Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with craigslist and resolved

Nigerian scammer has my info...help!

jnnla — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 09:29:15 -0800

A Nigerian Scammer has my full name and webpage address...what should I watch out for? I did something stupid. Very stupid. I posted an ad on craigslist to sell some high end electronics that I am looking to get rid of. Right off the bat I got a scam reply from an individual asking for my paypal ID and saying that he wants to purchase the item and have it sent to his "cousin" who lives out of the country. I am familiar with all sorts of internet scams, and red-flagged this one immediately. A google search yielded similar emails using the same script. At any rate...I never respond to these...and when I do respond to craigslist buyers I use an anonymous email account.

This morning, however, I was feeling punchy and retorted back "Your cousin doesn't happen to live in Nigeria does he?" As soon as I hit send, I realized I had replied from my personal email address, with my full name and website in the signature. Big booboo.

So...this guy trying to scam me has my name and my internet address. Things I am worried about:

-That he may attempt to get my SSN
-That he may do a Denial of Service attack on my site
-That he may somehow steal my identity or use my mistake to his advantage

What should I be watching out for? I know I can't place a fraud alert on my SSN...but how reasonable are my concerns? Would love some insight to help damage control my bad impulse...Thanks!

Craigslist rentals near my current location on the iPhone?

waxpancake — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 08:02:27 -0800

Is there an iPhone app (or location-aware website) that will show me Craigslist rentals near my current location? Amazingly, every app I've looked at is either:
1. City-wide Craigslist listings that doesn't show stuff near me, or
2. Apartment listings near me, but not sourced from Craigslist.

I can't believe a need this obvious hasn't been addressed yet. Am I wrong?

Warranty for Craigslist Item

theyexpectresults — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 02:22:18 -0800

I am selling a computer (macbook) on craigslist, and some of the potential buyers are asking about a warranty. What sort of warranty should I write? This is in Tokyo, and I've heard that asking for some kind of warranty/agreement about computers electronics is not uncommon in Japan. So if I told people that I wouldn't give a warranty, i.e. they would just come and inspect it for themselves, then I might not have many buyers left.

The machine is a 3 year old macbook, with a few upgrades. It's physical condition has been accurately described in the ad (few chips to the case), but I am worried that anyone could find something to complain about, since I can't describe everything. Battery life is poor, kind of erratic so I don't know how to put I figure on it (i.e. I can't guarantee 2 hours battery life or anything).

Any advice on how to write such a warranty is welcome.

Can't access an SSL page on Craigslist?

Twinedog — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 10:20:07 -0800

I can't access the craigslist accounts page to edit/ or post from my home computers? Okay here is the situation. I can't seem to access the craigslist accounts page from my home machine. I can access the regular craigslist site and my home city site losangeles.craigslist.org

However, for some reason on my home machine only I can't access the accounts page. The requests keep timing out. I even tried tracert and ping and it keeps timing out. I tried getting a new IP address from my provider and that didn't resolve it. I tried deleting all private data including cache and its not working. I tried using IE and Firefox and no luck.

The weird thing is I can access my account from other locations like a family members computer. And I could still access my account.

Is it possible they changed server location and not all the DNS servers have gotten the update? Is there a better explanation for this? Any insights would be appreciated.

Ebay vs Craigslist for absolute novices

immlass — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 11:42:33 -0800

Mr. immlass and I are considering craigslist vs ebay for selling electronics/computer gear. Neither of us has any experience with either system as a seller; he's bought a few rare items (CDs) on ebay. Specific questions within. The stuff: a DVD burner we don't use, an older iPod, a portable DVD/iPod doc and (eventually) a desktop computer (a Mac G5 tower).

Questions wrt ebay:
1: how much do the nickel-and-dime add-ons (pictures, etc) actually help?
2: Is paypal as big a deal as they want to tell me it is?
3: Have you had bad experiences with buyers?
4: Is it better to price the item low to assure it sells or re-list it if it doesn't?
5: How well does it work for big-ticket vs. cheap stuff?
6: Do you ship to Canada?

Questions wrt craigslist:
1: Is it better than ebay?
2: why?

We're in Austin, if that makes a difference. Thanks in advance for your help.

Craigslist offer: Scam? Legit?

alpha_betty — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:57:26 -0800

Craigslist offer to buy an item I'm selling: Scam? Legit? Am I overreacting? A few days ago, I posted a wedding dress in the classified section of Craigslist. Someone, we'll call him Rick, replied and asked if the dress was still available. I replied, saying that yes, it was, and to let me know if he had any other questions. I just got an email from him, which says:

"Hi,
I'm glad it's still available. I'm presently on vacation but I will ask my assistant to prepare and mail your payment. And I am sure you will receive it in the next 3 - 6 business days. I will add $10 extra for you to keep it in my favour and also for the delay. I will pay you with Money Order. If this is acceptable by you, Send me your info i.e your full name and address for the payment and also a contact number. Arrangement for pick-up will be after you must have received and cashed the Money Order.
Awaiting your info
Thanks
Rick"

...Something about this tugs at my spider sense. It seems off, somehow (perhaps the vacation + assistant + money order + delayed pickup + offering extra money on top of asking price?). I have googled money order + scam + craigslist a few different ways, and all that comes up as a definite scam is when someone offers to buy something with a money order in the amount over what the item costs, then asks the seller to give them back the extra. I see how this would be a scam and wouldn't fall for something like that - however, this person isn't asking me to return any money. But do people really offer money on top of what you asked? It seems too good to be true... and while I know that when that's the case, it usually is, I can't figure out what the angle could be here. Should I go forward with this transaction?

Selling Used Car Online

TimeFactor — Thu, 28 Apr 2005 10:22:36 -0800

Has anyone had any luck with any of the commercial car selling sites? eBay motors? craigslist? I need to sell my pickup truck (it's a 1998 high-mileage full-size 4x4 regular-cab in very good shape, if that matters, and I'm in MajorMetropolitanArea USA) sometime soon. When I do sell it, I'll need both to sell it as quickly as I reasonably can and for as much as I reasonably can get. Trading it in isn't an option (I'm not getting a replacement). Would you recommend selling online, given my requirements?