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Am I getting ripped off?

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I have been trying to sell my iPad via CraigsList and got this reply today. . Anyway, here is the email extract:

"I am glad it is still available for sale.I am very much
interested in buying your item and i am ok with the price. I am only
able to make payment by Cheque at this time because i am away on
assignment.Excess payment will be sent to you for the goods,i will
like you to deduct your money and send the remaining via western union
to the manager of the shipping company that will help me with the
pick-up. I will ask them to contact you as soon as possible,Please
provide me with your name,address and phone number for payment. It
will take about 7days for payment to get to you. As per pick-up,I will
make arrangement for the pick-up within 2 business days after payment
has been received by you.Please take the posting off craigslist today"

Quite frankly, I have no idea what he is talking about and remember reading that Western Union should be avoided at all costs. I don't understand, why he would send me a cheque with too much money, I mean the check value can be freely chosen. Somehow this feels wrong.

Any ideas?
 

Tim SPRACKLEN

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Yes - definitely feels wrong! Perhaps they’re hoping you’ll send the goods before the cheque has cleared, because you perceive them to be trusting, having sent you excess funds.

Tim
Scotland
 

lrg32

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I have done tons of deals on craigslist before and take it from me, that is definitely a scam.

Anytime someone asks to ship an item or pay for it in any way other than cash, assume its a scam. You'll notice in the email that they never refer to the ipad itself, they use terms like "item" or "goods" which are vague enough so they can mass email every seller on craigslist with their scams.

On craigslist, only deal in person and preferably in a safe, well-populated location like a bank or starbucks, since it is craigslist and there are sketchy people who do business on there. Also only accept cash, never do checks/money orders/paypal, just cash.

But other than the occasional scam, craigslist is great. I sold my ipad three days before the ipad 2 released so I got way more for it that if I had waited till now. Ive also dealt with all walks of life on craigslist from the sketchiest crackhead-looking-person, to the rich businessman type, everyone deals on there so its a great outlet to get good deals and sell unwanted stuff.
 

David79

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That is nuts, yeah I would agree with everyone, always someone trying to scam others, its sad.
 

Bob Maxey

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I have been trying to sell my iPad via CraigsList and got this reply today. . Anyway, here is the email extract:

"I am glad it is still available for sale.I am very much
interested in buying your item and i am ok with the price. I am only
able to make payment by Cheque at this time because i am away on
assignment.Excess payment will be sent to you for the goods,i will
like you to deduct your money and send the remaining via western union
to the manager of the shipping company that will help me with the
pick-up. I will ask them to contact you as soon as possible,Please
provide me with your name,address and phone number for payment. It
will take about 7days for payment to get to you. As per pick-up,I will
make arrangement for the pick-up within 2 business days after payment
has been received by you.Please take the posting off craigslist today"

Quite frankly, I have no idea what he is talking about and remember reading that Western Union should be avoided at all costs. I don't understand, why he would send me a cheque with too much money, I mean the check value can be freely chosen. Somehow this feels wrong.

Any ideas?

Always go with your gut. You already have a feeling something is wrong, so walk away. The mail you quoted seems overly complicated.

Bob
 

iluvmyipad

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This is a scam. I get similar emails a lot from people claiming they have to send checks over the amounts and for me to send them the difference. This is for candles that I sell. What they want is for you to deposit that bad check, which will bounce. Then they can get your bank info from it.

Glad you went with your gut feeling.
 
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DontUnderstandMyIpad
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Getting slightly annoyed I decided to reply and see how far it goes to rip me off.

"Dear XXX,

so good to hear that you are still interested in the item. I fully understand the predicament you are in, away on assignment, so cheque payment is fine for me. How much excess money do you expect to be on the cheque. I am currently in a difficult situation, I have recently filled for personal bankruptcy, so as a result, I am unable to make any payments, as all my money goes to repaying debts. You can still buy the iPad, I just won't be able to send any excess money back to you. I hope this is not a problem for you. If you want, I can invite you out to dinner, once you come back from your assignment. There is a dinner scheduled with my attourney on Thursay, 7th of April. I have already spoken with her and she is willing to cover the dinner cost and file them as business expenses. We have created a cover-up story of you applying for a job as a secretary. My attorney is already being watched by a detective, as her partners suspect her of money-laundering, so you have to convincing in your job interview, or this whole operation will fly up. But if you are as convincing in person, as you are in writing emails, this should run down smoothly.

I am sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you.

Looking forward to hear from you soon"

I probably got all the legal stuff wrong, but I am wondering whether I get any further replies.
 
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