help on selling macbook

[chrislaw]

I'm selling my macbook to upgrade and have had plenty of offers. Obviously some are crap b/c it's on craigslist (west Africa etc) but how do i spot the real ones?

How should i go about selling this thing to ensure that i get my money?

I posted on craigslist and told that i prefered to do in person with cash. I said if all else fails i may ship with the cost going to the buyer. I do not wish to do paypal.

what do i do if i need to ship to ensure that i get my money? money order?

is it unreasonable to ask for the money to be recieved before shipping? to me that seems to be the only way, but is that acceptable to a buyer? how do they know I'm not scamming them?

A guy contacted me and said the following:

Hello,is your item still available.if still on sale calculate the shiping cost and reply me with your paypal email/money order to make payment asap.....i live in CA.here is my name and shipping address,
******* ******* **** ******** road #*** simi valley ca 93065.
Thanks.

does this seems legit?

 

[slpdLoad]

I wouldn't use craigslist for anything but in-person transactions. Throw it on eBay if you want to ship.

 

[SkyBell]

Never ship anything when dealing with craigslist. It just leaves too many opportunities to scam.

 

[chrislaw]

ok, but just in theory. If i have them send me a money order, I cash it and then send them the item... what is the danger there?

I'm not saying there isn't any... I'm just wondering what it is.

 

[Ntombi]

Just don't do it. I sell on craigslist all the time, but for CASH ONLY.

Period.

Full stop.

No exceptions.


http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams

 

[old-wiz]

Money orders can be faked and you'll be out of money when it fails and you might have the police talking to you as well. Craigslist is only for person to person, in a safe public place, cash only, and written receipts.

 

[TRAG]

I've sold on Craig's List once. And out of the 40 or so replies to my 5 posts, only about 10 were actual people willing to buy. And only half of those were serious when it came time to sell. Never ever ship. The only way you can even be sure (which still isn't proof) that someone is real is to write in your post that you only reply to people who will give you a phone number. That cuts about half of the scams but still expect emails galore. It's a shoddy thing to sell on C List but it can be done.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I agree with all of the previous posters in that I'd recommend that you be exceedingly careful with Craigslist as it is too easy to be scammed. Sell for cash only, meet person to person - no shipping, and have the transaction take place in a public -and secure - place, preferably with a friend for company and support.

Cheers and good luck

 

[CalMin]

I've given up selling high value items on Craigslist. As soon as I list something, I get hammered by spammers asking me to ship quickly and sending me fake PayPal emails.

Use eBay and ship only to PayPal verified addresses.

 

[J&JPolangin]

...have the transaction take place in a public -and secure - place, preferably with a friend for company and support.

Cheers and good luck

...what a sad world we live in...

 

[jshelton]

I sell quite a bit on Craigslist to avoid the #^*& Paypal fees. Regardless, you need to be smart and careful. You will be able to tell if it is a legitimate buyer or not.

eBay is the safe route though. Just factor in all of the fees and shipping costs before you list.

 

[CalMin]

A guy contacted me and said the following:

Hello,is your item still available.if still on sale calculate the shiping cost and reply me with your paypal email/money order to make payment asap.....i live in CA.here is my name and shipping address,
******* ******* **** ******** road #*** simi valley ca 93065.
Thanks.

does this seems legit?

Sorry for the double post, but I had this exact same scam almost happen to me.

1) You will get a HTML email which looks exactly like a PayPal money sent email.

2) The scammer will push you to ship quickly because of a birthday or because he is traveling or some other BS. (He wants you think you have got your cash).

3) When you check your PayPal account, there will be no record of the transaction.

4) You will get nasty emails from the scammer saying that he has sent your money, but has not received a tracking number or the item. He will threaten to report you to PayPal, credit bureau's, police etc. This is just a bid to pressure you into shipping.

It goes on (until you report him to PayPal )

--

Local only for Craigslist. And do not ship until you log-in to your PayPal account and see the money there. (Do not click on the link that the buy sends you...)

 

[uberamd]

...what a sad world we live in...

The wild west was a worse place than this.

 

[boston44]

The cali dude is fake- they email everyone. Look for someone who gives you a phone number in your area code..

 

[MacJunkie79]

Definitely try and sell it on ebay, you'll get more exposure and its safer. As far as getting the most for it, I just sold by unibody macbook 13 inch yesterday on ebay for $975. I hope that helps.

 

[chrislaw]

Good deal. Thanks everyone for the advice!