I have been attempting to sell a bike on CL for the past couple of weeks. Gotten a lot of "still have it" no future reply deals, one real offer, and a few scam attempts. I worded in a short paragraph for the hustlers just to let them know I wasn't doing checks, MO, weird military issue shipping...you know the gamut of things you see these folks try to pull.

I get contacted by this guy who instantly expresses interest in the bike and wants to buy it. Doesn't ask for more pics, doesn't want to know details...instantly throwing up red flags.
He asks me how he can get the bike and I suggest meeting at the Police Station up the street which has a big parking lot he can test ride in. Bring cash for me to hold while he does so....then starts the fun.

He contacts me back that he is in LA and that's why he is going to "send me a check". I just delete the message and move on.

This morning the guy texts me what must be 6am his local time "hello?", then calls me two times straight in a row where I have to answer informing him that I am at work and any communication needs to be done through text or email......really cause I want the paper trail.

He proceeds to text me a couple of times right after, fishing for details, and I tell the guy that my first thought about the check was the scam, and that IF he was serious we needed to contact a third party, etc. He answers back "scam? What scam?"

Just playing along, I inform of the bad check scam.....mysteriously, this guy who must have contacted me a dozen times in ten minutes goes quiet.

A few years ago I listed on CL a Cartier ball point pen for sale (that I still have for sale) and all I received were sexual propositions from wierdos.

I got similar responses for a toaster oven I was selling. Not sure what is wrong with some people, but I'll bet it is hard to pronounce...

I really don't know, but perhaps posting an online ad for a nice ball point pen is the equivalent of having a pineapple door knocker?

I feel left out, I never get hit up by scammers

Time wasters and tire kickers, yes, but never scammers. I far more encounter them when trying to BUY things.

Perhaps in your posting you said something like "this pen is a.....", and somebody got the link when accidentally searching the word "pen is"?

I would assume that similar words should be avoided; things like "a nice pair of knockers", or "has really large drawers", or "with a brand new joystick".

Ask him to take a picture of himself with a paper towel hat and holding up today's date written on a piece of paper to show he is serious. Then post it here! lol

My LBS sells Bikes on Consignment, Honest Broker, You dont have to deal with the Buyer .

100% credit if you buy a New Bike from them/us.

I would consider that, or a trade in, if I could get anything near half what the bike is worth from them.

Got to give it to this guy. He swapped to a different number and is trying again.

Out of town deals can be complicated, but not impossible. Some sellers will ship.

I can sometimes travel up to 100 miles or so for the right item (or I may be headed to the nearby city anyway).

PayPal is easy enough, and the "gift" feature is free (and presumably more difficult to get the money back).

With a check, you can do your own verification. Look for microprinting. Maybe call the issuing bank. Call phone numbers written on the check. Make sure addresses match. Then tell the buyer you have to wait 10 days for the check to clear.

And, I'll mail $50, or maybe up to $100 or so cash. Up to what I'm willing to lose.

I find sellers that delete or ignore legitimate replies to be annoying.,

This is no small purchase. I really don't like Ebay, so I try to avoid using them.

I have given this fellow several different offers to get me the money based around his requests. He keeps offering me time to let the cashiers check to clear, give the bike to my "mover".....I mentioned that if he already had someone he knew coming to pick up the bike, let them deal with the check and give me cash. I even offered to list on Ebay with a BIN.

As I say, just a really persistent scammer.

Really? What kind of toaster was it?

Have him sent you cash via Western Union or similar? At least then there is no way to reverse it, and if he truly is wanting buying it he assumes the risk at that point.

I dont see why he couldnt have the "mover" do the deal. That seems the most simple option, unless his mover doesnt want to. Although, unless its family or friends, I dont see a regular mover being able or willing to do that either. He could send a money order too though. If he isnt willing to do that but is willing to send a check, I wouldnt trust that.

I dont like to ship either and want to do everything in person with cash. 13 days ago I had a woman call me about a CL ad I had up. She lives in MD and im in Northern VA. She asked if i could ship, or if i ever come to Maryland, and I said no. She asks if she can send me a personal check and if ill hold the item for her until her son can come get it (i dont have paypal, which is what she wanted to do first).

Im thinking "why would she do this, trust a complete stranger like this?" lol I thought about not doing it but I really couldnt think of a reason not to (though im sure theres plenty of reason not to). We changed over to text so we have the agreement visible atleast. I didnt hear from her for a week and got a bit nervous, but she finally set a time and all worked out. I dont think ill do that again though.


I havent had any scammer messages in a long time now that i think about it. I think they stopped when i stopped putting my phone number in the text box (they were text scams, never email). My number goes at the top section now. Iv always delt with out of staters though, living near the DC and MD line, but iv seen many sellers in this area say they wont meet or deal with out of staters, even though our CL page covers DC, MD, and VA all together.

wow, i always assumed those were robots! what the the dude even sound like, seedy af?

Thanks for the info! In the next few days I'm going to put up a bike on the DC Craigslist. It will be interesting to see I get any responses.

I recently decided to follow through with a CL check-based scam, just to see how it goes (up to the point that it costs me anything, obviously).

First I got a text, from someone using an email-to-text service, inviting me to email them. I was then asked for an address, and actually got a check in the mail! Surprise surprise it was for more than my asking price, and I then got an email asking me to pay the "movers". I tried a little reverse scamming:

Thanks for getting my check to me so quickly. I took it to my bank yesterday, and they said that there wasn't enough money in your account to cover the full check. Apparently your account is $75 short. I'd like to finish this transaction, so here's what I am willing to do: if you send me the remaining $75, I will proceed to cash the original check, as the bank said they are able to give me the rest of the money. I would prefer the remaining $75 to be sent by cashier's check.

No dice though.

I then "lost" the check, and after a half-hearted follow-up from the scammers, they gave up on me.

The interesting thing was that each stage of the scam was apparently operated by different people, who had no idea about the rest of the transaction. I tested this by raising the price with every email, until my $200 item was $1000.

I have fun with them and have them send me a check. Here's a $2150 certified check for a bike I listed for $400 on Craigslist (uncashed, because it's obviously a fake check).

Fake Check

It's a real hoot when they claim to report me to the FBI.

Giggle, yeah it was a bit funny that along the conversation on one of the scams, the incoming phone number would change, but the line of discussion didn't.

Iv had great luck with selling bikes on the DC CL list. Iv listed 4 so far and they have all sold within a week or so.
There are so many listed though, so making it stand out is important, as is trying to keep it within the first 3 pages atleast.

Obvious because of the amount or is it something else that makes it fake?