craigslist

[tallyho8]

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...

Now I agree with you not to turn over possession until the check is cleared. That is why I have so many bad checks in the photo that are no good and I did not relinquish the item.

However, in earlier posts, you stated that "in reality a check is the same as cash" and led me to believe that you would treat it as such and turn over possession upon receipt of a check.

There are not many buyers on Craigslist that will turn their check over to a stranger and then wait a week or two for it to clear then come back for the item. They don't trust the seller anymore than the seller trusts them.

 

[Mousefield]

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...

Common sense is not wasting a lot of time in checking out if a check is good. Bring some cash, they take it and you are done. Most people I suspect when they go to look at something they want to buy do not want to wait days or a week or more for a check to clear. As a seller I do not want to wait days or a week or more either. Nuisance to have to be around again when they want to pick it up after the check clears, its all time you could be doing something else and not tied down waiting for them. All this for items that may sell for well under a hundred dollars or a few hundred dollars. Then the time and cost to drive there and back twice??????? :confused2::confused2: Some of the items I have purchased off Craigslist have been over a 2 hour drive. One involved taking a ferry there and back, was about a 7 hour trip. Bought the item with $400.00 cash, put it on my trailer and went home. EVERY ONE WAS HAPPY. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

 

[/pine]

However, in earlier posts, you stated that "in reality a check is the same as cash" and led me to believe that you would treat it as such and turn over possession upon receipt of a check.

There are not many buyers on Craigslist that will turn their check over to a stranger and then wait a week or two for it to clear then come back for the item. They don't trust the seller anymore than the seller trusts them.

In a business sense and if used as intended (by honest people of which are the majority) a check is indeed the same as cash...
It all comes down to common sense and being prudent...

on another topic...for anyone that is paranoid of giving someone a check just because it has a name, address, account # and routing # means nothing to a criminal...I got news for you...If I was a criminal and I wanted your personal information I would not need a check from you to obtain all the information it has on it....I could simply purchase that information...including anyones DOB, Social security #, every bank account number (including current balances) along with just about anything else I wanted to know about any individual...

I've been in business a heck of a lot longer than Craigs List has been around and there is really nothing any different about it than any other classified listing...doing business on CL is no different than doing business with any other person that you are not familiar with...so the key is beping prudent...

TO all that are afraid to give or take a check and you want to trade on CL...just state that you accept "cash only" in the the listing and you will not have any problems...

 

[/pine]

Bought the item with $400.00 cash, put it on my trailer and went home. EVERY ONE WAS HAPPY

good for you...

 

[jayste]

I agree with a lot that has been said here except for the "check is the same as cash". When I post an ad on CL I state that I only accept cash. I've had people ask me what form of payment I'd take. No, I don't think it's paranoia just good business in today's society. All it takes is one time of being "taken" and I learn my lesson. I see CL as sort of glorified garage sale. As far as I know no one ever rights a check at a garage sale.

Pine, I don't agree when you say that you're more likely to get a counterfeit bill as a bad check. I think it's just the opposite.

 

[/pine]

I don't agree when you say that you're more likely to get a counterfeit bill as a bad check. I think it's just the opposite.

just check the crime statistics for your demographic...in most metro areas there are a many more incidences of counterfeit $100 bills being passed than there are bad checks written...

if you accept a check at least you have a name...if you get handed a bogus "C" note you are stuck...and BTW...even if you do not realize a counterfeit bill is counterfeit and you pass it on you are as guilty of a crime as anyone else that passed the bill regardless of being ignorant of the counterfeit.

and in a "business sense" a check is the same as cash...period...

 

[dcyrilc]

just check the crime statistics for your demographic...in most metro areas there are a many more incidences of counterfeit $100 bills being passed than there are bad checks written...

if you accept a check at least you have a name...if you get handed a bogus "C" note you are stuck...and BTW...even if you do not realize a counterfeit bill is counterfeit and you pass it on you are as guilty of a crime as anyone else that passed the bill regardless of being ignorant of the counterfeit.

and in a "business sense" a check is the same as cash...period...

Go down to your local Dennys restaurant for dinner and try telling them that when it's time to pay. You're in for a rude awakening if you expect them to take a check.:laughing:

 

[tallyho8]

More than 17400 bad checks are passed a day in North Central Texas alone.

The Telegraph - Google News Archive Search

All the stats I have found on counterfeiting so far are way less than 1% of this.

 

[/pine]

All the stats I have found on counterfeiting so far are way less than 1% of this.

If this were 1976 (as your cited "stats" are from) I would go along with those percentages...but not today...

and you really can't just use newspaper resources as the SS does not alway release information to the public on regular basis...

Go in a busy (chain brand) grocery store in Dallas and ask them what they have more of bogus cash (they check them with marking pens) or bad checks on a daily basis....

usually when they encounter a bogus piece of US currency they just refuse to accept it and inform you to turn it over to the authorities (local cops will call the feds)

This day and age writing bad checks is a desperation act not nearly as common as it once was...

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Sure checks are a risk for the seller to take so I use cash but a purchase is a risk for the buyer too.

On the BH and trailer (no titles) they have my good cash (came from a bank teller) and I really still do not know if the items were legally owned by the seller who now has my cash. The bill of sale is a plus but will not permit you to keep the item if it is proven stolen.

I guess the trust factor must be kind of high for many of us.

 

[YanmarFever]

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....

The customer drove an 80K beamer, dressed in a 3 pc suit, 3rd visit, had good ID, drivers license, credit card, the whole ball of wax !
It was a Saturday, so.... how do you call the bank?

Wolf in sheep's clothing

 

[/pine]

how do you call the bank?

for $150.00 you don't...but for $18k you wait until Mon....

 

[Dargo]

for $150.00 you don't...but for $18k you wait until Mon....

I suppose you may be able to verify a cashier's check from a bank, but my niece who works at a bank tells me that they constantly get calls from people wanting to verify funds for a check. She says that such calls are a complete joke because no bank will put a hold on those funds and the person can empty the account dry long before the check clears. She likens it to calling a place you're going to visit on vacation in a week and asking if it's raining today. It may or may not be raining that day, but it sure has no bearing on what it will be doing a week from now.

 

[Mousefield]

for $150.00 you don't...but for $18k you wait until Mon....

Lot more items in the $150.00 range on Craigslist than $18,000.00 :laughing:

 

[/pine]

Who said anything about "calling"...I always verified available funds by presenting a written check...in fact, most of the vehicles, boats, etc that I've bought from individuals I closed the deals at either their's or my bank...it one of the services of most banks is to supply facilities for such transactions...

IMO, anyone expecting to close a deal for any substantial amount of money with nothing but a check on a non-business day should think again...UNLESS arrangements have been made in advance...

FWIW... many folks in these parts don't trade on Sunday...regardless

 

[2manyrocks]

The customer drove an 80K beamer, dressed in a 3 pc suit, 3rd visit, had good ID, drivers license, credit card, the whole ball of wax !
It was a Saturday, so.... how do you call the bank?

Wolf in sheep's clothing

So he leaves with a $18,000 branson tractor and you got a bad check. What happened later when the check bounced? Assume you tried to sue him for a judgment, but something apparently went very wrong-bankruptcy? totally fictional ID, DL, CC? He gave a lien to a bank?

 

[teg]

I was hoping when Dargo got on board, with the beating of the dead horse... this would slip away... guess I'll have to unsubscribe myself.

I really love that Craig's list and also TBN are total free... Ah, Free entertainment and to think, I used to watch TV for "free". I really enjoy this tread...

 

[praha]

There are not many buyers on Craigslist that will turn their check over to a stranger and then wait a week or two for it to clear then come back for the item. They don't trust the seller anymore than the seller trusts them.[/QUOTE]

WOW.....that is exactly, why there is a waiting period for the checks. Because the buyer doesn't trust the seller!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Shame on him!!
One learns something new everyday.....

 

[tallyho8]

I read about this in the paper a few years ago. A man advertised a refrigerator for sale cheap. He said he won a new one and it would be delivered next week. You could pay for it and pick it up next week when his new one came in. Five people reported paying for it. He moved out of town two days later. No one knows where he moved to. It was the landlord's refrigerator.

 

[Dargo]

I was hoping when Dargo got on board, with the beating of the dead horse... this would slip away... .

Hey! If I can't poke fun at myself that leaves me with a short list. You know, sort of like the bus I rode to school.