craigslist is great if you want to get rid of stuff. you just have to watch out and follow a few rules that a few members mentioned.
1) everything in cash. never trust anything check, money order, etc. cash cash cash. But then you also have to bring one of those pens to check the bills for counterfeits as some try to buy things with bogus bills. heard that one person actually xeroxed $100 bills and tried to use them to buy something. They can't do that at regular stores as it would be a federal crime but they will try it with the seller on craigslist.
2) For me, they need to pay the full amount. no down payment now and pay later, no full amount, no item. he can give me a cash down payment if he wants the stuff, just give me 99% now and I will hold the item until he comes up with the other 1%. I know others that do hold items if the buyer pays a certain percentage (over 50%, nonrefundable) but the buyer won't get the item until the seller pays in full, period.
3) everything local. No shipping, no deliveries. you want it, you come and get it. you take care of the shipping yourself.
4) safer to meet in an open place. don't conduct the transaction at your house or condo. you never know what kind of person you're dealing with. I heard that some people go to yard sales to case out your house, there was a rash of burglaries a few years ago and they were traced to people who had yard sales. The crooks when they got caught said that they use the garage sales as an excuse to get closer to your house so they can check the alarms and security and how easy it is to break into the house.
5) never promise to hold your stuff for someone, even if he promises to pay more or give you an extra fee. tell the person that you will sell it to the first person who will come by, if the person really wants it he has to get it now.
6) when you arrange to meet somebody, be sure to get his/her cel phone number. Immediately call the person back to verify the number. Then a few hours before you are scheduled to meet the person call him back again. That way if they use a pay phone to have fun with you, nobody will answer it. Call the person right before the meet to make sure he/she will be there. I know that people can use "burn" phones that are untrackable but at least you get rid of the other scammers. Most scammers won't give you their real phone number and I tell them that I won't deal with them unless they do. This will make sure that if something happens you have their number.
agreed that there are lots of scammers trying to rip you off, like anything else you have to watch out for yourself and protect yourself from getting ripped off.
yes, people fall for the scams because they are novices to craigslist and selling stuff over the net so don't know any better. As for jatki's scam, people still try it because they hope that at least 1 person will fall for the scam. There is very little policing so these guys will try to get away with it without worrying about getting arrested.
It's too bad that these scums turned something that was a good thing into another possible scam.
1) everything in cash. never trust anything check, money order, etc. cash cash cash. But then you also have to bring one of those pens to check the bills for counterfeits as some try to buy things with bogus bills. heard that one person actually xeroxed $100 bills and tried to use them to buy something. They can't do that at regular stores as it would be a federal crime but they will try it with the seller on craigslist.
2) For me, they need to pay the full amount. no down payment now and pay later, no full amount, no item. he can give me a cash down payment if he wants the stuff, just give me 99% now and I will hold the item until he comes up with the other 1%. I know others that do hold items if the buyer pays a certain percentage (over 50%, nonrefundable) but the buyer won't get the item until the seller pays in full, period.
3) everything local. No shipping, no deliveries. you want it, you come and get it. you take care of the shipping yourself.
4) safer to meet in an open place. don't conduct the transaction at your house or condo. you never know what kind of person you're dealing with. I heard that some people go to yard sales to case out your house, there was a rash of burglaries a few years ago and they were traced to people who had yard sales. The crooks when they got caught said that they use the garage sales as an excuse to get closer to your house so they can check the alarms and security and how easy it is to break into the house.
5) never promise to hold your stuff for someone, even if he promises to pay more or give you an extra fee. tell the person that you will sell it to the first person who will come by, if the person really wants it he has to get it now.
6) when you arrange to meet somebody, be sure to get his/her cel phone number. Immediately call the person back to verify the number. Then a few hours before you are scheduled to meet the person call him back again. That way if they use a pay phone to have fun with you, nobody will answer it. Call the person right before the meet to make sure he/she will be there. I know that people can use "burn" phones that are untrackable but at least you get rid of the other scammers. Most scammers won't give you their real phone number and I tell them that I won't deal with them unless they do. This will make sure that if something happens you have their number.
agreed that there are lots of scammers trying to rip you off, like anything else you have to watch out for yourself and protect yourself from getting ripped off.
yes, people fall for the scams because they are novices to craigslist and selling stuff over the net so don't know any better. As for jatki's scam, people still try it because they hope that at least 1 person will fall for the scam. There is very little policing so these guys will try to get away with it without worrying about getting arrested.
It's too bad that these scums turned something that was a good thing into another possible scam.
