Fun Times with Craigslist

[NighthawkChris]

I listed a guitar on CL and had a very seemingly legit person inquire about the guitar.  He made me an offer, I countered, he accepted my counter.  We agreed to meet up yesterday and pay in cash.  Long story short, he didn't have the cash when he showed up at my house, but offered to pay with PayPal or Venmo.  I declined to accept nothing less than cash.  I get it - tried to pull some serious cash from an ATM on a Sunday and can't get it all (was his excuse).  Maybe I'm paranoid, but I didn't have this guy's address and all that - about to hand him a nice guitar for an electronic transaction through some 3rd party...  Now I had no reason really to believe that I was getting scammed, but it wasn't what was agreed upon and I just didn't want to be that guy that lost his guitar this way.  But, I definitely have his phone number, came over with his family sitting in a nice, clean car in my driveway that were waiting while he checked out the guitar in my house.  So I had plenty of reason to think this guy wasn't some sort of scammer.  I might have lost out on a sale because of me declining to transact via PayPal/Venmo, but it is what it is I guess.  He said he will get back to me today when he can get the cash from his bank, but I'll bet he just wants to walk away now. 

I'm not strapped for cash and I still have my guitar.  Just would have been happy to sell something that is real nice and doesn't get played right now.  Should I have accepted to do the electronic transaction I wonder?  How risky is it to do these sorts of transactions?  Don't I have to have faith that this guy's bank account getting withdrawn by Paypal/Venmo has the cash?  IDK...  Again, we agreed to cash, but he didn't have it, came by anyhow and sprung this on me once he arrived in the flesh.  I didn't like that being I'm the guy with a guitar to lose like a schmuck. 

[jedzep]

You were wise in this, Grasshopper. 

Haven't done a CL thing in a while, and have done OK in these transactions, but I always ask a few questions that separate the scammers from the buyers.  First one is always, can you pay in cash, second is how far from my house do you live.

Edited November 8, 2021 by jedzep

[Sgt. Pepper]

6 minutes ago, NighthawkChris said:

I listed a guitar on CL and had a very seemingly legit person inquire about the guitar.  He made me an offer, I countered, he accepted my counter.  We agreed to meet up yesterday and pay in cash.  Long story short, he didn't have the cash when he showed up at my house, but offered to pay with PayPal or Venmo.  I declined to accept nothing less than cash.  I get it - tried to pull some serious cash from an ATM on a Sunday and can't get it all (was his excuse).  Maybe I'm paranoid, but I didn't have this guy's address and all that - about to hand him a nice guitar for an electronic transaction through some 3rd party...  Now I had no reason really to believe that I was getting scammed, but it wasn't what was agreed upon and I just didn't want to be that guy that lost his guitar this way.  But, I definitely have his phone number, came over with his family sitting in a nice, clean car in my driveway that were waiting while he checked out the guitar in my house.  So I had plenty of reason to think this guy wasn't some sort of scammer.  I might have lost out on a sale because of me declining to transact via PayPal/Venmo, but it is what it is I guess.  He said he will get back to me today when he can get the cash from his bank, but I'll bet he just wants to walk away now. 

I'm not strapped for cash and I still have my guitar.  Just would have been happy to sell something that is real nice and doesn't get played right now.  Should I have accepted to do the electronic transaction I wonder?  How risky is it to do these sorts of transactions?  Don't I have to have faith that this guy's bank account getting withdrawn by Paypal/Venmo has the cash?  IDK...  Again, we agreed to cash, but he didn't have it, came by anyhow and sprung this on me once he arrived in the flesh.  I didn't like that being I'm the guy with a guitar to lose like a schmuck. 

That is the whole reason I don't sell on CL. That happens, or some nut job might show up, and I would never meet at my house to do the transaction. I'd go to a public place like a guitar store if one is near. 

[jedzep]

Wise, also. No home visits!

[Dave F]

I would had met somewhere else. 
I would had accepted Venmo but not PayPal. 

[rct]

Our cop shop has a spot with cameras and electricity and benches and suchlike.

Cash only.  I'm not a bank, I told you that from the start.  That, to me, is time killing.  I'd leave in a huff.

rct

[Whitefang]

The guy who cuts my grass took on the guy across the street as a client.  But a couple or so weeks ago that guy gave the lawn guy the old line; "I lost my wallet"  and offered to pay him through zelle.   The lawn guy turned him down.  You gotta wonder though....

Since this guy knew your price before showing up at your place, why couldn't he call and say he couldn't pull all the cash from the ATM so could you please wait until the next day?   What difference would one day make to either of you?   At any rate, the fault isn't with Craigslist,  this would have probably happened regardless the sales venue.

Whiefang

[kidblast]

You did what you had to do.

The whole "can't get cash" out of an ATM  sounds a little off.

Even if one you go do is down at the time, there's more just a short drive away.

I call BS on that one.

 

[NighthawkChris]

Good stuff fellas, I am definitely not going to consider home sales from here on out.  Something just didn't seem right at some point in this deal.  All it comes down to is one needs the goods, the other has the cash.  If one doesn't have either, the deal is sour. 

@DaveF why is Venmo OK and PayPal not? 

And BTW, still haven't heard back from this guy.  After reading on here and thinking back, starting to look like I dodged a bullet... 

@kidblast I sort of believed him on the can't get the money out of the ATM because I ran into this a few years back - allowed a limit of sorts ($300 comes to mind here for me).  Normally when I need a lot of cash though, I get it from teller directly so not much experience running into this.  But again, he knew how much he needed before meeting up and had a day beforehand to make that happen.  We are talking a little over a grand. 

[kidblast]

19 minutes ago, NighthawkChris said:

Good stuff fellas, I am definitely not going to consider home sales from here on out.  Something just didn't seem right at some point in this deal.  All it comes down to is one needs the goods, the other has the cash.  If one doesn't have either, the deal is sour. 

@DaveF why is Venmo OK and PayPal not? 

And BTW, still haven't heard back from this guy.  After reading on here and thinking back, starting to look like I dodged a bullet... 

@kidblast I sort of believed him on the can't get the money out of the ATM because I ran into this a few years back - allowed a limit of sorts ($300 comes to mind here for me).  Normally when I need a lot of cash though, I get it from teller directly so not much experience running into this.  But again, he knew how much he needed before meeting up and had a day beforehand to make that happen.  We are talking a little over a grand. 

Well.  to get by the limit, you just make 2 withdraws.  

if you need $600 and only allowed $300,  it's simple math to determine how many times you need to do it

you get hit with charges of course, but, you get the cash you need.

Edited November 8, 2021 by kidblast

[NighthawkChris]

@kidblast yeah, I was sort of thinking that too...  Never had to do this before, but is there some sort of daily allowance how much can be withdrawn from an ATM provided the ATM has the cash available to disperse?  He seemed to be eluding to this which I sort of thought was a load of crap. 

[RBSinTo]

NighthawkChris,

Except for meeting at your home which I think is risky business, I agree that you handled this as well as you could have.

But for extraordinary and suddenly occurring  circumstances, there should be no reason for the agreed-upon terms and conditions to be changed on the fly.

A text, email, or better yet in my world, a quick phone call to advise you of a problem getting the cash and then making alternate mutually agreed upon arrangements would have been the buyers best option. 

As it is, if he returns with the cash, then alls well that ends well. And if not, you'll find another buyer.

RBSinTo

Edited November 8, 2021 by RBSinTo

[MissouriPicker]

Maybe I’m too damn cynical, but I won’t sell/buy off of Craig’s List.  I try to think the best of people, but we live in a very different world today.  Lots of shifty people who are not who they say they are.  I won’t even shop for a hooker on Craig’s List anymore.  No tellin’ what you’ll get.  ⚧️……Anyway, most guitars I’ve sold went to people I know.

[Dave F]

1 hour ago, NighthawkChris said:

Good stuff fellas, I am definitely not going to consider home sales from here on out.  Something just didn't seem right at some point in this deal.  All it comes down to is one needs the goods, the other has the cash.  If one doesn't have either, the deal is sour. 

@DaveF why is Venmo OK and PayPal not? 

And BTW, still haven't heard back from this guy.  After reading on here and thinking back, starting to look like I dodged a bullet... 

@kidblast I sort of believed him on the can't get the money out of the ATM because I ran into this a few years back - allowed a limit of sorts ($300 comes to mind here for me).  Normally when I need a lot of cash though, I get it from teller directly so not much experience running into this.  But again, he knew how much he needed before meeting up and had a day beforehand to make that happen.  We are talking a little over a grand. 

Just from my experience if they use PayPal they can come back on you. I try to use PayPal on more controlled sites that guarantee the buyer and seller have protection for disputes and scams. Venmo seems to be more instant and a done deal. I know PayPal owns or did own Venmo. I learned to use the Venmo during this pandemic with all the no contact buying and selling. I haven’t had any issues with it. I would only use it buying wise with the item in my hand. Selling wise I need to see the money in my account before I release the item. 

[kidblast]

1 hour ago, NighthawkChris said:

@kidblast yeah, I was sort of thinking that too...  Never had to do this before, but is there some sort of daily allowance how much can be withdrawn from an ATM provided the ATM has the cash available to disperse?  He seemed to be eluding to this which I sort of thought was a load of crap. 

@NighthawkChrisnot sure why the  limits are there,  but in the past if I've needed more than the limit allows, it's just 2 transactions, or what ever.

The kicker is you get charged for each card transaction if the card is not of the bank/institution of the ATM, usually our bank waves / reimburses up to $x  (I think 25/30 bucks per mo.)

Could be he wasn't aware of the loop hole to just insert the card again..   however when dealing with people we don't know, our guard is always on alert.   Cash is king.

Considering if he was local enough to already meet with you,   why you wouldn't just be able to re-hookup today/tomorrow when he had plenty of time to get the required cash is a bit in question.  It's likely you dodged a bullet.  it's tuff to be cynical all the time, but the way "people" are these days, you can't trust anyone.

 

 

[NighthawkChris]

8 minutes ago, kidblast said:

@NighthawkChrisnot sure why the  limits are there,  but in the past if I've needed more than the limit allows, it's just 2 transactions, or what ever.

The kicker is you get charged for each card transaction if the card is not of the bank/institution of the ATM, usually our bank waves / reimburses up to $x  (I think 25/30 bucks per mo.)

Could be he wasn't aware of the loop hole to just insert the card again..   however when dealing with people we don't know, our guard is always on alert.   Cash is king.

Considering if he was local enough to already meet with you,   why you wouldn't just be able to re-hookup today/tomorrow when he had plenty of time to get the required cash is a bit in question.  It's likely you dodged a bullet.  it's tuff to be cynical all the time, but the way "people" are these days, you can't trust anyone.

 

 

I feel ya kid… I’m an honest fella but people need not mistake my kindness for weakness. He said he’d reach back out to me when he got the cash… we shall see. I just know that when I went the route of buying an expensive guitar on CL, I come correct. I have the cash in-hand before I stop over or arrange to meet up. I got my nicest LP Standard in a CL deal so not bashing the platform, just have to be really careful unfortunately to stick to your guns. Thanks for the input though - and from all who’ve chimed in to this point. Just wanted to share the story because it was eating at me inside if I lost a sale from paranoia or something. 

[kidblast]

5 minutes ago, NighthawkChris said:

I feel ya kid… I’m an honest fella but people need not mistake my kindness for weakness. He said he’d reach back out to me when he got the cash… we shall see. I just know that when I went the route of buying an expensive guitar on CL, I come correct. I have the cash in-hand before I stop over or arrange to meet up. I got my nicest LP Standard in a CL deal so not bashing the platform, just have to be really careful unfortunately to stick to your guns. Thanks for the input though - and from all who’ve chimed in to this point. Just wanted to share the story because it was eating at me inside if I lost a sale from paranoia or something. 

I've had a few really good CL transactions, but it's always a bit of a "I hope this goes ok" kind of feeling as you head into it.

 

[NighthawkChris]

When I need to get a few bucks for that old snowblower that got replaced or washing machine - CL is the place. I can get rid of stuff quick and get some small coin pretty quick. I personally like the extra home space but getting a few bucks in return is bonus to me. Now when it comes to guitars, a different game for sure. Not all buyers are like me - honest. I think it’s helped visiting guitar forums honestly with others sharing their bad experiences with us that helped me minimize the damage here. 

[mihcmac]

As a frequent CL buyer I like to meet in a public place where I can keep an eye on everything. I tend to get a little nervous about showing up even with just a few hundred in my pocket, specially when people are having hard times. When I bought a Honda for 6k I had other people with me. So basically when involved in a cash transaction that has a few zeros, it pays to be cautious.

Edited November 8, 2021 by mihcmac

[NighthawkChris]

Well, breaking information here...  The guy just got back to me and texted he's stopping by this evening with the cash.  That's great!  Glad that this situation is not turning out to be one of those times.  OK, so the guy is a little clumsy with coming correct in these sorts of deals...  I'll give him the benefit of the doubt here again since he reached out to me again wanting to meet up.  After all, it was a Sunday he tried to make this happen...  I mean it all comes down to now that before he steps foot near the guitar, he can show me the cash, haha!  But no time off my plate here.  I'm gonna be home tonight and if he stops by during this time, no worries.  At least now I don't have to let him try it out anymore and just hand him the guitar for the cash lol!  He seemed like a pretty nice guy - other than he tried to come over to buy my guitar without cash, haha!  At no point did I ever feel threatened...  I was thinking about con the whole time.  And I will be holding the bills up to the light to check if they're fake. 

[rct]

Good deal, glad it worked out.  This is how it should be.

rct

[kidblast]

10 minutes ago, rct said:

Good deal, glad it worked out.  This is how it should be.

rct

what he said!

[Larsongs]

If you’re the Seller of an Electric Guitar or Amp where would you meet up with a Craig’s List Buyer? How would you handle the expected Demo?

[Notes_Norton]

I've sold a few things on Craigslist over the years. Always away from my home, always in cash. Usually at the police station.

I'm glad it's working out for you.

 

Notes ♫

[sparquelito]

3 hours ago, Larsongs said:

If you’re the Seller of an Electric Guitar or Amp where would you meet up with a Craig’s List Buyer? How would you handle the expected Demo?

I keep an electrical Inverter device that plugs into the cigarette lighter outlets in my van. 

When I go to buy or sell a guitar or amp, I come prepared for a full on demo. 
No problems with that, ever. 

🙂