Glad I read this post. I just posted a classified for a tandem Sea Eagle razor light and got a vague reply from howardjones9933. Now I know its not a real buyer. If others have suggestions about how to sell online, let me know. I’m hesitant to do craigslist and eBay.
Just state that the sale price must be paid in cash when the boat is picked up.
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I had 2 NDK Romany’s for-sale (used just a few hours).
Sold one already. Used escrow.com - it was a PITA and costly, but very safe.
I still have one left.
Email messages here from various scammers - flagged them all.
leec824
Thomclassics
Both pointed to the same email address.
I just posted a semi dry suit and received a scam response myself. Says will send me an echeck…stay away.
Same email but from Howard.
Yes that has happened to me on Facebook marketplace. They always want your phone number. Not sure why.
They want your cell number so they can then ask you to “confirm” that you are not scamming them by texting them a random 4 or 5 digit number. You may have had such a request from a company or agency that uses that process as part of a legitimate online transaction to verify your phone number. But the scammers can then use this exchange to hijack your cell number to use to conceal their own identity or even steal from your bank account or charge cards,
I just posted a couple of kayaks for sale, and within minutes got a reply from the “howardjones9933” scammer. Don’t these idiots EVER give up?
I automatically deleted it.
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A few days after my last post, another scammer tried, this one by “chrismanis”, whose account was created 3 days ago and has 0 activity. It contained the exact same wording as the scam reply from “howardjones9933”. Add this one to your “Watch List” if you post an item for sale.
Greedy idiots!
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HowardJones is at it again. His message says he doesn’t even need to see my used kayak for sale and he will send an eCheck and then a shipping service to pick it up. Right.
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me too. howardjones9933. wasted a lot of my time and energy. how can we alert paddling.com to these scammers?
Curious as to why people selling something say, that if you ask the question about “is it still available” They will automatically delete your inquiry.
I have always asked this when interested…seems like a logical question.
Especially with sellers often not posting if something is already sold.
After all these years, {while we are on the subject} maybe someone can explain not just saying yes or no to this. I don’t see any scam in this at all. What am I missing?
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Several times I have posted ads here and on CL. Too often people will respond with only/ask “is it still available?” Then one never gets a further response once answered…basically, that question alone does not move the buying/selling process forward.
So if the person is deciding between boats that are in their area… You wouldn’t talk to them? I still see no harm.
I don’t buy or sell much so it just struck me as odd and didn’t see any purpose to shutting down any inquiry before you have actually answered that basic question. Seems I am seeing this more and more so I thought I would ask what the deal is?
Personally, I will respond hoping the person eventually shows interest.
However, because that one question does not convey any interest in moving the process along, it is understandable why some sellers get po’d by the question when it happens over and over as it has in my experience. In my opinion, most people who sell on FB and CL probably are not experienced in the area of sales so they get more emotionally involved in the ad than they should.
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If a person is looking for a kayak for a friend…it does move it along…sort of
much more than no answer.
I just don’t understand someone that wants to sell something that refuses to answer a simple question such that the post in the add , that they won’t answer that question.
I understand that all they want is a quick sale for more money than most kayaks like they are selling are worth.
I’m just seeing this more and more so figured there was more to it.
I just guess I’m overthinking this…
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I don’t mind if people ask if something is still available, and I will reply, but it’s better (and I’ll take their inquiry more seriously) if they trouble to add a bit more. I’ve bought and sold a lot on various platforms and the vast majority of people who simply ask if something is available, with no further questions, never reply again. As a buyer I always say something like, “I’m interested in the (model) kayak you’re selling, can you tell me if it’s xxx, and if so, when could I come see it?” That lets the seller know I’m serious!
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The first question I ask is whether it’s still available. The next question is whether I can meet to look at it. Every one of the four boats I bought used were afvertised as “like new” condition. Every one ended uo being a plastic shell with a few parts that didnt have to be replaced.
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If it’s far away ask for more pictures. And I always ask about the hatch covers since the response here tells me a lot about how much the seller is actually aware of the kayak’s condition.
I think it’s because the question is too generic. If the person asking doesn’t even mention what the item actually is, it’s pretty likely to be a bot/scammer. A real person would ask something more like “Is the kayak you have listed still available?”. I think people have been burned too many times, and have come to assume that anything too generic is a scam. It seemed odd to me, too, until I really thought about it. And then experienced it 
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