Posted: 10/19/2009 5:34:31 AM EDT
| OK. I am selling a guitar via craigslist, and I have a potential buyer who wants to send cash via western union, and I told him I will not ship the guitar until I have cash in hand. Now craigslist says that if they want you to wire funds via western union, than they are a scammer. But I am a little ignorant of how Western union works. Since he is sending ME money via western union, what are my risks? I will not be giving out any financial info to him period, and if he comes back with an overseas address, or sends me an email giving me a link on where to go, then I will tell him to take a hike. What are arfcom's thoughts? Is there potential risk involved by RECEIVING cash through western union? Should I tell him to take a hike NOW? Thanks for any help. |
| If he holds the item until the WU deal is done and he actually has cash in hand, whats the problem? When you receive, dont you actually go to the WU office and get cash or a money order? Obama voters and street people who dont even have bank accounts use WU all the time for bail money and other emergencies. |
|
WU has an option for "No ID"
Have the guy send you the money - BTW your name is now "Jake Dingleberry" Have him send it to Jake Dingleberry and add a password to the transmission, also make sure he notes when sending that you have no ID. Have him give you the MTCN (Money transfer control number) Go to your local grocery store, fill out the form, tell them you have no ID, give them the password and MTCN. They will pay out. ***possible Holes in this plan*** Grocery stores have limited cash to pay out on WU transfers. If they are short on cash they might give you a check payable to Jake Dingleberry (which you would have trouble depositing to your bank) and tell you to have a nice day. If they have sufficient money, sign the check "Jake Dingleberry" (make sure to dot the "I" in Dingleberry with a turd) and walk away with the money. BTW: How much money are we talking about? |
|
Quoted:
If he holds the item until the WU deal is done and he actually has cash in hand, whats the problem? When you receive, dont you actually go to the WU office and get cash or a money order? Obama voters and street people who dont even have bank accounts use WU all the time for bail money and other emergencies. This is my thought. Does Western Union give me cash or a money order? I will not take a MO, even from western union. I need cold hard cash. If they give me cash, and I do not ship the item until I have cash in hand, then I am having trouble seeing the risk, but my spider sense is going off a little bit, so hence the post. It is about $225. Again if it is not a US mailing address, I will tell him to take a hike. In my last correspondence with him, which was a few minutes ago, I told him I would only ship to the U.S. So if I don't hear back from him, it was likely a scammer. |
| I did an Ebay deal and the guy payed via Western Union and he was in Europe. I got the funds in cash, as I recall, and mailed the item off to him. It was only for $35 or so and the WU guy seemed surprised at the amount being so small. Call your local WU office and ask them if any transfered funds is given in m.o form or cash and see what they say. |
|
Quoted:
I did an Ebay deal and the guy payed via Western Union and he was in Europe. I got the funds in cash, as I recall, and mailed the item off to him. It was only for $35 or so and the WU guy seemed surprised at the amount being so small. Call your local WU office and ask them if any transfered funds is given in m.o form or cash and see what they say. Most issue a WU check (not money order)... but a lot of the locations will cash the check for you. |
|
My wife and I have sold a good bit on craigslist. Even high dollar stuff like a $10,000 dining room table (please don't ask, she almost cried when she sold it) and smaller stuff like a $35 futon, $40 TV....etc..., and every once in a while we get the:
"please to send me these item and you can achieve payment from me on certified check payment for those item you have i very much would be pleased to have soon" kind of crap. Go with cash in hand every single time. And don't ever let your wife/girlfriend meet the buyer at home alone kind of thing. I am at every transaction and CCW is under the shirt at all times. I also usually keep the items for sale in the garage so they do not even come into my house. |
|
One more little item to add. He is having me ship this to an APO. So does this definitely mean that he is in the military? This would be an Army Post Office. Am I correct in assuming that a non US citizen civilian would not be able to gain access to an item shipped via APO? Does this send up any red flags for anyone?
He types in perfect english, so it's not readily apparent that he is some nigerian, but in reading his emails there are no red flags going up for me there. |
|
Quoted:
Lemme guess, he wants to wire you more money than you're asking and have you send the excess back to him? I'd let that one go. Wait for someone to contact you who wants to meet you in person with cash in hand. No. Not at all. He has not asked for me to send him more money. I told him I would only accept cash, he says the only way he can get me cash is through western union, I told him I would not ship the guitar until I had cash in hand, and it seems like he is being just as cautious with me as I am with him. There have been no major red flags YET. But my original question is can I still get screwed on the transaction through western union, when I am on the receiving end of the dough? There is absolutely nothing being asked for at this point other than me shipping him the guitar to an APO address, after I have cash on hand. I am still being very cautious, but as I said, there have been no major red flags yet. |