How can I safely buy from a private party online???

sandy

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Jul 14, 2007, 9:40:35 AM7/14/07

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I posted a "Want to Buy" ad on our local Craigslist and got an Email
from someone in another state who had what I was looking for. It was
a little older than what I might want but the price was reasonable and
I'd like to buy it. (He's agreeable to sending it). Is there anyway
to make sure this isn't a scam and to transfer money safely??? He
sounds OK and has sent me pictures of the item. Price is just over
$300.

Any suggestions???

Thanks

Sandy

Don K

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Jul 14, 2007, 10:01:56 AM7/14/07

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"sandy" <foss...@isp.com> wrote in message
news:1184420435.4...@n2g2000hse.googlegroups.com...

Nothing is 100% safe, but if it were me and I wanted it badly enough,
I'd prefer to drive a reasonable distance to pick it up in person.

An alternative would be to use something like Paypal, but you should
expect to have to read over several pages of legalese lingo to understand
exactly what, if any, protection that would offer you.

Don

larry

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Jul 14, 2007, 1:45:12 PM7/14/07

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Don K wrote:

we are lucky to have city.forsale here, and that is always a
face-to-face deal. I thought that was the intent of Craigs
list too? Have had many good deals this way, some were
meetings at a halfway point along a freeway. Met a nice
group of people too.

But as always, there can be a bad apple in the bunch. I
wouldn't meet someone at 1AM in a bad part of town to buy a
car for cash! We had a 20 year old killed a few months ago
doing just that.

-larry

Message has been deleted

Rod Speed

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Jul 14, 2007, 2:35:55 PM7/14/07

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sandy <foss...@isp.com> wrote:

> I posted a "Want to Buy" ad on our local Craigslist and got an Email
> from someone in another state who had what I was looking for. It was
> a little older than what I might want but the price was reasonable and
> I'd like to buy it. (He's agreeable to sending it). Is there anyway
> to make sure this isn't a scam and to transfer money safely???

Not really. Thats where the ebay feedback system works much better, when it isnt
practical to show up in person and check the item before handing over the money.

> He sounds OK and has sent me pictures of the item. Price is just over $300.

> Any suggestions???

Get it using ebay instead.

clams casino

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Jul 14, 2007, 3:13:46 PM7/14/07

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Don K wrote:

and only pay Payal via credit card, otherwise it's unlikely Paypal will
provide any refund should the transaction go bad.

Jon v Leipzig

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Jul 17, 2007, 6:23:54 AM7/17/07

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Oh, please.....he "sounded ok"........what's he gonna say..."I just got
out of prison, I need some dope money.."???

The pic doesn't prove it's in working order.....oh, I know....he claimed
it was lightly used.

I almost got fooled on eBay some yrs ago. Seller had pix of genuine Sony
Trinitron monitors. I just bought a pc from a former Dell certified
tech in Texas. Asked him to look at the monitors. He spotted the
trickery immediately....they were cheap Phillips, not Sony.

Don't do it. Wait for one close to your town on Craigslist.