Scammers are everywhere not just craigslist, even local newspapers. One thing to watch for is if the scammer (Seller) insists on pick up and will not ship the parts, especially if they will not accept paypal and want cash!!! So as they say "There is no honor among thieves" it can be a "Buyer" or a "Seller", if they want to cheat you they will. I got burned by a guy in Iowa recently and it was the old Cash Only and I will not Ship routine and I still fell for it because they made us wait over an hour before showing up after we got there, and then the Bums rush on getting the deal done.

So in today's World it is no longer just Buyer Beware but as we all see it can also be Seller Beware.

If they won't ship, forget about it.

312T85Bird

What?

My uncle had left a case of oil in the bottom rack of a shopping cart. He got into his car and it wasn't long after he got in his car before a guy grabbed it, tossed it in his car and took off.
The last laugh was on the "thief". It was a case of used oil. My uncle refilled all the bottles with used oil from his oil changes and resealed the box. The guy obviously didn't see my uncle putting it in the cart.

~DJ~ AKA "Bleach"
1956 Ford Fairlane Town Sedan 30K original miles

Not CL but there's scams everywhere these days, big and small. You really gotta be on your toes. Bought a gallon of Lacquer Thinner at Home Depot yesterday. Got it home, went to use it but it didn't have much of an oder and looked strange. Put a drop of oil in it and it floated.

Yep, filled with water. Thank God I didn't pour it into a gallon of paint to thin.


From now on I'll take it to the paint mixing counter and have them open the can.

"The Master Cylinder"

Enjoying life at the beach in SOCAL

It is not only Craigs list. Had a '57 T-Bird quarter panel listed there once. Had a guy who wanted to wire me money and have it shipped immediately. No questions about the part, no haggle on price. It smelled bad and I bailed out immediately. If it does not feel right, it probably isn't. I have passed on buying things for the same reason.

About 2 weeks ago I listed the 8" rear axle out of theFalcon on Craigslist. I got a response pretty soon and switched the e mails toa GMail account. After a couple ofexchanges of mail it started to get a little squirrelly when there was not much interest in the partsthemselves. Then a real red flag popped up with the request to send the "change" via Western Unionfirst to one address and then another. At that point Ipulled the plug on the transaction by telling the correspondent that I wouldnot take payment for more than the actual asking amount and that the paymentshould be in cash when the parts werepicked up. Today a US Postal 2nd dayenvelope showed up in the mail with a check in it but no other documentation. The check was" drawn" on a collegein Indiana for about 6 times the sales price and the return address on the envelope was from a roofing contractorin NYC!

I have contacted my lawyer who recommended contacting thepolice. The police advised that since Ihad not lost any money to bring the documents down to the fraud division sometimebut that they would not be able to do much. I also contacted the college andthey said the check wasn't theirs and not to cash it. They were not interestedin even seeing the check. And as far asI can see Craigslist does not have a place to register a complaint about thiskind of fraud.

Lessons learned:

Don't use Craigslist, use a specific web site such as YBF orthe Falcon site. I don't know how theHAMB site is for parts, it is quite a bit bigger but might be OK

If you do use Craigslist, use their e mail response until you are sure thetransaction is on the up & up

Have a junk e mail account so that if the transaction goes bad your primary e mail will not need to be changed.

If anyone even mentions sending money via Western Union cut offall contact

Do not cash any third party checks. I am told the bank where you cash it will holdyou responsible.

Do not expect much help or response from the cops or anybodyelse.

Doug T

The Highlands, Louisville, Ky.