Intro: Using Local Buy and Sell Apps for Extra Cash
The average American is surrounded by the potential to earn extra money, gathering dust on cluttered shelves and stuffed drawers right in their very own home.
Recent studies suggest that the average household contains 300,000 items. Given this, it might not be surprising to learn that a quarter of them admit to having too much clutter around the home.
For decades, holding a garage sale has been the traditional route to turn unused items into cash—but as workweeks become increasingly hectic and family schedules get more complicated, it’s nearly impossible for many people to dedicate weekend afternoons to selling stuff from their driveway.
Thankfully, a host of apps for buying and selling second-hand items have surfaced over the past few years, providing intuitive and convenient platforms for sellers to host online sales with minimum effort.
One of these apps for buying and selling is the 5miles free app, created to connect local bargain hunters with sellers looking to empty out their closets and garages.
Although other apps for buying and selling used items—like LetGo and OfferUp—may have more publicity, the 5miles app is quickly gaining traction as a top OfferUp and LetGo alternative.
Photo courtesy of: 5miles
In this 5miles review, we’ll dive deep into the 5miles app to help you determine whether the 5miles app is the best way for you to buy and sell locally.
Our 5miles app review will answer the most common consumer questions about this new local buying and selling app, including:
- What is 5miles?
- What are the key features of the 5miles free app?
- Are 5miles app reviews from users positive or negative?
- Is using the 5miles app worth it?
Are you considering using apps for buying and selling to empty out those cluttered shelves in the garage in exchange for cash? Does the thought of using local buy and sell apps bring out the inner bargain hunter in you?
If so, stay tuned—by the end of our 5miles app review, you will have all the information you need to decide whether this top OfferUp alternative and LetGo alternative is the best decision for you.
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5Miles App Review | What is 5Miles ?
Launched in Dallas, Texas, the 5miles app was created in 2014 as a fun, simple way to participate in a local marketplace.
Unlike other local buy and sell apps, the 5miles app allows users to buy and sell services along with items, giving 5miles a huge advantage over competing OfferUp alternatives and LetGo alternatives.
Created by Dr. Lucas Lu, former General Manager of Alibaba, 5miles seeks to do away with the complications of apps for buying and selling on local marketplaces.
As such, one way to answer the question, “What is 5miles?” is to say that 5miles is seeking to become a disruptor among apps for buying and selling.
The 5miles app stands out by eliminating issues like expensive listing fees, complicated browsing, fake listings, and scams. It is also the first of the local buy and sell apps to offer secure in-app payments and shipping, increasing convenience and accessibility.
Although the 5 Miles free app was named with the hopes of connecting users within five miles of each other, the availability of payment and shipping options allows users to create searches within 5-50 miles (or even unlimited).
Their commitment to creating a trustworthy, efficient 5miles local buy and sell app has certainly paid off. By the end of 2016, the 5miles app had 10 million downloads and $52 million in funding, and these numbers are only continuing to grow.
For those looking for local buy and sell apps, the 5miles app is growing into a serious contender as a top OfferUp alternative and LetGo alternative.
5Miles App Review | Key Features of the 5Miles App
While there is certainly no shortage of apps for buying and selling locally, each app has its own unique features and capabilities.
Below, we have highlighted some of the features that make the 5miles app one of the best buy and sell apps on the market today.
Save Items for Later
The 5 Miles free app provides a convenient, simple browsing experience for bargain shoppers on the hunt. If you see an item that you like, click “Add to Likes” to save the listing.
Our 5miles app review found that many competing apps for buying and selling locally do not offer this type of feature, which sets 5miles apart as one of the most user-friendly apps for buying and selling.
Awesome Experience Team
5miles is dedicated to providing exceptional customer service, which is why they created their Awesome Experience team.
This customer service team monitors all channels of communication to resolve customer issues as soon as possible, enhancing the overall experience for both buyers and sellers.
Additionally, the Awesome Experience team is also responsible for reviewing all new product listings to ensure that each item follows the guidelines and requirements of the 5miles app.
Enhanced Search Features
While many local buy and sell apps allow users to search by category or a specific item, the 5miles app takes search features even further.
Aside from category or specific items, users of the 5miles local buy and sell app can also search by distance, price range, city, and even by brand.
Photo courtesy of: Pexels
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Ability to Purchase Services
All local buy and sell apps allow for the exchange of items, but 5miles is the only one—save for Craigslist—that allows the listing and purchase of services.
A few examples of local services available on the 5miles app include:
- Auto Repair & Installation
- Gardening & Landscaping
- Lessons & Tutoring
- Moving & Storage
- Pet Care
- Photography
Our review also found that the 5miles app allows listings for housing, jobs, garage sales, and online skills.
Pet Adoption
New to the 5miles app is their Pet Adoption category, which allows users to find and post listings for pets available for adoption within their area.
Ratings & Reviews
The 5miles free app comes with an enhanced ratings system to promote user trust and confidence while using the app. Ratings are displayed in positive percentages, which are then translated into levels.
Our 5miles app review found that higher ratings create higher levels, generating more user trust and prompting more offers for sellers.
In-App Payment & Shipping
In 2016, the 5miles free app was the first to introduce in-app payment and shipping options, called the 5miles Wallet.
The 5miles Wallet allows users to save credit or debit information to provide quick and convenient payment for buyers, while sellers can have payments sent to their Wallet and make withdrawals.
Payment is not released until buyers confirm (within ten days) that they have received the item and that it is in good condition. When paying for services or skills, the seller has three days to schedule the service, at which point buyers can cancel and receive a refund.
Users of the 5miles free app can still choose to conduct transactions in cash, as the 5miles Wallet is a completely optional service.
Shipping is also an optional service for sellers, making 5miles into one of the most convenient apps for buying and selling.
Sellers can choose to purchase USPS and FEDEX labels directly through the 5 Miles free app, or they can handle shipping on their own.
Not only does in-app payment and shipping eliminate the hassle of meeting up with buyers, our 5miles app review found that these features enable purchases outside of the immediate area, potentially bringing in more buyers for each listing.
Additionally, because the app holds payments for ten days, buyers can confidently make credit card purchases without worrying about many of the scams that plague other local buy and sell apps.
Safe Exchange Area Location (SEAL)
One of the biggest challenges of using apps for buying and selling is negotiating an appropriate meeting spot to conduct a transaction. The 5miles app completely does away with this frustration with the SEAL program.
While chatting with users, buyers and sellers can choose to enable the Safe Exchange Area Location. This software uses GPS location to connect to the closest safe exchange locations as designated by your city, typically well-lit and under surveillance.
Safe exchange locations can be shared between buyers and sellers, making it easy to find secure, trustworthy public places to meet.
5Miles Cars
The 5 Miles free app puts a unique focus on creating a dynamic 5miles Cars selection to help users find exactly what they need. The Automotive category allows users to search within five subcategories:
- Cars—Private owners and sellers
- Buy Here Pay Here—Listings posted by local dealerships
- Auto Parts
- Wheels & Tires
- Motorcycles
Buy Here Pay Here, the newest addition to 5miles cars, can connect with over 12,500 dealerships across the country, making 5miles an incredibly competitive OfferUp alternative or LetGo alternative.
Dealerships must subscribe to a paid membership before selling 5miles cars, while private sellers can list up to 5 cars free of charge.
Photo courtesy of: Google Play
5Miles App Sales Tools
While the 5miles local buy and sell app is free to download and use, the 5miles app does provide three sales tools for an added fee.
Our 5miles review found that sellers who want added visibility and a quicker sale can choose from the following extra tools:
- Must Go—This exclusive feed helps buyers easily find top-priority sales
- Triple Exposure—Items appear in the Home feed, Search result, and Related listing
- Click to Call—This button makes it easier for potential buyers to connect with you and ask questions about your listing
Uniquely, our 5miles app review found that the app also provides a free sales tool called Boost, which bumps your listing back into the Main feed for optimum visibility.
Once the Boost feature is enabled, sellers are given a timer that notifies them when their listing can be boosted again.
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5Miles App Review | 5Miles App Reviews from Android Users
Before downloading local buy and sell apps, it’s important to look at user reviews to identify what features work well, and what needs improvement.
In this section, our 5miles app review will take an in-depth look at various 5miles reviews from actual users to see how well the app performs for Android users.
Positive 5Miles App for Android Reviews
The 5 Miles app for Android currently has over 85,300 5miles app reviews and a total rating of 4.5 stars out of 5.
The vast majority of 5miles app reviewers praise the 5 Miles free app for its user-friendly interface, convenience, and friendly encounters with other users. For example, in her own 5miles app review, user Nicole P. states:
7/1 update. Always good transaction after you weed out the low ballers and weirdos. I had never done any sale apps so I downloaded 5 miles as a suggestion from neigh after a failed attempt at a yard sale. I liked everything about it..very smooth and the communication and alerts were awesome. Im deleting the other app as soon as my items sell.
In a similar 5miles app review, user Rubi Gomez-Barrera says:
I really love this app, never been scammed, what I most love about this app is that you can chat and ask a lot of questions before you buy, I have bought and sold things here and never been scammed, it really helps that the app gives you safe public places where to meet so you can feel safe meeting buyers or sellers.
According to 5miles app reviews, Android users also liked the following aspects of the 5miles app:
- Free “Boost” feature
- Friendly buyers and sellers
- Ability to discuss items before purchasing
- Wide variety of categories available for browsing
- Browsing history is used to personalize categories on the Home screen
As an additional note, a few sellers mentioned that they have had much more success on the 5miles app than with other apps for buying and selling, making 5miles a great OfferUp alternative or LetGo alternative.
Photo courtesy of: Google Play
Negative 5Miles App for Android Reviews
Although there are plenty of users praising the 5miles app in their 5miles reviews, there are also a fair amount of critical 5miles app reviews on the Google Play store.
For example, consider this negative 5miles app review from a seller:
This app just keeps getting more greedy and strict….Takes like 5-10 seconds of an advertisement just to open the app each time… places ads with your posting pictures…. it’s greedy cause it’s your ad and content that shows the advertisement they post but you get no credit…. they are strict and take lots of your posts down even if it’s not on the list….Id take a pass on this app if you’re smart.
Although the presence of ads helps keep the 5 Miles free app accessible, it does stand to reason that some sellers may be frustrated by ads appearing alongside their listings.
Another critical 5miles app review from user Kyle Mickuykendal reads:
Great app to connect you with local merchants and resellers. However, it’s very awful when you block a certain person yet they are still able to contact you. Even after addressing this issue, nothing is being done. Usually I’m very easy and fair and able to negotiate a fair deal, yet there’s a ton of people who want quality items given to them for free.
Our 5miles review also found that, while the 5 Miles free app does try to keep high levels of security in place, the app is still vulnerable to the pitfalls of competing local buy and sell apps—namely, online harassment.
User Jenny Canan details her unfortunate experience within her own 5miles app review, saying:
Keep an eye out for creeps using this app for luring in victims. Was harassed verbally, visually, and worse by some stranger who didn’t expect a girl to resist. But I did sell quickly and to great people. Just [be] safe and never meet someone alone.
A few other common complaints among 5miles reviews from Android users include:
- Added fees for selling more than 5 cars as an independent seller
- Added fees for selling car parts
- Cropping requirements for photos
- Filters need to be reset each time you log in
- Sellers can’t see who is “liking” their listings
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5Miles App Review | 5Miles App Reviews from iOS Users
The 5miles app for iOS has over 63,708 ratings and a total score of 4.5 stars. This rating applies both to the current version and the overall score given by 5miles app reviewers on iOS.
Positive 5Miles App Reviews
Similar to Android, 5miles app reviews from iOS users tend to be blended with praise and criticism, with most users applauding the 5 Miles free app.
For example, one positive 5miles app review says:
I like the way I am notified when new items are added. The photos of the items that are being sold or given away are very good and helpful. I have been able to pass the information to my coworkers and friends and they have been able to purchase items they were looking for. Keep up the good work.
Another 5miles review states,
…I have spent quite some time reviewing others’ postings and reading instructions, tips and comments from users. I must say based on other apps that focus primarily on buying and selling items somewhat locally, this is the most clearly defined and well explained of them all. Every step seems to have been covered. Every effort to protect the safety [of] the seller and the purchaser seems to have been considered…I feel I will have a better experience with 5miles.
According to 5miles app reviews from users on iTunes, here are the most commonly reported positive aspects of the 5miles app:
- User-friendly interface for both sellers and buyers
- The process of selling and buying is clearly explained
- Safety features are very helpful (like the SEAL program)
- Wide variety of categories
- Provides great local exposure for sellers
Negative 5Miles App Reviews
Interestingly, even negative 5miles app reviews still have positive ratings to give. The following 5miles app review from user PadrinaBellibone is a good example of this mix of criticism and praise:
The app itself is really easy to use. I like being able to post several pictures and I also appreciate that I can renew my listing to keep it at the top of the page every four hours. Now for the cons. The people that use this app to buy are downright awful…Some ask for your personal phone number and address before even agreeing to meet. There could be some safety issues there. I’ve had men ask me to meet them in parking lots at 10pm. No way!
User shine4362 left a similar 5miles app review, saying:
I love this app and I’d love to give it the full five stars but there are some glitches to my way of thinking…I put in an exact (wording) match for an item in the search engine and the item doesn’t show up. This definitely needs to be fixed!
There are other 5miles app reviewers that describe similar issues with app glitches, though many of these 5miles reviews are at least a year old.
The 5miles app may have solved these glitches in their recent June 2017 update, but unfortunately, there are not enough recent reviews to confirm this.
According to 5miles app reviews, common critiques from iOS users include:
- Strict requirements for taking and uploading photos
- Receiving offers without any serious intent from buyers
- App cannot be viewed in landscape view
- Specific location and distance filters need to be constantly reset
- Picture quality is not as clear as it could be
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Conclusion: Should You Use the 5miles App?
The 5miles app has a lot of unique features that make it one of the best LetGo alternatives and OfferUp alternatives.
For example, the Safe Exchange Area Location makes it easy to use local buy and sell apps without worrying over finding safe, public locations to conduct transactions.
Additionally, the 5 Miles free app does something that other local apps for buying and selling leave out completely—the ability to process payments and shipping right from within the app.
If you like the idea of buy and sell apps, but would prefer a safer transaction and a little less pressure for face-to-face interaction, then the 5 Miles free app has been created specifically for you!
As the market continues to bring fierce competition for local buy and sell apps, it’s likely that the 5miles app will continue to rise as one of the best LetGo alternatives and OfferUp alternatives.
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