There are a lot of different scams people try to run through craigslist. No reason to not use Cragslist; you’re just responsible for your own judgement (isn’t that the way we like it?).
So here are my Craigslist rules:
Selling:
Don’t trust anything that’s too good to be true. No one is going to ship a rusty lawnmower across country, or pay you extra.
Deal local and deal in cash.
Choose the terms and the meeting place, bring backup if you feel like it. People DO get robbed making craigslist deals, especially vehicles.
You can use your phone number in craigslist ads if you type it in the text box that’s made for it. That will hide it from robots, but not scammers. If you don’t want your number out there then use the blind email.
DON’T reply from your personal email, especially if they ask you to. Use the Craigslist blind email setup.
DON’T bother replying to messages that are clearly spam. They might just be fishing for valid contact info.
If a check is justified (say for larger items), don't let anything go until the check CLEARS, not just when it credits your account. Not the same thing. A bank may credit the money to your account, then the check could bounce 2 days later and they’ll take the money back. That’s how a lot of the check scams work. Verify with the bank.
Buying:
See above, and be the good guy. Contact directly, don’t be weird, bring cash
.
Don’t trust anything that’s too good to be true.
Seller usually picks the meet, but use your judgment. Buyers get robbed more than sellers, especially if it’s a large cash sale.
Never tell them you’re carrying cash until you’ve seen the goods are are comfortable you’re not getting robbed. I always say the money’s in the truck and I’ll get it after I see the item.
Just use your head and take precautions. Craigslist is a fantastic resource that I use regularly. Also, if you see ads that look fake, you can flag them for removal.
