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help. iphone 4 transaction on craigslist.

treyjustice

treyjustice

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 14, 2009
1,261
161
TX
I have a new 32 GB iphone 4 I put on craigslist. A man wants to buy it for $800.00. What is the best way to go about this? I do not want to get scammed, robbed, or given counterfeit money. How can I avoid all of these? I've heard tons of horror stories. I want a white iPhone so this is the perfect opportunity for me. Thanks for your input.
 
treyjustice said:
I have a new 32 GB iphone 4 I put on craigslist. A man wants to buy it for $800.00. What is the best way to go about this? I do not want to get scammed, robbed, or given counterfeit money. How can I avoid all of these? I've heard tons of horror stories. I want a white iPhone so this is the perfect opportunity for me. Thanks for your input.
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Meet in a crowded area and always bring a friend with you
 
RonHC said:
Meet in a crowded area and always bring a friend with you
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This plus you should only accept cash. Too many scammers use fake checks/money orders.

If you are worried about counterfeit money, you can buy a marker to check the bills. Like what cashiers use when you pay with a 50 or 100
 
Get a job at a bank and after two weeks of training or so you will know how to spot fake money, then quit your job and make the transaction.
 
diabolic said:
You could meet in your bank and have a teller check the money if you really feel the need.
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Or buy one of these

Note: This won't help if they use a real bill to disguise it as a bigger bill. For example, washing a $1 as a $20 or $50. You have to look through the bill into light to see that.
 
Just look at the money if your not retarded you will be able to tell if its fake or not. Judge the person.....profile..
 
Find a crowded convenience store but beforehand, speak with someone there to see if they can use their counterfeit marker to check the bills. Or request a cashiers check. You may even request all new bills because they are next to impossible to counterfeit (notice not impossible but your average Joe isn't going to have them).
 
He keeps trying to get me to meet at his "shop" saying he doesn't have time to meet at a bank. He gave me the name and address and says he owns the shop. I told him I would be bringing a counterfeit marker and he said okay. Does this sound fishy? I've sold plently of stuff on craiglist but nothing 800 bucks
 
treyjustice said:
He keeps trying to get me to meet at his "shop" saying he doesn't have time to meet at a bank. He gave me the name and address and says he owns the shop. I told him I would be bringing a counterfeit marker and he said okay. Does this sound fishy? I've sold plently of stuff on craiglist but nothing 800 bucks
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Before you accept, I would drive by the "shop." That might give a better feel for the potential buyer. And if you go through with the sale, don't go there alone. Bring a friend.
 
Nobody is busy enough to not have 2 minutes to drive to a nearby gas station or store and another 5-10 minutes to greet you and work out the exchange. I wouldn't go, if that was me. He's the one that's buying it, so HE should be the one traveling, not you. Just my opinion and what I would do.
 
You could always have a friend shadow you in a different car and wait outside just in case something happens. Meeting at a private place of his choosing probably opens you up to a bad situation, unless his "shop" is a real public store that will have customers in it. I'd prefer to be somewhere that has cameras and a crowd of people.

The guy who bought my 3G had a friend end up in the hospital trying to sell his phone. He showed up somewhere and 3 guys beat him up pretty badly and took the phone.
 
treyjustice said:
He keeps trying to get me to meet at his "shop" saying he doesn't have time to meet at a bank. He gave me the name and address and says he owns the shop. I told him I would be bringing a counterfeit marker and he said okay. Does this sound fishy? I've sold plently of stuff on craiglist but nothing 800 bucks
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I do craigslist transaction a lot. I personally won't deal with someone refuses to accept the safety measure that is supposed to be good for both sides. I've heard too many horror stories. I won't go into his "shop" where he might have guns or his "friends" waiting for you.
 
diabolic said:
You could always have a friend shadow you in a different car and wait outside just in case something happens. Meeting at a private place of his choosing probably opens you up to a bad situation, unless his "shop" is a real public store that will have customers in it. I'd prefer to be somewhere that has cameras and a crowd of people.

The guy who bought my 3G had a friend end up in the hospital trying to sell his phone. He showed up somewhere and 3 guys beat him up pretty badly and took the phone.
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Your friend got beat up over a 3G phone? Aren't those things going for like 90 bucks now?
 
Yeah I'll text him tomorrow and tell him I'll meet him at the local bank of america down the street. If he really wants it he will meet me. I don't want to risk getting jumped.
 
I dont know if this would work or not. Maybe call the local PD and explain whats going on and see if they could have an officer be there during the transaction. Should only take a few minutes and god knows we pay enough in taxes to support it. Bring along a new counterfeit pen. Another way to check the bills is to hold them in the light and look for the strip. In the strip is the denomination of the bill printed. For example, in a $100 bill the strip will have"100" printed several times along the strip.

Otherwise, if he is unwilling to meet at a local bank, I would steer clear of this one.
 
spades1412 said:
Maybe call the local PD and explain whats going on and see if they could have an officer be there during the transaction. Should only take a few minutes and god knows we pay enough in taxes to support it.
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The police have better things to be doing than supervising a third party sale of an iPhone.:rolleyes:
 
spades1412 said:
I dont know if this would work or not. Maybe call the local PD and explain whats going on and see if they could have an officer be there during the transaction. Should only take a few minutes and god knows we pay enough in taxes to support it. Bring along a new counterfeit pen. Another way to check the bills is to hold them in the light and look for the strip. In the strip is the denomination of the bill printed. For example, in a $100 bill the strip will have"100" printed several times along the strip.

Otherwise, if he is unwilling to meet at a local bank, I would steer clear of this one.
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Oh sure.. The police are just sitting around waiting to serve as your personal security guard. Are you kidding? How naive are you?
 
DONT DO IT!!!! You are asking for trouble. Dont go through the hassle of bringing a friend either. I like meeting at a bank idea. If he can't/won't meet you in a safe place then that's fishy right there.
 
spades1412 said:
I dont know if this would work or not. Maybe call the local PD and explain whats going on and see if they could have an officer be there during the transaction. Should only take a few minutes and god knows we pay enough in taxes to support it. Bring along a new counterfeit pen. Another way to check the bills is to hold them in the light and look for the strip. In the strip is the denomination of the bill printed. For example, in a $100 bill the strip will have"100" printed several times along the strip.

Otherwise, if he is unwilling to meet at a local bank, I would steer clear of this one.
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Do the police thing. But make sure you tape the conversation and put it on the web. I want to hear the laughter. Make sure you use the line about the taxes.
 
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