Staying safe

Most people on retale are exactly who they say they are — readers passing books on. These are the habits that keep it that way.

Keep it on retale

Always pay and message through retale. If someone asks you to pay by bank transfer, PayPal, or anything outside the site, that’s a red flag — and it means none of our protections apply. Report it rather than going along with it.

Verified accounts

A “Verified” badge on a profile means that person has confirmed their email address. It’s a starting point, not a guarantee — use it alongside reviews and your own judgement, not instead of them.

Meeting for a collection

Meet somewhere public and busy in daylight where you can — a café, a station, a library. Tell someone where you’re going. You’re never obliged to go ahead with a meet-up that doesn’t feel right.

Sellers: enter the buyer’s code before you hand the book over. Buyers: only give the code once you’ve actually looked at the book and you’re happy with it. That way you’re both protected.

If something goes wrong

You can raise an issue from your Orders page for 48 hours after a collection or delivery is confirmed. Tell us what happened and we’ll look into it.