Meet me in the alley behind the Sears with $200 cash would not be good either.
yeah thats true. I started a little craigslist business for myself to make a little money while going to college. I have bought and sold over 200 things on craigslist and haven't had any problems yet (knock on wood). Here are the steps I use to keep from getting scammed.
1.) CASH ONLY. I never take a check or anything. If they want I will go to their bank so they can cash it and then give me the cash.
2.) PICKUP IN PERSON ONLY. I never ship anything or use shipping companies. If they want it they have to be there to get it. I will usually hold an item if they
3.) MEET IN A PUBLIC AREA. I usually meet at a gas station as it tends to always have other people around. The only acception is if the items are big then I have them come to the house.
4.) MEET AT A REASONABLE TIME.I also dont change the meeting place at the last second. I only meet when the gas stations are open and dont really like after 8 pm. I also would never believe someone couldn't make it there because they broke down so could I meet "here" instead.
5.) ONLY GIVE THE ITEM IF YOU HAVE BEEN PAID IN FULL. I dont take payments on an item unless they understand I keep the item until they are fully paid up.
6.) If you dont feel comfortable or think something is a scam, dont go for it. trust your gut. Most of the amazing deals that are hard to believe are fake so dont always believe what they say. When buying stuff do your homework. (But sometimes the people dont know what they have at it still may be a really great deal)
7.) When buying stuff I still dont want them to ship it to me. If its not posted in the area I searched then its probably fake.
These are the simple rules I go by and I havent had problems yet, So go by these and your 99.99% sure to have a safe transaction