vindje.com / Guides / Buying on Marktplaats
Pickup is safer: you see the item, test it, and pay at the moment you take it. Shipping is fine for small, low-risk items or with a payment method that holds your money until delivery. Parcels rarely go missing in the post. The danger is paying a stranger before you have anything in your hands.
At a pickup you control the moment money changes hands. You can check that the laptop boots, the blender spins and the chair does not wobble. If something is wrong, you leave with your money.
Pickup also filters out most fake listings. A scammer cannot hand over an item that does not exist, which is why they nearly always insist on shipping.
Shipping is reasonable for small items that are hard to fake and cheap enough that the risk is acceptable: books, records, clothes, spare parts, board games. It also makes sense for rare items where the only one for sale is on the other side of the country.
It makes less sense for phones, consoles, cameras and other high-value electronics, which are the most faked and the most often swapped for a broken unit. For those, travel if you can.
Bulky items such as furniture, appliances and bikes do not fit in the normal parcel network at all. Listings for those that say 'kan verzonden worden' usually mean a courier at extra cost, so ask for the total before you agree.
Your options, from most to least protection:
Before you pay for a shipped item, ask for a photo of the item next to a piece of paper with your name and today's date. A genuine seller can do it in a minute. Check that the account is older than a few weeks, that the reviews mention completed sales, and that the seller's name matches the bank account name.
Ask how it will be packed and sent, and for the tracking number as soon as it ships. Vague answers about the courier are a bad sign.
Film yourself opening the box, starting before you cut the tape. If the item is damaged or not as described, that video is your evidence for the seller, the platform or the payment provider. Check the item fully on the first day, not after a week.
If the parcel arrives damaged on the outside, photograph it before opening and note it with the courier if you can.
For large items far away there are middle routes. Courier services such as Brenger collect furniture from the seller and deliver it to you, often for 40 to 100 euro depending on size and distance; the driver sees the item before loading it. You can also ask a friend near the seller to look at it. Both still leave the payment question, so pair them with a protected payment where possible.
Some sellers offer to meet halfway, at a station or a service area. That is fine for small items and gives you the safety of a pickup.
Describe what you want in your own words and vindje.com searches Marktplaats in Dutch, then reads every listing and keeps only the real matches. For example:
Vinyl records by Dutch bands from the 70s, can be shipped, seller with good reviews, under 15 euro eachSearch Marktplaats like this
It can be, with a payment method that holds the money until delivery or a seller with a strong track record. Paying a new account by bank transfer is where most people lose money.
Usually the buyer. The seller states it in the listing or you agree it in the chat.
Because a pickup would show that the item does not exist. 'Shipping only' plus a low price is the most common scam pattern.
Contact the seller with photos and an unboxing video straight away. If you used a protected payment, open a dispute through that service.
You can ask, but many sellers say no because packing is work. Offering to pay the postage plus a few euro for the box and their time helps.