How could this situation be a Craigslist scam? [Details Inside]?
So a guy on Craigslist e-mailed me back about an item I’m selling and would like for me to send him an invoice through PayPal. He provided me with his e-mail. My buddy tells me through PayPal it’s the safest thing in the world. My buddy also tells me if it turns out that guy is fraudulent that I would then be abel to still keep the money and they would go after him.
Any pros and cons here? Obviously I wouldn’t ship the product out until his payment has cleared. He claims he is in the army and wants to get the product for his fiancee. What are your thoughts?
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14 Answers
Wife has used PayPal for many years. Its like a clearing house for both parties. PayPal will make sure his $$$ is in their PayPal account for you, then notify you to send whatever you are selling.Be sure to pack in a sturdy box with peanuts and insure it.
We have had no problems, whatsoever.
One possible scam is that he’s paying PayPal with a stolen credit card. If the card is stolen, you’ll eventually have to give the money back and eat the loss. But that’s a risk every merchant takes, even brick-and-mortar stores. Although, it may be PayPal that has to eat the loss rather than you. If I were you, I’d email PayPal and tell them what you suspect and ask them who’s liable if the card is stolen. Also, if the shipping address is overseas, that’s a huge red flag.
PayPal has a waiting period before any transactions are given the go ahead. This is a safety buffer to cover such a case as HungryGuy has stated. It may take a few days for your sale to complete on PayPal, but its worth it, knowing you are not being ripped off.
@HungryGuy: I’m confused by your answer because the OP did not say he/she thinks the card may be stolen.
@jca I’m just exploring possibilities of how it can go wrong. I think hungry answered just fine and jp had a good counter for it.
If someone is trying to have you ship them something that should be an immediate red flag!
Since craigslist doesnt have a history/rating log for each user like ebay, you really dont know how trustworthy the other person is. You should only be using Craigslist for local/person to person, cash only, transactions.
Do not deal with anyone other than in person and with cash on a Craigslist transaction. It is really that simple.
Paypal is usually pretty good, from what I’ve heard. I’ve never had any problems with my transactions, and when my sister ordered something from etsy which was never sent from the seller, she filed a report with Paypal and they reimbursed her.
What is your business? Selling your stuff or finding out thieves…
If you are gonna be so suspicious of this buyer, who then are you gonna sell to?
If you going to be so suspicious about people eventually you wont even get out of the house.
Life is like that do what you need to and when the negative presents itself…again just do what you need to do.
@kess My business is selling my stuff under secure circumstances. Would you not be wary if someone from Texas is looking at a San Diego Craigslist ad for an expensive item who needs it to be shipped all the way to Nigeria?
Guy’s it’s a scam. See Here
I got another e-mail today asking about the item I’m selling. Same negotiation tactic. Same “Hello, Am interested…”
The same occurrence happened where the buyer negotiates a front with a 100$ shipping and handling fee. They ask you for your PayPal e-mail, so they can e-mail you back something that looks similar to PayPal for verification and they steal your Passwords.
Thanks for the extra detail…it no longer sound like regular business..
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