Are all craiglist used ads scam?

I only deal with craigslist if I am close enough to pick up whatever I am buying.

I find there are more scammers who are buyers rather than sellers. I have been trying to sell a pair of aftermarket wheels on CL for the past few months and I have been contacted by 5 different scammers. I'm not sure who the people are that are biting on these phishing scams, but for the most part, they deserve to be ripped off.

And as for Ebm. Learn how to make a complete sentence, even if you can't put two of them together. Spellcheck is your friend.....

Shakey

I use Craigslist all the time and find good deals regularly.

If you consider all the effort involved in selling something to a party you have never met, packaging, shipping, PayPal fees and the rest, it often makes sense to sell something for significantly less and avoid all that hassle.

The buyer comes to you, pays cash, no packing, no shipping, no returns or feedback hassles..

Especially if the item is heavy or delicate, Craigslist is a viable option.

The seller will often take less for an item since they are not reaching the widest audience and just want rid of what ever it is without giving it away.

What you need to watch for is e-mail address harvesters who sell your address to spammers for 5 cents. Instruct them to include a word or phrase in their response to filter out the bots and insist on a phone number.

Craigslist is great. The whole point of it is to deal with local people where you can meet the buyer, see and inspect the merchandise and then fully commit to a purchase.

I have had tremendous success countless times on CL--but that's mainly with musical instruments. I haven't done much audio equipment buying there. I don't see why it would be any different.

The problem with buying used equipment anywhere is that sometimes the product is stolen. If that is the case, you can be prosecuted for receiving stolen goods. Even if you thought it was legitimate. I try to ask for a copy of the receipt from buyers. Some times it has changed hands many times so records are lost in time. But, if you take a product in for service or repair. Many times there are lists at the repair facility of stolen items. They check that list and then call the police. When you go to pick up the item, guess what? The police are waiting for you. If you can show your receipt of purchase and they can contact the previous owner, you may not be prosecuted. But, I do like buying fairly local so that I may go see the item and question the seller. If that isn't possible, I will by used from my favorite store in San Diego or on Audiogon (with my fingers crossed). But, asking lots of questions helps me to get a better feeling about the product, its history and the seller. If they don't want to answer the questions, or are very reluctant to answer, or their answers are questionable, I'll walk.

enjoy