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Review – 5miles
“A new, fast way to buy and sell with others. Bid on or list items on 5miles today” is the tag line from their app.
They wanted to create a better local experience for the buyer and seller. Their goal was to make it easy to navigate, in a safe environment with no fees.
5miles has been around since 2014. I have sold about a dozen or more items since I joined in 2017. It has a limited audience in my view, but is growing. They have added incentives for logging-in every day by offer users “coins” which can be redeemed for Amazon gift cards.
The principle of 5miles is to buy and sell using your mobile device. Snap a pic, write a quick description, fill in a price and bingo, your item is listed. The app is very easy to use. Once you fill out your profile, all users have an app wide ID with name and photo. It’s possible to list services, housing and jobs!
Buying
It’s easy to browse listed items in the search bar. Your searches can be fine tuned using “filter” and “categories”. Once you see something you want, click and either meet locally with seller or place an order. There is a 5miles Wallet which is how one pays for shipped items. There are protections on the site if you need to “return” or need a “refund” from a purchase.
Selling
Snap some pics of your item, add a quick description, enter price and choose payment method and delivery method, then click “publish” and it’s listed. By choosing 5miles Wallet as payment and allowing shipping as a delivery method it will increase your chances for selling quicker.
There is a “chat” feature to communicate directly with the seller, which confirms delivery method with shipping or if you want to meet locally. I have added the exact location for meet up, which for me is the local Safeway grocery store parking lot a block or two down the road.
The order is “complete” once the buyer receives the item, and you will receive payment at that time.
I have only used the local meet up option up til now, but would like to ship some of my smaller listed items to increase my buyer pool. I will report back once I have a couple of experiences.
Invite Friends and Earn Coins
There is a built in community with members who enjoy buying and selling with 5miles. You can earn coins (reward points) for each friend you refer and for each friend your friend refers. Your friend will get coins too! Every user gets an “invite” code that can be filled in at registration, in order to receive the coin rewards. You can also earn coins by doing “tasks” like inviting more friends and being a top user. My favorite way to earn coins is the “daily check-in”. I’ve also tried some of the “daily tasks” to earn more. Today I downloaded an app called “Flipp” which saves you money when shopping. In fact I’ve just passed 3000 coins! Once I reach 4,999 I can turn that into a Amazon gift card, among other credits for 5miles Dash (auction opportunities on 5miles).
Getting Better, But Not Quite There Yet
While my 5miles selling experiencs have been agreeable and profitable, it has not created a ton of sales for me. I do enjoy earning “coins” by clicking the app link on my phone everyday. I will eventually earn enough for Amazon cards. I have not investigated or tried the 5miles Dash part of the app yet. I also have not been a buyer, but some items have caught my eye, like sporting goods equipment and a few nice guitars for sale by others.
On my scale of the “Z” Rating with 5 being the highest and 1 the lowest, I give 5miles a solid 3 ZZZ’s with room to improve. What is missing for me is the amount of active users. I encourage more of my “friends” and “readers” to join me on 5miles and get some coin!
Let me know how you like the app and marketplace. Have you purchased or sold items? Share your experiences below.
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