Craigslist 101: A Guide to Safe Buying and Selling

[mandy]

If you do find a good deal, and there are tons of them, then you’ve got to qualify your potential purchase. Most transactions of CL are done via email, and that’s a great way to start. But if you’re going to fork over more than a couple hundred dollars for anything you might find, make sure you get a phone number. This make the transaction faster, and gives you contact information for the person you’re dealing with. Don’t forget, emails can be hacked, spoofed, or generated and dumped easily. Phone numbers always have bills attached, and those bills have someone’s name.

When you’ve found what you’re looking for, meet someplace in public. This means shopping locally. While certain areas have better deals on certain items, it’s much safer to have a face-to-face deal. Besides insuring you’re not ripped off by a mail scam, it gives you a chance to inspect the merchandise before giving up any cash...

full article: http://crunchgear.com/2007/05/28/help-ke...-an-idiot/