Great! Now hopefully someone will buy the one I’m selling so I can get a new one!
Pro-tip:
I used a bicycle box (any bike shop will give you one) to make a “box” for shipping. Basically I just rolled it up like a burrito (separating the blades of course).
Good luck on your sale!
Here is how it works: There are legitimate voice over IP pone providers which allow you to set up a phone online, but you need to prove that you have a working cell phone. There are also sites which allow you to “spoof” a caller ID, for example I can call a client from my cell phone and have the caller ID show my office number. This keeps my cell phone number private, while letting the client know who is calling. To set these up, the cell phone number is entered in the form at the website, and the website generates a code sent to the cell phone. The code is then entered in the website and this proves that the phone number belongs to the individual filling out the form. When a craigslist user is running one of these identity theft scams they are sitting at a computer, they enter your phone number, tell the website to sent the code, and if you text the code to them they can then prove that your phone number belongs to them. This can also be used to hack secure sign in systems such as online banking. If they get your password through poor password hygiene, they can log in to your bank account as you if you text them the code sent to your phone.
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Thanks! Good to know how it works.
Yes! thanks so much for the detailed breakdown of how that identity hijacking works. I will share that widely to caution people to not fall for the “let me text you a code” scam.
Ha, I just got a scam reply from michaelwall99, too!
Dead giveaway because “he” says he is responding to [cut and pasted ad title]. Not one question asked, not even the infamous Is It Still Available?
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Hello jmyers, wrote you a personal message. Interested in the Aironaut. Thanks and best wishes!
I’ve used the “is it still available” It is on many of the sites as a check box to send when interested. If I’m looking for something, it’s the first logical question. YMMV
Best Wishes
Roy
True, so when a reply doesn’t ask even that it smells scammy.
Or if it is asked in two consecutive e-mails after you already said it is still available.
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I had a gut instinct that something was off about this guys messages. So glad I saw this post, I def was getting scammer vibes. Won’t continue wasting my time, thanks for the heads up
michaelwall99 is a scammer
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Yes, definitely a scammer.
He responded immediately to my For Sale canoe ad offering full price without question. The deal was that he was temporarily in Fort Carson so he wanted to send me an extra $1,200 that I would pass on to his prearranged shipper by …
You guessed it, bitcoin.
I strung him along (35 emails) using a mixture of enthusiasm and stupidity.
He emailed me an image of a cheque made out to me.
I never called him out but he finally gave up and then I was immediately contacted by another with a similar scheme - I suspect it was the same guy.
Caveat subscriptor!
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When I send a message to a seller I add enough detail to assure them I am local and legitimately interested in their specific posting, like “if the blue Avatar kayak you’re selling is still up for sale I’m interested. I am local in (my town) and will pay cash and take it on the spot if I can arrange to look at it and like it. Call me at xxx-xxxx.”
Part of the problem is that apps like FB Marketplace have the pre-written “Is this still available?” built into the listings as a clickable shortcut. Just makes it easier for the bulk scammers to broadcast their net to potential scam victims.
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After I determined that michaelwall99 was a scammer, the next day I got a msg from someone else that also gave off scammy vibes. I answered his one question with a straightforward answer and he sent the same question again. I repeated my earlier answer.
It was clear he wanted me to state a price yet didn’t take the expected tack of asking, “Would you take [some lower amount] for it?” C’mon…the price is right in the ad itself. If a legitimate buyer wants to haggle, he names a specific amount rather than asking for some vague “last price” on it.
If anybody here received similar replies, post here and we can compare names of who sent it.
About 10 days ago, I responded to a FB marketplace ad of a kayak for sale that I wanted to buy as an extra kayak. It is supposedly being sold within 15 minutes of my house. The seller kept responding once or twice a day “still interested” or slight variations thereof for approximately a week. Three times I attempted to coordinate a way to contact her or meet to see the kayak. The last time resulted in no response from the seller for 2 days.
Yesterday morning the seller again sent a “still interested” query. My response was, “Thanks, I was interested, however I decided to buy another kayak.”
Seller’s can be fruity on FB Marketplace (and other sites) too.
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I, too, received a PM response from “dannyad” requesting that I contact them via email outside of paddling.com.
I responded that I preferred using paddling.com Messages.
dannyad immediately messaged me back, saying they were, “highly interested and would like to know my last offering price please.”
I messaged back a link to my classified post and added that I expected cash.
Poof!
dannyad disappeared like a toot in a windstorm.
Don’t waste your time with dannyad.
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Yeah, a scam-like message within the hour
Ha! I got my third dannyad reply yesterday, with the same grammatical errors as before, but this time he/she/it cut and pasted the ad’s price, and there was no mention of “last price”.
I said it’s still available, still local pickup only, still cash only.
Interesting that dannyad appears after michaelwall99 is outed here, disappears when same gets kicked out, and then reappears in tandem.
michaelwall99, dannyad…add to this list as you discover them.
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FYI be aware. I just received what I consider to be a scam. outside the paddle.com website this person said that her stepfather wanted to buy the boat and would I please send pictures to her so that she could give them to him wow.
Sandra 5551. His email: fredcharlse@gmail.com
The kicker is, they spelled, Charles incorrectly, clearly a sign of scamming. I will not respond.
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I got that too. The sign of a scam is “send me X” and not “can I come see.”
Here it is;
[Sandra5551
Hello, kindly contact my stepdad on [fredcharlse0@gmail.com with pictures , he will buy it…
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Re: fredcharlse
Hahaha! 
Love it!