Yes, yes, I know: if you have to ask, it probably is. But in this case, I don’t see how. I’ve Googled, and this doesn’t fall into any of the usual scams people warn about.
I listed some furniture for sale on Craig’s List yesterday, and a few hours later got a message saying “if it is still available I will buy it.” I called the number this morning, spoke to the woman, who didn’t seem to be sure what ad I was talking about, but she said she’d come today to pick it up. Agreed to the price and to bring cash and people to move it.
It’s now two hours after the appointed time. I don’t think she’s coming.
She didn’t get any info from me other than my address. What kind of scam can this be?
Did I sound too smart to fall for a scam? Did my mention of cash make it clear I wouldn’t fall for the cashier’s check scam? Or are there just people out there who answer Craigslist ads for the yucks?
One possibility is that she told several sellers that she was coming to buy items just to make sure they would still be there when she finally made her decision as to what she would actually buy. Pretty much the same way people make reservations ahead of time to several different restaurants to guarantee a spot before showing up at the one they finally decide to go to.
That’s a reassuringly benign possibility.
Just got another message (from a different person): “are you the original owner of it ? I’m interested in taking it , I don’t check cl mail. my email address is…”
Not responding to that one.
You may have just encountered a Craigslist flake. They’re pretty common. People will often make appointments to see things and just vanish.
It sounds like she contacted several sellers and wasn’t sure at first which ad was yours. She agreed to get your furniture, but then I’m guessing other sellers also contacted her and she decided to get their furniture instead. Not calling back is pretty common on CL. It’s frustrating, but it comes with the territory. What you might do for future buyers is to ask them to call/text you when they’re on their way. And don’t say you’ll hold it for too long. If they say they can’t get it until tomorrow, tell them that you may sell it in the meantime and to call/text when they are ready to come and get it to make sure you still have it.
Both cases of calling your furniture “it” while you’re selling multiple pieces signals a scam. They’re likely sending (generic) emails to numerous sellers hoping to score a hit.
People just don’t show up sometimes. They may make several stops and spend their money before they get to you. Possibly you didn’t sound like someone who could be scammed easily, which is a good thing. I buy tools on Craig’s List, some of them sort of expensive, everybody is wary of scammers, which they should be, every transaction should be cash and carry, anything else is a red flag.
Thanks for the replies. A flake is much more comforting than some of the ideas that the most paranoid part of my brain was cooking up: home invasion, casing for a burglary, etc.
Nah, unless you were selling some rare/expensive collectibles and are likely to have more of the item. Furniture/cars or something where there’s just one item means a flake, they’re quite common.
The trouble with this being a scam is that worst case the OP gets his old furniture hauled away for free.
Although actually kind of response could be the way to case out your residence and see if you can be taken. Always be cautious no matter what.
Flakes are incredibly common when trying to sell (or even give away) stuff on CL. Despite that, we still do it quite frequently – very, very convenient.
I remember when I first got a DVR, I advertised that I had a dozen blank video tapes that I would give away to the first person who came to get them. Several people responded, said they would come, but none did. Finally, I wrote to all who had responded saying I would leave them in the driveway and whoever came first could just pick them up or else the trashman. Someone did before trash day.