So what's the scam here?

[Doug Miller]

Spotted an ad on Craigslist for a power saw that I might be interested in

but ad doesn't give any details. It's clearly a DeWalt sliding compound miter saw, but what size?

So I emailed the seller for more information, and this exchange ensued.

Me: What is the model number on this saw? Also, are you on West 71st or East

71st? Him: West 71st and DW703 it's a double insulated miter saw type 3 5000 rpm [Note: photo is not of a DW703 -- I know. I own a DW703. The saw in the photo is clearly a sliding compound miter saw, but the DW703 is fixed.]

Me: Could I come look at that sometime Wednesday afternoon or evening? Him: Yea Wednesday around 11 I cold [sic] meet you somewhere

[What part of "afternoon or evening" did he find confusing?]

Me: I won't be available until some time in the afternoon, probably after 1pm. Does any time after that work for you? Him: How about around 3? Me: That would be great. Where do I meet you to look at the saw? Him: Where could you? Do you have a phone number I can txt?

[Beginning to smell a rat here. Maybe he won't give his address because he's afraid of being robbed -- but why does he want my phone number?]

Me: Just email, sorry. Pretty much anywhere on the NW side would work for me, I guess. You said you're on West 71st St, right? Anywhere near Georgetown Road? Him: Yea, do you wanna meet me by the Kroger on 71st and Georgetown tomorrow around

2:30-3:00 [Odor of rat is becoming more pronounced]

Me: Well, I think I want to look at it some place where I can plug it in and verify that it works Him: Well I can guarantee it does.

[Rat stench nearly overpowering now]

Me: That's fine -- but I still want to plug it in and see for myself.

[many hours have passed with no response]

So what do you figure is the scam here? Since he proposed meeting in a public place, it's probably not anything so crude as a strong-arm robbery -- but he obviously doesn't want me plugging the saw into an outlet. And why does the model number so obviously not match the photograph? I'm thinking he shows up with a DeWalt box, taped shut, doesn't want me to open it... and when I do, I'll find a couple of cinder blocks.

[Smarty]

Could be stolen, could be defective, could be both.....

Why waste your time with this type of seller?

Move on.....nothing to see here.

[Home Guy]

Ask him to e-mail you another picture of the saw.

Then submit the .jpg picture to any one of a number of on-line websites that will show you the meta-data (if any) contained in the file. Might tell you the coordinates where the picture was taken.

Would at least confirm the type of saw.

He stole the saw from a work site, and he's nervous about unloading it and getting caught.

[Jason Bourne]

saw, but what

is clearly a

Does any time

verify that it works

place, it's

Most grocery stores have a lobby area in the front where they store/charge the handicap electric go carts. There are usually several heavy duty outlets along the wall there.

I sell stuff at the Kroger near my house all the time and just plug stuff in to them. Sold a circular saw there once-- people really jumped from the noise when the buyer plugged it in and cranked it up!

[trader4]

iter saw, but what

hoto is clearly a

1pm. Does any time

e's afraid of

me, I guess.

and verify that it works

blic place, it's

y doesn't want

d shut, doesn't

I would not completely discount the robbery idea. They might know that one are of the parking lots isn't under camera surveilance. Or they might call you at the last minute and try to change the meeting place...... It's hard to imagine anyone would be dumb enough to buy it with it in a box. I guess that leaves the possibility that it has a bad motor. But as you point out, it's very suspicious that the guy has misidentified the model. If he actually has it, he should know. It's also possible the saw works, but it's hot so he can't invite you over to try it out and doesn't know a place where it can be plugged in. All in all, this stinks and I'd just walk for sure. For example, even if it runs, maybe it craps out after 10 mins......

An interesting question to ask if you have any more contact is if the photo is of the actual saw. A long time ago I saw an ad on Ebay for original alloy wheels for late 70s Mercedes. The guy had a pic of a nice looking wheel and had 4 for sale that he described as in "like new" condition. I asked if they had any dings, curb rash, scrapes, etc. He said no.

After I had bought them, he then said he couldn't send them for a couple weeks because they were on a car. I then got suspicous that the pic was not of one of the wheels. I guess I should have been tipped off by the fact that he only had a pic of one, not 4. So, I start asking him more about the condition and he tells me they are indeed "like new". In his words: "twenty five years old, like new". Some elbow work on your part is all that's needed.

So then I did everything I could to get the imbecile to not ship them. They were covered by Ebay fraud for the purchase price, but not the shipping. And to ship them from CT to NJ wasn't going to be cheap. He refused and quickly resorted to vulgarity. I sent all the emails and my position to Ebay, they got an arbitrator involved. I think he did his best to reason with the guy, but it did no good. It took almost a month, but they finally showed up. They were all in poor condition, full of dings, scrapes, dirty.... They were far worse than the ones I was seeking to replace. None of them was the one in the pic, you could tell for sure because these all had wheel weights on them. And to ship them, he just put two of them to a falling apart cardboard box. Then he threw a couple pages of newspaper in. Not even crumpled paper, just a few sheets on the top. The boxes had holes, were in such bad shape, that I'm amazed that UPS accepted them.

Out of the $180 or so total I paid I wound up getting all but about $30 which was the shipping cost back after I filed an actual fraud complaint with Ebay. It's the only time I was scammed on Ebay and I learned from it.

[Keith Nuttle]

Many image processing programs like the free Irfanview can read the meta data in a JPG. Sounds like using the meta data would be a good idea.

[Puckdropper]

Keith Nuttle wrote in news:khq1ml$vnc$1 @speranza.aioe.org:

Windows can do it too. Just right click on the file, select "Properties" and look at the Details tab.

Puckdropper

[nestork]

Most likely there's no scam at all. Most likely the same thoughts that are running through your head about scams and robberies are running through the seller's head too, and that's why he's getting cold feet just like you are.

I would take a drive past your local police station and look for electric outlets on the outside of the building. Go in and talk to the captain and explain your situation. You'll be carrying $250 in cash with you and you're meeting a total stranger to exchange it for a saw of unknown history. The captain should understand your concerns. After all, the seller could show up with two big friends, take your money and drive off with the saw.

In my own personal experience with the police in Winnipeg, they're just a bunch of a$$holes. So, you might want to take a drive past some fire stations, too, as an alternative meeting place.

Offer to meet at the police station at an agreed time. If the saw is stolen or he's wanted, then he won't want to meet there, and you'd be better off to walk away from the deal. But, someone who legitimately owns the saw and wants to sell it won't have any concerns about meeting at a police station.

During the meeting, note the license plate number of the vehicle he's driving so that if the saw ends up being stolen, you have a way for the police to contact the seller.

But, if he agrees to meet you at a police station, you can be fairly confident that the saw isn't stolen and that you're not dealing with a crook.

[Keith Nuttle]

We lived north of there, near 86th and Michigan Road. The fact that he wanted to meet in that area would be more than enough to drop that saw. In my opinion that area has been going down hill for some time, and for us is definitely a pass through area where you do not stop.

[Keith Nuttle]

That must be something that was added after Windows XP

[gpsman]

What difference could that make? I don't even bother with ads without phone numbers anymore. Actually, I don't even bother much with Craigslist anymore.

Cincinnati is flake/scammer/spammer/dealers posing as owners city, and there's no way Craigslist could possibly police all the nitwits unless they start charging. -----

- gpsman

[Jon Danniken]

DeWalt sliding compound miter saw, but what

[snip]

Craigslist if full of idiots who have no concept of basic human interaction and protocol. In a situation like the one you presented, I just write it off as an idiot, and cease wasting my time.

Are they idiots or scammers? I don't know, and I don't care, it just isn't worth my time to find out.

As an aside, I recently asked a few laptop sellers on craigslist some questions. A lot of them don't include the model number, and when you ask them for this information, it does like this:

Me: What model of laptop is this? Seller: It is a Dell Latitude

This is with a laptop that is already described as being a Dell Latitude, and it goes on and on like this.

The bottom line is that unless it is an item worth dealing with an idiot over, cut your losses and move on; life is too short.

Jon

[Jon Danniken]

That's funny, because I don't give my phone number out to anyone on craigslist, nor do I call anyone. If a person is unable to compose a proper message to communicate with me, they just aren't worth my time.

Even worse are the texting idiots, who are unable to compose any response other than "TEXT ME DUDE 541-555-1234". Those idiots don't even deserve a response.

Jon

[Jason Bourne]

Pity you live in the disarmed nation of Canada. If you lived in most places in the US, you could put your handgun in its holster and wear it on your belt in plain view-- or if your state required concealment, throw on a jacket. Let it swing open a little though when you greet the guy.

You could also put a shotgun in your pickup's gun rack and just stand beside the truck when you talk.

I'll tell you though, my philosophy is to never go someplace with a gun that you'd feel uncomfortable going without one. If I was you, I'd just walk away from this deal...

[Jason Bourne]

I have a throw-away prepay cell phone that I activated on the PagePlus Cellular MVNO network for craigslist and similar contact. I bought the phone for $15 on Ebay and PagePlus's $10 Standard Plan offers 100 minutes good for 120 days. You need to refill before the minutes expire and unused ones roll over to the next 120 day period. For $2.50 a month, you don't have to give out your real numbers.

I make cell phone number trading mandatory at the point a meet-up time and meeting is established. That way, if he's late, you can call him-- or he can call you if he's running late.

[Richard]

For XP: Properties/Summary/Advanced

But cameras don't normally have GPS. And cell phones may have it disabled.

[Jon Danniken]

Firefox has a number of EXIF viewers for images encountered in the browser.

Jon

[Jon Danniken]

If I was engaged in a business that relied on using Craigslist I would probably do something like this, but I am not. So for me, filtering out the illiterate and/or impatient individuals from my interactions keeps my Craigslist experience a positive one.

Jon

[Keith Nuttle]

That only provides part of the EXIF information in the jpg image

[mungedaddress]

saw, but what

is clearly a

Does any time

verify that it works

place, it's