5Miles App Review: Is It A Legit Shopping App or Scam?

Remember back in the day when people used newspapers to buy and sell stuff. Well, thanks to the internet and apps like 5Miles you can easily buy and sell stuff from the comfort of your smartphone. But you are probably have some doubts and that’s why you are going through a couple of 5Miles App reviews. Well we have everything you need to know including the good, bad and ugly in this 5Miles review. So, without further ado, let’s get cracking.

What is 5Miles?

5Miles found at 5miles.com is a mobile marketplace and website that connects nearby buyers and sellers to trade things like household items, cars, used items or even post job listings. 5Miles was started in 2014 by co-founders Liang Lu and Rick Cantu and is currently headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

How Does 5Miles App Work?

There are two major aspects to this app.

Selling

If you want to sell stuff all you have to do is take photos of the item, select a category, say what the item is exactly, set your price and post it up for sale. Your item will pop up when potential buyers nearby look up items under that category. When a buyer is interested in your item, you’ll receive a message in your inbox, and you can directly do business within the app. Once you agree terms you can schedule a meet and transact.

Buying

5Miles is all about proximity. When you search for an item, the very first results are of, but not limited to items from sellers who are closest to you. Once you see an item of interest you’ll inbox the seller and start negotiating. You can either schedule a meet or discuss shipping terms.

5Miles Seller Fees

Selling with 5Miles is free for everyone. However, sellers can sponsor their items using the ‘’Boost’’ feature. We shall discuss more on this later in this review.

How Much Does 5Miles App cost?

Using 5Miles is completely free for both sellers and buyers. You can download the app on Google’s PlayStore, or iTunes if you are using an Apple device. Did you know you can get paid to download apps like this at Swagbucks.com? Well, now you do. You can also get paid for things you do online like watching videos, visiting websites, answering polls, shopping and much more at Swagbucks.com.

5Miles App Features

Here are some of the unique features of the 5miles app that you may want to know:

Boost

As a seller, when you sing up for the Boost feature, your items will show up much more frequently and on top of the pile when buyers look up items under that category. Apparently the Boost feature is free to use although we all know eventually they will prompt you to part with a little cash to boost your post even further. How else would they make money anyway? Here are the rates

• Must-go, 3-day exposure $4.99/7 days $7.99
• Triple Exposure, 3-day plan $4.99/7 days $7.99
• 14-day Click-to-call (enables buyers to call you personally) – $1.99/30 day $2.99

5Miles Wallet

If you don’t want to meet the seller in person, you can deposit cash in your wallet and pay the seller within the app if you are a buyer. The Wallet feature also has a ‘’verified shipping’’ function the seller can use to ship your item. For safety purposes, 5Miles verifies every shipping address listed, just to make sure nothing shady is going down. The buyer pays for shipping if they opt to use this feature.

5Miles CMT

The 5Miles CMT (CyberMiles Token) is a payment option within the 5Miles app you can use to pay or get paid for certain items. One CMT is an equivalent of $0.18. They’ll fork over 1 CMT your way once you post your first item for sale.

Referral Program

When someone uses your referral code while signing up, both of you will receive 1 CMT. You can get your referral code in your profile.

What Can’t I Sell on The 5Miles App?

Like most sites there are certain restrictions on what can be sold.  Here are some things you’ll never get on 5Miles.

• Any form of alcohol, tobacco and drugs
• Offensive items and adult content
• Food, medicine, intangible items
• Anything illegal

You can check out their prohibited listing policy here

What We Like About 5Miles

You can find nearly anything

There’s something impressive about 5Miles. You can get almost anything there, as long as they allow it. You can even get services such as plumbing, pest control, nannies and such within the app unlike other similar apps like OfferUp.

5Miles App Complaints

Companies will do almost anything to turn a profit, including being shady, and that's the truth. I know this is the part of the review you are most interested in , and you know us to tell it as it is. So, before you even think of using the app, here's what to expect on the flip side of what's good.

“I can’t believe I fell for that”

It seems they don’t do a good enough job to keep scammers and fake sellers away. All you have to do is verify your phone number or have a Facebook profile to get in. So basically anyone can do that. Some users complained of getting ripped off especially when they pay via the app’s Wallet feature.

No BBB listing

For those of you who determine a company’s legitimacy by their BBB rating, 5Miles is not listed with the Better Business Bureau at the time of this review which may be a deal breaker for some.

You might need to move…

If you live in a small town you can forget using the 5Miles app, and go old school with a garage sale. Some users from small towns barely get hits, and the app will then nag you with the ‘’sell faster’’ notifications.

There are more ads than personal sellers

It seems the app is nothing more than just a commercial marketplace. It’s hard getting cheap second hand items as most users opt to use the app to launch their little online businesses. You’ll have to go through a bunch of ads to finally get one genuine personal seller.

5Miles App Alternatives

Well, considering the complaints you’ve just read, it’s no surprise you might want to check out other apps. There are apps like VarageSale that don’t let just anyone in, or much more popular ones like Vinted. And remember, you can get paid to download apps like these on Swagbucks.com. You can also earn rewards for other things you do online. You can use these cash rewards to shop anywhere.

Is The 5Miles App Legit?

In a word? Tolerable. The app is not a scam, you can actually do business with your neighbors. However, the app is more or less commercial, so it’s kind of hard getting scoring stuff from actual neighbors. Shady people out there will screw you if you are not careful. However, unlike other similar apps, you can post jobs and services so it’s much more diverse in terms of what you can buy or sell.

Well, that’s my time today.  Let me know what you think. If you have any questions about this app, visit their FAQs section here.

Until next time

Eddy ”With a Y”