Buying a Thinkpad off of Craigslist

[Harryc]

I have a couple of questions for anyone with experience buying Thinkpads off of Craigslist. Are all sales local or will some sellers ship out of their own area? Is there any way to tell by looking at the Ad if the seller will only deal locally? If dealing with a seller remotely, what is the safest way (minimal risk) to transact business? Any other general tips are appreciated.

[ZaZ]

Craigslist says right on their site you should only deal locally. I suppose if you're in a rural area that'll limit your options, though I just sold my old LCD TV via CL and I'm in the sticks. The other issue is if you buy from another location I'm guessing you won't have much recourse if things don't work out. Paypal won't cover you outside of eBay. You could fund your purchase on Paypal with a credit card, but if you do a chargeback, you Paypal account will be closed. Money orders are considered a highly risky on CL.

[phubai]

I have a couple of questions for anyone with experience buying Thinkpads off of Craigslist. Are all sales local or will some sellers ship out of their own area? Is there any way to tell by looking at the Ad if the seller will only deal locally? If dealing with a seller remotely, what is the safest way (minimal risk) to transact business? Any other general tips are appreciated.

Hi Harry,

I normally travel quite a bit, and have purchased items on Craigslist in Florida, Texas, and Nevada, but always locally. That said, there are some vendors who are willing to deal remotely, but most aren't set up to do so, and are afraid of the scams that are rampant on Craigslist. Knowing that, I would be especially cautious of anyone advertising in Craigslist that is willing to ship anywhere, because they may be scammers themselves. Without a 3rd party local representative, I would be hesitant to either buy or sell where I couldn't either see/feel the product or count the money. Beyond the text in the ad itself, I don't personally know of any way of telling if they are willing to deal "local only". Many of the ads in Las Vegas and Dallas have verbiage in the ad itself indicating that they will deal locally only, whereas here in Jacksonville, it seems to be rare.

Bob

[Harryc]

Thanks for the replies. I also live in a rural area, but NYC is just under (2) hours away. I'd be interested in hearing any experiences in dealing with folks in the NYC area, specifically on CL. I know for a fact that some of the Ads there are scams. How do you pick out the non-scams?

[dorronto]

That's a good one Harry. I always put in my postings that I will only deal locally at either the public library, a McDonalds, a Starbucks or even Barnes and Noble. Sometimes after you email the person, you can get their phone/cell number and talk to them personally. By then, you should know if they are serious or not... As far as scams, you have to really have a sixth sense and a gut feeling about the person and transaction. I only accept and/or give CASH unless I know the person from a previous time. It works for me here in Binghamton,NY....

Good luck,
Ron

[Brad]

Asking questions and the answers or lack there of works for me. I usually don't expect too much. There is no eBay bidding so sought after items go quickly even if you expressed a great interest and made a reasonable offer. I have completed many Craig's List transactions successfully. Nearly all are ThinkPad related. Mostly locally in New York and New Jersey. I usually use the "if it sounds too good to be true it probably is" rule.

If I see something out of the area I have asked other forum members to help. One member I have worked with has used his considerable negotiating skills on quite a few occasions for me with excellent success. He has shared his blunt and too the point bargaining which has served me well. Simply "would you take $xx" sometimes works.

Aside from the gracious forum member in another part of the country I have also had several successes from all over. From for repair ThinkPads to nearly new current models. Again having no expectations to even hear from some far away Craigsters works best for me.

Brad

[Kaervak]

Another way to pick out scams is after e-mailing the seller through the craigslist e-mail and getting a response, do a google search on the actual e-mail they're replying from. If it's a scam that e-mail address will show up all over the place.