[Singapore] Sellers’ guide on how to deal safely on Carousell

We want to ensure that you have a pleasant selling experience on Carousell. We have enforced Carousell’s safety policy and implemented enhanced measures to protect you from bad actors. Read up more on our Safety policy. 

Here is a list of frequently asked questions on why we have enforced certain measures. 

1. Keep your chats on Carousell, and never take them to other platforms or channels 

To safeguard users from phishing scams and potential malicious actors, we have upgraded our chat safety features. These enhancements ensure that phishing links are blocked and prevent bad actors from contacting you.

Why do my messages keep getting blocked?
Sharing email addresses and links while chatting with other users on Carousell is not allowed. If we detect that you may be disclosing personal details or attempting to move your chat to other messaging platforms, your message will be blocked.

Scammers commonly ask to move chats out of Carousell or share fake payment and delivery websites, so think twice before providing your personal information. Never make payment or collect payment outside of Carousell unless you’re dealing via a meet-up.

When I send my mobile number, Carousell tells me that it’s not safe but still allows me to send it anyway. Why is it so?

We understand that mobile numbers do come in handy when coordinating meet-ups, so you’re allowed to share. But we still want to remind you to exercise caution and only share your mobile number with a Carouseller you trust. 

I understand that sharing email addresses in chat is not allowed. However, I need to send a document to my buyer for their quotation/invoice. How can I do this without using their email?

Sharing of email addresses is not allowed because there have been phishing scams where scammers ask for email addresses, then send emails pretending to be Carousell, banks or other companies. You may send the documents in the form of images via Carousell chat instead. 

Why do some sellers have a WhatsApp button on their listing but I can't even mention it in chat?

Certain categories offering professional services (e.g. Services, Autos) may require more extensive communication to assist in complex or urgent requests. We’ve made it an exception to allow sellers to add a ‘WhatsApp’ button to their listing to allow buyers to contact them directly, in a timely manner.

Here’s how you can add it to your listing: https://support.carousell.com/hc/en-us/articles/12607478437913-Add-Whatsapp-button-to-listing

If your listing does not belong to these categories, you cannot add the ‘WhatsApp’ button to your listing. Keep your chats on Carousell for a safe transaction. Chatting and transacting outside of Carousell may put you at risk of scams.

2. Do not ask for direct payment for deals via delivery or before meet-ups, enable the ‘Buy’ button for deals via delivery

Gain access to secure payment methods when you enable the ‘Buy’ button and you will not need to reveal personal information when asking for payment. You are only allowed to include delivery options in your listings if you enable the ‘Buy’ button. You can either choose to ship via Standard delivery (with Carousell Official Delivery partners), or your own custom delivery methods.

Why am I not allowed to ask buyers to pay me directly via PayNow? It’s more convenient for me. 

It is not safe for buyers to pay sellers before they receive their order due to the risk of e-commerce scams. In order to maintain a safe marketplace, we require sellers to follow our Safety policy. 

If your buyer wants to pay using PayNow, they can tap on the ‘Buy’ button on your listing and complete the payment via PayNow. This way, you can keep your personal data, such as your mobile number, private.

Why am I not allowed to add delivery options to my listing?

It could be because you’re listing in a category where the ‘Buy’ button or Buyer Protection is not available. In high-value and high-risk categories, we recommend that you transact via a meet-up to ensure a safer deal. You may find ‘Buy’ button enabled categories here. 

You must enable the ‘Buy’ button on your listing before you can add delivery options. This is to allow buyers to pay you safely before they receive their order. Otherwise, only meet-ups are allowed.

Standard delivery (with Carousell Official delivery partners) is fulfilled through certain couriers, but I have my own preferred courier. Can I use other couriers instead?

Yes, you can add your own custom delivery options to your listing as long as you enable the ‘Buy’ button.

3. Do not direct your buyer to other third party websites or share your personal information 

Links to make payment outside of Carousell are a common scam tactic and are against our Safety policy. You should encourage your buyers to make payment using the ‘Buy’ button or you should only request for payment once you have met the buyer in person. Collecting and sharing personal information can lead to a data leak and may fall into the hands of malicious actors.

I cannot create a listing because of an error that says “Content might violate policy”. What does it mean?

This means that your listing title or description contains keywords or links that are deemed to put you or buyers at risk of scams. We do not allow content that brings Carousellers outside of our platform when it is not a meet-up, because that’s a common tactic of scammers.