Does this sound like a scam?

[skoro]

Possibly.

I'd offer to meet him with cash in hand. If he appears w/o the merchandise, then you'll know for certain. At that point, he should be reported to GB.

 

[ilbob]

Possibly.

I'd offer to meet him with cash in hand. If he appears w/o the merchandise, then you'll know for certain. At that point, he should be reported to GB.

Better to just call the cops and set up a sting if you really believe it is a scam. GB is not in a position to do anything at all about him.

 

[jrdolall]

As has been pointed out it is not at all uncommon for cashier checks and money orders to be fraudulent. There have been many instances where people buy RVs with a bank cashiers check and the check is no good so I can understand the waiting period on those items.
Refusing cash? I don't get that one. Maybe he is scared you are a convicted felon and wants some "proof" that you bought the guns?
I would politely, or maybe not so politely, refuse and then report the transaction to GB. Something smells for sure.

 

[HOOfan_1]

As has been pointed out it is not at all uncommon for cashier checks and money orders to be fraudulent. .

Either way, trading something of value for nothing, to a complete stranger is not a smart thing to go.

Someone may hand him a fraudulent money order and he gave away the gun for nothing...at the same time, the buyer could hand over a perfectly acceptable money order and get nothing for it.

Look out for #1

 

[MistWolf]

Not accepting cash in a face to face meeting is to keep the seller from being robbed after the transaction.

If the seller were shipping, the seller would wait until they had the monies in hand before sending the pistols out.

Best thing to do is contact the seller, voice your concerns and negotiate an exchange that is acceptable to both of you. Checking the seller's rating is a good idea. But do not ignore your spidey sense. If it's still tingling after it's all said & done, it's for a reason

 

[coloradokevin]

Not accepting cash in a face to face meeting is to keep the seller from being robbed after the transaction.

Also a legitimate and valid concern, and Craigslist robberies have become quite common in recent years.

Still, there's a way around this: Meet at the bank.

When I bought my truck the seller wanted cash. I didn't want to carry that much cash around with me, and told them that I'd be happy to give them cash if they met me at my bank. I walked up to the teller, got the cash, handed it to the seller at the counter, they handed me the keys/title, and we went on about our business. If the seller got robbed or lost the cash later it was not my problem.

 

[jmr40]

Refusing cash? I don't get that one.

Lots of very high quality counterfit cash out there too. I'm not certain this is a scam, but would proceed with extreme caution and try to work out an acceptable alternative. He wouldn't get the money unless I got the guns at the same time. There has to be another way.

 

[HOOfan_1]

Lots of very high quality counterfit cash out there too. I'm not certain this is a scam, but would proceed with extreme caution and try to work out an acceptable alternative.

If you sell a lot of stuff face to face...get a blacklight. The pen won't necessarily help you, because people will bleach the ink off of a $1 and print higher denominations on them.

http://www.cycleback.com/blacklight/currency.html

"One who deceives will always find those who allow themselves to be deceived" -Niccolo Machiavelli

 

[medalguy]

I just sold a pistol on GB and the ad clearly specified I accept POMO only. The buyer wanted to use Paypal and I told him I only accept POMO. He then sent me a Western Union money order, so I figured I had two choices: return the MO to the buyer, or cash it and wait for it to clear. Convenience store money orders are stolen all the time and I didn't want to wait another week for a POMO, so I deposited the MO and told the buyer he would have to wait a week for it to clear, per my bank.

Having said all this, it's easy to check a POMO by phone, or at any PO. Other money orders are quite often counterfeited or stolen and you won't know it for a week or more. However in the OP's case, I can't understand why he wouldn't take cash. Cash is always king, and the only option I can think of is that the seller might have been afraid the buyer would give him cash and then try to rob him. Unlikely but I can't think of anything else.

 

[coloradokevin]

Lots of very high quality counterfit cash out there too. I'm not certain this is a scam, but would proceed with extreme caution and try to work out an acceptable alternative. He wouldn't get the money unless I got the guns at the same time. There has to be another way.

Most counterfeit cash is pretty poorly done. Enough so that the odds of facing that as a seller of a gun on gun broker are minuscule. If the seller's rationale for not accepting cash is due to fears of receiving counterfeit money, then there's little you can do to convince this guy that you're giving him any legitimate means of payment.

In a past life I was a banker, and now I'm a LEO. If you handle money with any regularity it's pretty darn easy to spot counterfeit bills (often just by feeling them, and not even by looking at them).

In my opinion, if the seller is refusing cash because he's afraid of getting fake money, he's far too paranoid to be selling stuff on the Internet.

You can rationalize some of the seller's concerns, but not the fact that he won't accept cash for the product.

 

[rdhood]

someone wants a MO over cash? Wants you to wait after payment for MO to clear?

SCAM.

money exchanges for firearms are always difficult. At some point, one guy has cash and the other guy has firearm. There is always a chance for the exchange to go awry if either party is of a criminal mind. Nonetheless, YOU would be taking ALL of the risk in this transaction. You don't even have proof that he actually has the guns.

The only legitimate reason I can think of is a fear of counterfeit bills. Offer to meet him at the bank and withdraw the bills in his presence.

This, or he could be worried that he would hand the gun over to you and you would proceed to stick him up, taking your money back. If that were the case, could do your exchange in front of the police station. But let me repeat my first thought:

SCAM!

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Better to just call the cops and set up a sting if you really believe it is a scam.

Trust me, there isn't going to be any sting set up because you"believe" something is a scam. Law enforcement agencies haven't got the time or the resources for such.
They have these pesky things they have to worry about called evidence, probable cause and things like that. Then they set up stings once that has been established.

A seller can stipulate whatever payment and conditions they want (within the bounds of the law). You can participate or not.
Now as I said before, I would tell him no thanks. But no crime has been committed and there really isn't any evidence that there will be, merely suspicion.

 

[HOOfan_1]

This, or he could be worried that he would hand the gun over to you and you would proceed to stick him up, taking your money back.

If someone was going to rob him of the gun, why would they bother with the pretense of handing over the cash? I guess you could say because they get the gun out of his hand first, but he could easily have another...

 

[alsaqr]

Run away from the deal.

 

[mgkdrgn]

What is the sellers track record on GB? Auction number?