How stupid do "they" think "we" are?

Parent Cafe
1

So this just happened and I can’t stop laughing! File it under “How STUPID do you think we are??” My personal motto is “Don’t mess with me”

Background for reference - I’m currently selling my dining room table and chairs, and among others I have listed them on my local craigslist site…Let the crazies come forth.

I received a message via text regarding the sale, and this is our EXACT exchange -

Them: Are the stuff still available?

Me: Yes the table and chairs are still available -

Them: Can you accept payment by mailing a cashiers check and will wait till it clears your bank before pick up?

Me: My credit union will only allow deposits of cashiers check for double the amount I am asking for the table and chairs ($1200) or more. I can give you back the extra.

Them: I don’t understand you - How much is the item you wanna sell for me ?

Me: The table/chairs is $600 - my credit union will only take a cashiers check for $1200 or more - I would have to give you $ back

Them: Okay. I will need to contact the moving company to know how much they will charge me for the pick up. So I can add it to the check. I will get back to you shortly

Them: Hello?

Me: Hello! ?

Them: I will write you a check with full amount of $1,850

Me: Sure go ahead

Them: You deduct your payment and give the movers the rest when they come for the pick up. You okay with that?

Them: I can only have the check mail on Thursday that’s when I’m going into town. Am a farmer

Me: Yes - mail the check to 1 Civic Center Plaza, Irvine CA 92606 - that’s my business address - I’m a Deputy Sheriff - Joe Mattaratz - I’m trustworthy - just like you. Looking forward to completing the sale.

Them: Please let me know

Me: Yes I’ll let you know when I get the check -

Them: I will need your name to write on the check

Me: Joe Mattaratz

Them: Okay
Back to Me - number blocked. And I’m still laughing - most fun I’ve had in a 20 minute time frame in a long time!

2

Oh heavens. Good luck selling that DR set! Do you have a FB neighborhood group…or NextDoor? Or just post for sale to your friends on FB. I’ve given up on Craigslist.

3

Yes, I now am officially off craigslist - but I did have fun!

4

I have used the apps LetGo and OfferUp to sell items in the past. Buyers and sellers are rated and verified which takes some of the “mystery” of who you are dealing with out of the equation. I no longer use Craig’s List or Facebook.

5

I’m behind here. I thought Cashier Checks would be safe. Where I worked this past year, they are still a gold standard for secure payment. Have to use them or money order for some payments. Won’t take personal check, credit/debit cards or cash.

6

Cashier’s checks can be faked just like anything else.

7

Cashier’s checks can be forged. They would only be safe if you could cash them at the issuing bank which can verify that they are real on the spot. Forged cashier’s checks from out-of-area banks (where it may take a few days before they get returned as forged) are what scammers use.

8

@cptofthehouse - A Typical Cashier’s Check Scam
The most common cashier’s check scam goes something like this: A “buyer” wants to purchase a product and will use a cashier’s check. For whatever reason, the buyer has a check issued for an amount in excess of the purchase price. Still, the buyer wants the seller to “just go ahead” and deposit the check. Finally, the buyer requests that the seller return the excess money, typically in cash, by wire transfer, or via Western Union. The return payment might go directly back to the buyer or to a third party. How cashier’s checks bounce: These scams work because everybody believes that cashier’s checks are safe. If the bank lets you take cash, the check must be good, right? Unfortunately, your bank assumes that the check will be good, but the responsibility for the deposit is ultimately yours.

If you use that money (to send it to a “shipper,” for example), you may have to replace the funds. Once your bank finds out that the check is bogus, the deposit will be reversed—which could leave you with a negative account balance. With an empty bank account, you’ll end up bouncing checks and missing other important payments. What’s more, victims of these scams can lose hundreds or thousands of dollars.
https://www.thebalance.com/cashier-s-check-fraud-315795

9

I’ve been buying and selling on Craigslist for years. I have the standard boilerplate language in my ads about scams and nonsense, including the following:

"PLEASE DO NOT ASK IF THE ITEM IS AVAILABLE. IF THE AD IS STILL UP/HERE, THEN IT’S STILL AVAILABLE. AD WILL BE DELETED AFTER SALE. ALL RESPONSES TO THIS AD ASKING IF THE ITEM IS STILL AVAILABLE WILL BE DELETED.

Craiglist is strictly cash and carry for me. No checks of any kind. More boilerplate lingo:

“IF YOU DON’T HAVE THE CASH, THEN DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS AD.”

I’ve had very little to no problems over the years.

10

Fortunately @sushiritto understands the concepts of singular/plural and subject/verb agreement. I would have hit the delete button after “Are the stuff still available?”

11

Where I’d been working , that’s standard language.

I don’t think the idea that cashier checks can be forged and not immediately caught by the bank when deposited has hit there either. And Im back there with them regarding the cashier checks. Had to use them for the first time in many years while there early this year

12

You wouldn’t be selling a lot on Craigslist then, @skieurope, if you blew off every inquiry with a spelling or grammatical error. :smiley:

13

Ya, well, deletions are also subject to the type of item up for sale, but I don’t put that in my ad. :lol:

If I’m selling some used wheels and tires for $200, then I’ll put up with the bad grammar/English. I’m certainly not an English professor. However, if I’m selling a $60,000 Porsche, then “Are the stuff available?” is a strong clue that the “buyer” probably can’t afford the Porsche.

14

I’m OK with that. I would want my cherished tchotchkes going to a good home where proper rules of grammar are celebrated. :grin:

15

@sushiritto - but then all my fun for today would be missed! :wink:
For the record, my ad does include “if the ad is up, the item is available” and I also have a “don’t ever try to scam a scammer” clause.

16

The the OP is the one who suggested doubling the sale price with a refund so that the check would be accepted by her bank.

(although the buyer then wanted to add in the shipping cost) The buyer also agreed to wait until the cashier’s check had cleared the seller’s bank - 5 days? 10 days?

Where is the scam in taking a cashier’s check and waiting until it clears before releasing the table set or paying the shipper?

The grammar mistakes may be from a non-English speaker.

17

Cashiers checks are so 1900’s. Folks today use Venmo, PayPal, Zelle. etc. They also have dispute resolution. But cash is always best.

18

The scam, which I did not immediately catch is that apparently cashier’s checks “clear” the banks quickly so you can get quick it immediate access to the proceeds. But then if that cashier’s check is fraudulent, which it is, in these scams, your bank holds you responsible for the funds. If you have given up the goods and paid back any excess money, since the checks are in excess of the charge, you are out that amount as well as the check amount and all the bank fees that happen when you deposit a bad check.

I, like, apparently many others, assumed, that these days, the banks can verify a cashier’s check immediately, and that they do, since they will release those funds so quickly unlike personal checks. This is news to me that they are allowing customers to cash unverified checks because they are cashier’s checks, fake ones.

19

This scam has been going on for years. I was selling a Hooker desk and hutch 10 years ago and I got several of those calls, almost verbatim to what @JustaMom said. I told them I was blond, not stupid.

20

You would think the banks would change that policy!