Common bulk buying scams in Lagos markets and how to avoid them

A social media page or WhatsApp number shows lots of stock, low prices and glowing reviews. You pay a deposit to "reserve" the goods. Then come delays, more fees, or silence.

• Warning signs: no address, or one that's vague; copied photos; a personal account for payment; a story about why you can't visit.
• What to do: get the street, plaza and shop number, then visit or send someone. Ask for a live video call inside the store. If they can't show you the store, don't pay them.

A low price is the hook for most of the scams on this list. Prices of phones and laptops follow the dollar, and honest dealers buy at similar rates, so they can't sell far below everyone else for long. Goods that cheap may be fake, stolen, faulty or not there at all.

• Warning signs: a price well below every other dealer's, for a limited time, available only if you pay today.
• What to do: get prices for the same spec from several dealers in the same week. If one is far away from the rest, find out why before you go any further.

You test good units, then what's packed for you is different: another model, a worse grade, or faulty stock. With a large order, it's easy for a few bad units to be hidden in the middle of the cartons.

• Warning signs: goods taken to "the back" to be packed, or a rush to tape the cartons up.
• What to do: write down the IMEI or serial numbers of what you tested. Watch the packing. Pick your own test sample, including from the bottom of the carton, and match the numbers to your receipt.

Used phones can be cleaned, put in new-looking boxes and sold as sealed. Copy accessories can arrive in packaging that looks like the real brand's. Sometimes the price is close to the genuine item's, so a fair price alone doesn't prove anything.

• Warning signs: poor print on boxes, loose seals, or an IMEI on the box that doesn't match the one in the phone's settings.
• What to do: check the serial number with the manufacturer where you can, and match every number. Test a sample before you accept the batch, and get the condition written on your receipt.

A phone that's still tied to someone's Apple ID, or a laptop with a company's BIOS password, may be useless to your customer. In a batch, a few locked units can wipe out your margin. Stolen goods can bring far worse trouble.

• Warning signs: the seller wants you to skip the setup screen, offers to remove the lock later, or won't put serial numbers on the receipt.
• What to do: use our checks for UK-used iPhones and used laptops, and never pay for a locked device. Be wary of any seller who can't say where the stock came from.

You've agreed the deal. Then a message says the account has changed, or asks you to pay a relative, a "partner" or a different company. Sometimes it's from a number that looks like the dealer's.

• Warning signs: a new account name that doesn't match the business, an excuse about bank problems, urgency.
• What to do: call the dealer on a number you already know, or go to the store. Don't use a number from the message. Check the account name your bank shows before you confirm a transfer.

In a busy market, someone offers to take you to a good seller or to get you a better price. Some are simply earning a commission that's added to your price. Others take your money to "collect the goods" and don't come back.

• Warning signs: someone you didn't look for offers to handle the deal, or asks you to wait while they go for the goods.
• What to do: go straight to the store you chose. Hand money only to the dealer or their business account, and only with the goods in front of you or an agreed plan in writing.

This one targets buyers outside Lagos. After you've paid, you're told that your goods are held at a park, a checkpoint or customs, and that you need to pay one more fee to release them. Then there's another fee, and another.

• Warning signs: new fees that weren't agreed, photos of goods with no waybill number, a "driver" or "officer" who only uses WhatsApp.
• What to do: agree all the costs before you pay. Get a waybill number, and call the transport company on a number you found yourself. See buying from Lagos if you live outside Lagos for the full process.

Dealers and resellers get targeted too. A buyer shows you a transfer on their phone, or you get an SMS that looks like a bank alert, and they leave with the goods before any money has arrived. Don't rely on screenshots or SMS. Check your banking app or the bank itself, and release goods only when the money shows in your balance.

1. Contact your bank straight away with the transfer details, and ask if it can stop or recall the payment. Speed matters.
2. Keep everything: messages, receipts, account details, names, numbers and photos.
3. Report it to the police, and bring what you've kept.
4. If a Dealrs dealer was involved, tell us so we can look into it.

Scammers borrow well-known names too, including ours. If someone contacts you about a Dealrs quote, compare it with the quote we emailed you and check it on your request page. If anything looks different, call or WhatsApp us on +234 706 754 2573 before you pay.

Dealers on Dealrs verify their identity with a shop-front photo and a selfie, and verified stores may also get an in-person visit from our team. Read what the verified badge means. It doesn't guarantee a product or a deal, so keep inspecting goods before you accept them. To skip the search, send a product request with what you need. Our team looks for it among verified dealers and sends your quote by email, usually within 24 to 48 hours.