HUGE Craigslist Opportunity for everyone!

[Bojay1997]

Well, to bring everyone up to date there have been a few others that also have been in touch with this guy and now all have lost contact as a phone # he had used last week is no longer a good #. And to top it off his other Craigslist posts are now all removed as well so no one can get in touch with this guy. So I suppose it was to good to be true.

Did anyone else here happen to be in touch with him?

Oddly, before you even posted a link to his CL ad, I had e-mailed him about some Amiga games, not knowing this was the guy you were talking about. Despite following his directions to the tee about providing a phone number, etc...he never got in touch. I noticed he updated his posts on the 27th saying he lost his phone and needed people to recontact him except for somebody named "Robert". Some guy posted on CL soon after that he hadn't been in touch and tried to reach the guy through another ad posting.

I'm really not sure what to think. His Amiga listings were incredibly specific and detailed, well beyond what I have ever seen a CL scammer do. Could be he just changed his mind about selling (sometimes packrats/hoarders do this and since it seemed like this guy was just letting it all go at once, that could have been the case) or maybe he got a great offer and took it quick. At this point, I'm much more interested in finding out the real story and could care less about what stuff could have come out of this.

[megasdkirby]

I'm really not sure what to think. His Amiga listings were incredibly specific and detailed, well beyond what I have ever seen a CL scammer do. Could be he just changed his mind about selling (sometimes packrats/hoarders do this and since it seemed like this guy was just letting it all go at once, that could have been the case) or maybe he got a great offer and took it quick. At this point, I'm much more interested in finding out the real story and could care less about what stuff could have come out of this.

Could be he is now willing to sell on Ebay to maximize his profits. Or the entire shit was just that, shit. Or a stunt with other intentions in mind.

[MarioMania]

If this was all BS..

Kaboomer will be real Red in the face, he have to tell everyone on NA it was all BS

Like megasdkirby said, he prolly went the ebay route

[ryborg]

A deal that looked too good to be true was too good to be true? On Craigslist, the bastion of legitimate trading? I am shocked. SHOCKED.

[staxx]

I got in contact with him and was interested in some Atari's and Vectrex. The deal fell through since there were a lot of red flags.

1. He said he didn't have a paypal account and to send it to his friend.
2. He was going to sell me $50 a piece and he was willing to pay for the shipping. I asked for them to be picked up locally from a cousin and he didn't lower the price.
3. He stated that his items were stored in different locations and they were far from where he was.
4. I asked for pictures and he didn't send me anything but told me he takes care of all his stuff.
5. He said that there were tons of interest in his stuff and I should quickly send him the payment.
6. Kaboomer was interested in the Vectrex and had dibs on it, but he was willing to sell me his Vectrex and it was his only one.
7. He called me yet his number is blocked.

Well Kaboomer I will pm you his phone number that he emailed me.

[megasdkirby]

I got in contact with him and was interested in some Atari's and Vectrex. The deal fell through since there were a lot of red flags.

1. He said he didn't have a paypal account and to send it to his friend.
2. He was going to sell me $50 a piece and he was willing to pay for the shipping. I asked for them to be picked up locally from a cousin and he didn't lower the price.
3. He stated that his items were stored in different locations and they were far from where he was.
4. I asked for pictures and he didn't send me anything but told me he takes care of all his stuff.
5. He said that there were tons of interest in his stuff and I should quickly send him the payment.
6. Kaboomer was interested in the Vectrex and had dibs on it, but he was willing to sell me his Vectrex and it was his only one.
7. He called me yet his number is blocked.

Well Kaboomer I will pm you his phone number that he emailed me.

Yup, seems like a classic scam attempt to me.

Though it makes me wonder: what really happened? Did he get caught in the scam? Did he have remorse (doubt it)?

We will probably never know, but I sure hope no one was caught in what could be a very possible scam attempt.

[tubeway]

This is incredibly unsurprising. But it shows you how creative scammers can get.

As opposed to being a scammer, my other assumption was that once he was reminded that other people desire this stuff of his, he decided to hang onto it, as many packrats/hoarders do. I mean really, people collect a lot of stupid, weird shit purely for bragging rights.

[g00ber]

Not surprised in the least. If someone says they have a huge lot of stuff, gives no pictures, and wants money quickly (before they sell it to someone else) its a scam.

Seen it hundreds of times.

Know the warning signs:

- Collection looks 'too good' to be true (boxed, unopened, sealed mint huge rare collections)
- Crafty scammers will give you very specific details
- Meeting in person is not possible
- Goods are not with them 'personally', a 'friend' has it
- payment is required quickly (or they will sell to someone else)
- No phone number to reach them at directly
- Selling at a very reduced price (to entice you)

If someone has a HUGE collection, they are going to know what its worth before they try to sell it. They would be stupid or a scam otherwise.

I'd rather see someone trying to sell a big lot of goods at a high price, because then at least I can negotiate to get a decent deal out of it. I only do pickups in person at a neutral location (no shipping via craigslist or kijiji) unless i'm buying from ebay (and only then, with people with a decent amount of positive feedback).

Be careful out there! I see atleast one or two suspicious scams online every day in the craigslist and kijiji ads.

One I found more recently was someone trying to sell an NES with that rare family fun fitness game. I responded, and things sounded odd from the start. They didn't want to give a number. Weren't able to provide pictures, and wouldn't meet at a neutral location (or any location for that matter). Seller stopped responding after they realized I wasn't someone easily cheated or scammed.

Good luck out there!

[g00ber]

Oh, this is all legit. Believe me.

Famous last words.

[Kaboomer]

Ya, I guess we all got duped. At least noone lost any money, as far as I know. It was strange though as I spoke with him on a few occasions and I felt pretty comfortable. I am as skepticle as anyone but was wanting to believe it was all true I guess. I have been on both the buying and selling end of many a Craigslist deals and have never had one issue so was pretty confident that this was legit too. Oh well :)

[Kaboomer]

Oddly, before you even posted a link to his CL ad, I had e-mailed him about some Amiga games, not knowing this was the guy you were talking about. Despite following his directions to the tee about providing a phone number, etc...he never got in touch. I noticed he updated his posts on the 27th saying he lost his phone and needed people to recontact him except for somebody named "Robert". Some guy posted on CL soon after that he hadn't been in touch and tried to reach the guy through another ad posting.

I'm really not sure what to think. His Amiga listings were incredibly specific and detailed, well beyond what I have ever seen a CL scammer do. Could be he just changed his mind about selling (sometimes packrats/hoarders do this and since it seemed like this guy was just letting it all go at once, that could have been the case) or maybe he got a great offer and took it quick. At this point, I'm much more interested in finding out the real story and could care less about what stuff could have come out of this.

Ya, that is what threw me off. He spent a lot of time with the Craigslist listing he put up. And he did call me back when I left my # and like I said, we had multiple discussions about me coming over there and helping him out. So again, not sure what happened. At least others of you have been in touch with him so you all know I didn't make the whole thing up :)

[megasdkirby]

Ya, that is what threw me off. He spent a lot of time with the Craigslist listing he put up. And he did call me back when I left my # and like I said, we had multiple discussions about me coming over there and helping him out. So again, not sure what happened. At least others of you have been in touch with him so you all know I didn't make the whole thing up :)

I never doubted you, Kaboomer. However, I did doubt his sincerity, since everything seemed very, VERY odd, even from the beginning. That threw me off is how can he claim to have so much stuff, yet he had no idea how much value the items had? No way a person with so much stuff would be clueless to know it's value. I would understand a casual person who stumbles across games, or someone not into gaming as we are, but not a person that claimed to have massive amounts of stuff. That did not fit well with me.

'm guessing he found out that others knew he was a con artist and bolted before anything happened. Or it could be that someone fell for it, he took the money, and ran off. I seriously hope it's not the second.

[rpepper9]

Famous last words.

Way to shit on a thread mate!

[ZombieK]

Ya, I guess we all got duped.
If it sounds too good to be true it is. I personally didn't believe this from the start. He is Posting to craigslist. That means of course that he has Internet access and why would he sell all that stuff without even a small google search it doesn't make sense.

One time I wasted a hour and a half on the light rail to buy a ton of n64 games for ten bucks. The guy never showed I called back a day later his "brother" picked up said he was going to be around my area that night. Never called me back. And his phone was dead.

[ryborg]

Ya, I guess we all got duped.

...except for all the people who were skeptical immediately


skepticle

love this spelling


Way to shit on a thread mate!

yeah, gotta keep the integrity of the botched imaginary craigslist deal brag thread at all costs

[tubeway]

Ya, I guess we all got duped.

Hey, don't include all of us in this. ;)

[garagesaleking!!]

called it...

[alexxx]

I had something like that happen, but he contacted me, with tons of games and systems, and stuff, but it just seemed too good to be true, like those bastards who had "stadium events" in the box, cause they heard it was a bad game, and stuff, and they led me on for a bit, but I knew it was bs... Sorry to hear that Kaboomer, I bet that asshole is a member here, and reading up on it!

[evg2000]

and then there are the ones that sound too good to be true, but are true. Craiglist 6/2010 in Sacramento, $250


original listing, expired of course:

Visit the posting at http://sacramento.craigslist.org/for/1789965296.html to contact the person who posted this.

ATARI,NINTENDO,SEGA,AND MORE

Date: 2010-06-13, 12:06PM
PACKAGE DEAL GREAT FOR A COLLECTOR OR RESALE
14 PLAYSTATIONS
5 NINTENDO NES
1 SUPER NINTENDO
1SEGA SATURN
4 SEGA GENSIS
1 SEGA GENSIS HIGH DEFINTION GRAPHIC
4 NINTENDO 64
1 XBOX 1PLAYSTATION 2
1 GAME BOY
4 GAMEBOY COLOR 1 GAMEBOY ADVANCED
2 COLLECO VISION
1 NEO GEO
7 ATARI 2600
MOST OF THESE HAVE BEEN TESTED AND WORK SOME HAVE NOT BEEN TESTED
ALSO HAVE POWER SUPPLYS
RF SWITCHES
CONTROLLERS
JOY STICKS
GUNS
PADDELS
GAMES THERE ARE ALOT OF GAMES INCLUDING
APX 50 NINTENDO
15 TO 20 SUPER NINTENDO
SEGA
PLAYSTATION
ATARI

EVERYTHING LISTED AND MORE ALL BEING SOLD AS A PACKAGE DEAL OF 250.00 FIRM ON THE PRICE
IF INTERESTED CALL ME 916 xxx xxxx NAME IS JOHN

and here is what I got:

http://evg2000.com/finds/20100615/4.jpg

[HurricaneAndrew]

Jesus Christ!

That would almost double the size of my collection!

Great job on that!

[ryborg]

and then there are the ones that sound too good to be true, but are true. Craiglist 6/2010 in Sacramento, $250

To be fair, it's definitely a no-brainer purchase, but it's not too ridiculous of a price. The Neo-Geo is definitely the centerpiece, but it looks like a lot of the stuff is in pretty lousy condition. The amazingness of the deal really depends on the games. Get anything good? "Untested" usually means broken. Did you test everything out?

[evg2000]

actually most of the stuff is in pretty good shape, just dusty. Haven't test everything out yet, though everything I have tested has worked. There are at least 300-400 games alone, from many systems

[Bojay1997]

To be fair, it's definitely a no-brainer purchase, but it's not too ridiculous of a price. The Neo-Geo is definitely the centerpiece, but it looks like a lot of the stuff is in pretty lousy condition. The amazingness of the deal really depends on the games. Get anything good? "Untested" usually means broken. Did you test everything out?

I don't know, I don't think the seller really lost out on that sale. There's probably at least $250 worth of games there, but when I looked at that picture I kept thinking to myself, I have probably given away that much video gaming stuff in that condition to Goodwill over the years as extras from various lots I have purchased. You not only helped that guy clean out his house, but ended up paying him $250 to do it. A lot of it looks like stuff that would be very hard to sell since shipping would kill the interest many buyers would have. I guess maybe if you had a swap meet stand or a local means of selling or something. Honestly, if that lot had been given away free on CL locally, I probably would have passed as well as I just don't have the time or interest in bulk low quality stuff.

More related to the topic, this is kind of what I expected this CL Score guy's stuff to look like as he purportedly lived in the suburbs, was a huge packrat and bought store inventories and used stuff from friends. Even if it had panned out, I was pretty sure that I wouldn't have bought anything because I am quite picky about condition and have no need or use for loose, dirty or non-working stuff.

[ZombieK]

Damn thats what I get for not Browsing the Bay Area Craigslist the last few days. Killer Deal.

Im sure if I resold that stuff I would make a profit. Assuming its all working or almost all in good condition. I would of checked it first [at least the cd based and a few other things]
Damn I gotta keep looking for deals. I want to get a shop at the flea market sometime even if its for a month only.

Also if you wanna sell anything quick let me know. [at the moment im collecting tell i have a little bit of everything so im not planing on reselling anything tell i already have it]

[garagesaleking!!]

I don't know, I don't think the seller really lost out on that sale. There's probably at least $250 worth of games there, but when I looked at that picture I kept thinking to myself, I have probably given away that much video gaming stuff in that condition to Goodwill over the years as extras from various lots I have purchased. You not only helped that guy clean out his house, but ended up paying him $250 to do it. A lot of it looks like stuff that would be very hard to sell since shipping would kill the interest many buyers would have. I guess maybe if you had a swap meet stand or a local means of selling or something. Honestly, if that lot had been given away free on CL locally, I probably would have passed as well as I just don't have the time or interest in bulk low quality stuff.

More related to the topic, this is kind of what I expected this CL Score guy's stuff to look like as he purportedly lived in the suburbs, was a huge packrat and bought store inventories and used stuff from friends. Even if it had panned out, I was pretty sure that I wouldn't have bought anything because I am quite picky about condition and have no need or use for loose, dirty or non-working stuff.

this is my pretty much my feeling. it just seems to be leftovers. still a great deal, but a lot of work to turn a profit. i have ps1 systems piled like that myself i cant do anything with

[TheClash603]

Damn, $250 for that lot is awesome. I have been looking for a cheap Neo Geo US system... not happening. For you, it did!

[skaar]

Ya, I guess we all got duped. At least noone lost any money, as far as I know. It was strange though as I spoke with him on a few occasions and I felt pretty comfortable. I am as skepticle as anyone but was wanting to believe it was all true I guess. I have been on both the buying and selling end of many a Craigslist deals and have never had one issue so was pretty confident that this was legit too. Oh well :)

At least you got publicity, amirite? ;)