elliott937 Loc: St. Louis

Cohappy. Assuming he has made no payment, you can ignore your Craig's listing totally. Then return here and place a fresh SELL listing.

I sold a pricy printer here on UHH, and the total transaction was completed smoothly.

SteveG Loc: Norh Carolina

You must stay away from anyone who comes up with any way to avoid cash. They can go back and request a refund for any reason and PayPal will oblige. Sell on eBay, or KEH, Robert's etc.

lsaguy Loc: Udall, KS, USA

Hammond is right, TheifPal is not safe, even after you have the money in your account. Had an Italian theif file a claim while the package was in customs. Even though I had a receipt for the mailing from the USPS, TheifPal gave him his money back.
I hate to shout, but, DO WHAT CRAIGSLIST TELLS YOU TO DO; DEAL LOCALLY AND SAFELY.

JDG3

Be very careful with craigslist. I was the target of a recent scam on craigslist. The buyer of my items sent a cashiers check drawn on an out of state bank. However, I told the buyer that I wanted to have the check clear the bank BEFORE he picked the item up.

Turns out the check was fake. It was caught by my credit union teller. She noted that the check looked odd and called the bank to check it out. The noted that they had been having trouble with people copying their cashier checks. I sent the "buyer" an email and he never responded back.

So, I agree get cash whenever possible. Not sure about Paypal, I am not sure if those can be faked or not or if possibly the money can be pulled back by the buyers.

hammond

Sorry, but this is also inaccurate.

My friend had a Paypal account and accepted a payment for copywriting services, which cleared, and several months later he decided to shut down his Paypal account entirely.

A month later, the client decided to dispute the charges, claiming the work was incomplete (it was, but that's not the point). Paypal decided in the customer's favor, and even though the payment had been made and cleared months before that, and the account was already closed, Paypal refunded the customer's money.

They then threatened to file a credit claim against my friend if he didn't pay the balance due on the closed account.

+++

As for the cashier's check scam - this is a well-known scam throughout the Internet. NEVER accept a cashier's check. Anyone who can legitimately draw a cashier's check could just as easily arrange a wire transfer, which would be far more secure.

mlkddk Loc: Colorado

rstrick2 Loc: Beverly Hills, FL

Take a close look at the email, make sure it is paypal. I had a scam on me when they used an email close to the paypal name.

ShaRonBog

Pay Pal is an excellent way to buy things.
I use Pay Pal to but whenever it is available, They have my credit card info, they pay for the product and bill my card company. That way my card isn't out on the internet where everyone can see it.
Pay Pal has been around a long time.
Prof35

Jim Plogger Loc: East Tennessee

Why not list your equipment right here on UHH? I have sold several items here with no problems whatsoever. Show photos and your price and negotiate terms via PM.

pecohen Loc: Central Maine

One thing I would add is that when shipping, be sure to use a shipping service that weighs the package being shipped and keep a copy of the receipt that shows this weight. This will help you if your buyer claims that you shipped an empty box.

Lucian Loc: From Wales, living in Ohio

Two very important points. First on cashiers checks. NEVER take them. Most of you may not know this but even if your bank thought the cashiers check was legit and put it through, it can take up to three months going through all the banking systems until it gets back to your bank to show that it was a fake. At that point your bank will take back the money they gave you, that's right, even three months later, so don't think that just because your bank cleared it and said it was a good one (and you may even have paid them and express clearance charge to get it through fast) that does not mean it is/was a good one, and when the bank finally finds out it was a fake, they WILL take back that money, even if they told you it was safe. Never take a cashiers check.

Now to Paypal… The most common scam with Paypal is that the seller hears from the buyer that they are away from their home, but really want that item you have, so will pay you via Paypal, legitimately, but since they want it where they are, they will ask you to send it to a location that is not registered as their official address that they have registered with Paypal. Then later on they claim to Paypal that the item never arrived and demand a refund. Paypal will check and see that you never sent it to the buyer's registered address and will give them their money back and take it away from you. so NEVER send anything to an address that is not the registered address with Paypal.

Next, never buy anything with Paypal if the seller asks you to pay through the friends and family link, because you have no recourse if the item never arrives. The Paypal help, with a non arriving item, is not covered when you use the friends and family method, because Paypal do not get their cut when you move money that way.

One further point, and I bet none of you know this, Paypal will not entertain helping any purchase/sale of not receiving the goods or not receiving the money, when an engine is involved. I learned this from a friend who worked in the fraud department of paypal, who now works in our local bank. If you were to buy a car from someone with the engine in it, (and why would you not?) and then you find the car is crap and you want to get your money back, Paypal will not help you. If you were to sell a car that had an engine in it and the buyer paid you but then you find the money never really was there, Paypal will not help you, because of the engine part. If you were to buy or sell and engine, the same thing applies with Paypal.

Now if that car was sold as an engineless vehicle, that is a very different thing and you will get all the help Paypal can offer, as the buyer or seller. For some reason they have a clause which I bet none of you have ever know about, that anything with an engine, is not covered under the Paypal protection plan, so bear that in mind if you ever buy or sell anything with an engine, any type of engine and use Paypal.

I have bought and sold many things via Craig's List and never had any problems other than one time when I bought a brand new in the box and sealed Photoshop disk, when you could actually buy a copy of Photoshop and own it forever, and not have to pay the forever ransom each month like you do today, and never own it. When I got home, it all went well with registration with Adobe until I tried to use it and it never worked, luckily I was just out $35. When I sell anything on Craig's List I almost always get the immediate scammers texting me. Just call that number back and if you can never speak to anyone, it is always a scam. Mostly you get the message... The text subscriber you are contacting is not available, or something like that.

In short… don't trust Paypal and don't trust a cashiers check and always carry a currency/note checking pen, to make sure the bills show the legit colour when marked.

COHappyHiker

All good replies. On selling my gear on UHH - how would I accept payment? The problems with PayPal and a cashier's check still exist even when I'm listing on a platform that isn't as shady?

fetzler Loc: North West PA

Personally, I wouldn't buy or sell anything on Craig's List. I hear too many Bad stories.

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Oh, what could go wrong...it's not like there's ever been a "Craigslist Killer"

leftj Loc: Texas

This is sound advice.