Scam?

[BigAznDaddy]

Hey can you guys take a look at this cause I am kinda skeptical.
I placed an item on craigslist and I got this reply.
what makes me curious is in the email she did not state the actual item I was selling. and she seems set on sending me a cashiers check. and becuase I already replied to her what do you guys think I should do?

Hello seller,
I saw your ads on craigslist and I will be buying the item at the price you are selling but the only convenient way of paying is to mail you a cashiers check and I will need the following details :
Full name
Address
Zip code
phone number
I will be very happy to buy this item and you an offer of extra $50 if the item is sold to me. I will make an arrangement for the pick up please keep this for me. Urgent reply will be appreciated.

Regards
Sarah

[iago]

Sounds like a scam to me.

[rabbit]

Definitely a scam.

[BigAznDaddy]

OK that is what I was thinking. I told the person if they did send the check I would return it. I guess that extra $50 was soo good that I did not pay attention to actual wording.

[Newby]

Hello seller,
I saw your ads on craigslist and I will be buying the item at the price you are selling but the only convenient way of paying is to mail you a cashiers check and I will need the following details :
Full name
Address
Zip code
phone number
I will be very happy to buy this item and you an offer of extra $50 if the item is sold to me. I will make an arrangement for the pick up please keep this for me. Urgent reply will be appreciated.

Regards
Sarah

Did you even bother reading it? She wants to mail it, but can arrange for pickup. Why not ask her to just pay when she picks them up? And offering $50 if the item is "sold to [her]." That's just retarded.

It's a scam. I wouldn't bother. She probably wanted your information so she could sign you up for spam and stuff. :P

[BigAznDaddy]

Did you even bother reading it? She wants to mail it, but can arrange for pickup. Why not ask her to just pay when she picks them up? And offering $50 if the item is "sold to [her]." That's just retarded.

It's a scam. I wouldn't bother. She probably wanted your information so she could sign you up for spam and stuff. :P

I told her to pay me when she picked up the lens but she refused so that is when I got suspicious.

[Chavo]

As a seller, I don't accept anything but cash on craigslist.

As a buyer, I don't even negotiate price (I always do if I'm interested) until I have the object in front of me.  After giving it a thorough inspection, I am in a very strong position to make a low ball offer by appearing to be more knowledgeable than the seller.  On average, I pay about 60% of the listed price when I do make a purchase (but I do walk away from others that won't barter too).

Craigslist is not a form of income for me, but rather a way for me to maximize what would otherwise be things I would give away or not want to pay full price for new anyway.

[Camel]

There are two important things to consider: A cashiers check is more difficult to obtain than cash, and it is possible, contrary to popular belief, to stop payment on a cashiers check.

That said, I still wouldn't jump to the conclusion that it's a scam. Just tell the person you can only accept cash then and there for the item.

If they can not meet in person (live too far away, or whatever), it's still safe if you do the transaction with paypal, so long as you haven't misrepresented the condition of the item -- you will receive the money before sending the item, and you can issue a tracking number to paypal so they're protected by paypal's buyer protection policy. If you're going to do that, however, you may as well just list the item on ebay.