Craigslist Scams?

[NewChief]

My wife and I sell stuff on craigslist from time to time (my unwritten rule is that if we want to "upgrade" something, we have to get rid of the previous thing first). I've noticed that when we put something up, we always get a few quick replies inquiring about the item or expressing interest in buying it. When you reply to these people, they never reply back.

They're usually along the lines of the following:

"I will like to buy the item you post on craigslist."


But I also got this elaborate one:

Hello,
Am satisfied with the price and condition of item. I will like to make an outright purchase of the item. I am going to be out of town on a business trip, so i will like to proceed in issuing out a certified check(cashier check) to you and upon the confirmation and clearance of payment my shipper will come for the pick-up at your location, i want to handle the shipment myself so it wont affect your schedule on the day of pick so for this reason i will be including an extra money on the check which will cover my shippers expense for the pickup at your place . Let me know if this is ok by you and i will need the following to mail out the payment overnight today, full name,address, zip code and phone number so that payment can be mail out today. Hope to read from you soon.


Kind Regards


Anyway, I'm about 99% sure that these are both scams. The second one is obviously fishing for my information. I'm unsure what the first one is trying to achieve, though? Just wanting to harvest my email address by getting me to reply to them or what?

[AndChiefs]

Second is definitely a scam. First has such awful English I would be inclined to say it is as well.

[CosmicPal]

The bottom line is this- if they can't reply in normal, cohesive English, I don't bother replying to them.

[Saulbadguy]

What do you reply back with? That most likely dictates whether or not they will reply back.

[Bugeater]

That's why you should have a junk email address to use just for craigslist.

[Gonzo]

Yep, both are automated responses. The first one just wants your email for spam, (or worse).
The second wants your info.
Posted via Mobile Device

[rageeumr]

Second one is a pretty well-known scam. They send you a cashier's check with extra money, and find a reason for you to wire the difference back to them "after the check clears". The problem is a cashier's check is posted immediately to your account, giving the appearance that all is well. By the time your bank notifies you that the check is bogus, your money is long gone.

[Hawk8568]

The bottom line is this- if they can't reply in normal, cohesive English, I don't bother replying to them.

+1

[doomy3]

I sell a lot on craigls list. Anytime someone sends me an email with any variation of "The item you have on CL" I automatically delete it. Anyone who is real and actually interested, will usually call the "item" by name in the body of the email.

[C-Mac]

I sell a lot on craigls list. Anytime someone sends me an email with any variation of "The item you have on CL" I automatically delete it. Anyone who is real and actually interested, will usually call the "item" by name in the body of the email.

This.

[Hawk8568]

Second one is a pretty well-known scam. They send you a cashier's check with extra money, and find a reason for you to wire the difference back to them "after the check clears". The problem is a cashier's check is posted immediately to your account, giving the appearance that all is well. By the time your bank notifies you that the check is bogus, your money is long gone.

sir, your stolen lemur has bitten one of the prostitutes in the face. but she refuses to go to the hospital because she is quote: "tripping balls."

[jidar]

sir, your stolen lemur has bitten one of the prostitutes in the face. but she refuses to go to the hospital because she is quote: "tripping balls."

fuckin-a +1 archer reference.

[MOhillbilly]

if you dont post your phone # i dont buy shit off ya. doesnt matter how good the price is. Be prepared to haggle.

[Rain Man]

Reply back that the item is no longer for sale since you have to leave imediately to help a friend in nigeria to do a major money transfer, and see if they get all excited.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Lzen]

Reply back that the item is no longer for sale since you have to leave imediately to help a friend in nigeria to do a major money transfer, and see if they get all excited.
Posted via Mobile Device

Excellent! :thumb: I think I'll use that. :)

[NewChief]

I sell a lot on craigls list. Anytime someone sends me an email with any variation of "The item you have on CL" I automatically delete it. Anyone who is real and actually interested, will usually call the "item" by name in the body of the email.

My wife and my first few experiences selling on CL were awesome. They've gotten progressively worse, though.


The worst was trying to get rid of an old TV cabinet/armoire. It was a -really- nice piece of furniture, but since everyone is moving to flat screen TVs, it's obsolete.

We started at like $300 and ended up giving the damned thing away for free.


If you want to bring out the trailer trash in your neck of the woods... post something up on CL for free. Holy shite. It was like piranhas on meat.

[blaise]

I've sold a couple things on there. Just junk really. The people I thought were funny were the ones that would email you saying they were interested. Then if you didn't respond to them in like an hour they sent another email like, "I have sent you an email and I you did not respond. Please respond ASAP." How about you go to hell. It's a $5 lamp and 20 other people want it.

[NewChief]

I've sold a couple things on there. Just junk really. The people I thought were funny were the ones that would email you saying they were interested. Then if you didn't respond to them in like an hour they sent another email like, "I have sent you an email and I you did not respond. Please respond ASAP." How about you go to hell. It's a $5 lamp and 20 other people want it.

The ones that drove me crazy were the ones we'd agree on a price, have exchanged several emails, then it comes time to close the deal and they just completely disappear. That was the case with the TV cabinet. At every price point we listed it, we'd have 2-3 buyers. Usually one would pan into a solid prospect. We'd go back and forth, be in agreement.... then the deal would fall through.

I finally just said, fuck it... I'm posting this thing for free because I'm tired of looking at it.

Some toothless lady was in my driveway in 30 minutes with her hubby's truck ready to pick it up.

[blaise]

My wife and my first few experiences selling on CL were awesome. They've gotten progressively worse, though.


The worst was trying to get rid of an old TV cabinet/armoire. It was a -really- nice piece of furniture, but since everyone is moving to flat screen TVs, it's obsolete.

We started at like $300 and ended up giving the damned thing away for free.


If you want to bring out the trailer trash in your neck of the woods... post something up on CL for free. Holy shite. It was like piranhas on meat.

Oh yeah, if you list something for free they will just go ape crap. "I'M COMING RIGHT NOW! I'M DRIVING THERE RIGHT NOW!!!"
It's funny though, people would ask for photos for stuff I was giving away. It's like, 'it's free. I'm not emailing you photos. If you want it come get it.'

[Bugeater]

My wife and my first few experiences selling on CL were awesome. They've gotten progressively worse, though.


The worst was trying to get rid of an old TV cabinet/armoire. It was a -really- nice piece of furniture, but since everyone is moving to flat screen TVs, it's obsolete.

We started at like $300 and ended up giving the damned thing away for free.


If you want to bring out the trailer trash in your neck of the woods... post something up on CL for free. Holy shite. It was like piranhas on meat.
That's the way CL is headed, you used to be able to get a reasonable price for things but now it's just full of vultures who want something for nothing.

[chiefsnorth]

Of course those are the fake cashier's check scams.

What I really hate is you'll agree on a price and then they show up with less money, thinking you will accept it just because it's cash.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Bugeater]

Oh yeah, if you list something for free they will just go ape crap. "I'M COMING RIGHT NOW! I'M DRIVING THERE RIGHT NOW!!!"
It's funny though, people would ask for photos for stuff I was giving away. It's like, 'it's free. I'm not emailing you photos. If you want it come get it.'
I don't think it's unreasonable to ask for photos even if something is free, there's a lot of people who use the free section there as a way to get people to haul off their junk for them.

[Hawk8568]

i had a gas grill that was a little old with some rust, but still fully functional.

i put it on CL with pictures for $20. didnt get any responses for 3 days. not even anyone saying ... "ill give you $10"

so i put it up for "free" and i had 10 emails within 12 minutes. amazing.

[blaise]

I don't think it's unreasonable to ask for photos even if something is free, there's a lot of people who use the free section there as a way to get people to haul off their junk for them.

I don't think it's unreasonable, but if 20 people say they want it (which, when I gave stuff away usually happned) I didn't bother emailing someone a photo. I would just respond to a person that said, "I can be there in 20 minutes." I guess if only a few people asked I would have.

[Bugeater]

Oh, and the wanted section there is a joke anymore, it's nothing but people wanting free shit too. One of my favorites was one I saw a while back where a guy posted an ad wanting brand new glass blocks, JFC go to Menard's and fucking buy them you cheap bastard.

[NewChief]

i had a gas grill that was a little old with some rust, but still fully functional.

i put it on CL with pictures for $20. didnt get any responses for 3 days. not even anyone saying ... "ill give you $10"

so i put it up for "free" and i had 10 emails within 12 minutes. amazing.

People amaze me, and I can only imagine what some of these people's homes/property looks like.

My last home remodeling, we found some guys advertising that they'd haul off metal for free. We gave them all of this old metal siding (and I'm sure they were going to scrap it... so that was fine). But then they started looking around and asking if they could take all of this other scrap we had. This was -shit-. I mean, complete shit. Like a single piece of tile. Or a cut up piece of hardibacker or a half a bag of quikrete. I asked them what they did with it, and they said, "Oh, we just pile it up at our property. We got a bunch, and we figure we'll use it all eventually."

I can just imagine that their neighbors love them. But hell, I did love them at that point. Saved me a trip to the dump.

[blaise]

Last year I removed some landscape bricks and I tried to sell them on there. Nobody wanted them, so I put them on there for free. Some guy from down the road came and took them all. I used to drive by his house all the time and I could see he just piled them up in his yard on the side of his house. They were there for at least 6 months and then we moved. I bet they're still there.

[Demonpenz]

Why do I picture MoHibbilly Ripping his shirt off like the Janitor on the simpsons when it is time to "haggle"

[doomy3]

The ones that drove me crazy were the ones we'd agree on a price, have exchanged several emails, then it comes time to close the deal and they just completely disappear. That was the case with the TV cabinet. At every price point we listed it, we'd have 2-3 buyers. Usually one would pan into a solid prospect. We'd go back and forth, be in agreement.... then the deal would fall through.

I finally just said, **** it... I'm posting this thing for free because I'm tired of looking at it.

Some toothless lady was in my driveway in 30 minutes with her hubby's truck ready to pick it up.

Yep. This shit happens all the time.

Or, you agree to a price via email, and then they get to your place and try to haggle price.

[chasedude]

There's alot of scams on CL but I just found this job I'm on now on it. That's :thumb: up in my book!

[CosmicPal]

Oh, and the wanted section there is a joke anymore, it's nothing but people wanting free shit too. One of my favorites was one I saw a while back where a guy posted an ad wanting brand new glass blocks, JFC go to Menard's and ****ing buy them you cheap bastard.

Yeah, and on the flip side of that, you have these phuckers that want retail price for what they paid for an item. i.e., they paid $600 for a couch and claim they never sat in it the last six months and want $550 for it. :shake:

[MOhillbilly]

Why do I picture MoHibbilly Ripping his shirt off like the Janitor on the simpsons when it is time to "haggle"

haggled an ol boy down to 5$ on 5 cattle panels, turned around and got another ol boy down 50c on acouple clutches of baby chicks.
no shirt ripping. Cash money in hand w/ me darkin the doorstep does my talkin.

[Titty Meat]

The first one is a scam too.

[doomy3]

Yeah, and on the flip side of that, you have these phuckers that want retail price for what they paid for an item. i.e., they paid $600 for a couch and claim they never sat in it the last six months and want $550 for it. :shake:

See, that doesn't bother me. It is really easy to just disregard ads if you think it is priced too high. If people are looking for garage sale prices, just move to the next ad.

[Demonpenz]

haggled an ol boy down to 5$ on 5 cattle panels, turned around and got another ol boy down 50c on acouple clutches of baby chicks.
no shirt ripping. Cash money in hand w/ me darkin the doorstep does my talkin.

you know haggling means like talking it out, not just bending his arm behind his back until it pops just a little

[MOhillbilly]

you know haggling means like talking it out, not just bending his arm behind his back until it pops just a little

i bring the kids to do my heavy work.

[Demonpenz]

smart beyond your years.

[Demonpenz]

errr wise beyond your years.