I've been browsing Craigslist, I haven't gotten anything off of it in the past and some of these ads for video games and consoles seem unreal. Things like PS4 for sub $200 and things like that, I feel like these seem too good to be true, and I tend to think they probably are and I'll get burned. Just looking for some advice/info on CL transactions others have had.
What are your experiences with Craigslist?
I've been browsing Craigslist, I haven't gotten anything off of it in the past and some of these ads for video games and consoles seem unreal. Things like PS4 for sub $200 and things like that, I feel like these seem too good to be true, and I tend to think they probably are and I'll get burned. Just looking for some advice/info on CL transactions others have had.
i've had nothing but good experiences in buying stuff off craigslist- but be smart! if it's too good to be true, it almost definitely is. if the price is substantially discounted for no credible reason, presume that it's either
a) stolen
b) fantasy, and they're planning on jumping you for your cash
c) counterfeit
d) defective
or a combination of all 4.
general advice- buy only used things (bikes, record players, peripherals, etc.), ask for new pictures from multiple angles (to prove they actually possess the item), and only meet in public or in the lobby of work, etc. somewhere with lots of eyes where they can't jump you without fear of repercussion.
that said, i've bought music gear (record players, guitars, amps, etc), furniture, and kitchen stuff off craigs and it all worked out. but you better believe i sussed the fuck out of the ads and ensured they were genuine and i'd be safe.
e: come to think of it, i bet google reverse image search is a pretty rad first pass at determining if the photos seem genuine. if you find the same photos all over the web, you can bet it's a bullshit ad.
I've used craigslist to purchase a set of winter tires+wheels for my car. It worked out fine. Just do your research beforehand and establish a dialog with the seller. If anything about the transaction seems out of place, don't be afraid to walk away from it.
Key word is dialog. As long as the person is communicating a decent amount you should be fine. Always meet in a public place as was said. Most common equal grounds tends to be a Starbucks. I almost never look at a posting that has a stock photo. Just use common sense when shopping on CL. It is a great service as long as you do that.
I'm also a bit bias cause I met my girlfriend on cl....yeah I know....shutup....
Side note if you are in a decent sized city, sometimes the app OfferUp is a great place to buy and sell video games. I got my new 3ds with monster hunter for 200 from someone on there.
@personandstuff: Haha. Cause it was a joke. No really. She posted a dumb as crap posting in the personals as a joke, and I was bored drinking with a few friends reading and mocking them and I sent her a dumb as crap reply. Apparently we liked the same dumb stuff.
I've sold stuff on CL and found roommates that way. I wouldn't recommend it unless you have no other options.
And to be very, very careful.
I almost always had a friend or roommate over when someone came by to buy something and usually other people knew someone was coming over as well. Never had anything go wrong but never wanted to risk it either.
I spent the past few months looking at craigslist for a good deal on a WiiU. As some people have said, if the deal seems too good to be true, it likely is. I got several emails from "sellers" redirecting me to that site qbid. However, a week or two ago I came across some college kids selling a pretty crazy collection of stuff (like 20ish games, everything you would want for the system and then some, a bunch of pro controllers, etc). They wanted $400 and were dumping it because they weren't getting their work done. It was a good experience! The dude was communicative and friendly. Brought a buddy with me, to be safe, but if you have an ounce of street smarts, go for it.
People in San Francisco use it for everything. I bought my last three cars on Craigslist, bought and sold numerous motorcycles, video games, and all kinds of other stuff as well. Got a job through Craigslist, too. Just be careful and always meet in a public place, and bring a friend. I even ended up meeting one of my previous girlfriends on Craigslist because she contacted me to buy some concert tickets I was selling. We met up and ended up dating for two years after that.
I sold a monitor ipod and wii through it. I guess im lucky i didnt get ganked, though all three transactions went more or less smoothly. Twice i met the person at my house which may have been a mistake.
I would be careful buying a new console off of there, my friend got screwed with a broken Xbox One. Just make sure you talk to the person first and make sure it seems legit. I personally have had great experiences with craigslist but that was only buying older gaming stuff usually from middle aged mothers who were getting rid of all their sons crap while they were off in college. I had a big craigslist hut for Guitar Hero/ Rockband controllers when they were impossible to find about 2 years ago. I also got my car off cragslist and it only breaks down sometimes...
I've sold a couple things and the transactions were very simple and painless. If you have plenty of communication, meet in a public area, and bring a friend - you'll be fine. With electronics though, it becomes an issue. If you want proof a console works, you probably have to go to their home, which increases the possibility of weirdness exponentially.
I have a great example of this exact scenario. One of my best friends bought a PS3 on craigslist while we were in college. Obviously he wanted to make sure it worked, and our school was located in a small town where almost everyone was in college themselves, so being invited into a stranger's home wasn't as weird. While he was in there, the seller's room mate jokingly pulled a real gun on my friend. The room mate immediately laughed it off (in no way is this funny, what if my friend had been ready for danger himself...?), but still, what the fuck. So be careful and don't be stupid.
Sold my WoW account, games, etc. Bought a camera. Didn't get murdered. The worst part of the experience is having people call you with stupid offers. Even when you put "Local sale. Cash only. No trades." people will still call and text you like "Will you take a subwoofer and a some wrenches instead?". My weirdest experience was selling an old video card. After I checked the bills, dude and his girl offered me coke if I wanted to go inside their home. I said "no thanks" and quickly left.
Just meet in public during the day and bring a friend. Verify that cash isn't counterfeit. I don't mess with electronics. It's hard to test that stuff in any thorough way. I had a friend buy red-ringed XBox 360 once. Called the seller, who's phone was no longer connected. If they buyer/seller is late to the meeting spot or tries to change locations after we agree, I bail.
I'm gonna post a quick experience trying to sell something on kijiji which is similar enough. It's a cautionary tale.
I was selling a camcorder and a bunch of accessories. Got a response! The person responding told me they had a cousin who was doing missionary work in africa and it was perfect for them. They'd forward me the shipping address and buy it for them. Great! The camcorder I have is a Canon HV30 and it's a bit older so it still uses miniDV tapes instead of SD cards. Being the friendly guy I am, I wanted to double check that his cousin would be able to get tapes for the camera. The response didn't answer the question but gave me more info about the transaction. I followed up, again double checking about the tapes. I'm good like that.
Still nothing re. the tapes in the response. This is when alarms started going off. Did some quick googling cause I was curious. Shocker. It's a scam.
I don't remember the specific details, but from what I recall about the scam pparently what would have happened was the money would show up in my paypal, I'd ship the camera off then about a week later I'd find out the money came from a fake credit card or account or something, bye bye cash, bye bye camera, sucks to be me.
Aside from the obvious fact that it was based in Nigeria where a lot of scams seem to come from, part of how you can tell is the person responding wont reference the item directly cause they're reading off a script. At no time did the person say the word 'camera' or directly respond to my questions unless it was about the payment or address.
So yeah. That's my story. You've been warned.
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