Paypay, Craigslist.... BEWARE!

So I've begun posting a few large furniture items on Craigslist & to be honest, I've had some strange correspondence with some real crack-a-loos.

Here's my ad...

Selling beautiful large entertainment center. Exquisite detail work, glass inlays, recessed lighting & TONS of storage! Very sad to part with it, but we don't have the room. Contact soon, this is an excellent deal! Dimension in center piece 42" for t.v. (602) 31X-XXXX. Only serious inquiries please.


And then here is a crack-a-loo example:

Hi, im interested in purckasing this furniture.mail me back if its not yet sold

Purckasing, huh? That's unfortunate. Next, same buyer.

hello
im interested im the purchase of this furniture kindly get back to me with its condition

Hm... annoyed because his grammar is beyond atrocious. Anyway... me, with correct punctuation & capitalization mind you.

Pretty much perfect. We've only had it for about 2 years & we've kept it in excellent condition. No scratches, dings, or blemishes. You are welcome to come look at it. I have another interested buyer, so please just know the first buyer with cash will receive this beautiful new piece. Thanks!

Now, this is where it gets really, really fishy.

aThanks For Getting back to me ..I am buying this furniture for my brother in-law as i promised him early of this year and i am a military presently on a mission,and due to ethics of this mission, phone calls,and visiting of website are restricted but i squeezed out time to check this advert.I really want it to be a surprise for my brother in-law so i wont let him know anything about it until it gets delivered to him, i am sure he will be more than happy with it.i don't have access to my bank account online as i don't have internet banking, but i can pay from my paypal account, as i have my bank a/c attached to it,I don't mind paying additional $50 for it in order for you to take the ad down from craigslist and also to be assured that it is already mine.i will need you to give me your paypal email address so i can make the payments asap for the item and pls if you don't have paypal account yet, it is very easy to set up, go to www.paypal.com and get it set up, after you have set it up i will only need the e-mail address you used for the registration with paypal so as to put the money through. I have a pick up agent that will come and pick it up after i have made the payments

Although I laughed right out loud when I got to the section about his military "mission," I began to feel a bit queasy in my gut after finishing the e-mail in its entirety. Instinct. This is a bloody scam! I quickly googled paypal scams on Craigslist & a bunch of stories came up with similar e-mails, almost worded identical to this genius'. I knew it! I should no doubt be Sherlock Holmes for Halloween. Get myself a little pipe. That would be awesome. So we'll see if he e-mails back. I'd love to see his response.

But in the meantime...

Are you freaking kidding me? Do I sound like a moron? Do I seem to be without cognitive function in these e-mails? Who gets away with this kind of crap? I'm kind of a smart A if you haven't quite caught on... & this tends to reflect in my writing... hm... a lot. But, I tried to hide my sarcasm enveloping it in a smidge of fluffy patronization so he wouldn't get too upset & become all... you know... Craigslist stalker crazy. My response:

Sorry, but as stated, I will only accept cash. If you'd like to paypal (put in italics for subtle sarcastic emphasis) your "agent" the money, they could bring the cash when they pick up the item... otherwise... hopefully you can find what you're looking for for your brother-in-law.

Best of luck...

The fact of the matter is I've had more luck posting my things on my blog anyway. {Thanks Kimberly!} Couches sold thanks to Miscellaneous. Hopefully so will our beautiful entertainment center.

{Sigh of relief.} At least I didn't get suckered this time. And this is a kind word to the wise for the rest of you. Beware of crack-a-loos with deplorable grammar.