Scams when selling on Craigslist or ebay

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60jerry

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May 9, 2011
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Location
Denver, CO
I’m wondering something about responses to adverts on these sites and many others.

The response is polite and wants first to know whether the item is still available. I respond, “Yes, still available”. The next contact says he likes the price and condition. Wants my name and address to send a check. I could wait until the check clears. Fine. Next contact he wants to send extra bucks in the check to pay the shipper after I deduct my portion—all after the check clears. I responded that no, I don’t pay your shipper for you, but you must prepay your shipper. He says that if I pay the shipper, I would advise the shipper when the item can be picked up and shipped to the buyer. Why couldn’t he advise his shipper. This has happened more than once. What the heck? I recognize that it appears that I can’t lose, but something bugs me. Anyone experienced this? Perhaps my suspicions were excessive.
Jerry
 
SCAM

About the oldest one on the internet. Do a search and you'll find plenty of threads.
 
Unfortunately the "wait till check clears" is an old one. Because sometimes the banks deposit the money in your account before the check actually does clear. You think it has cleared, ship the item... then get informed the check wasn't good.
 
I occasionally sell (or attempt to sell) things on CL. Simply put, as soon as you see "is your item still for sale?" immediately delete that email and do not reply.

Edit: I should also add, don't give out your phone number until you're sure you're dealing with a real buyer. That is, unless you like having your number distributed to scammers and Indian telemarketing centers.
 
I have found if they don't use the part/car specific name and talk in general terms like "item and vehicle" you need to be cautious...

Also look out for them to put it in your paypal and ask you to look for the payment email in your spam folder as it may have gone to there.... Check your own paypal before sending any items...
 
krazykuda said:
I have found if they don't use the part/car specific name and talk in general terms like "item and vehicle" you need to be cautious...

Also look out for them to put it in your paypal and ask you to look for the payment email in your spam folder as it may have gone to there.... Check your own paypal before sending any items...
Click to expand...

AND do NOT click ANY links to Paypal or any other financial site that come in emails.
Go to Paypal directly, as email links can be frauds, and most don't know how to tell the difference.
 
"If its posted, its still for sale, will not respond to 'IS IT STILL FOR SALE' Cash only, meet at Starbucks" always use the email link provided by craigs, not your real Email. Then when you get to Starbucks and find the guy, ask him "did you bring $80, because thats what the price is" None of this " I only brought 60 with me" BS. Stay hard....
 
I got mailed a check for 2200$ for a engine block I was selling for a grand contact number was from California check from a bank in Carolina ... legit looking watermark business check and item was to be shipped to Texas lol the scam isn’t getting the part but getting u to refund the difference in over payment .
 
67a273post said:
I got mailed a check for 2200$ for a engine block I was selling for a grand contact number was from California check from a bank in Carolina ... legit looking watermark business check and item was to be shipped to Texas lol the scam isn’t getting the part but getting u to refund the difference in over payment .
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Have had that request already. Also 'I will send money and someone will pick it up'. That one I believe is akin to 'check is in the mail'. They want to grab the item and you never see the money.
I tell them cash on pickup. I don't care who you send.
 
I had friend who had the scam ran on him he deposited the check and it cleared he shipped package refunded the over payment 3 days later his bank withdrew orig check amount out of his account n he lost out on part and the cash , I think in my case they had no interested in the part and shipped it wherever , they were looking for the difference in over payment being sent to them . In my eyes if you can’t speak to them on the phone about the actuall part and they haven’t a clue to what the part is or what there building w it it’s a scam , the lady on the phone after I told her I was aware she was scamming me hung up after initial saying she wasnt a scammer and was insulted .she had no idea what a std 3 13/16 race case was .... couldn’t even spell cases correctly in email . It was a buell billet dragrace case for 114 inch motor. Seller beware. Anything over 200$ I try n talk to someone lok next giy that hit me up for them chewed my ear off for 20 minuets aboutwhat he was building and we had a smoothtransaction
 
I've had a couple different people contact me on different items I had on craigs list stating they were out on an oil rig and couldn't get to there funds and would pay me by paypal if I could give them my info. (LOL) I just told em that I was on the "Space station" and would get back to them when I came back to earth.
 
Have a couple friends get C/L scams pulled on them.
The 1st, she was sent checks that were bad. She even showed them to me and I told her it was scam. I asked her "why would someone send you a $1500 check for a $50 purse?". I thought she understood. She took the check and cashed it. It bounced into orbit about a week later.
She got a second check a few days later, this time she called the police who told her it was a scam.
The 2nd scam was scarier. A friend found a truck on C/L for an incredible price. Called and was told it was part of a divorce and had to be sold quickly. He left with $8000.00 cash to meet the guy. What he met was a couple of thugs, with guns, who knew he had $8K on him. Easy pickings.
If it looks to be good to be true, it is.
 
Got a phone call one day from some guy (with a middle eastern accent) claiming he was from the US department of defense , bla bla bla, I said NOOO YOUR NOT! He says YES I AM. I said NO YOUR NOT! This goes on till he gets pissed off and hangs up on me . laughed my but off. Sad thing is , he probably was.
 
gunbunny said:
The 2nd scam was scarier. A friend found a truck on C/L for an incredible price. Called and was told it was part of a divorce and had to be sold quickly. He left with $8000.00 cash to meet the guy. What he met was a couple of thugs, with guns, who knew he had $8K on him. Easy pickings.
If it looks to be good to be true, it is.
Click to expand...

That why I always ask where the closest bank is, and make sure I meet them with enough time for me to run up to the bank and get the money out
(I want to make sure they are not expecting me to have large amounts of money on me)

And I usually take a buddy, who will also be carrying
 
I have had good luck lately with Offerup. All comms are within the app and they have a rating system for buyers sellers so the scammers and flakes stay away. They also recently started to let you post items for national shipping to reach more sellers (I have not tried that yet).

Have gotten lots of tools and see the car parts section steadily growing too.

Craigslist is just too full of knuckleheads these days.
 
seabee said:
I have had good luck lately with Offerup. All comms are within the app and they have a rating system for buyers sellers so the scammers and flakes stay away. They also recently started to let you post items for national shipping to reach more sellers (I have not tried that yet).

Have gotten lots of tools and see the car parts section steadily growing too.

Craigslist is just too full of knuckleheads these days.
Click to expand...
Well, all of you people have made me feel that i’m Looking at this correctly. Got some good info. Thanks to all of you.

Jerry in Denver
 
LetGo is another app, that's a total waste of time. you put something up like a baby crib, and 8 people ask you if its still for sale, you respond yes and they disappear. I think they are farming Email addresses, text numbers or something.....I have bought on craigs and had them ship it, not burned yet except the one I paid USPS money order for and got it all back 6 months later when we compared sigs and found his "roommate" forged his sig and cashed it. Buyer beware.
 
Wanted to buy a car off CL. Ad had 2 poor pictures. Sent an email requesting more pictures.
The reply was a long email about a divorce, seller lived in Atlanta, car was in Charlotte. Seller will ship the car to me for inspection. If I don't like it, I can ship it back. It's all covered under Ebay Protection. No risk to you. Please send $800.00.

If it's "no risk", they can ship it to me on their dime.
 
I just collect their checks and waste their time and money
 
They're pretty crafty. My latest was that I got a call from someone who spoke perfect English representing the Sheriff's Dept. They informed me I needed to satisfy the fine that was assesed to me for missing jury duty via credit card before a warrant was issued. I told them to send a sheriff.

Never go alone to meet someone to purchase something.
 
Now.. .I must also say... I bought my car from a CL local ad. I was beginning to think that it was a scam because it was difficult to get the gentleman to respond to e-mails, however, the car was local. I also took a drive to see it in person without even letting the seller know before hand as it was a small town and I could tell from the stuff in the background of the picture the approximate location it was in. It was sitting at an unmarked building's parking lot. I took someone with me even then. So I checked the car out first. After about a month of waiting days for seller to respond to emails, we finally agreed on a meeting. Come to find out he was an undercover agent with police so worked odd hours and he also had a sick child that he was running to hospital a couple of hours away for. He was a nice, normal person, just wasn't high on his priority list to sell the car, but he didn't want it sitting and rusting either. But still... local is best!
 
I'm sorry...

I'll send you a $2000 check for your $50 "item".
You send me back $1900, and keep $50 for your trouble.


If you fall for that you're an IDIOT!
 
Just came back from a craigslist deal
$100.00 for a topper, a Lund visor, passenger seat and a rear view mirror, all for my plow truck

The whole de went spotless, although I considered shooting the guy when I heard he is running an LS engine in his jeep
 
67a273post said:
Me too have 2 on my wall
Click to expand...
That's my plan.. Have several but this is the biggest one yet haha

check.jpg
 
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