Craigslist response to my ad - seems like a scam and shady - opinion???

[SASM]

I am listing my Phil & Ted's e3 sport on Craigslist. The following was an email request in regards to my ad after I replied that it was still available. I am not interested in shipping it...local sales only... But thought this was so strange, creepy, and scammy. Has this happened to any of you? I responded "no thank you" and local inquiries only but just curious...

Hello
I really appreciate your response to my email and i want you to
consider it sold, Pls do withdraw the advert from CL to avoid
disturbances,anyway i should have come down to come and look at it but
I don't have time to come over to take a look due to my Business
transactions that makes me busy but you don't need to bother yourself
with that and also the shipment I'll take care of that by engaging the
services of a mover, so I'll be sending a certified bank check and it
will be delivered to you via United Parcel Service (FEDEX), so I'll
need you to provide me with me with more pictures and the following
information to facilitate the mailing of the check ......

1.....Full name to write on the check
2.....Full Physical address to post the check
3.....City, State and Zip Code
4.... Home & Cell Phone to contact you
5.... Price



*** Note that you will get back to me today with your contact
information the payment will be shipped to your address via FEDEX NEXT
DAY SERVICE and I will like you to know that you will not be
responsible for shipping i will have my mover come over as soon as you
have cashed the check** Thanks

[sariana]

Absolutely a scam. The grammatical patterns are "textbook scam."

[edurnemk]

100% scam. I remember a post like yours a while ago, same exact M.O.

[amatahrain]

100% a scam. This has become so common.

[mackmama]

Definitely a scam. These are so annoying, and I get 2-3 of these now every time I post stuff for sale on CL.

[glbb35]

Def. a scam and a sad one too. Sorry you are dealign with this.

B

DS 03, 06, twins 09, 11

[mom3boys]

Yeah a scam. You can often tell with the first e-mail before you even reply, it will say "Is the item still for sale?" or "Still have it up for sale?" without mentioning the actual "item" you are trying to sell--and often it is kind of a "common sounding" name from whoever sends it. When I reply to cl I always put the name of the item I am interested in in the subject line and mention it specifically in my post so people know I am legit. So I usually just even ignore that first e-mail.

[SASM]

Thanks...my thought exactly!! I've listed quite a few items on CL in the past. This was my first scam response...very alarming! Makes me wonder how many people fall for this? :( Sooo many lightbulbs went off for me.

[Tinochka]

It’s abosolutely SPAM.
I put on my add “I will answer on e-mails with contact info only. Don’t want to deal with spam”.
If there is a question about spam or not, I do not answer. I do not answer on e-mails “is IT still available”, because I stated clearly that I remove my adds promptly. If you see it, it is still for sale. I learned my lesson after getting swamp by spam.

[megs4413]

I truly don't understand why people continue to use craigslist....it's like one giant scam service now....

[cntrymoon2]

The last time I got one of these, I had loads of fun with the scammer. I wrote back saying how excited I was to make the sale, and promptly provided the name, address, and phone number of our police station. We went back and forth for 20 emails all about how the scammer had fedexed the money order and needed to pick up the mattress, etc. If nothing else, I enjoyed the thought that I wasted his time.

[ray7694]

We had this same thing happen on ebay. The buyer bought the watch then wanted us to send receipt of shipment before payment. I knew immediately that it was a scam.

The awful part was that ebay charges you for selling an item and it was PAIN for them to refund the selling fees back. Beware of ebay.

[Melaine]

I truly don't understand why people continue to use craigslist....it's like one giant scam service now....

once you have sold for awhile on CL it is sooo sooo easy to spot the scammers; I still have sold hundreds of items. I love that it is free and I don't have to ship. It works great for me and I have made tons of money (I would guess several thousand) over the last 6 years. I have met some really nice people and only been stood up I think twice.

[twowhat?]

SCAM and I NEVER reply to those. No use in letting these scammers know that there is a real live person associated with YOUR email address (rather than the anonymous CL one that CL generates for your listing). If I get emails that say "Is it still available?" or "Is the item still available?" my finger automatically goes to the delete button.

When it comes to CL, if I feel at all "off" about anything, my finger goes straight to the delete button. Do not respond. Sure, I might have deleted legitimite inquiries every so often but that is the nature of CL. I'd rather have this happen than to unintentionally give out my email address to a scammer.

And I agree that it's easy to spot scammers on CL once you know. Whenever I list something, I expect 2-3 scam emails per listing. More if it's a high dollar item.

[momm]

The last time I got one of these, I had loads of fun with the scammer. I wrote back saying how excited I was to make the sale, and promptly provided the name, address, and phone number of our police station. We went back and forth for 20 emails all about how the scammer had fedexed the money order and needed to pick up the mattress, etc. If nothing else, I enjoyed the thought that I wasted his time.

I love this idea so much! Haha

[mom2binsd]

When I list on CL, I always state in BLOCK LETTERS and have not had any spam ever.

REPLY WITH "Stroller" in subject line".

[lovebebes]

When selling on CL the best thing to do is state in capital letters that you will not reply to emails without name and phone number NO MATTER WHAT. Then, when a truly interested party gives you their info you just call them :)