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My friend just got scammed on craiglist

I've been trying to sell my iphone 4 32gb black on both eBay and CL and haven't had much luck other then scammers. I've posted in the Philly and NYC area and its all west Africa scams.

It's in great shape have photos but don't put contact info other then the random CL email.

What am I doing wrong? Anyone want it?
 
laurenbuffet said:
Email that advert again from a different email address, tell him you are a reseller and would like to buy the phone for $600. See if he bites, when he does bring the police with you to meet up with him.

Out hustle the hustler.
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And what do you expect the police to do? Not only are they not going to wait for you, they arent even going to show. Its a civil matter. Your only recourse is in civil court.
 
Gaidin43 said:
I've been trying to sell my iphone 4 32gb black on both eBay and CL and haven't had much luck other then scammers. I've posted in the Philly and NYC area and its all west Africa scams.

It's in great shape have photos but don't put contact info other then the random CL email.

What am I doing wrong? Anyone want it?
Click to expand...

Forget CL. I assume it's unlocked (if not, get it unlocked first). On ebay, exclude Russia, South America, Africa and Southeast Asia but allow all buyers (including from those countries) to bid (to drive up the bidding war), then shortly before closing, disallow buyers from excluded countries to bid and make exclusion options as restrictive as possible (2 unpaid item strikes within 12 months, disallow buyers bidding on more than 1 item for feedback below 5, etc.).
 
I put the request into AT&T to unlock it but still waiting to hear back from them.

So you're saying put it up for international sale? I always just keep it to conus for shipping confirmation safety as a seller proving he got the item.
 
Gaidin43 said:
I've been trying to sell my iphone 4 32gb black on both eBay and CL and haven't had much luck other then scammers. I've posted in the Philly and NYC area and its all west Africa scams.

It's in great shape have photos but don't put contact info other then the random CL email.

What am I doing wrong? Anyone want it?
Click to expand...

Post a phone number. I buy/sell a lot of used stuff on craigslist and almost always ignore the ads that don't have any contact info other than the randomized craigslist email. If you don't want people to know your real number then use a Google Voice number. That's what I do.
 
Gaidin43 said:
I put the request into AT&T to unlock it but still waiting to hear back from them.

So you're saying put it up for international sale? I always just keep it to conus for shipping confirmation safety as a seller proving he got the item.
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You'll have an easier time selling it and get more $$$ if you put it up for international sale but do exclude the undesirable countries. The only issue is APO/FPO as it doesn't allow signature confirmation (in which case you won't fall under paypal seller protection), but you can exclude APO/FPO bidders or take the risk and buy insurance if feedback is poor. I've successfully sold two iPhones to APO/FPO buyers so they're good people. It's just a longer wait to get the funds released due to no signature confirmation.
 
There is a guy in NYC doing the same. He has been trying to sell of 3g as 3GS and 4 to 4s. It's not hard to find his posts as he only will meet in Brooklyn or Harlem. >.<
 
Gaidin43 said:
I've been trying to sell my iphone 4 32gb black on both eBay and CL and haven't had much luck other then scammers. I've posted in the Philly and NYC area and its all west Africa scams.

It's in great shape have photos but don't put contact info other then the random CL email.

What am I doing wrong? Anyone want it?
Click to expand...

Pm with price.
 
I picked up a mint 4S this past Friday from a local Craigslist ad. Met the guy right on time, I inspected that the phone is mint as described, tested it with my sim card and handed him the cash. How it should be done. This was the first time I bought a used phone. Knowing how commonly phones are stolen, I ONLY looked at listings with at least the original box, sales receipt highly preferred.

Dealing with Craigslist can be a major hassle. I met up with another guy earlier in the week, for a claimed "like new" 4S with box. He txt'ed me 10 minutes prior to our meet oh can't find the box. I knew right then it was a waste of time but I was there already so I waited. The front glass is scratched and worse the moisture sensor is red :mad:

When I decided to look again, I decided no receipt = no sale. I've sold a few phones and I've always included my sales receipt. An honest seller should have no problem providing the receipt.
 
I see you keep saying the police won't do anything and you keep saying you have his fingerprints? You really think the police are going to check for fingerprints and search for someone whom you bought something willingly from?
 
Olivia23 said:
I see you keep saying the police won't do anything and you keep saying you have his fingerprints? You really think the police are going to check for fingerprints and search for someone whom you bought something willingly from?
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not only that, but he could say he sold the op a 4s and that the op swapped it out. His vs your word
 
This is why it should say iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S on the back of the phone.


PJ
 
I did not think things like this could happen in Canada!!!
 
Last edited:
Not sure if anyone's suggested this yet but watch his account page to see if he puts up any other offers. If he does, contact him about it (with a different email address if you can so he doesn't remember you) and when you meet up, confront him about it or possibly contact the police once you meet up with him. He'll have nowhere to run.

As for the listing that you replied to, just refuse to buy it. I think he'll understand what's going on ;)
 
Sounds like you and your friend should have checked the Box (it does say iPhone 4 or 4S right on the side) and/or the Settings Details in the actual phone before making the deal.

Live and learn, probably not worth it to go to court over it.

Can always try re-selling it then picking up the 4S afterwards, probably the only thing you can do at this point.

Gotta know your stuff before buying things, especially over CL. =\
 
KieranDotW said:
Not sure if anyone's suggested this yet but watch his account page to see if he puts up any other offers. If he does, contact him about it (with a different email address if you can so he doesn't remember you) and when you meet up, confront him about it or possibly contact the police once you meet up with him. He'll have nowhere to run.

As for the listing that you replied to, just refuse to buy it. I think he'll understand what's going on ;)
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and do what exactly? where is the proof of wrong doing? he could say you swapped out the 4s with a 4 and trying to scam him

i believe the op BUT how do you prove it
 
ixodes said:
If one has time, and is so inclined, I guess one can get maximum return on craigslist first, then ebay second. At least that's what I've been told.

I choose to give mine to family or friends. It's nice to help someone out, and give it to someone who truly appreciates an iPhone that looks like new.
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It depends on location. At my location is alska cl sucks for sellers. Yesterday I bought a used galaxy note for 150. I paid $5 to get it unlocked and today I shipped it to my eBay buyer. After shipping and fees I made 125 profit, in less than 24 hours. It really depends on location.
 
indianboynyc said:
not reading 5 pages to tell u this but PRESS THE HOME BUTTON DOWN TILL SIRI COMES UP, ahahahaa sorry man
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Except that's not the sure fire way to tell the difference. A guy tried to sell my friend a 4 claiming it was a 4s because it had Siri on it. Turned out that he just jailbroke it and put it on there trying to scam people. We didn't buy it.
 
This is the reason why I launched a startup last year that takes on Craigslist. www.grabio.com and aims to fix some of these safety issues.

Sorry to the OP though, I feel it for you.

Craigslist is ready to be disrupted.
 
tomi156 said:
The box is indeed of an 4s, but when he check the phone's IMEI, it's of a 4. A 4 will never have the price like $350. Maybe the phone was even stolen by the seller. I never know.
He cant check the phone's IMEI because when he met that guy, the phone was set to factory reset. He couldnt go to Home because he didnt have the micro simcard to activate
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The main start up screen when your phone is new out of box has a "I" on it that gives you the phones serial info..
 
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