Is this a scam?

[skywkr2]

I received this in response to an ad:

Hello. I saw y our craigslist ad for your Roland Drum set and I was
interested. Are you negotiable on the price of these electronic
drums?

If we can agree on a price would you entertain the idea of shipping
these to me if I paid you with paypal? I have a confirmed and
verified paypal address with lots of previous feedback and
transactions that can be verfied by paypal. I can pick up the costs
and I have been looking for this type of kit for a while now. I can
send you some UPS labels which I will pay for and you can just bring
them with the kit to a UPS store. If you can box the drums up that
would be great or I can possibly pay the UPS store to package them for
me. We can chat on the phone or through text if you like.

Assuming we can come to an agreement on the price and shipping we can
chat on the phone to finalize everything if you like. Let me know.
Have a good day.

I have been looking for a Roland kit for a while and haven't found any
on my local craigslist.

https://chicago.craigslist.org/nch/msg/6054173002.htm


Is this a scam or what. If its real,what do i do to protect myself

 

[bigbonzo]

I would say it is. They don't ask any questions, or ask to go look at it. I would ignore it.

 

[drawtheline55]

It is a scameroo, agree on a price and have them wire you the money, it will never show up.

 

[drumfx]

It happens a lot with CL. Forget about it.

 

[A J]

It is a scameroo, agree on a price and have them wire you the money, it will never show up.

I don't understand how this scam works. If the seller sends all the money and pays for shipping how is this a scam?

 

[patrickwitherow]

I had one guy offer to overpay me in shipping costs by hundreds of dollars if I would ship the item to his relative's house. At one point I went along with it just to see what would come of it. Sure enough, I got a fake check in the mail a week or so later from a random company for $6.00 and some change. Not really the hundreds of dollars they promised. It was clearly printed on regular printer paper and looked horrible. I informed the company so they were aware, but never heard from them. I'm sure his 'relative' is still wondering why that drum never showed up

 

[Osahead2]

If you can't tell automatically that this is fake then you deserve to be taken.

 

[drawtheline55]

It is a scameroo, agree on a price and have them wire you the money, it will never show up.

I don't understand how this scam works. If the seller sends all the money and pays for shipping how is this a scam?

My guess is something will deviate from it. If they actually do send the money via paypal, I would get it out of there pronto.

 

[frankmott]

Usually, willingness to talk on the phone would indicate it's NOT a scam -- though it has all the other hallmarks of scam. Talk to him (not text). You will likely know right away. If, for some reason, he suddenly won't actually talk, run.

 

[PressRoll]

If the guy is offering to talk over the phone I would give him a call and talk to him. Most scammers refuse to talk over the phone.

The message is somewhere between generic and poor English written skills so it is hard to say right away. Most scam messages only refer to the title without any other details.

Either way I think some more investigation is needed in order to figure out if it truly is a scam or not.

 

[A J]

It is a scameroo, agree on a price and have them wire you the money, it will never show up.

I don't understand how this scam works. If the seller sends all the money and pays for shipping how is this a scam?

My guess is something will deviate from it. If they actually do send the money via paypal, I would get it out of there pronto.




I think your instincts are correct, but if I have cash in hand (not a promise) I'm gonna do the deal.

 

[skywkr2]

Thanks everyone. My guess is scam and I won't respond but it had a enough details and the willingness to talk that I questioned it. I want to sell them but...

 

[drawtheline55]

It just has scam all over it, but agree with Frankmott, have them give you a phone number and call them, and go from there.

 

[organicdrummer]

I avoid all non-local sales on Craigslist. There is just too much headache to go around between potential scams, shipping, etc.

Is there any way you could avoid some of the scam potential and post the kit to Ebay/Reverb with a Buy It Now option? Have the buyer cover the associated fees and costs? At least that way there would be an extra level of protection.

 

[& You Dont Stop]

It reads like a form letter. Seems to be a lack of sincerity.
Might be worth a phone call though.

 

[lossforgain]

I avoid all non-local sales on Craigslist. There is just too much headache to go around between potential scams, shipping, etc.

Is there any way you could avoid some of the scam potential and post the kit to Ebay/Reverb with a Buy It Now option? Have the buyer cover the associated fees and costs? At least that way there would be an extra level of protection.

I understand avoiding non-local, but like others have said there is a willingness to talk and set the seller at ease with this guy. I would continue the conversation and see what happens. Once you have real funds in hand, you know. THEN you ship.

Personally I have lost out on ideal purchases (such as a drum to complete a set) simply because the Craigslist seller wasn't local to me and wouldn't consider shipping. It can be very aggravating when you know the item you've been searching for is out there but you can't establish enough trust to buy it from a distance.

 

[torydrum]

ad has been pulled.

 

[heyjay]

Really this doesn't have the hallmarks of a typical craigslist scam email. There's no offer for overpayment, no mention of wiring money, no talk of having "my agent" come pick it up.

I suspect this is a legitimate offer, but there is still some risk involved. If you are a little negotiable on price, see if he'd agree to a Reverb sale and use their 3% fee as a little bit of insurance.

 

[pezman718]

I avoid all non-local sales on Craigslist. There is just too much headache to go around between potential scams, shipping, etc.

Is there any way you could avoid some of the scam potential and post the kit to Ebay/Reverb with a Buy It Now option? Have the buyer cover the associated fees and costs? At least that way there would be an extra level of protection.

This is exactly what I do. Every now and then I get a scam text that seems more legit (someone who types real sentences and has a semi-local area code for instance) and I just refer them to my Reverb listing. It saves me the headache of having to deal with these people, but could also lead to a potential sale. Having said that, I've never sold anything doing this to my knowledge, so it might just be better to brush them off.
I'm also not comfortable doing a PayPal sale with anyone who isn't on here, so if a local person wants to pay that way I just have them go through Reverb. I would rather pay the fee and not have to worry about anything.

 

[stinkingbadges]

These scams have become more sophisticated and they now have the ability to present a local phone #. I have had this done to me and managed to come to my wits and get out of it. I would stay away from it. If it sounds to good to be true.......