Your Child's First Online Sale or Purchase

Overview

Selling old clothes on Vinted or Depop, or buying a phone case on eBay, is now a normal teenage milestone. It is also where many young people meet their first scam.

Most marketplaces require users to be at least 18, with under-18 features only on a parent-supervised account. The best path is for the account to sit under your name, with your child as the active user, and for you both to know what good and bad transactions look like.

The rules are simple: never bank-transfer a stranger, never hand things over alone in a private place, never share photos that include your bedroom or anything identifying.

Parent checklist

• Read the platform's terms together. Most are 18+, with under-18 features only via a supervised account.
• Set the account up in your name with the child as the operator, not in their name on their own.
• Use only the in-app payment system (Vinted Wallet, eBay Managed Payments, PayPal Goods and Services).
• Block bank transfers, gift cards or crypto as payment methods for any stranger.
• Agree to take photos of items only against plain walls, never showing bedrooms, schools or faces.
• Set a price ceiling per transaction without parent sign-off.
• Agree that in-person handovers are always with a parent, in a public place, in daytime.
• Save Action Fraud 0300 123 2040 in their phone for reporting scams.
• Save the IWF link in case anyone sends explicit images via a marketplace chat.

Agreement with your child

• •I will only sell or buy through the app's built-in payment system.
• •I will not bank-transfer or send gift cards to anyone I do not know.
• •I will not meet a buyer or seller alone, ever.
• •I will not post photos that show my bedroom, school uniform or face.
• •I will show you any message that feels strange before replying.
• •I will tell you if anyone sends me a link asking me to log in again.
• •I will not buy anything over our agreed limit without checking with you.

Conversation guide

• “If someone wants to pay or be paid outside the app, that is the single biggest sign of a scam.”
• “If a deal feels too good, it almost always is. Walk away. There is always another buyer.”
• “Never send a code from a text message to a buyer or seller. That is a hijack attempt, not a check.”
• “If you meet anyone in person to hand over an item, I am coming with you. No exceptions.”
• “Photos of what you are selling, not of your room. Plain wall, good light, no faces.”
• “If you ever get scammed, tell me. You will not be in trouble, and we can report it together.”

Settings to review

• •Marketplace account set up under a parent, with under-18 supervision enabled where offered.
• •Two-factor authentication on the marketplace account and the linked email.
• •Payment limited to in-app methods or PayPal Goods and Services.
• •Bank card limits checked and stored card removed after each purchase if possible.
• •Notifications on for new messages so you both see them.
• •Profile photo and bio free of school, year group or face.
• •Shared family location active on meet-up days.

30-day review

• Look at the message history together for anything that felt off.
• Check the linked bank or PayPal statement for unexpected charges.
• Review any items shipped to make sure deliveries arrived.
• Confirm two-factor authentication is still on.
• Talk through any near-scams and what worked to spot them.
• Adjust the price ceiling up or down based on the month's experience.