Craigslist help

[HAMERMAN]

I placed an add last night for my daughters drum kit. Two replies so far, this one seems potentially shady:

Hi,

I am very interested and will buy at your price. I cant come and see it because my schedule is very tight.Your payment will be mailed out to you as soon as you provide your name,address and phone number.I will pay with check as am on a business trip and will add $30 so you can keep it in my favor.You should get your payment in 3-4 working days. Let me know as soon as you receive it so i can start making arrangements for the pick-up. Thanks

Walter

I am not sure what the point of this would be if it is a scam other than to get the address of a house that potentially has musical gear in it. ID theft maybe?

Any ideas on how to proceed? My first thought is to ask Walter for his phone number so we can talk in person. Any advice is welcome.

Thanks,

Dave

[Turdus]

It's a scam... don't even reply.

I should add that some of the names they use these days seems legit... but look at the reply to email, and it usually goes to something other than the originating email.

I had one of these the other day for a $100 bass cabinet I was selling... Was almost tempted to remove the speaker, fill the damn thing full of concrete, and tell them to come get it,

[cmatthes]

Exactly.

Delete and move on.

[JohnnyB]

It's not potentially shady, it IS shady with clear intent to defraud and steal your shit. If you google, you'll find examples of fraudulent letters all over the Internet that follow this same pattern--out of town on business, don't have time, give me lots of contact information including location, I'll send somebody by to pick it up.

You can bet that his "agent" or gang or whatever would show up long before the check cleared.

Pretend you never saw this. If the guy were sincere, wouldn't he ask for some more detailed pictures to make sure it's worth the asking price, send you a cashier's check, and identify and describe the person coming to pick it up?

There are lots of websites that enumerate and explain symptoms of scams.

The first is vagueness. Notice that your respondent didn't even mention the item for sale, a drum set. He refers to them as "it." Second, he doesn't provide his contact information but wants yours.Third, he offers more than the asking price. It is a variation on the Nigerian scam.

[hamerhead]

Definitely a scam.

When you post your ad, put in there "Respond with a phone number. No number = No reply. Sorry". Legit buyers don't mind, and scammers won't bother. Just delete any that don't have one. I've been doing that for the past year or so, and the horseshit has all but stopped.

[veatch]

Yup - Notice they didn't even reference the product you are selling.

This will be followed up with a check (forged) that is for a much higher amount, and an email indicating, "My secretary messed up and sent the wrong payment - would you mind cashing the check and Western Unioning the difference back to me - you can keep $50 for your trouble..." blah blah blah...

Delete and move on.

Or mess with them and waste their time, if you enjoy that sort of thing. Something like: "The item in question has been sold, but i have something else you may be interested in..." Be sure to mention the buyer sounds cute, and ask if they are single. Let your imagination run wild.

Doing this from a free and temporary email account can make it even more enjoyable...

[HAMERMAN]

Thanks guys - I knew this was the correct place to ask!

[Victor (Fret Friend)]

He's trying to find out when you're gonna be outta the house (maybe)...

[FrankieIII]

Definitely a scam.

When you post your ad, put in there "Respond with a phone number. No number = No reply. Sorry". Legit buyers don't mind, and scammers won't bother. Just delete any that don't have one. I've been doing that for the past year or so, and the horseshit has all but stopped.

+ 1

[Studio Custom]

Choose the no email option and put a cell phone number, weeds out all the issues and you get a sense for the buyer immediately.

[tbonesullivan]

scam. scam. scam.

cash in hand in person. that is what craigslist is for.

[murkat]

and set up a meeting place in a public area, never at your home.

[diablo175]

CL seems ripe with scams. Luckily, you have members on here that have steered you away from this one. I like the one that suggests listing a phone number instead of an email addy.

[geoff_hartwell]

and set up a meeting place in a public area, never at your home.

+100.

Mall, shopping center, etc during daylight, and consider bringing a friend who you can buy off with a slice of pizza

If it's not bulky (in my case it was a used iPod) consider a bar/club where you know the owners/bartenders, on afternoon where you can hang for a bit.

In any case, it's nice to be in public and have some backup.

[a.bandini]

I can't think of any place more public than the local police station parking lot. That's where I'd do something like a CL deal. Good luck!