craigslist

[schmism]

Largest purchase, $1500 for a Chipper. I also, never haggle on the price...

Bought my $2900 backhoe off CL. paid cash. Kept it in the truck till i knew i was going to make the deal.

bout my $1000 trailer cash.

sold my bmw private sale $1200 cash

I haggle sometimes... depends on the price, if i know the guy is high on it, then ya we haggle. if i know its a smoken deal, i dont question the price.

when it comes to haggling. if it isnt going well, the guy is just acting like a douch then ill often walk away even if the price wasnt that bad. for instance. there was a guy selling a gravely sickle bar last week. I had some other erronds to run in the area so i arranged to stop by and pick it up. I should have known what to expect because there was no pic posted (but sometimes the old pharts are lucky just to get the add on CL , much less have a digital camera, upload pics all that) more often than not, its a pile of steaming poo and they dont want to take pics because they know its a pile and dont want to show that. That was the case. It was a basket case, busted, broken, rusted. He tried to sound like he new what he was talking about but it was obvious he didnt. "oh well you just put this in hear like this and it works fine...." ahhhh no not really i say... he tries to show me... fails.... So once he realizes *I* know what im talking about his attitude changes. To the kinda take-it-or-leave-it pushy used car salesman attitude. At that point i didnt even want to offer him half of what he was asking (bout all it was worth) so i just told him good luck selling it and left.

 

[dcyrilc]

...If the ad does not state "cash only" it is logical that the seller would accept a check...or other legal tender
just because it's 'Craigslist' makes no difference....CL is no different than any other classified listing...

An individual accepting a check from another has no fewer rights than any other entity accepting a check...all you do is make sure they have a photo ID and take their driver's license #....in reality a check is the same as cash...

It really comes down to "exactly how much money are we talking about?"...there is a buffer between what most would pay cash for and what most wouldn' consider anthing but a bank draft or cashiers check...

If paranoia has reached the level that you are afraid to do anything but cash transactions that's fine...but I see people with items at flea markets that are priced at thousands of dollars....how many folks carry that much cash on a regular basis? (not talking about dealers)

Paid $7500 cash for my tractor off CL. I would have been very suprised if he had accepted a check and I never asked.

Second,the only form of payment anyone has to accept, by law, is US currency (cash). It is also printed on all bills, "This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private". It's a federal crime to refuse to accept US currency as payment for a debt in the US. Not true of any other form of payment.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

A person who shows up with a check to purchase an item from a private party off of Craigslist may just be naive enough to take a check if on the other side of the deal. He would have to be green at doing business with strangers he never expects to meet again.

I was going to pay for the dump truck with Paypal but the email seller said they hold large payments for like 5 days before releasing it to the sell so I just went to the local branch of my bank so I did not have to travel 300 miles with the cash and keep it in the hotel. When the truck was ready for the road (two days later) and he showed the the open title THEN I went 10 miles into town and after I saw the title signed I laid the cash to the lay out table in his shop for him to count and picked up the signed title.

The backhoe was more money and a Craigslist listing. Since the contact and appointment happened on a Sat afternoon/evening I showed up with enough cash for a meaningful down payment. After deciding to move on the deal we offered that cash down payment and xx number of $100 bills when we came with a trailer. The deal when smooth and the seller afterwards tossed in building and welding on another step that helps me overcome my limitations everytime I get on or off the tractor. Cash reduces stress and actually handing over that stack of $100 bills hurt me where it would not if it had been a check.

On the trailer it was over a 100 mile drive and I would not make the trip at the Craigslist price so he said make him an offer so I stated if I like the trailer and it was what I was looking for I would pay 2/3's of what he was asking. We make the trip in the truck just in case we liked it. The two poor quality photos did not show much details so it was truly a 50/50 in my mind and was willing to loss the $100 gas expense and told the guy in a nice way.

His wife wanted the 30' trailer (25' bed) with 7' ramps sticking up in the air GONE so he came down $100 more which should let me resell it with little or no loss if I did not want to work out a method to lift ramps that are too heavy for me. He lived off the beaten path and knew how much cash I was bringing and he did not want it leaving his drive way and him being left with the unwanted trailer (he had bought a low boy/tractor rig.

Cash it the only way I would sell an item to a stranger from another state that was leaving with my equipment so cash for a Craigslist sell is a no-brainer it would seem to me.

Being willing to walk over a $100 if the deal is marginal or pay a few hundred more than you had in your mind if the deal seems exceptional is just part of trading for anything in my mind.

 

[JCB]

I have a bad check for $18000.00 yes... eighteen thousand dollars hanging on my bulletin board that I show customers that want to pay with a check, when they have that shady look about them.

It was for a branson tractor

Paranoid ?? NAAAAH !!

Perhaps you could cash it for me ?

Best post!!!

 

[tallyho8]

And if you will cash any of these cashier's checks for me I will be glad to give you half the money.

 

[dfeck]

If I'm buying anything from an ad on Craigslist or the paper I always asked the seller what form of payment is acceptable. I don't want to spend my time and drive to the item to find out the seller only accepts cash. Makes the most sense to me to ask first before wasting my time. For a large ticket item I prefer to use a check. Easier for me but if the seller is only willing to accept cash then that's the way it is. I made a large purchase (13K) out of state one time. The seller only accepted cash, no checks including a bank check. It was then up to me to agree to drive 350miles with 13K of large bills in my truck. I felt very uncomfortable with all that cash on me but it was my choice to accept the deal and take a chance driving 350miles. I think it's the buyer responsibility to ask the seller if they'll accept a check. Especially nowadays when there's so much stigma about scams. However, as a buyer I always assume cash is what the seller wants and if I want to pay by other means I make sure I verify that with the seller.

Doug

 

[/pine]

Paranoid ?? NAAAAH !!

I agree you were not paranoid...you were ignorant for taking that check without verifying the available funds and proclaiming them...

It's all about common sense folks...
If you have no or a poor judge of character then you should not trust anyone...they are all out to get you and there is nothing you can do about it...you're doomed to be taken by every Tom,Dick and Harry that comes down the pike....

 

[Tororider]

I agree you were not paranoid...you were ignorant for taking that check without verifying the available funds and proclaiming them...

It's all about common sense folks...
If you have no or a poor judge of character then you should not trust anyone...they are all out to get you and there is nothing you can do about it...you're doomed to be taken by every Tom,Dick and Harry that comes down the pike....

There are a lot of "nice" looking and talking people out there who want what you have without having to pay for it. In my book, common sense is taking cash, and making sure that the cash doesn't look "funny". If you want to take a cashiers check, meet them at the bank and make the exchange. That is common sense.

 

[tallyho8]

I agree you were not paranoid...you were ignorant for taking that check without verifying the available funds and proclaiming them...

You can verify the funds over the phone but by the time you get to the bank the funds may be gone or payment may be stopped or the signature may not be valid.

If payment is stopped on a check here, law enforcement will do nothing and you must try to collect in civil court which usually just costs you many dollars more and collects nothing.

 

[/pine]

You can verify the funds over the phone but by the time you get to the bank the funds may be gone or payment may be stopped or the signature may not be valid.

If payment is stopped on a check here, law enforcement will do nothing and you must try to collect in civil court which usually just costs you many dollars more and collects nothing.

Prudent business practice is to NOT deliver or turn over possession of whatever is being sold until the check has cleared....if you do business as an amateur you should expect to taken for one...