oh craigslist, the scammers are nearing too many
 

put a pinarello frameset for a good price thinking it would sell quickly.

3 offers the first day. none seemed scam-like in response.

then all 3 gave me the same "money order + 50 bucks...whats your personal info" nonsense.

and i just got another one. i dont want to ebay it because i will lose about 10% in fees, and i have dealt with quite a few asses in past transactions.

anyone else notice a much larger increase in CL scamming nonsense?

at least the person im supposed to sell my wheelset to has not pulled out...yet.

these damned fools are keeping car money from me!

*rant over*

Maybe you should include in your ad these words "transaction is in person and C.O.D. only. All others get lost!"

"I can't come look at your wheels because I am out of the country but please consider them sold to me. I will send you a certified business check and once that has cleared I will have my personal shipping company pick the wheels up. Please give me your full name, address and phone number so that I can have the check sent to you."

all of my posts list this in the top

"1. must pay in cash
2. must meet locally
3. no exceptions"

im going to take over Anonymous and work on ruining these spamming ninnies

i am 100,000.09% sure this latest one will turn into a spam/scam

"Hello

Is the item still available for sale?

Thank and God bless



Mr's Elizabeth James"

my response

"depends, can you pay cash locally? if the answer is anything other than "yes, i have the money in cash and can meet locally", then no it is not. if your answer is "yes, i have the cash and will meet you locally" then the answer is yes."

oh Mr's Elizabeth James, are you related to Mrs. Elizabeth James?

although the best one i ever had involved a guy "named" Walter Obama.

i ended having fun with him. convinced him through a series of posts, that

1. i needed the money because i lost my job and was losing everything
2. i was very depressed and thinking about suicide until he responded
3. waited a few days, then posed as my sister
4. informed him that "my brother" tried to take his life
5. convinced him (easily) that i was unsatisfied with my husband
6. traded ridiculous and gross sexual messages
7. shared with friends and laughed.

oh walter obama

I get the same scam messages, usually right after adding something to CL. I usually reply back "forwarded your email to my brother who works for the Secret Service". Scamming bastages!

Use the "for sale" forum in BF to avoid scumbags.

You can always play with them like I did:

Scammer: Hi,you advertised your camera on craigslist,is it still up for sale?

Me: Yes

Scammer: I will like to buy it for my brother as a gift but....need your reply soon.Thanks.

Me: Sure

Scammer: I just made your payment.....shipping method i paid for.Thank you for
your business.

Me: I shipped it already. Once you get it let me know.

Scammer: Did you send the tracking number to paypal?

Me: Yes

Scammer: Send me the tracking number

Me: I already did. Thanks

NEXT DAY

Scammer: Where is it?

Me: Here you go.

END

lol

I've mostly stopped buying anything on Craigslist because the search function is useless. People spam long lists of keywords they think might be searched for at the bottom of their listings. So if you do a search on the Seattle CL for Cervelo, you'll find a $100 set of fixie wheels; the ad ends with this crap:

Seriously? :mad:

i think im just going to start spamming their email accounts.

2 of the scammers from yesterday had spanish names in their email.

to one, i just replied "habla espanol"?

one of these days i will have to have another epic correspondence with said scammers.

I told the scammer that yes, I realized he was in London and that I was traveling there by way of Aircraft Carrier and could meet him topside to see the bike

as i have been looking for a car on CL, i see a fair amount of fake/scam ads, which are flagged pretty fast by the community.

but by the cranks of rotor, i almost wish they stayed up instead of all the ads with tags in them. if i search for "honda civic" or "vw golf", why is your 93 bronco or 98 salvaged title camry showing up? oh, because you are dick that tags completely unrelated tags. BAH!

When searching: search the titles, not the posts. When selling: Don't overthink it. I usually just include a phone number and opt out of email. It's really a non-issue if you know what you are doing.

Just curious ... how are these people wanting to scam you this way?

they either send you a fake check that won't go through, or no check at all, and you end up giving them the item you are selling.

ie, they get your item for free and youre F'ed

Plus it's a hugh waste of time. Kinda like being on the 41 (but you're here by choice at least).

How do you do this, exactly? Do you hit ctrl-F and go page by page, or do you use some kind of software?

I just sold a bike using CL here in Chicago a month back. I had 2 responses. The first sounded legit until the 2nd email about I am in so-and-so in the military. I was in the military and in so-and-so, so I was nice and said, "I wish an IED for you and your family". He didn't respond after that. The 2nd email was legit and the guy bought it before I could even respond. I stored my bike at my bike shop so the guy went there and paid for it. The shop put the money on my tab :D

Do you still use checks in the USA?
I seem to believe I once saw someone with a check in Belgium ... must have been around 1986 or so.
Anyway ... if you want to buy something of me ... you better pay it cash or in advance by bank transfer.
I never understood the concept of checks ... somebody simply hands you a piece of paper and says: "here ... I promise you this is worth something".
Weird.

Yes, search titles only. And I only deal with people who are local and pay in cash. Keeps it simple. No shipping of things, bank checks, overseas BS...

Poor grammar...forget it.

when we listed the madone we won I also listed my Orca at the same time (thinking of buying the S5) and we both got responses from the same person...same email...same bullsh1t...lol

Well, damn. Lookit that! :innocent:

In all seriousness, thanks for the tip.

No problem.