So my CL area constantly has postings for insane too good to be true offers like cloud city unopened for 300 bucks, or the UCS Mil Falcon for $800, etc etc etc.  Of course I email them and very politely say I am very interested, will pay your asking price in cash and never ever get a response.

 

These ads get reposted every few days it seems.  I know it is some sort of scam but I don't get the motivation?  If they want to rip people off why do they never respond?  I think I got a response once that just said something like "still available".  Is it just phishing trying to get a list of email addresses to spam?  I haven't noticed any uptick in junk email.

 

It is very frustrating because I know they are B.S. postings but I want them so bad I keep trying (and wasting my time).  And also I fear there might be one or two "real" postings that are great deals snuck in with these nonsense postings.  What's with these bozos? 

I think they want to sell it with paypal (gift), and you will never be able to see nor your sets, nor your money back (because paid with paypal gift).

That's why they don't bother with people who want to buy these sets localy.

 

Well the weird part is they never try to get any money from me.  Of course I wouldn't paypal but they never even ask.  Hell they never even respond whatsoever.  Do they look for people who sound dumb in the email maybe or something?  It is crazy.  Maybe they are lazy scammers.

I missed that point, sorry.

Well, maybe it's a way to get your email adress. I don't get the point, me either.

I think they are looking for people who do not pick it up. I have had same experiences where I saw nice sets for an unbelievable price on my local craigslist. When you bid for the price they ask they react that they accept and where you have to transfer the money to. When they receive the money they will ship it. When I then say that I would like to pick it up. So they also safe the hassle to pack and ship it. They come with a lame excuse. These people just do not have these sets. They try to scam you.

So my CL area constantly has postings for insane too good to be true offers like cloud city unopened for 300 bucks, or the UCS Mil Falcon for $800, etc etc etc.  Of course I email them and very politely say I am very interested, will pay your asking price in cash and never ever get a response.

 

These ads get reposted every few days it seems.  I know it is some sort of scam but I don't get the motivation?  If they want to rip people off why do they never respond?  I think I got a response once that just said something like "still available".  Is it just phishing trying to get a list of email addresses to spam?  I haven't noticed any uptick in junk email.

 

It is very frustrating because I know they are B.S. postings but I want them so bad I keep trying (and wasting my time).  And also I fear there might be one or two "real" postings that are great deals snuck in with these nonsense postings.  What's with these bozos?

Sounds like someone has been looking at Chicago CL...My guess is that these "sellers" want a buyer to offer to pay by PayPal or wire with no intention to ever deliver the set. Steer clear of listings that don't post the seller's city or town.

Yes, Chicago indeed.  I saw one guy posted an ad saying Hey to the guy selling the UCS Falcon I think my email went to your spam!  Heh.  So I'm not the only one wasting my time on these stupid posts I guess.  You would think it would be a better attempt at a scam though if they actually answered the emails with some story about how they need the money paypaled.  Maybe eventually they get someone who comes to them with the idea of paypaling money all on their own but I can't imagine it happens very often. 

Yes, Chicago indeed. I saw one guy posted an ad saying Hey to the guy selling the UCS Falcon I think my email went to your spam! Heh. So I'm not the only one wasting my time on these stupid posts I guess. You would think it would be a better attempt at a scam though if they actually answered the emails with some story about how they need the money paypaled. Maybe eventually they get someone who comes to them with the idea of paypaling money all on their own but I can't imagine it happens very often.

I've wondered this also. My gut feeling is that the person posting is a small time crook fishing for folks to jump on their "deals". Even if it works seldom, that's difficult to track and $ in their pocket. To me, the fact that the listings are all big, valuable sets indicates the seller's intentions are likely bad.

I'm not sure about other local CL sites but over the last month, Chicago CL has seen the number of these bogus listings explode - I bet there's a good 20-25 of these listings. 6 months ago there were 2-3.

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I've wondered this also. My gut feeling is that the person posting is a small time crook fishing for folks to jump on their "deals". Even if it works seldom, that's difficult to track and $ in their pocket. To me, the fact that the listings are all big, valuable sets indicates the seller's intentions are likely bad.

I'm not sure about other local CL sites but over the last month, Chicago CL has seen the number of these bogus listings explode - I bet there's a good 20-25 of these listings. 6 months ago there were 2-3.

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Definitely a scam. I wish they'd pull those down as it just mucks up CL. Sad!

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ya, I'm in Chicago to and its pissing me off. I don't think its a scam because I have never been asked to pay through pp but I don't know what they want.  I have emailed several over the past months like the MF UCS and I asked if it was available and all I get in response is a yes.  I have even responded with a very generic how can we do this deal to see if they were a scamer but i have never heard anything in response. 

Definite scam. I really wish someone would overtake CL and provide even a little better functionality. They just don't seem to care much about their format, users or content.