5 tips that can help you avoid scams while purchasing goods from Instagram

Have you ever bought a dress from an Instagram page and never received it? Well, we all know at least one or two people who have faced the same issue.

As the content on Instagram has evolved with time, it is not just a photo-sharing app anymore. From educational content to recipes of your favourite dishes, you will find everything on Instagram. And now Instagram has also become a marketplace. You can buy jewellery, clothes, makeup, cakes, food, gifts and almost everything on this social media platform.

But where there are business, there are frauds too. With all the business companies making their accounts on Instagram, fake accounts with supplicate images also started popping up. Many times people order stuff and never receive it or receive poor quality products. Therefore, it is essential to verify the genuineness of the Instagram pages first before making any purchase.

To help you do so, we have a few tips for you.

5 things to keep in mind before purchasing goods from Instagram:

1. Do your research: You should check the account properly before ordering anything from it. Go thorugh the posts and check the comments section. The interaction between the user and the page admin in the comments can clear many of your doubts.

Usually people with fake accounts do not reply in the comments section. They avoid questions that ask details about the product on sale.

2. Choose from pages that are referred: On Instagram, trusting a new shopping page can be a little difficult. Check with your friends and family and choose options as per their recommendations. You will also find numerous page recommendations from influencers.

Try these recommended pages rather than any random ones. 

3. Check the interest of the seller: A genuine seller will provide you with all the information required about the product. Whereas, a fake account holder may just spam you inbox. They might ask you a million times whether you want to purchase an item. Also, they will try to convince you to pay as soon as possible.

4. The quality of the pictures: Usually, the business accounts focus a lot on the picture quality of the products they have posted on the platform. They give a personal touch to the pictures to help people relate to the product or service they are providing. Many also prefer professional shoots for their products to make them look appealing to the buyers.

On the other hand, the picture quality of a fake account may not be of good quality. They often use screenshots from the internet or other pages that usually appear blurred on their pages.

5. Shop from home-grown brands: Instagram has provided a platform to small businesses and home-grown brands. Most of these brands sell genuine and better quality products. It is better to choose products from such pages as they will offer you the best quality at a reasonable price.Your small purchase will also help these brands grow.