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Fix My Gumtree Advert

Local sale.
Safer phrasing.

Paste your Gumtree advert. You get back a version with scam-adjacent phrasing cut outright, a clear collection or delivery arrangement, and Gumtree's own ratings and Buyer Protection described exactly as they work — not more, not less.

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Two facts get stated precisely, because getting either wrong is a real failure.

Gumtree gets mistaken for Facebook Marketplace with a different logo more than any platform in this catalogue, and two specific facts are where that mistake actually costs something. First: Gumtree has run a genuine seller ratings and reviews system since 1 August 2025 — a five-star rating, an optional written review, a Highly Rated badge for a strong track record. Writing as if the platform carries no reputation layer at all repeats an error already made once, on the wrong platform.

Second: Gumtree offers an optional built-in delivery feature with Buyer Protection, enabled by default on eligible items. It's real, escrow-like protection Facebook Marketplace's local listings don't carry — and it applies only to eligible categories and items under a stated value limit. Claiming it covers a plain cash-and-collection sale overstates the platform's own protection in the other direction, which is just as much a failure as denying the ratings system exists.

Between those two, the actual safety work is the same as any local classifieds platform: keep contact inside the app, meet somewhere public, and never treat a payment screenshot as proof the money has actually arrived.

What gets cut outright, not softened

What a fix looks like

As supplied

Title: Sofa for sale. Description: Good condition sofa, message me. Cash only, will consider my assistant collecting on my behalf if you can't come in person, or I can arrange shipping if you pay extra. Photos: one dark photo. Price: no price listed, "make an offer".

What comes back

3-Seater Grey Fabric Sofa — [ADD FACT: brand/retailer if known]. Grey fabric 3-seater, [ADD FACT: age, honest condition, dimensions]. Collection only from [ADD FACT: general area] — happy to arrange a daytime slot in a well-lit spot. [ADD FACT: replace with 4-6 photos in daylight]. Price: £[ADD FACT], collection only. Payment by cash on collection after you've inspected it, or a bank transfer confirmed as received before handover.

"My assistant collecting" and "pay extra for shipping" are gone entirely, not reworded — Gumtree's own guidance names both as live risk patterns. Nothing about the platform's delivery feature was added, because the listing never confirmed the item was eligible for it; asserting that would be exactly the overstatement in the other direction.

Before you pay.

Does Gumtree actually have seller ratings?

Yes, since 1 August 2025 — a five-star rating with an optional written review, available once you've completed a transaction or meaningful engagement with another user, and a Highly Rated badge for a strong track record. It will not describe Gumtree as reputation-free, and it will not invent a rating history for you either — that accrues only through real completed transactions.

Will it say my item is covered by Buyer Protection?

Only if you've told it the item and category are eligible for Gumtree's own delivery feature. That protection applies to eligible items under a stated value limit, sent through Gumtree's own delivery partner — it does nothing for the local cash-collection sale that's still the platform default, and it will not claim otherwise.

What counts as scam-adjacent phrasing?

Lines like "my courier will collect it" or "I'll arrange shipping if you pay a bit extra" — Gumtree's own safety guidance names these as recognisable patterns, even when a genuine seller means them innocently. They get cut outright rather than softened, because no honest local seller needs either.

Someone's offered to pay by bank transfer before collecting. Is that safe to accept?

Only once the money is actually visible in your account. Gumtree's own guidance specifically warns that payment confirmation screenshots and wiring receipts can be forged, so the rewrite steers toward cash inspected before handover, or a transfer confirmed cleared — never a payment you're taking on trust from a screenshot.

Will it strip my phone number out of the listing?

Yes, on sight. A phone number or home address in the public listing text invites contact outside Gumtree's own messaging, which is also where its reporting tools work. It comes out; it doesn't come back as a missing fact to add.

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Unfussed · Fix My Gumtree Advert

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