Paying for items in person

Please note: Only certain purchases under the For Sale category will be available soon for secure payment on the Gumtree platform. These are: Clothing, Footwear, Accessories and Children, and for purchases below £250. All other purchases currently cannot be made on the Gumtree platform.

Any communication you receive asking for a payment via Gumtree outside of these categories is not genuine and should be reported to our Trust and Safety team.

For items outside of our existing online payment rules, once you’ve met, inspected the item and come to an agreement, it’s time to finalise the deal. Keep these tips in mind for safe payment options.

Requesting or offering deposits for items on Gumtree is not recommended. However, some sellers do request one. Never pay a deposit on an item you haven’t seen in person. If you have seen it and you’re not completely comfortable leaving a deposit, it may be best to move on to another deal.

Cash is often the safest option. It’s generally accepted by everyone and is very hard to fake convincingly. However, it’s not impossible. If you’re accepting cash, especially for a large purchase, make sure you know how to recognise counterfeit currency. Carrying cash as a buyer can have its own risks and be less convenient. Consider the situation and decide what’s best for you.

Cheques can be more convenient than cash, but they can bounce. If you want a cheque, the safest option is to ask for a certified cheque and go to the bank with them to cash it before the item is signed over.

When used cautiously, PayPal is a great tool for sending and receiving money online. When accepting a PayPal payment, always double check that the payment has actually been deposited into your account. PayPal payment confirmation emails can be faked, so make sure to check independently of the email (without using any links). If the payment confirmation email claims the payment won’t appear in your account for any reason, contact PayPal (directly through their website, not the email) before proceeding.

PayPal has some protections in place to help both buyers and sellers, but these protections don’t extend to all PayPal transactions. We do not recommend using PayPal’s Friends and Family payment option, as this skips their internal security and doesn’t offer protection.

If you’re ever in doubt about a PayPal transfer, you can contact PayPal directly for help verifying it. Learn more about fake PayPal emails.

We do not recommend using direct money transfers services such as Western Union or MoneyGram. Electronic transfers are hard to verify because payment confirmation emails can be faked by fraudsters. Should the deal fall though, or if it turns out to be scam, they offer no protection. If you decide to accept payment through one of these methods, don’t give them the item until you’ve been able to confirm with 100% certainty that the funds are in your account.

Note: If any buyer sends you an electronic transfer and then asks you to move some of the funds somewhere else – especially if they require the funds to be moved before you actually receive the money – don’t do it. This is likely an SMS scam. If you encounter any requests like this, please report it to our customer support team.

Like money wiring services, bank transfers may appear to offer a safe way to transfer money between a buyer and seller. However, once you have sent funds they are almost immediately transferred into the account of the recipient. If a deal was to fall through, or you were unhappy with the item you had paid for, your money is not protected. Transfers offer few options for a refund beyond the good will of the seller. We always urge caution when transferring money by bank. We recommend that you are completely satisfied with the item before committing to the transaction.