Toronto Photography Meetup Group

What is wrong with this ad?

http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/pho/3034157050.html

Nikon Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto 24-70 mm f/2.8G USM Autofocus Lens - LIKE NEW IN THE BOX.

Was not used that much as I use 35 mm 1.8G my D7000 (THAT LENS SUITES ALL MY NEEDS).

Under the warranty. Very sharp copy. Comes in the box with hood, both caps, pouch and all packaging.

Receipt is provided. Looking for $599.

Available if is still posted.

Please leave your tel number for a quick response.

probably a typo, he might've meant $1599. I see $1599 on the title

USM for Nikon?

Could be ignorance. I've seen people post Canon lenses with VR or OS. Keeping all the acronyms straight is a challenge for some. Though, I think you're right, this sort of thing should raise a warning flag.

I saw a similar one yesterday morning in which the seller asks for $2000 for an used D3X AND 24-70 f/2.8G.
After I forwarded the link to a friend, he said the ad was gone. Exercise common sense...

hehe check this out: http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/rds/p ... 36335.html

If you are selling something and get a reply with a girl's name as the "outgoing email name" and they ask you about things you already listed in the ad and mention paypal accounts and offer you to pay shipping etc.... yeah thats a scam.

They actually go out of their way by adding signatures like "Sent from my Blackberry" etc bs!

I sell on KJ/CL a lot and I have reported a lot of these monkeys already, very easy to spot.

Anyone who mentions PayPal or shipping is most certainly a scam.

I have a new habit when I see this: I save the email and for the next person who tries this on me, I tell them I'm buying/selling for a friend and copy and paste the first scammer's email and tell the second person to contact the first person directly. Delete the first email, and the second person is next in line. Funniest is when the first scammer actually tries to "work" the second one and the second one emails back swearing and cursing at me A friend said I was doing a "scamception"-- get one scammer to work another scammer. lol

I can't always be bothered with this, but sometimes when I'm bored...

^ I am totally doing it ! Will take it out on these lowballers !

How about this one

http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/phd/3042188101.html in Toronto $1900

similar but in Minneapolis / St. Paul for $2500

http://minneapolis.backpage.com/Electro ... ck/7680234

Wow, how did you even find that match??

Hi

I just google the description and found a match. LOL

There are a few more on craiglist right now. Just watch out.

http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/yrk/ele/3045664110.html

http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/phd/3044879722.html

There is one guy that always post as -By Dealer (instead of -By Owner) with ridiculously low prices.

The item description usually says:

Canon 5D mk2 for sale with box, excellent condition.
$1000

And doesn't put any information on where he is, how he wants to be contacted, and you email him, you get a guy saying he's out of the country and wants to ship it to you.

just tell him you'll pay upon receipt

'Under the warranty. Very sharp copy. " Who talks like that? Someone who's trying to scam you who knows nothing about cameras.

I just had one today I was leery about for an Olympus OM-D E-M5.

First the ad was changed from last week to this week with a $50 price drop and the comment that the buyer dropped out. With the new ad the address had changed from a commercial address on Bloor St. West, to Fairview Mall (he says he travels around the city a lot, maybe he has one of those carts that is in one mall one week, and another next week).

Second warning, he says he's not in a hurry, but when I say I'm interested and have to go to the bank he wants to meet me in front of the bank the next morning.

Third warning, he wants to check out my current E-M5 (which has a different material on the casing) because he wanted to compare them, even though he wants to buy a Nikon d800 and that's why he's selling the E-M5. (I was concerned he was going to grab the cash and both cameras.)

With all that, I gambled and still went through with the transaction, even though I remember reading about people buying almost new computers over Craigslist & Kijiji, and they never bothered to look in the box to see if there was a computer in it.

Additional ways to protect yourself, besides saving all text and email messages, when you get the money you intend to give them photograph the serial numbers so you at least have proof for the police that that cash was in your hands BEFORE the transaction, in case things go sour.

Look in the box to make sure the device is actually inside, test it out if you can (in my case he insisted).

If all seems well, then hand over the cash (I had it in an envelope), but hang onto the merchandise (but don't make it look like you're going to run off with it before they finish counting the cash but keep it in your control).

All turned out well for me as I now have the silver version of the Olympus E-M5 (which is impossible to get).

You get ads that look like scams, but it could just be inexperience, or enthusiasm.

I haven't had a bad experience yet, having bought a Mac laptop, synthesizers, lens, and now a camera. It's funny though I'm getting less comfortable rather than more with every transaction....maybe because the world is going downhill.

Apparently you can get a Leica M9 for $2500-$3000 ...

Two ads in two different countries are the same....

http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/pho/3311752155.html

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/werringt ... 1007284214

im a bit hesitant to purchase any expensive lens on kijiji or craigslist. I joined tpmg to purchase photography gear off members instead. It just seems more legit

You'll find the people on here post the lenses they offer here on those sites as well.

I read an article where they explained why the grammar and details are so bad in the ads. It is the first step to weed out the smart people. They don't want to waste time and effort on the smart people and only want to deal with the stupid people because that is their target audience. The majority of us can spot these ads a mile away and won't bother with it but those that are gullible enough to think they can score a brand new Canon 5D Mk3 for $1000 are who they are after.

There's a MkIII for $1K?! Awesome! Where?

And huh, interesting. Makes sense. I assumed it was an ESL issue. That sounds racist but it's not how I mean it.

That's an interesting theory, but I don't think the scammers are as complicated as that. I'm with ions-- it's more likely either an actual language barrier, either ethnic or uneducated. Are there really that many stupid people out there who still haven't heard of scams?

If your language is up to par wouldn't it be better to cast your net wider by sounding legitimate at first, and then... oh oops I've got to make an emergency trip out of town to visit my dead uncle in Uganda before he dies some more, I brought the camera with me and have to ship it, but here's a legitimate (fake) address in Toronto you can check, but no one is home because I'm visiting my uncle so you can't pick it up.

Casting a wide net just wastes too much time. This is the same reason why companies do target marketing rather than just blanket the city with flyers. We look at these ads and laugh at how incredibly stupid they look but the criminal enterprise is pretty clever at parting a fool and his/her money.

I've read the same vkhamphi.

I believe the article said it also helps the people who fall for these scams feel more comfortable and trust the scammers because it's how they themselves talk. Trust in familiarity.

And the scammers definitely don't want to deal with "smarter" people as they know the laws whereas the "dumber" people won't know how to press charges or feel too stupid to press charges.

I saw a D3x for $1500. Brand new. suspicious package..