Originally Posted by
SurferRosa
I got one of those a couple years ago and responded by giving the guy a bit of a hard time. Turned out, he had zero clue about how the question is most often spam for local sellers. We met, and he was a normal sort of old timer just trying to get back into cycling after decades away.
Facebook has gotten better about scammers but there was a time when ignoring "is this item available?" messages got rid of 100% of them. It also gets rid of 90% of ghosting messages (text you once, never to text you again) and a solid 50% of tire kickers. This may be a very small sample rate but I have found a very strong correlation between people that don't even bother to read the very first sentence in your ad (where it clearly says "Is this item still available" messages will be ignored) and negative interactions on Marketplace.
I may, or may not put that line in there. If it is a $10~$20 item I certainly will; my peace of mind is worth more than that and I would rather throw it in the trash (donate it really) than subject myself to that level of annoyance. Some people still send the line and then catch the text; some get annoyed as if I tricked them somehow and some find it funny and text again. I'm sorry for the good people that get annoyed but it saves me from the 10 imbeciles behind them trying to waste my time.
Oh, and don't get me started on trying to give something away for free on Marketplace, BIG mistake. That's a magnet for the most irresponsible people that can't get their **** together. You always want to put a token amount even if you won't take the money when a person shows up.