[Becker]

So I'm selling my road bike on craigslist, a 2012 Scott Speedster S10, and its the first high dollar ($1000+) thing I've sold on craigslist.

Anyways a guy hits me up via text about and first asks all these questions which I had clearly answered in the ad (ie. how old is it, any dents etc). Then he insists on paying with paypal. I'm a little sketchy about that because i've never used it before, but it appears to be an ok method of payment.

However, the guy says he cant get off work and would send someone to pick it up for him. He is trying to give me payment before he even sees the bike for himself which seems odd.

Does this sound sketchy to you guys? Is it reminiscent of any other scams you have heard of? I thought paypal was safe, but my whole interaction with this person so far has been a little weird.

thanks for any insight

 

[crossracer]

Yes, run away. Very quickly. Its a stolen paypal account. When the credit card people figure out guess who loses the money and the bike. You do.

Craigsliat is for CASH. In a very PUBLIC place. Anything else is a scam.

Please let us know how it goes.

Bill

 

[burgrat]

Do not do it with PayPal. Like crossracer said, cash only and a public place. You could even agree to meet at a police station so that you both feel safe. Remember, he is the one bringing $1000 cash with him. You can never be too safe.

 

[JustTooBig]

Yeah, when the buyer is attempting to dictate all the terms of the "sale" ...... the red flags ought to be waving.

 

[Becker]

Thanks for the advice guys, definitely gunna call this one off.

 

[Randy99CL]

Yes, it sounds like he is planning to rip you off.

Paypal is a rip off.

Paypal protects buyers but often cheats sellers. A buyer only has to make up the tiniest lie and paypal will take the money back, and if you've spent some they can freeze your entire bank account.

And they even charge you (the seller) 3%.

 

[Cooper1960]

My guess is he will also offer to "overpay" for the item and since his "pickup" guy has other items to collect you will be asked to give some of that "overpayment" to him in cash so he can pay for the other items. SCAM SCAM SCAM

 

[crbeals]

Yes, it sounds like he is planning to rip you off.

Paypal is a rip off.

Paypal protects buyers but often cheats sellers. A buyer only has to make up the tiniest lie and paypal will take the money back, and if you've spent some they can freeze your entire bank account.

And they even charge you (the seller) 3%.

I had the other experience where PayPal tried to screw the buyer and not the seller. I was buying something and used PayPal. It was clear that it wasn't what was listed once I got it. PayPal said too bad. They opened up a chat box for us to discuss our problem but did nothing for me. I went to my credit card company and told them to cancel the payment. They went through and did all of the work after that. Since then ZERO PayPal for me.

 

[Dave1442397]

As stated, more than likely a scam. I sold a car last year and the buyer met me at my bank, where he deposited $12k in my bank account and got a notarized bill of sale signed by both of us and witnessed by the bank's notary. Everyone went home happy. Well, almost...I was sad to lose my convertible.

 

[SauronHimself]

Paypal CL buyers are almost always scammers. They'll either do a charge-back (which is why you have them send the money as a gift), or they'll send you a bogus Paypal invoice saying that they paid when they actually didn't. Never use wire transfers or money orders either. I'm even skeptical about cashiers checks because they can be counterfeited as well. Cash is the way to go. I've run across multiple buyers who said that their friend or "agent" will pick up the item. I also explicitly say in my listings that I will only respond to text messages because emails are almost always fakes.

 

[Becker]

Paypal CL buyers are almost always scammers. They'll either do a charge-back (which is why you have them send the money as a gift), or they'll send you a bogus Paypal invoice saying that they paid when they actually didn't. Never use wire transfers or money orders either. I'm even skeptical about cashiers checks because they can be counterfeited as well. Cash is the way to go. I've run across multiple buyers who said that their friend or "agent" will pick up the item. I also explicitly say in my listings that I will only respond to text messages because emails are almost always fakes.

Actually, I have recieved 3 texts that were scammers trying to have their "friend" pick up the item and they would write a check of some sort. It's not justt emails

 

[mpre53]

So I'm selling my road bike on craigslist, a 2012 Scott Speedster S10, and its the first high dollar ($1000+) thing I've sold on craigslist.

Anyways a guy hits me up via text about and first asks all these questions which I had clearly answered in the ad (ie. how old is it, any dents etc). Then he insists on paying with paypal. I'm a little sketchy about that because i've never used it before, but it appears to be an ok method of payment.

However, the guy says he cant get off work and would send someone to pick it up for him. He is trying to give me payment before he even sees the bike for himself which seems odd.

Does this sound sketchy to you guys? Is it reminiscent of any other scams you have heard of? I thought paypal was safe, but my whole interaction with this person so far has been a little weird.

thanks for any insight

Anyone who tries to arrange "third party pickup" for some lame reason (disabled, can't get off work, out of the area, you name it) is trying to run a scam, 95%+ of the time. Another tip off is when they refer to what you're selling as "the item", "the goods" or some other non-specific term, and say they'll take it sight-unseen, for the listed price. And they'll try to foist some funky way of paying for it. Western Union MO, "certified" check drawn on some bank you've never heard of.

Deal in person, and payment terms are Yankee greenbacks, in hand, in a very public place, with a friend or two with you. No exceptions.

 

[SauronHimself]

Actually, I have recieved 3 texts that were scammers trying to have their "friend" pick up the item and they would write a check of some sort. It's not justt emails

Text scammers aren't as frequent, but you can spot them right away. A lot of times they'll copy and paste the exact title of what you're selling, or they'll ask if you still have the "item" (they don't actually ask if you have the bike, for example).

 

[gskalt]

cash is king, accept nothing less. and yes, if you dont feel safe, meet at a police station. I dont like craigslist because i dont like strangers having access to me, my family, my house. ebay would be a safer way.