I am in the process of selling my cropped sensor gear. It is listed on my local craigslist. I've already sold a few items and have met people face to face at a neutral location and did a cash exchange. I now have someone requesting me to ship them the item (the 7D) and to accept payment via paypal.
Anyone know of any reason I should be worried?
Certain types of payments can be reversed by paypal, leaving you ripped off. (credit cards)
I do not know how common it is, but it does happen. Is your price so low that this guy couldnt get one in the area he is at? 7D's are very common even in small markets.
A couple of things have me concerned. You are right, I would think they could find a 7D for the same price or better ($950) where they are. Also, no attempt to negotiate.
So, I just sent an email offering to drive to wherever they are for a cash transaction.
CL should be cash and in person. eBay is for shipping/Paypal, IMO. When I list stuff on CL, I just ignore requests to ship.
I do the same exact thing, with all the scammers out there, it's cash and in person or they can go elsewhere.Originally Posted by neuroanatomist
Only nine hundred and fifty of them.
I'd problem pass on the guy unless you're familiar with the area.
Words get in the way of what I meant to say.
Check B&H used price. They take paypal and ship. There is no benefit for someone to buy one off craigslist from someone they do not know. In about two weeks you would find the payment drained out of your ck account by paypal and the buyer claiming they never received it.
So, I think this is my first run in with a scammer. It sure doesn't feel right. I've had a couple of email exchanges and latest was that they had a medical condition and so they can't leave their house meet me and they just went through the trouble of setting up a paypal account for this transaction. Again, they just wanted my paypal email address, but never even giving me an address to ship the 7D too.
So, just in case it isn't a scam, I just sent them the links to the 7D's on B&H letting them know that they accept Paypal. But, I am done with it...just in in case it is a scam. Of course, all emails were through craigslist.
As usual, thanks for your help and advise...
Brant
A scam, no doubt. I usually ask for a phone number, and I've actually found that most honest buyers on CL just put their phone number in a reply.
I didn't see this post until now but I am happy to see you made an extremely wise decision by following others advice, Brant.
I will still post my words of advice just in case someone reads this in the future that it might help. I have sold $$$$$ worth of gear over the last couple of years via craigslist, paypal, Chase, you name it. Many scammers have tried various techniques and so far, I've been lucky to not have been ripped off.
There are a few rules I follow now no matter how legit the person seems ...
#1 If dealing with paypal, I always make sure the person has past dealings as a buyer where I can check their references by contacting other sellers myself. I don't put full faith in just the posts of other sellers on a buy/sell board. In the beginning, I did fall victim once to a "college girl" who just set-up her paypal account to buy my lens and even asked me to walk her through the process of setting it up. I received her payment but shortly after, I received a message from paypal stating it was a stolen account and they took the $ back. Thank goodness I hadn't mailed the lens yet!
Which brings me to Rule #2 - Always wait out the mailing of the gear for a few days. Better safe than sorry. Also, only ConUS mailings.
#3 - In person sales are only done one way. Cash only and we meet in my bank parking lot where there are cameras everywhere. The buyer pays inside so my bank clerk can make sure the $ are good and again, a camera is on him (her) at the counter. It gets deposited in my account instantly ....then he gets the gear. I've had a person who owns a business in my city say he needed the lens Sunday morning for their kids soccer game Sunday afternoon ....sorry, my bank isn't open on Sunday.
#4 - This probably should really be #1 - If it doesn't feel right ...it probably isn't. Go with your gut instinct, if you're questioning if it's a safe sale, it probably isn't.
I know #3 may sound a tad paranoid on my part but for one, I'm not just worried about my gear being stolen, I'm worried about my own safety meeting someone elsewhere or having them come to my house and it's amazing how fast the some decide they are not interested once they find out how the transaction will go down.
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