Weeding out scammers

Mt Airgunner said:

This is over hashed I know but maybe you selling veterans can chime in on ways you weed out scammers. I have an LCS up on multiple boards right now. Ignoring the fact you may not want it, I’m getting almost exclusively interest that seems scammy. Examples include “Hello
I’m interested in getting your item
Is it still available?” “I’m an oceanographer at sea right now…..”. Basically all BS. I am trying not to be rude or miss real buyers but not waste my time typing reply’s to scammers. How do you all weed out? It seems any real people will offer something. “I’ve been dreaming about that sk-19. Does it really vaporize a watermelon?” Kind of thing. Emails asking about price or shipping first with no shooting talk seems like obvious BS.

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Stay with shooting or Airgun related boards and don’t use email for initial contact but instead use forum PM. A large number of scammers won’t go to the effort of creating an account and the next group won’t have enough real forum posts to pass the sniff test…

The downside is of course less eyeballs seeing or replying to your post but I think that’s an ok trade off versus the alternative of getting scammed.

Good luck!
-Marty

PS. Many scammers are like door to door sales men or cold callers. They know that after a certain number of times at bat they will get a hit so it’s important for them to maximize the number of victims they can email quickly. Anything you can do to make it difficult for them to contact you reduces their efficiency making it not worth it.

I recently sold an airgun to a guy I didn't know. I had it on eBay and was not going to get what I needed for it after all of the fees. A buyer luckily messaged me about it, so I took it down and gave the person my cell number, photocopy of my DL, photo of myself with the gun, etc. We used Zelle, which is a verified/safe money transfer app linked to both of our personal bank accounts because my PayPal isn't established enough to receive the instant payment. I would've waited a week or so for my money. Worked out beautifully. I got my money right away and shipped it the next morning. Buyer got the rifle in just 2 days. Always call the person and talk to them! Ask for multiple pictures and proof of ownership like receipts, etc. That always cuts the crap. Good, honest sellers have nothing to hide and will not hesitate to talk/answer any questions you have. Get or make a payment that's protected through your bank or PayPal only!

Mt Airgunner said:

This is over hashed I know but maybe you selling veterans can chime in on ways you weed out scammers. I have an LCS up on multiple boards right now. Ignoring the fact you may not want it, I’m getting almost exclusively interest that seems scammy. Examples include “Hello
I’m interested in getting your item
Is it still available?” “I’m an oceanographer at sea right now…..”. Basically all BS. I am trying not to be rude or miss real buyers but not waste my time typing reply’s to scammers. How do you all weed out? It seems any real people will offer something. “I’ve been dreaming about that sk-19. Does it really vaporize a watermelon?” Kind of thing. Emails asking about price or shipping first with no shooting talk seems like obvious BS.

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I have to say that the last part of your comment (“I’ve been dreaming about that sk-19. Does it really vaporize a watermelon?” Kind of thing. Emails asking about price or shipping first with no shooting talk seems like obvious BS”) makes no sense to me.

I have bought and sold a fair amount here on AGN (not to mention Photo equipment of eBay). Many of the sales I have made involved an initial PM saying something along the lines of “Hi, interested in the …”. If the person “knows” me, i.e. we have talked before, or done a deal before, they’ll simply say “Hey Chris, I’ll take the XXX”. Sometimes they will ask how much it will cost to ship to Washington, or New Mexico, etc. If it has been up for a while they will ask if its still available. Occasionally they will make me an offer different than my asking price. I almost never get emails with “shooting talk” to start with.

I will also say that generally my response to sellers that have something I want to buy is usually pretty businesslike, unless I “know” the person.

Its easy to overthink things here on AGN. Do your research into the person, check out their reputation, presence here on the forum, their posting frequency and what they say and you’ll get a decent idea of who you are dealing with. Its not perfect, but nothing is.

I’ve never tried (or had it tried on me) the “I’m an oceanographer at sea right now” approach though

Chris

Here's my go to summary of spotting scammers:
- If it sounds too good to be true - it probably is.
- If something seems fishy or off - it probably is.
Go with your instincts.

I haven't bought an airgun in several years, but I bought just under 500 from 2007-2009 and never got scammed.
I like to get the guy on the phone.