craigslist scam question

[liquid sunshine]

i put up a 5 string bo thumb bass on craigslist in ithaca ny got this response as a second email. I don't like that he is not local and that he claims not to have access to a phone.

Hello, Thanks for the swift response, just wanna let you know that am okay withthe condition and price of the item, am ready for its purchase and myform of payment will be by PayPal. I would have really love to comefor the viewing but due to my work frame that might not be possible asam on work inspection to Santa Fe in New Mexico at the moment and I do nothave access to a phone, but if you have more pictures, I would like to have agood look. I'll be responsible for the pick-up and the pick up money will beincluded in your payment to avoid delay and to enable pick up companyto schedule an appropriate time for the pick-up at your location afterfunds has been received as i have other properties to be movedalongside with yours.All i will need is your PayPal email address to make the payment andthen I will make arrangement for pick up. I will be expecting youremail. Have a pleasant night and a Happy New Year in advance. Thanks,Hephzibah.

This is only my second item sold on over the internet. He does say he will pay first so i assume i can clear the money before i send it out. I just am not sure exactly how it all works.
thanks for any help

[Gord_oh]

[N.F.A.]

Scam

[chuck norriss]

Report it to CL.

[trueno87]

scam!

[bongostealth]

This is EXACTLY why I hate posting stuff on Craigslist.

Here's the way it works:
1) the person writing you is either from Nigeria, or some Slavic country
2) they always say "I will arrange for pickup"
3) you can charge them WHATEVER you want and they will agree to it
4) as a result, they will always say something like "I am in great need of your item. what is the best offer?" Give them a number and they will keep asking the same question, hence, that is why they accept any amount you charge
5) the reason is that they send you a check for your amount PLUS an extra amount
6) they then ask you to send them the difference to them before their check clears, since in theory, you will recuperate that difference once their whole check clears
7) however, their transfer is bogus and you are thus out the difference money

Example: You charge $1000 for a bass. They send you an amount of $1400 with the instructions to send them back the extra $400 before the whole amount clears. You send them the $400 out of your own money thinking that you will recuperate it when the whole $1400 clears. However, the thing is that their payment to you is bogus because it is usually done through Western Union, and the person never actually had the funds. In the end, you are out $400. This is a very typical and common scam.

DO NOT FALL FOR IT!! DO NOT LIST ANYTHING ON CRAIGSLIST!!!

[funkyebk]

[ksandvik]

95% of all of those who respond outside an address radius of 50 miles are scammers.

[trueno87]

Originally Posted by bongostealth

This is EXACTLY why I hate posting stuff on Craigslist.

Here's the way it works:
1) the person writing you is either from Nigeria, or some Slavic country
2) they always say "I will arrange for pickup"
3) you can charge them WHATEVER you want and they will agree to it
4) as a result, they will always say something like "I am in great need of your item. what is the best offer?" Give them a number and they will keep asking the same question, hence, that is why they accept any amount you charge
5) the reason is that they send you a check for your amount PLUS an extra amount
6) they then ask you to send them the difference to them before their check clears, since in theory, you will recuperate that difference once their whole check clears
7) however, their transfer is bogus and you are thus out the difference money

Example: You charge $1000 for a bass. They send you an amount of $1400 with the instructions to send them back the extra $400 before the whole amount clears. You send them the $400 out of your own money thinking that you will recuperate it when the whole $1400 clears. However, the thing is that their payment to you is bogus because it is usually done through Western Union, and the person never actually had the funds. In the end, you are out $400. This is a very typical and common scam.

DO NOT FALL FOR IT!! DO NOT LIST ANYTHING ON CRAIGSLIST!!!

when i was younger i fell for the scam, and i deposited the check into my bank account and withdrew the money. Oh boy was i introuble with the bank!! i had to pay the bank back about 500 bucks to get out of the issue, it was a mess!!! I dont understand how people could do this! its crazy!

[scottbass]

A quick tip-off is that they never mention what you are selling by name, just "the item", "this item", etc. That way they can send the same email to thousands of people who have a vast variety of "items" listed for sale.

[liquid sunshine]

I figured, thanks for the help. It's hard not to make a sale. My SVT 2 pro was sold in two hours. Buyer is an engineer of nanotechnology at Cornell. That's like pimping our daughter to a porn star.

[Marko5657]

Originally Posted by scottbass

A quick tip-off is that they never mention what you are selling by name, just "the item", "this item", etc. That way they can send the same email to thousands of people who have a vast variety of "items" listed for sale.

First thing I noticed, in this letter and a couple I got when selling something.

[paradog]

Just mail it to me...you wont notice the difference!

[liquid sunshine]

Sure thing whats your home address.

[SirGrotius]

I'm skeptical when it's obvious the person writes in broken English.

[audiomitch]

Yep, this is a common scam on CL. Just ignore these types of responses, but don't give up on Craigslist. Just become savvy and CL becomes a great resource!

[paradog]

craiglist is best when used as a means of cash and carry deals. I would never do sale that requires me to mail anything. Cash talks, BS walks!

[TNCreature]

*not an actual statistic.

Originally Posted by ksandvik

95% of all of those who respond outside an address radius of 50 miles are scammers.

But THIS is a scam and an obvious one a that.
Good to check with others like you did. Good luck with your sale.

The worst thing is having people being scared to deal with others on CL at all because of hyped up fear mongering. Let's just use common sense, OK?

[Pilgrim]

Complete scam. ANY email that contains the word "item" is a dead giveaway.

Tell them to **** themselves and the horse they road in on.

[mmbongo]

Definitely a scam, but I'd like to know how.

The above mentioned explanation does not work in this case, as he's using Paypal and not Western Union. Why not set up a throw away Paypal account, let them pay, then ship them a brick?