Comments on: Selling Stuff on Craigslist Sucks

By: Peter Fargo

Peter Fargo — Tue, 05 May 2009 14:03:52 +0000

My son had a wild scam attempt when selling a snow plow on Craigslist. Some guy with all kinds of troubles (wish I’d kept the emails) wanted to buy it but was out of town on a “job”. He sent my son $2800 in money orders for a $1200 sale. He said his sister needed cash real badly and would he please cash the money orders and send the balance of the cash via Western Union to his sister in Atlanta, GA. The money orders were from a Canadian bank and looked legitimate enough. I reported to the locals and sent the guy a nice friendly email explaining I had sold the plow without my sons knowledge and I’d be happy to return his money orders to any address he cared to send me.

I threw them out about 2 weeks ago after no response in two years.

Fortunately my son was at college and the money orders came to the house. We had already discussed the guy being a scammer but college kids don’t always do the smart thing when money is tight.

By: Brad Rhine

Brad Rhine — Tue, 05 May 2009 12:32:08 +0000

I’ve bought and sold some music gear and have been nothing but happy with Craigslist. One guitar I sold ended up selling for more than I asked because people were fighting over it!

By: Paul Lefebvre

Paul Lefebvre — Mon, 04 May 2009 17:13:26 +0000

Yes, I strongly suspect this is primarily an issue with the Computers & Tech section of Craigslist. Scammers love technology!

By: Philip Regan

Philip Regan — Mon, 04 May 2009 17:08:22 +0000

I recently sold my old washer and dryer for $100 to make way for a new set. I put the ad up on Cragslist at 9:00a, I got one phone call, and the w/d were both gone before lunch with no effort on my part.

I had placed at the bottom of the ad the following text: “First come first served. Cash only and the price is non-negotiable. Items will not be delivered. Items are sold ‘as is’ and cannot be returned once purchased. You are responsible for your own transportation and you must bring your own muscle. Terms are non-negotiable.” In other words, you come over, you give me your money, I let you take the stuff, and we never see each other again. I also didn’t put an email address, only a phone number.

Your troubles might have had something to do with the item you were selling (electronic kit), because I would imagine that Nigerians wouldn’t have much interest in a 20-year-old Lady Kenmore washer-dryer set.