We are on to you Mr. scammer. I don't know why you waste your time by writing these stupid stories. They don't fool anyone. Get on with your life and get a job. Quit trying to steal.( my response )
Do people actually fall for this?
On Wed, Aug 1, 2012 at 2:00 PM, Steve Jones wrote:
Thanks for your swift response, I'm seriously interested in buying this for my Friend as a birthday gift hope is in good condition Like I said I will like to purchase this item for my friend as a birthday gift so kindly withdraw the advert from Craigslist but i will not be able to look at the item or pick it up from your place because i am currently out of the state,I'm representing my company on an official trip, You will be shipping the item to my friend just because I'm buying the item for him please I will like to know why you are selling the item and do you have the receipt of the item, ,
I will offer you $5,530 for the item and will also add an extra $150 to the money so as to cover the shipping and insurance charges via USPS Express Mail..
I will also add an extra $20 to the money to compensate you for sealing a deal with me.
And about the payment, My mode of payment will be through PayPal because it is fast for a safe,secure,reliable transaction and easy to send money online, So get back to me with your PayPal email address or send me a PayPal money request so that i can send out the payment and as soon as you received the payment you can make the shipment,But if you don't have a PayPal account you can quickly set-up one at( www.paypal.com) it is easy and save and it's free also your reply will be appreciated by me if you get back to me asap..
They send you $5700, you ship the merchandise, they file a claim with Paypal who will invariabley side with the buyer, they get their money back and have your merchandise also. Sounds like a win-win situation, for them.
Frankly, I have no idea why anyone would ship something listed on craigslist. You know nothing about the seller and such deals necessarily require some kind of funds transfer. Paypal is a crapshoot and money orders are routinely counterfeited. I guess you could take a personal check and wait until it clears before shipping the item but why go through the hassle? Pay the Upload and Sell subscription on FM and use the feedback system to assess the seller. I don't do business with folks who haven't established a presence on this board. I've never had a problem with a transaction of FM.
When I use craigslist it is for face to face transactions that occur in a very public space and I often go with a friend if the dollar amount is significant. I even met a seller at the branch of my bank so I could cash a check after inspecting the gear, so I could give the person cash as they requested.
sorpa wrote:
Have them transfer the money into your paypal account,cash them and ship out the item.
Case closed.
Not really. Paypal can put a hold on payments until the buyer blesses the transaction. If there is no hold but a dispute or claim is filed, PP can take the money out of the seller's account. If the seller has prudently removed the funds from his account, PP will not be able to recover the funds but may threaten legal action. In the meantime, your PP account is useless because PP is waiting to intercept any monies directed into it.
I get these all the time on Craigslist. I have a dozen copies of this same scam from recently trying to sell my Canon 600mm version I. They all use nearly the identical script. Their English is poor. They are always trying to buy it as a gift for someone else. They always want it shipped to Lagos, Nigeria. The quickest way to weed them out is ask them where they want it shipped. If they say Lagos, Nigeria then everyone - out of the pool! Done!
Most of these scammers are in Lagos, Nigeria and they either steel credit card #'s or they have software that generates credit card numbers. They open up a Paypal account and make a purchase funded by the bogus credit card number. You get the payment. You ship the item to Nigeria. And then Paypal figures out that the credit card is no good and claws back the money from your bank account.
Otherwise I've had really good luck selling my old used gear on Craiglist. I cross post the item on FM B&S too but often there are more local buyers in a major metro area like the SF Bay Area ready to meet up and get a deal done. So it doesn't hurt to post both places. The photogs are nice people as a rule and fun to meet. The scammers on the other hand are obvious. Always get a phone number and talk on the phone first. You can tell the fakes on the phone.
Ho1972 wrote:
Not really. Paypal can put a hold on payments until the buyer blesses the transaction. If there is no hold but a dispute or claim is filed, PP can take the money out of the seller's account. If the seller has prudently removed the funds from his account, PP will not be able to recover the funds but may threaten legal action. In the meantime, your PP account is useless because PP is waiting to intercept any monies directed into it.
Screw PP.
I thought they could do that only for ebay purchases.
You guys are all crazy. I just bought a Leica M9 on my local CL for $2200. The seller is traveling, though, so I sent him a money order, and I'll pick the camera up when he's back in town.
dcains wrote:
You guys are all crazy. I just bought a Leica M9 on my local CL for $2200. The seller is traveling, though, so I sent him a money order, and I'll pick the camera up when he's back in town.
hehe, and then there was the guy yesterday who posted here a fictitious name for an alleged member, claiming that with 109 posts he was scamming. It turns out there was no such member with that name who showed up on the B&S with any item for sale, and no profile of any kind. Of course the asshole who put up that post had not bought Upload and Sell. Of course, a careful read of his City/State showed the following: "FS Canon 300 f2.8". So here's this schmuck hoping to generate activity to his post, which he did, until I reported it to Fred and the hammer fell. What I don't get, however, is that he showed also on the ID section beneath his "name" that he had 10 posts, yet a listing from the search on it showed only that one. Whazz up wit dat?
