gymschwinn Loc: Greenwood Village, CO.

Thanks to everyone. I guarantee that lens won't ship until MY bank says the check is good. I know I can get the cash one day and find out it's a fake later, then have to pay back the bank and still be out my lens. That's NOT gonna happen. I'll post if it's a scam....if it's not, you will soon be seeing pic's from my new Lumix Frank Zappa 150 bridge camera!

etanf Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

Cash only 100%. I do alot on CR and I have never had any problems. It's easy because you only take cash!!!!

DJ Mills Loc: Idaho

Cash. If it is a portable item, consider meeting in a public place such as a parking lot near a grocery store.

marcomarks Loc: Ft. Myers, FL

Most people aren't going to send cash through the mail so that would require in-person pickup. I question the safety of in-person pickup at one's home. Meeting somewhere remote might be okay.

Oddly enough, my wife sells clothing and purses online (not on Craigslist) and has numerous clueless women send actual cash through the mail. I would NEVER do that as a buyer because there is no record of having paid when it's lost or stolen by a mail worker. It's not something I would want to do as a seller because the buyer will accuse you of taking the money and not sending their purchase if the money is lost.

Personal checks are the optimal way to assure you get stiffed. Bad accounts, stolen checks, and stop payments on checks are all bad for you and used on a regular basis by cons.

Personally I require a money order or bank check at the very least but prefer that we both have PayPal accounts so they can transfer money into mine from theirs.

With PayPal they can use any major credit card or bank account to dispense the money to PayPal and you aren't affected by whatever means they use - which makes it more convenient for them to buy with money they don't readily have in hand (charge up those card!). I consider PayPal to be one of the best ways to do transactions online although you're going to pay a small fee for doing so as the seller. The fees are posted on PayPal's site.

TdogKing

My sons best friend sold something on CL for $800 cash and found out later that the bills were counterfeit. So just saying....acepting cash isn't fool proof as we think. Tell the buyer you want to meet him at a local store who will let you use their marker on them and if he refuses, deal over and if he calls your bluff, follow thru and check them.

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

Any big ticket items that I sell locally, I always meet at the bank. If they won't meet at the bank, then its pretty obvious the deal won't be worth the gas I use to get there.

gymschwinn Loc: Greenwood Village, CO.

Well, the plot thickens. The e-mail showed the person did NOT have a good grasp of either our language or our punctuation or how and where to use capitols. We'll see. I will defintely post the result folks. This now seems to have sparked alot of interest. Maybe all those, like me, who haven't done this kind of thing before will learn something, and maybe we can put some thug in the Grey Bar Hotel for an extended stay. Or, he's legit, he gets a new lens, and I get my bridge.

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

He will probably want you to ship it to his uncle in Nigeria or Malaysia! LOL
Hopefully he gives you a USA address and you can get him (or her) locked up somewhere. Keep us all posted!

gymschwinn Loc: Greenwood Village, CO.

Will do.

Horseart Loc: Alabama

I never take anything but cash. I never sell anything that cannot be picked up in person and I only meet them in a public place, like MacDonald's...parked by the windows where everyone inside can see. It's safe for me AND safe for them. I don't sell anything so big that it requires bringing a stranger into my house. Remember the Craigslist killer?

Horseart Loc: Alabama

Oh, I have had those scams. The best way to keep from having them is don't even answer one like that. They want to send you a cashier's check for $1000 more than what you are asking and want you to send then back the change. they say they will give you $500 extra for doing it that way. A lady I have known for many years (and thought her to be pretty smart) actually did it and lost her money!

Lucian Loc: From Wales, living in Ohio

Okay guys... her is a word of WARNING to all of you who say, get the bank to verify that the cashiers cheque or bankers draft is legit before handing over your goods.

But first off, go out and buy yourself a real money marking pen like the shops have. They cost about $2. and use them on EVERY note that they use to pay you with.

Now back to those bankers drafts and certified cheques etc.

Almost none of you, if any of you will know this. Tell me if you did know this. Your bank will take that bankers draft or certified cheque and send it off. In a week maybe, they will tell you the piece of paper was legit, or maybe even in a few days. Then you hand over your goods and the buyer is gone.

A bank can take up to a month and sometimes 3 months to REALLY find out if that bankers draft was legit. Despite the fact that they told you it was legit and you handed over your goods, it can take sometimes up to three months, yes 3 MONTHS, before the money trail finally comes back to your bank.

When it does and shows up as a forgery, your bank will immediately remove that amount from your account and pay itself back. Now you have no money and you gave your stuff away. There is nothing you can do to the bank, you will simply have to take that loss.

Therefore DO NOT TRUST your bank to tell you if that monetary instrument is good, they do not know 100% for sure until about 3 months or so after they have passed it through the ENTIRE system.

If you can hold on to your goods for 3 months after you have presented your bank with that bankers draft, etc. you are probably 100% safe, but DO NOT think that they can really tell you if it is legit or not in a just a few days or a week. They CAN NOT!

They don't like to tell you this but if pushed and pushed hard you may well get your bank to tell you the truth. Ask them if it is found to be a forgery a few months after they have given you the money, who is the one responsible for the loss, or paying back the amount of the forgery. They will tell you that they are not and that if you were given money for the cheque draft etc., you will also be the one that must fork over the money to pay the bank back, despite, as I said, the fact that they confirmed to you that all was well with that draft/cheque/ etc. So take this as a warning.

Don't accept anything other than cash and test the notes. I've heard they are even making one dollar forged notes now.

Horseart Loc: Alabama

I knew that. That's why I only take CASH...IN PERSON.

nikon_jon Loc: Northeast Arkansas

A lesson I learned a long time ago when doing business. Never, never, never say , "Well, uh, I, um, am not sure, uh are you sure the check is good, I um, uh, would rather have cash, um, er, uh, etc, etc, etc."

Scammers see hesitation as a sign of weakness and they get very hard to deal with. If you are on the phone put a smile in your voice, or if you are face to face, put a smile on your face and say, "Here's the deal. It has to be cash in my hands or the item stays in my hands and I will sell it to the next person!"

This may seem harsh, but remember, scanners do not care if you have a mortgage payment to make, or if you have to buy groceries for your family, or you owe your wife or husband a night on the town. You don't have to be ugly about it, but be concise, certain and absolutely without hesitation.

davejann Loc: Portland Oregon

No! Make his bank verify the check. Find their number via google=don't trust any number on the "check" it might be his brother's and get someone at the bank to verify it