How to check a seller before buying

Every seller shows a score out of 100, calculated automatically from verifiable facts — never from claims. It combines verified identity, the number of sales completed on the platform, disputes lost, reviews received, response speed, account age, and listings removed by moderation.

One point matters: only transactions that went through Le Cointar count. That is what stops two accomplices building a reputation in an afternoon.

A seller who just joined necessarily has few points: they have no history yet. They are shown as a new seller, not as unreliable — the difference is deliberate. Branding every newcomer as suspect would empty the site of its supply.

What should genuinely alert you is not a low score on a recent account, but a low score on an old one: that means disputes lost or listings removed.

• Look at their other listings. Someone offering ten latest-model phones at knockdown prices is not a private individual selling their own.
• Read the reviews in full, not just the rating. One detailed review describing the meeting is worth more than five stars with no comment.
• Check their account age and response speed, both shown on their profile.
• Call before you travel. A seller who systematically refuses calls and only writes messages deserves your suspicion.
• Compare their price to the usual range for the category, published on our price pages. A huge gap either way needs an explanation.

• They refuse to meet in a public place.
• They ask for payment, even partial, before you have seen the item.
• They change number, or immediately ask to continue the conversation elsewhere, before even discussing the item.
• The listing photos appear elsewhere on the internet: they are not theirs.
• They become aggressive or pushy as soon as you ask a checking question.

Walking away from a purchase costs nothing. Being scammed costs the price of the item.