Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

BigMcGuire

Cancelled
Jan 10, 2012
9,832
14,025
I have bought.
I have sold.
Only local. And only when I can inspect the merchandise. If I were ever to buy an iphone from craigslist, I would inspect it AT the applestore.

I have seen too many people burned buying crap on Craigslist. I'll never use that site. Ebay? Maybe for a pen or something under $100.
 

BFizzzle

macrumors 68020
May 31, 2010
2,443
0
Austin TX
I have bought.
I have sold.
Only local. And only when I can inspect the merchandise. If I were ever to buy an iphone from craigslist, I would inspect it AT the applestore.

yeah i have never had any problems with craigslist as well..
i dont see why some think its so bad.. its not hard to check what you are buying and whos buying what your selling. If it cant be checked..obviously dont buy it.
 

strayts

macrumors regular
Oct 5, 2011
228
339
Bummer sorry to hear about this OP. In my experience, I've activated the phone in the presence of the seller to make sure it's good to go. Hopefully Sprint will take pity on you.
 

tgi

macrumors 65816
Aug 29, 2012
1,331
330
yeah i have never had any problems with craigslist as well..
i dont see why some think its so bad.. its not hard to check what you are buying and whos buying what your selling. If it cant be checked..obviously dont buy it.

+1

Common sense + Craigslist = no problems for me

I've bought brand new in box items and asked the seller if I could open the box on the spot, just to make sure the contents are not rocks or anything. A legit seller should not have a problem with that.
 

TWO2SEVEN

macrumors 68040
Jun 27, 2010
3,531
741
Plano, TX
Not sure if this will help you, but I had the police get involved in a CL transaction and got my stuff back.

Short story:
A guy advertised a Black Macbook for trade. After some back and forth we decided to meet. I was trading him two iPhone4s for it. We met, I checked out the computer and it appeared to be ok. He was in a hurry and left. As I kept using the laptop (at the Starbucks we met at) it began to lag and freeze. I texted him back after rechecking the ad. Turns out it was not the computer we agreed on. He tried to tell me that he must have mixed it up with his wife's Macbook. I told him I wanted my stuff back. He kept trying to convince me that I still got a good deal. After some arguing he agreed to come back and meet me to trade back. By this time the police had already arrived. They ran the serial number, it wasn't stolen. They also checked the mutliple gigs of porn on the computer for children, there were none.

In the end, the police made sure all was well, took his info and the serial number of the Macbook incase it was reported stolen later. I know I should have been more thorough in my check of the computer, I learned my lesson.
 

Cuechick

macrumors 6502
May 30, 2010
258
37
So Cal
Just curious, what's wrong with buying a camera that you get to test and see with your own hands and eyes before forking over cash? Just trying to see the logic with preferring eBay over CL.

Well, for me there are several reasons, I prefer to have the back up of paypal/credit card, incase there is a problem down the line...an SLR could have a faulty mirror that appears to be fine but is only glued back in place or pixel issues you would not be able to detect unless you downloaded images on the spot... I need more than a few minutes to judge a camera's full capabilities... I work with Leica and usually spend a month or more testing out the products they send me...

And since I am a professional photographer, I am usually dealing with high end equipment and need the receipt for tax purposes and prefer to pay with credit card for added protection. Which not a lot of people on CL can do.

Also, because I am a women, I am pretty cautious about who I meet with and deal with on CL, it is too easy a set up to offer a great deal for cash then rob the person when they show up with the money... :(

The peeps selling vintage furniture tend to be a pretty tame bunch... many I know also sell at flea markets I frequent. They even take checks and deliver! I had one guy who brought over a couple of coffee tables for me to try out with no guarantee I would buy any of them. Just a whole other CL world, still need to be cautious.

I don't get why you wouldn't sell or buy stuff that is easy to ship on eBay or Amazon as apposed to CL where you have no recourse and also risk your personal safety....?
 
Last edited:

tgi

macrumors 65816
Aug 29, 2012
1,331
330
Well, for me there are several reasons, I prefer to have the back up of paypal/credit card, incase there is a problem down the line...an SLR could have a faulty mirror that appears to be fine but is only glued back in place or pixel issues you would not be able to detect unless you downloaded images on the spot... I need more than a few minutes to judge a camera's full capabilities... I work with Leica and usually spend a month or more testing out the products they send me...

And since I am a professional photographer, I am usually dealing with high end equipment and need the receipt for tax purposes and prefer to pay with credit card for added protection. Which not a lot of people on CL can do.

Also, because I am a women, I am pretty cautious about who I meet with and deal with on CL, it is too easy a set up to offer a great deal for cash then rob the person when they show up with the money... :(

The peeps selling vintage furniture tend to be a pretty tame bunch... many I know also sell at flea markets I frequent. They even take checks and deliver! I had one guy who brought over a couple of coffee tables for me to try out with no guarantee I would buy any of them. Just a whole other CL world, still need to be cautious.

I don't get why you wouldn't sell or buy stuff that is easy to ship on eBay or Amazon as apposed to CL where you have no recourse and also risk your personal safety....?

You bring up very valid points. Especially if you're going to be paying a good amount of money for equipment you need for your job. I guess for you it's more about the peace of mind of buying from a reputable seller. As far as choosing to sell on CL rather than online, to some it might be more convenient to meet someone in person and get cash. The personal safety thing is a valid concern though.
 

phr0ze

macrumors 6502a
Jun 14, 2012
513
0
Columbia, MD
You can sell the phone on ebay and list it as bad ESN. Search ebay, there are tons on there. They seem to fetch $400.

Since you claim thats what you paid, then you aren't really loosing out.
 

SR45

macrumors 65832
Aug 17, 2011
1,501
0
Florida
In person transaction ?

1. Take a picture of the guy

2. Take a picture of the vehicle he is driving/Lic plate

3. Demand it be activated on the spot if its a phone

4. Demand some documentation for the product being sold

5. Demand his ID to be copied or photographed

OR NO SALE
 

Switchback666

macrumors 68000
Nov 16, 2012
1,600
67
SXM
In person transaction ?

1. Take a picture of the guy

2. Take a picture of the vehicle he is driving/Lic plate

3. Demand it be activated on the spot if its a phone

4. Demand some documentation for the product being sold

5. Demand his ID to be copied or photographed

OR NO SALE

Yeah i dont think people will be very motivated to deal on those terms lol

Demand ID to be copied ? Tha **** :eek:

Do you atleast offer warranty ?
 

BFizzzle

macrumors 68020
May 31, 2010
2,443
0
Austin TX
In person transaction ?

1. Take a picture of the guy

2. Take a picture of the vehicle he is driving/Lic plate

3. Demand it be activated on the spot if its a phone

4. Demand some documentation for the product being sold

5. Demand his ID to be copied or photographed

OR NO SALE

blood sample
drug screen
most recent 3 addresses
proof of income
SSN
 

thekev

macrumors 604
Aug 5, 2010
7,005
3,343
got it off craigslist
traded for my 2011 macbook air for iphone 5 +300 cash

With something this new, proof of purchase should be requested. I wouldn't personally trust sellers at face value. You should note that you're actually in possession of stolen property. While the chances of being caught are extremely low, trying to resell, swap via whatever service, etc is technically illegal.
 

JayLenochiniMac

macrumors G5
Nov 7, 2007
12,819
2,389
New Sanfrakota
In person transaction ?

1. Take a picture of the guy

2. Take a picture of the vehicle he is driving/Lic plate

3. Demand it be activated on the spot if its a phone

4. Demand some documentation for the product being sold

5. Demand his ID to be copied or photographed

OR NO SALE

Something tells me you don't deal much with CL. That's why people meet at starbucks rather than at home, to avoid intrusive weirdos who insist on taking pictures and copying IDs.
 

PhoenixMac

macrumors 65816
Mar 7, 2010
1,009
1
Surprised no one mentioned doing the swap at a carrier store so they can confirm it is legit before buying
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.