• Welcome to the Off-Topic/Schweb's Lounge

    In addition to the Mac-Forums Community Guidelines, there are a few things you should pay attention to while in The Lounge.

    Lounge Rules
    • If your post belongs in a different forum, please post it there.
    • While this area is for off-topic conversations, that doesn't mean that every conversation will be permitted. The moderators will, at their sole discretion, close or delete any threads which do not serve a beneficial purpose to the community.

    Understand that while The Lounge is here as a place to relax and discuss random topics, that doesn't mean we will allow any topic. Topics which are inflammatory, hurtful, or otherwise clash with our Mac-Forums Community Guidelines will be removed.

The Craigslist Headache!

Raz0rEdge

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Jul 17, 2009
Messages
15,745
Reaction score
2,071
Points
113
Location
MA
Your Mac's Specs
2022 Mac Studio M1 Max, 2023 M2 MBA
Background:
After my company provided MBP was confiscated, I had to figure out what to do. The small startup I was at wasn't going to provide a machine for me, so I decided to make do with an under powered MBA for a little bit and bit the bullet and purchased a new 2016 15" MBP w/ Touch Bar last December. That machine served me well for a year+ and I started a new job which provided a 2017 15" MBP.

I thought about keeping the 2016 MBP, but don't really need to since I have a 27" iMac and my wife has her work MBP and personal MBA (the one I stole for a little bit). The MBA for her is a video streaming and emailing device and for the price it's perfect. I couldn't reason keeping a $2800 machine for occasional use while I switched over the my work machine for everything.

The Plan:
After saving whatever needed to be saved, I did a fresh install of High Sierra on the 2016 MBP, cleaned it all up and put it back in it's original box. I took a bunch of pictures and posted it on Craigslist. In the post I was EXPLICIT to indicate that I will only deal with local buyers that will meet face to face (usually at my local police station) and hand over cash for the purchase. Within the first hour of posting, I was bombarded with text messages from people all over the country that claimed, not once, twice or three times, but EVERY one them claimed to be a Marine that is out of state and needed for me to ship this thing elsewhere (Chicago, Alaska) and they will gladly add anywhere from $150 to $300 on top of my asking price.

The interesting part is that ALL of them employ the exact same methodology. They ask the same question, use the same premise, provide very similar facts and stories.

Such an absolute waste of my time dealing with these scammers.

I have the MBP up on eBay as well and because you have to be signed up and all that on there, I imagine it's a lot more reasonable place to sell this MBP. I likely will not re-list on Craigslist once this listing expires because then I'll have another dozen scammers wasting my time.

As much as I appreciate the convenience (and price) of Craigslist, these scammers just ruin the entire experience.
 
Joined
Aug 2, 2011
Messages
2,014
Reaction score
184
Points
63
Location
Tyneside, UK
Your Mac's Specs
MBP Retina mid 2015 15.4" 16GB 2.5 GHz OS Monterey; iPhone 12 128gb; iPad Mini 5, 64gb
Have no experience of Craigslist but buy lots of things on ebay - including my first (new) MBP from a seller with 30,000+ positive feedback for high-end computer equipment . You have protection from both ebay and paypal as a seller or buyer though I believe they tend to side with buyers in disputes.
 

chscag

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
65,248
Reaction score
1,833
Points
113
Location
Keller, Texas
Your Mac's Specs
2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
Hey Ashwin:

I went thru the same thing when I was trying to sell a Mac I no longer needed. I was amazed at all the phony stories the prospective buyers had to tell. I was offered several hundred dollars over my asking price if I would pack the unit up and send it them. Yeah, right. :) I finally wound up selling it to someone locally for cash. I met that person at a local diner where we conducted the sale.

By the way, be real careful about selling on eBay. Lately eBay has turned into a den of thieves and scammers looking for a free ride. You're best bet is to sell the machine locally to someone for cash. Meet them at a busy Starbucks where you can test the machine on the SB WiFi.
 
OP
Raz0rEdge

Raz0rEdge

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Jul 17, 2009
Messages
15,745
Reaction score
2,071
Points
113
Location
MA
Your Mac's Specs
2022 Mac Studio M1 Max, 2023 M2 MBA
Have no experience of Craigslist but buy lots of things on ebay - including my first (new) MBP from a seller with 30,000+ positive feedback for high-end computer equipment . You have protection from both ebay and paypal as a seller or buyer though I believe they tend to side with buyers in disputes.

I've had pretty good luck with Craigslist for cheaper things, but you still have to go through all the scammers. The worst thing is giving stuff away for free, it's just ridiculous. I sold all my appliances last December through Craigslist pretty quickly and easily.

Hey Ashwin:

I went thru the same thing when I was trying to sell a Mac I no longer needed. I was amazed at all the phony stories the prospective buyers had to tell. I was offered several hundred dollars over my asking price if I would pack the unit up and send it them. Yeah, right. :) I finally wound up selling it to someone locally for cash. I met that person at a local diner where we conducted the sale.

By the way, be real careful about selling on eBay. Lately eBay has turned into a den of thieves and scammers looking for a free ride. You're best bet is to sell the machine locally to someone for cash. Meet them at a busy Starbucks where you can test the machine on the SB WiFi.

A local buyer with cash would be the ideal thing, so let's hope that happens. eBay was just a second avenue, but I do know that there are scammers there as well.
 
Joined
Apr 16, 2016
Messages
1,096
Reaction score
51
Points
48
Location
CT
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook Air Mid-2012 / iMac Retina 5K Late-2014
I, too, have gotten those same junk messages. The difference for me is that A) I -NEVER- give out my email address or phone number - I require contact via email through the CL relay and B) I simply ignore those junk messages.

You could try Swappa (swappa.com) as their fees for sellers are much more reasonable. When it's all said and done, remember to focus on how much cash ends up in your pocket as opposed to the final selling price. eBay tends to cost the buyer more but that overage largely goes into the pockets of eBay and PayPal.

As far as re-listing on CL, don't. Every two - three days, go back into your account and "Renew" the listing. This keeps it near the top of the list and the scammers ignore it because they have already responded to your unique ID. You can do this up to 30 days after initial listing but you have to wait a couple of days in between each renewal.

What are the specs of your machine and what are you asking for it? I'm not all that far away, and -might- be interested depending on the asking price. Feel free to PM me the info if don't want to post that info in this area of the board.
 
OP
Raz0rEdge

Raz0rEdge

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Jul 17, 2009
Messages
15,745
Reaction score
2,071
Points
113
Location
MA
Your Mac's Specs
2022 Mac Studio M1 Max, 2023 M2 MBA
I, too, have gotten those same junk messages. The difference for me is that A) I -NEVER- give out my email address or phone number - I require contact via email through the CL relay and B) I simply ignore those junk messages.

You could try Swappa (swappa.com) as their fees for sellers are much more reasonable. When it's all said and done, remember to focus on how much cash ends up in your pocket as opposed to the final selling price. eBay tends to cost the buyer more but that overage largely goes into the pockets of eBay and PayPal.

As far as re-listing on CL, don't. Every two - three days, go back into your account and "Renew" the listing. This keeps it near the top of the list and the scammers ignore it because they have already responded to your unique ID. You can do this up to 30 days after initial listing but you have to wait a couple of days in between each renewal.

What are the specs of your machine and what are you asking for it? I'm not all that far away, and -might- be interested depending on the asking price. Feel free to PM me the info if don't want to post that info in this area of the board.

Yeah I'm using the CL relay for email and my google voice number for texting. I will send you a PM.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top