel delivery partners in 650 cities of Russia. The service ensures the security of the transaction for both parties: the buyer is guaranteed to receive the goods, and the seller is guaranteed money. The buyer pays for the delivery, and for the seller it is absolutely free.

If you are a buyer, search for an item by selecting the "Only with delivery" filter, then Avito will show the offers available for shipping within Russia. If you like the product, click on the "Buy with delivery" button, select a convenient pick-up point and pay for the product - the shipping cost will be calculated automatically. After payment, the money is held and transferred to the seller's card only after the buyer accepts the goods. At the point of issue, it will be enough for you to name the code from the SMS, inspect the product and make sure that it is serviceable and corresponds to the description.
If you are a seller, with Avito Delivery you can complete a transaction faster, because now your offer can be seen all over Russia. You will be able to choose the nearest point of departure, delivery will be absolutely free, and Avito guarantees that you will receive money for your goods.