Using Leboncoin From Another Country: How It Works
Leboncoin is owned by a large group called Adevinta, which specializes in online classifieds websites across the globe. Their plan was to capture the market here in France, which they did extremely well, and they are now trying to leverage their own market by promoting their own solutions (payment systems, delivery, and so on). To do this, they had to make the platform more trustworthy for fully online transactions, resulting in major security changes.
As a result, compared to a few years ago, it has become very difficult for genuine foreigners to use it.
The website does not openly communicate all the parameters, but our experience and that of our customers lead us to believe the following is true.
To register and use Leboncoin and its functionalities in their entirety, you will need four things:
- A unique French number or one from an accepted country not used on the website
- A French IP not known as a VPN
- A French address
- A card accepted by Leboncoin
What Foreign Numbers Does Leboncoin Accept for Registration?
The website only accepts foreign phone numbers from neighboring countries in the Schengen Area. You will only be able to register if your phone number is from one of the following countries:
- France
- Germany
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Cyprus
- Czechia
- Denmark
- Spain
- Estonia
- Finland
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Italy
- Ireland
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Monaco
- Norway
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Switzerland
- Sweden
If the country code associated with your phone number is not from one of these countries, you won’t be able to register.
Is Leboncoin Availaible in English or Another Language?
The website is only available in French. No English version is available, nor any other languages. You may want to use your web browser to get a basic translation into the language you prefer. To do that you can right click anywhere on the page on most webrowser and click “Translate to English”.
Can You Connect to Your Leboncoin Account From Anywhere?
Leboncoin is not very clear about this. But from what we have gathered, you won’t be able to connect to an account if your IP is not from one of the countries listed above. Moreover, the website seems to keep a blacklist of IPs known to belong to VPN providers and blocks them from using accounts even if they are from an authorized country.
What Can Foreigners Do on Their Leboncoin Account?
Unfortunately, it doesn’t stop there. Even if you can connect from abroad to a Leboncoin account, you won’t be able to use most of the functionalities, as shown in the table below:
| Leboncoin functionality | From France | From abroad |
| Posting an ad | ✔ | x |
| Search and view ads | ✔ | ✔ |
| Using Secure Messaging | ✔ | ✔ |
| Purchase via secure payment | ✔ | x |
| online booking | ✔ | ✔ |
Important note: messaging is accessible abroad only for conversations that were initiated in France.
Therefore, from outside French territory, connected Leboncoin users may only use their online booking systems for hotels and such and message sellers that they already contacted in France. All the rest won’t be possible until you use a device recognized as located in France.
What are the shipping options available on Leboncoin?
Leboncoin has four official shipping partners, and sellers can also add a custom option to offer their own delivery methods, which integrate seamlessly within the platform and are easy to use for transactions outside of Leboncoin’s standard contracts. The partners are La Poste Colissimo, Mondial Relay, Relay Colis, and Shop2Shop by Chronopost, offering both direct home delivery and PUDO (Pick-Up & Drop-Off) delivery to a shop or locker. An important thing to know is that sellers can use these standard Leboncoin contracts only if the parcel has linear dimensions of up to 150 cm.
Unfortunately, none of these are international shipping methods, so to have goods shipped abroad, you will first have to send them to a domestic address within the country, such as ours.
Is Buying On Leboncoin safe?
Using Leboncoin’s integrated payment system and buyer protection is very safe, as the platform is highly consumer-oriented. Because funds are held by the platform before reaching the seller, you are automatically refunded if the seller fails to ship the item for instance. In the event of a dispute, the system heavily favors the buyer, which is why it is widely used in France today. In our case we maintain a Leboncoin account with a 4.9/5 rating and over 400 reviews, which makes sellers much more confident in working with us.
So, Who Can Buy Products on Leboncoin?
Only people located in France and having a phone number from the accepted list of countries (above) can make a purchase there. Moreover, delivery can only happen within France.
Can You Pay on Leboncoin Using a Foreign Card?
On paper, Leboncoin accepts all Visa and MasterCard credit and debit cards. In reality, they seem to block many, if not most, cards issued outside the Schengen Area.
How Can You Buy Anything on Leboncoin if You Are in Another Country?
If you are outside France and need a product on Leboncoin, contact us. We can do it for you! Our service not only forwards your products and packages but can also purchase your entire shopping list for you. With our help, you can buy on Leboncoin from the US, UK, Germany, Canada, and any other country around the globe.