Hi Mamas! :-)
I am selling my piano, and the buyer wants to know if he/she (they haven't given me their name yet), can overnight a Cashiers Check to me with 'more' than the cost of the piano in order to pay the balance to their shipper when they arrive to pick it up.
Any tips on how I can be sure that there won't be any complications?
About two years ago my husband and I were in desperate need of some money because of a situation that had occurred, and we were selling our wedding rings. The person who was buying them sent me a 'fake' paypal receipt. Not sure how they did it, but I thought it was legit and had already sent the rings to them. We were so upset. We got our local police involved and they worked with the Toronto Police in Canada (yep I was sending them to Canada), and thank goodness the package was interceded and we got our rings back. Oh and yes those dipwads got into serious trouble (because apparently they did this more than once).
Anyway, this is the reason for my concern. I'm a bit leary, and I don't trust anyone. Has anyone sold anything that the buyer had to make arrangements to pick up?
Thanks in advance. :-D
THANK YOU SO MUCH! And thank you to that one responder that provided that link to Craigslist warnings. I emailed that person and told them that I am backing out of the deal. I also included that I inquired with a Police Officer friend and he and his partner told me as others have (meaning you all), about the warnings of this type of thing. I told them that they will have to find another piano to buy.
THANK YOU AGAIN for ALERTING me of this. I even chatted online with my banks rep and they said 'rest assured it is safe', but reading the warnings that you all have here, sent up a huge red flag in my head and therefore cancelled the deal.
WHEW!!!! I just escaped from that one eh? LOL
I have heard something about this scam- the big red flag is sending more than the amount. I'd ask for cash.
Call a legitimate piano dealer. My friend sold her old piano which needed megabucks to repair to a dealer who gave her $12,000. She used that money to build herself a mighty fine house in Mexico. Yes that is what the house cost to build.
NOOO!! This is a huge scam. When you get the check to the bank, it will be a fake. The banks don't always know it's fake right away, because the checks are very convincing. You should not ever take anything but cash. It takes sometimes WEEKS for cashiers checks to be found out as fakes. Then, you are responsible for the amount of the check.
When selling something off craigslist, if they don't pay in CASH...do NOT deal with them.
Read this:
http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams
BIG, BIG scam!!!
Anytime you sell something on Craigslist, post "Cash only, local only..."
I was also trying to sell a piano on Craigslist and got several offers from "people wanting to give a piano to their church for their anniversary, and they would send us extra money, so we could pay the shipper" ... stuff like that...
It was so funny.... the e-mails were identical!
It's a scam. You'll take your cashiers check to the bank and it'll bounce and you'll be out all the money and the piano if you've already sent it. Then you'll owe all the money to the bank and be in even worse financial trouble then you are now.
Not only no but HELL NO!!! This is a scam...you must be using Craigslist - while it's a WONDERFUL site - there are some bad apples on there...I had this happen - told the person they can pay via e-check on paypal...they never contacted me again.
Can I give you some advice regarding on-line selling?
1. In regards to Craigslist - CASH ONLY or pay via Paypal...DO NOT click on ANY e-mail that you receive from "paypal" - open a separate tab and open your paypal account from there...if the money isn't there - the e-mail is a scam.
2. Shipping on craigslist? NO. Local pick up only. That's the point of craigslist...NO SHIPPING.
3. NEVER give out your home address - meet in public places...for the piano? unfortunately - that's one where you will have to give the physical address.
4. NEVER be alone when someone is coming. Ensure that if you are going to meet someone in public - you are not alone and if you are - make sure it's public - REAL public - like near a police station or fire station as they PAY ATTENTION to the surroundings...you can meet in a parking lot like Wal-Mart where they have parking lot cameras for surveillance.
5. Have a "dummy" e-mail set up for your craigslist transactions. And ensure you check them...when someone expresses interest - not a scammer - they USUALLY give their phone number for you to contact them.
6. Paypal NEVER EVER puts money in escrow. Paypal will NEVER ask you to give them shipping confirmation in order to process the payment - EVER. NEVER. (they already know you shipped it because you most likely processed the shipping label through them!! :)
7. Should you sell something on ebay and the person is not happy with the item and is returning it? You can REFUND their money and get your fees back..DO NOT SEND THEM MONEY - go to their transaction and REFUND the money. The only time you need to send money is if you are paying for return shipping..
If the person will not give you their name? Do this...
Dear Interested Party:
Thank you for your interest in my piano.
Yes, the piano is still available for purchase.
I understand you would like to pay via cashiers check. However, I do NOT accept anything but cash or payment via Paypal. You may me via the Paypal e-check system.
The piano MAY NOT BE PICKED UP UNTIL THE FUNDS HAVE CLEARED PAYPAL. I will NOT ship this piano to you. I will contact you when the funds have cleared my Paypal account to arrange pick up.
So there is no misunderstanding, I will NOT accept escrowed funds or a cashiers check (this will tell them that you know about the Paypal scam as well as the fake checks that scammers are now sooo good at reproducing...).
I look forward to hearing from you.
Thank you.
I am currently selling some Antique furniture on craigslist. i've had three people try to scam me like you are being scammed now and thank God - I have sold enough on-line to know the difference...I had some guy try to do this with a diamond ring i am selling...he got all pissed off and said he was going to call the police on me - I said PLEASE DO!!! I'll hand over the e-mail from Paypal stating this is a "phish" and then I'll hand over your "payment" to me...I think they'll be knocking on YOUR door - NOT MINE!! He NEVER contacted me again...
Feel free to inbox me and I will help you any way I can!!
Best!
Cheryl
say no. the only way I would do that is if they wanted to send it western union
. the cashiers check thing is the biggest scam in the world.
I wouldn't. Tell them you'll only take cash. The snopes article explains how this can be a scam.
http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/cashier.asp
CASHIERS CHECKS ARE NOT "FINE". The bank may put a shorter hold on it than it actually takes to find out that it's fruadulent. Please read the article.
Don't do it...they are scamming you! It's the same type of scam people use for cars.
Sounds like a scam. EVEN the cash needs to be small bills. If you don't have one of those pens that the servers use to check the 50's and 100's, don't take them.
NOOOO.... Even banks can't tell these days. It can take a couple of weeks for banks to find out that cashiers checks are bad.
No, No, No- do not do it! Scammers are everywhere- cash and carry only!
SCAM!!!!!!!!!! dont do it. stay local PICK UP ONLY!!!!! no shipping......
If it is a cashiers check you should be fine. Other checks can still have a stop placed on them.
I would still take it to your bank and have them check to make sure it is a good check. If you bank says it is okay you should be fine.
Ya know why don't you send a message back that you called the police and were warned it was a scam. Could they deal in cash. If they are scammers, which it sounds like it may be, they shouldn't contact you again.
The part that does NOT sound legit is the shipping. If they were going to make the shipping arrangements then they would pay the shipping company directly.
Tell the seller ok, but they'll have to wait 30 business days for the check to clear your bank before you'll ship the piano. You'll know from their response.
Oh man, scam!!! This happened to my brother- he sold some musical equipment on Craigslist and the buyer sent him cashier's check with more then the total for the shipper and a little for 'his troubles'. My brother deposited the cashier's check, the shipper picked up the musical equipment and the next day the bank called- the cashier's check was a fake. Not only was he out the equipment, the money he gave the shipper, the money the bank charged him but he came close to getting into trouble with the FBI. Seriously scary time for him.
Like other moms said local only and cash only.
Good luck.
This is actually one of the main scams that CL lists to watch out for.
They send you a bad check, you send them your merchandise, and then you end up screwed because there is no money... because the check is fraudulent.
ETA - sounds like maybe you need to find a new bank... it's a little alarming that one of their reps would green light a transaction like that.
OMG! IT'S FAKE DON'T DO IT'!!!!!!!!!!! So many people have fallen for this. Insist on cash, or if they want to do a cashiers check, insist the transaction be done at your bank.
Uh, no. Cash only and local deal only. Anything that involves a shipper and cashiers check is a scam. Read the craiglist rules.
Very well known scam! Don't do it!!!
I'd say no, cash only. I think something of this value would be too much of a temptation to someone to be dishonest. Better safe than sorry. If you hired the mover and the person paid them directly then I would feel safer, since that way YOU know the person coming to your home to be a real business in your community. You seriously do not know who that person is they hired and if they are a serial killer just scoping out your house by way of a part time job that allows them into strangers homes.
You were wise to cancel the deal! I almost fell for similar scam on CL, fortunately only lost $10 to clear up the fake check. A tip on spotting fraud on Craig's List is, the buyer is far away, they cannot communicate on phone because they are deaf, they want to send overpayment for any "inconvenience", or they want you to use a money gram, they want to fed ex a payment instead of using the Post Office. Other things like, "my secretary made a mistake, sent more money than what the item was worth, but keep the overpayment for your trouble". "My truck will be in your area on such and such a date", demanding pick up right away. The list goes on and on.........all FRAUD!
My bank said their bank was legit, however the account was not. Ask yourself, why would anyone far away want to spend extra money to buy something they could get for same price or less in their local area. That was an eye opener for me. My experience was someone scamming to buy a $250 water bed for $1000 (overpayment was an 'accident'). They want you to cash their fake check, send them back the overpayment before the check clears the bank. Bank will cash check, but put 5 to 7 day hold before it clears, and you are out the money, they just made a huge profit.
Don't do this! It's a scam. We tried to sell a TV on Craigslist once and they tried to do the same thing. Thank goodness we checked into it more and found out it was a scam before we got into a mess.
If you're concerned about the cashier's check (which you have every reason to be! this is apparently a big issue), request that the cashier's check is from your bank, or at least a bank that is local to you. Then when the check arrives, call the bank and ask to talk to a customer representative. Have them verify that the check is for real. They'll tell you what info they need. They should be able to tell you how much the check is made out for, who it is for, etc.
Hope that helps!
It is a common scam. The check is a fake and whomever actually shows up at your house to collect your piano and the cash is most likely your scammer - just wanting the cash. Don't do it.
