Author Topic: Has anybody tried to buy anything on cragslist?  (Read 2943 times)

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Offline John Florida

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Has anybody tried to buy anything on cragslist?
« on: January 24, 2018, 06:56:17 PM »
  I tried for over a month to buy a trailer on craigslist.   It has been unbelievable how many scams and liars are all in one place.  One guy tried to sell me one that he couldn't even prove he owned. All he had was a registration with somebody elses name on it no title and no bill of sale.

   Another one was in the military recently divorced woman(Sure) that was getting shipped out to Syria in 4 days.  I saw pics said that I was a player for it and got told that the trailer was in North Dakota and that the money had to go through Ebay and they would ship me the trailer since it was sitting in their warehouse! 

   Another had one that he had the title for I go down to see it and I ask to see the title to make sure it was in his name and it said SALVAGE across the title.  How are these people not in the slammer? Is beyond me.

  It took almost 6 weeks to find  one with no fur on the paperwork.

  WOW!!
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Online patentlymn

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Re: Has anybody tried to buy anything on cragslist?
« Reply #1 on: January 24, 2018, 07:29:18 PM »

I have purchased many things off craigslist, always local. I never got scammed.  CPAP machines are often on craigslist ans cheap.

 It varies state to state, but salvage titles are not always bad as long as you know what you are getting. Some people buy cars declared 'totalled' by the insurance company and fix them up. The ones I have seen on craigslist state SALVAGE TITLE on the ad. If someone 'forgot' to mention that until I showed up I would pass. 

If people are open about not having a title for a car or trailer I have passed because I don't need the hassle.
When the law becomes a ruse, lawlessness becomes legitimate. -unknown

Offline Alphabet Soup

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Re: Has anybody tried to buy anything on cragslist?
« Reply #2 on: January 24, 2018, 07:36:56 PM »
Craigslist killed the want-ads and the "Little Nickel" paper. It's now the big dog for want-ads and personals. And it has zero standards. JF is right - anyone can offer anything for sale, whether they own it or not. Caveat Emptor was never more appropriate.

That said, I bought my Mustang thru a Craigslist ad. And yes I took backup and yes we were both armed.

 :supercool:

Offline John Florida

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Re: Has anybody tried to buy anything on cragslist?
« Reply #3 on: January 24, 2018, 08:11:18 PM »

I have purchased many things off craigslist, always local. I never got scammed.  CPAP machines are often on craigslist ans cheap.

 It varies state to state, but salvage titles are not always bad as long as you know what you are getting. Some people buy cars declared 'totalled' by the insurance company and fix them up. The ones I have seen on craigslist state SALVAGE TITLE on the ad. If someone 'forgot' to mention that until I showed up I would pass. 

If people are open about not having a title for a car or trailer I have passed because I don't need the hassle.

 I think it fair to let you know that I have been in the car business all my adult life.  These guys were fishing for a chump but they ended up with me.

   As for salvage titles that are declared up front and what ever is being sold at a price that reflects it and somebody wants it anyway then it's on them.   But most people have no idea what the value of a salvage car is or isn't.

 And the people that buy them at auction get them from insurance companies nobody buys direct.  The ones bought from the owner that didn't report it is the bad one cause there is no problem listed on the title not to mention that all they do is sign the sellers spot and don't fill in the buyers name which is a real problem if something goes wrong the guy that sold it claims never to have seen his buyer before and the person with a problem is the original seller whose but is on the line.
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Offline IronDioPriest

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Re: Has anybody tried to buy anything on cragslist?
« Reply #4 on: January 24, 2018, 10:15:20 PM »
I've bought and sold on craigslist, and had great success. You do have to weed through the shizz. Heck, now that I think of it, I bought my boat off craigslist in 2009. Sold a trolling motor, a shed, a sonar unit. Bought and sold a bunch of other miscellaneous stuff.
"A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to written law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property and all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the end to the means."

- Thomas Jefferson

Offline Libertas

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Re: Has anybody tried to buy anything on cragslist?
« Reply #5 on: January 25, 2018, 06:54:54 AM »
Welcome to Thunderdome!

 ;D

I'll have to enter soon...got old car crap to shed...

I am trying to enlist my nephews to do the work and keep the money...I just want the crap gone!
We are now where The Founders were when they faced despotism.

Offline AlanS

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Re: Has anybody tried to buy anything on cragslist?
« Reply #6 on: January 25, 2018, 05:40:39 PM »
I've bought and sold, though locally. My truck shopping has taken me across state lines with deals that were questionable. Not complete rip-offs, but not what they were showing.
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Offline kermit

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Re: Has anybody tried to buy anything on cragslist?
« Reply #7 on: January 26, 2018, 08:07:33 AM »
It's been my experience, if you snooze, you loose.
People cruise that place just looking for deals to re-sell.
I missed one of the prettiest boats I ever saw by 30 seconds. Didn't need it, but wanted it to put in storage. Nice.
A guy at work wears out his cell, just looking for something to re-sell.

Offline richb

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Re: Has anybody tried to buy anything on cragslist?
« Reply #8 on: January 29, 2018, 06:02:56 PM »
When I was selling real estate,  CL was one of those annoying things you had to deal with.   You had to check it often to make sure that nobody was stealing your real estate listings for rental scams.  They would even steal your pictures and descriptions of the property.  Hear its still a major problem.   

Offline BigAlSouth

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Re: Has anybody tried to buy anything on cragslist?
« Reply #9 on: March 27, 2018, 09:27:53 AM »
I've been buying and selling on Craigslist for 20 years. I think I know all of the scams by now. Some or the most innocuous "email capture" scams and some are outright fraudulent. It's the wild, wild west of commerce. If you are careful, you can weed out the chafe and get the wheat. Here are some things to watch out for:

1.  For a vehicle, boat or large ticket item, beware of the "low price, low mileage and one picture" Rule. They are 100% scams. They just want you to opt out of the Craigslist private email communication and to contact them at a Gmail address. They only want your address. Beware of being asked to direct all future correspondence to another email provider. I take some joy in hitting the "prohibited" button when I come across them.

2. The "oh, my secretary adding the shipping cost to your check" scam. They want your to cash their check (sometimes a forged Cashiers Check) and wire the "balance" to them for shipping costs. I once had some time on my hands so I toyed with the "buyer" and made him send me multiple certified checks via overnight. I figure I cost him about $60.00.

3.  Never, ever meet at your house. Go to a well lit, public area in the daytime preferable with CCTV cameras. Walmart is good.

4. Out of state area codes are a red flag. Deal locally. Since there is a military base nearby, I often get some weird area codes, but they verify as military.

5. Only take cash, or in the case of a certified check, require it to be drawn on a national bank like BankAmerica or Wells Fargo. Schedule the transfer at the local branch. They will cash the check for you and verify it's legit. NEVER EVER deposit their check in your account. It could take weeks to come back as a forgery, then you are on the hook.

My best Craigslist deal? I sold a 2000 Jeep wrangler to a guy who lived on the Outer Banks of NC. I even agreed to take his certified check for $7,000.  Why would I do such a thing? Because I have a special skill set which allowed me to independently verify EVERYTHING the seller told me. I even hunted down his residence and found his mailing address through county tax records. ( I did draw the line at him taking my license plate and turning it in for me.)

The problems we face today are there because the people who work for a living
are outnumbered by those who vote for a living.
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The enemy of my enemy is my friend; the friend of my enemy is, well, he is just a dumbass.

Offline John Florida

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Re: Has anybody tried to buy anything on cragslist?
« Reply #10 on: March 27, 2018, 09:49:16 AM »
  Great advise thanks.
All men are created equal"
 Filippo Mazzie

Offline Libertas

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Re: Has anybody tried to buy anything on cragslist?
« Reply #11 on: March 27, 2018, 10:40:49 AM »
I was born with #3 & #5 in my DNA!   ::thumbsup::
We are now where The Founders were when they faced despotism.