@Andy said:
I have sold small and ship-able stuff from here. I have taken personal check with no issues and PayPal for payment. Boats are in person and for cash.
Thanks, Andy. Listing and selling small stuff here is what I’m interested in. No boats to sell; gave one away, loaned one to a relative and paddle the two I have.
Dealing in cash:
Meet in a very public place, get buyer’s driver’s license number, have them sign a bill of sale, make note of the buyers description, their vehicle’s description, and their vehicle’s license plate number. Buyer refuses to share information; get in you vehicle & leave.
If I’m the one bringing the cash; I’ll be bringing something else as well.
Know how to use it, have used it before & it won’t bother me to use it again.
Common sense & diligence bases covered.
BOB
@thebob.com said:
If I’m the one bringing the cash; I’ll be bringing something else as well.
Know how to use it, have used it before & it won’t bother me to use it again.BOB
Really not a good idea to make statements like this on a public forum, Bob. God forbid you should ever find yourself afoul of the law, its stuff like this that sneaky prosecutors use against you.
I’ve sold several to people at my house. Never considered worrying about it.
Whether I am buying or selling on CL, I can usually ferret out those folks I prefer not to do business with, regardless of how good a deal it may be. Not only potential scammers, but folks who might be more trouble than the transaction is worth. Much can be gleaned from the written word, especially personality and attitude, not only in CL but in forums such as this. It is Craig’s List after all, so you have to expect there will be no shows and counteroffers, as well as sellers that ‘embellish’ the condition of their item. But when I see verbiage in an ad or an inquiry to my ad that indicates a combative persona, suspicious intent or just doesn’t seem right, I just pass altogether; life is just too short.
When I meet people to buy or sell, it’s always in a very public place, like a restaurant, library, even a museum once. For large purchases, I don’t carry cash. I get a cashier’s check drawn on a local bank, so the seller can verify it if they want to. There is zero risk to them once the bank says it’s genuine (it’s their check and they have the record of it). Barring that, we’ll go to the bank together and I’ll get cash.
BTW, there is no such thing as “a year later they find it was counterfeit”; that’s nonsense.
Where you get into trouble is when you accept a cashier’s check from an out of state - or worse yet, out of the country - bank where it can be difficult to determine whether it’s genuine. If someone is offering to mail you a cashier’s check, that’s an immediate tip-off that it’s a scam. Nobody would do that with a **real **cashier’s check, as it’s as good as sending someone cash, and the seller could simply not send the merchandise, leaving the buyer with no recourse.
When it comes to buying and selling on Craigslist, you don’t need to be paranoid, you just need to be smart and informed.
While I’m sure it does not occur with a high percentage of frequency; I know for a fact that some people do send a cashiers check as payment for a purchase.
A few years ago, a book dealer/collector sent me a cashier’s check in the amount of $5,500.00 for a highly sought after/collectible book. I had a cashier at my bank call the buyers bank to confirm the cashiers check had recently been purchased by the book buyer & was strictly legit.
Would I send a cashier’s check as payment for anything?
NO!
As far as having to deal with a “sneaky” prosecutor, because you defended yourself and your personal property against strong arm robbery…I’m thinking that is highly unlikely.
I’d like for someone/anyone to verifty that they or someone/anyone they know ever got strong armed out of canoe purchase cash by a bogus seller.
BOB
It wouldn’t quite be like a purse snatching, would it?
@thebob.com said:
I’d like for someone/anyone to verifty that they or someone/anyone they know ever got strong armed out of canoe purchase cash by a bogus seller.
BOB
Just curious, if you consider it so unlikely, one has to ask: why
@thebob.com said:
“If I’m the one bringing the cash; I’ll be bringing something else as well.
Know how to use it, have used it before & it won’t bother me to use it again.”
BTW, there was a great news article a few days ago about police stations setting up safe-trade stations http://www.safetradestations.com/ for people to meet when using Craigslist or the many phone apps like Offer Up. I doubt that any scammers will agree to meet you there, regardless of the payment method.
That’s a great idea! Hopefully more PDs will pick up on it.
Why?
It’s just another part of varied efforts I make to be prepared for circumstances that might occur.
Have done at least 50 transactions as a canoe buyer or seller.
Generally everything goes smoothly; no issues whatsoever.
Next time; I don’t know.
I think an analogy would be people who carry a first aid kit, spare paddle, throw bag, rain gear and fire starting material when they do a long paddling trip. They carry those items for what might happen; not what will happen.
I don’t advocate or promote my way as the only way, or the best way. Each of us has to deal with the natural consequences (either good or bad) of our decision making.
BOB
I’m very wary when doing any transactions on Craigslist. Using Paypal, however, I feel is safe? I’ve payed down payments for a few canoes on Paypal because I’m not crazy about carrying hundreds of dollars worth of cash? I ask lots of questions and talk to the seller by phone a few times. I ask them about their paddling adventures and about the boat . If they appear to know very little about paddling or the boat, I’m not interested. Just use common sense and if it feels too good to be true, don’t do it. And I always do my transactions in a public place.
As a buyer, I want lots of pictures of the actual canoe. I HAVE had scammers actually use MY photos to attempt to sell their boats on two occasions. Both removed said boats from Craigslist when I e-mailed them and disappeared.
Personally, I’ve never sold a canoe on Craigslist. I’ve soled them here on P.net and on BWCAW.com. Nary an issue with about 15-20 boats sold. on these two sites.