Illiteracy or Scam?

[3Miro]

Recently I got into the habit of keeping an eye on craigslist computer deals. You can get pretty good ones every now and then. For over a month now, I have been seeing this posting coming up repeatedly:

http://tallahassee.craigslist.org/sys/2504540742.html

The price of $900 is ridiculous for a Pentium D, 1GB DDR2 533 RAM. I would put this at $200 tops (with the monitor).

Do you guys think this is a scam or simply someone tech-illiterate? And I guess a better question would be should I do something about it.

If it is a scam, it isn't a very good one since nobody has bought the machine yet.

If it is someone unskilled, then would it be OK to give a friendly advice that the price is way too high? I guess the question also extends to a more general setting, not necessarily for this post alone.

[drawkcab]

I've seen companies trying to run a similar scam where they buy ancient hardware and sell it as if it were new. They usually send out mailers targeting older, less tech-savvy folks like my parents.

[3Miro]

The guy claims to have bought it on eBay couple of years ago, so I am thinking this is probably a scam (if you shop and compare things on eBay you will see that it costs much less).

Too bad this isn't illegal so I am not sure if there is anything we can do.

[drawkcab]

flag his post, maybe others will join in?

[IWantFroyo]

It's a scam. Emailing the guy is the most you can do, however.

[3Miro]

flag his post, maybe others will join in?

The only flags that I can give are: wrong category, prohibited (I guess illegal to sell like stolen stuff), spam/overpost (multiple posts), best of craigslist. There is nothing about a scam.

[wewantutopia]

Perhaps it's a typo and it's meant to say $90

*nevermind* just saw it is $895

[3Miro]

Perhaps it's a typo and it's meant to say $90

That's what I thought the first time, but this add has been reposted several time for over a month.

[koenn]

scams are not prohibited on craiglist ?


not saying it's necessarily a scam, though. Maybe it's just one of those people that thinks the computer is still worth approximately what it cost way back when it first hit the market, and doesn't realize how a PC's market value drops as newer/faster/better machines hit the market.

[Legendary_Bibo]

The only person that would be tech illiterate is the person buying the computer.

Also, if he gives them the computer in working order after they pay his absurd price then it is not a scam.

[3Miro]

@koenn: I don't see a way to report a scam. I don't think craigslist provides any sort of "protection" or cares about one. People are supposed to meet face to face and do the deal.

@Legendary_Bibo: it is legal to sell it, but I would still call this a scam (and I am assuming the seller is aware of the true value of the item). This is at least 4 times more than what the machine is actually worth. In many other cases there would be consumer protection laws that would prevent this kind of an abuse.

Maybe we should put a requirement for pre-build machines to state the year of manufacture. Just like cars would have Ford Focus 2001, the computers should have Dell Something 2005. Then people would be more aware. Unfortunately there is in Bluebook for computers and you cannot really make one even if you wanted to.

[koenn]

The only flags that I can give are: wrong category, prohibited (I guess illegal to sell like stolen stuff), spam/overpost (multiple posts), best of craigslist..


scams are not prohibited on craiglist ?

what I meant is : assuming craiglist doesn't condone scams, you'd flag a scam as "prohibited", no ?

[forrestcupp]

The guy claims to have bought it on eBay couple of years ago, so I am thinking this is probably a scam (if you shop and compare things on eBay you will see that it costs much less).

Too bad this isn't illegal so I am not sure if there is anything we can do.

I say it's not a scam. "A couple of years ago" could mean 5 or 6 years ago to some people. He probably bought it back when it may have cost a lot, and he doesn't realize that computers don't hold any value at all. My grandma has a very old Dell desktop that is probably Pentium II era. It's so slow and worthless it belongs in the trash. She just donated it to her church. She still thinks of it as a very valuable donation. This guy probably just wants to get out of it close to what he put into it, and he doesn't know any better.

No matter what, it's not illegal to put high prices on things you sell. If someone wants to pay that much, it's their own fault. The guy should learn his lesson when it never sells. My opinion is that if you see something priced higher than you like, just skip it and move on. Who cares?

[3Miro]

I say it's not a scam. "A couple of years ago" could mean 5 or 6 years ago to some people. He probably bought it back when it may have cost a lot, and he doesn't realize that computers don't hold any value at all. My grandma has a very old Dell desktop that is probably Pentium II era. It's so slow and worthless it belongs in the trash. She just donated it to her church. She still thinks of it as a very valuable donation. This guy probably just wants to get out of it close to what he put into it, and he doesn't know any better.

No matter what, it's not illegal to put high prices on things you sell. If someone wants to pay that much, it's their own fault. The guy should learn his lesson when it never sells. My opinion is that if you see something priced higher than you like, just skip it and move on. Who cares?

The guy claims he got the machine couple of years ago from eBay. Maybe he is lying just about that. Maybe he got scammed, but if you shop on eBay how can you not see all the cheaper deals?

I see your point about not caring, but assuming the guy is hones, would you say it is "nice" to send him a short e-mail with a short explanation? (also consider that this has been reposted several times)

[aaaantoine]

As long as it's not a p-p-p-powerbook, it's not a scam.

[Legendary_Bibo]

@koenn: I don't see a way to report a scam. I don't think craigslist provides any sort of "protection" or cares about one. People are supposed to meet face to face and do the deal.

@Legendary_Bibo: it is legal to sell it, but I would still call this a scam (and I am assuming the seller is aware of the true value of the item). This is at least 4 times more than what the machine is actually worth. In many other cases there would be consumer protection laws that would prevent this kind of an abuse.

Maybe we should put a requirement for pre-build machines to state the year of manufacture. Just like cars would have Ford Focus 2001, the computers should have Dell Something 2005. Then people would be more aware. Unfortunately there is in Bluebook for computers and you cannot really make one even if you wanted to.

It's not a scam. A scam is where you lie to someone for a money investment, and promise a large return or to become royalty or something. This is called being duped. The seller is always going to try to outsmart the buyer to maximize profits. Corporations do this too. It's not illegal. It's a battle of wits if you will.

[uRock]

scam
n : a fraudulent business scheme [syn: cozenage]
v : deprive of by deceit; "He swindled me out of my
inheritance"; "She defrauded the customers who trusted
her"; "the cashier gypped me when he gave me too little
change" [syn: victimize, swindle, rook, goldbrick,
nobble, diddle, bunco, defraud, mulct, gyp,
con]

[lisati]

Caveat emptor (play /ˌkævi.ɑːt ˈɛmptɔr/) is Latin for "Let the buyer beware".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caveat_emptor

[t0p]

If the OP really thinks this is something that needs sorting, he should indeed email the seller and politely suggest that the computer is overpriced. But I wouldn't get so worked up about it. The seller may repost this ad several times, with no interest shown, and he'll maybe figure out his boo-boo. Or maybe some clueless character will buy the thing. Either way, it's between the seller and potential customer. There's absolutely nothing wrong in selling stuff for more than it is worth (how else has Apple survived all these years?). That's how the "free market" works, ennit? This guy is offering to sell his old PC for $900. You'd think that anyone with a brain who wants to buy a computer will look at alternatives before handing over his spondoolicks.

I think the OP is maybe indulging in netcoppery (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Netcop). I think a live-and-let-live approach might be more appropriate in this situation.

[forrestcupp]

The guy claims he got the machine couple of years ago from eBay. Maybe he is lying just about that. Maybe he got scammed, but if you shop on eBay how can you not see all the cheaper deals?
My point was that loosely using the term "a couple of years ago" doesn't necessarily mean exactly two years ago. "A couple of years ago" to him, may mean 5 or 6 years ago when Pentium Ds just came out and it wouldn't necessarily be odd to see one on ebay for $900 or more for a whole system. To an older person, 5 years is nothing, and he may not realize that computers don't hold value. I know a lot of people like that.

This definitely appears to be not a scam, but some ignorant person needing money and hoping that he can get back what he invested in it. I may be wrong, but that's a pretty stupid way to go about scamming people. The odds of succeeding are pretty low, and there are a lot of much better and easier ways to succeed at scamming people.