One thing I did mean to say is that the person is not advertising to ship, nor did we discuss any sort of transaction, but I just see where they are located and know I would be unable to drive that far. If they were offering to ship straight out, I would definitely know to stay away from it.
The reason I am posting is that I know it's best to meet in person, but I was just wondering if anyone has ever thought of or used a method that proved relatively safe for both parties? I know craigslist is a little different from things on this site because this is somewhat of a community, but how are transactions with shipping usually conducted between individuals on this site?
I am a regular buyer and seller on CraigList - and I enjoy it. Yesterday I bought a speargun off of CL. I drove an hour away to pick it up, but we had already made agreement on the price. By the time he and I had talked, well over 1/2 an hour by phone (not email/chat), we felt like friends. After about 2 hours with him and his dive buddy, we plan to dive together. This has been my experience with CL. If I don't feel like I'm talking and dealing with a person who I could buddy with (within reason like experience/age/etc) - I don't buy. Sometimes I end up buying a batch of stuff because that is the way the person wants to sell it or I can get the better deal - hence I end up selling on CL.
There are a few times that I will buy "sight unseen" and against CL's recommendation. I have done this very few times and it has been a very positive experience. When I have received a BCD or fins (never a reg) it has been just as they said - maybe even better. I judged this by the discussion I had - long discussions about diving.
But here is a warning. If the deal is too good and they can't/won't talk about diving - I don't buy. I don't buy anything that I can't trust the integrity of the sell. What I'm saying - if I have any suspicion about buying "stolen gear" I will not do it. I will share a story. I was going to a professional seminar 2 hours away and saw a CL add close to it and arranged a meeting. These were two brand new Sherwood reg sets with air integrated computers. They started off at $350 and when we got talking, that was for both of them/together! But the guy knew nothing about diving and said that his dad asked him to sell them for him, but his dad was not available (and never was). By the time we really got talking, the price was $250. When he showed up at the seminar, he was all wiggly/fast talking and would have taken $200! Believe me, I was tempted - I'm looking at $1600+ of equipment for $200! But I put myself in the place of the diver who came back to his equipment (maybe on a beach) and found it gone. I passed it up and started to regret passing it up - but knowing at the same time that I did the right thing. However, I called up a good friend and told him the story. He said that he would have bought it, guilt would set in, and then he would have to spend the next month researching all the dive shops, etc, trying to find the rightful owners. I also thought, "what would I say to my dive shop when I asked them to service it?" I certainly would lose, before them, any integrity they used to see in me (as well as my own self respect).
This long answer is to say that I really enjoy CL and in some cases would send a bank check (allowing them to call my local branch or google me/my psychology practice) and they would mail me the goods.
The worse thing about CL is being the #2 caller/emailer/responder to a really great deal. Yesterday, I got the guy up just as I was getting up. I was the first caller from a post that he had put up late the night before. He took down all the numbers of the people who called after me, but held the speargun for 5 hours until I could get there. As I said, I bought the gun and made a dive buddy. Oh, the other bad thing about CL is being #1 and knowing that you should buy, but putting it off and losing the deal. I lost out on
three 6 month old HP 3442 steel 100 tanks for $150 each. I really didn't "need" them - but after they were gone, I ended up buying another new
one for $350!!! I knew the shop (my shop) the history/reason for the sell (stock crash/job loss/he had bought too much and needed cash fast). Still kicking myself.
If you do CL as a business, that's one thing. Personally - I look at CL as a way to share needs/mutually swap out stuff, share stories, and meet new dive buddies. If it's strictly a CL business transaction - I would only do it face to face or else deal with a reputable online company and pay a little more, or even better - buy from my local dive shop.
You asked about this site and how things are done. Well, for the most part, we are somewhat known to one another and are already almost "dive buddies". However, sometimes a slick person gets onto SB and slimes a bunch of people, but his reputation is now toast. Or a person comes onto SB just to sell something - usually wants too much or the deal is too good to be true. I've heard of a number of people being burned (but not as bad as CL). But when you're dealing with a regular poster or even a regular SB "buyer and seller" - well I've been 100% satisfied. But with CL - I personally have been 150% satisfied - especially when I end up with a whole batch of stuff (unlikely on SB) that includes extra clips, gloves, boots, lights, that I stockpile up and/or CL - hence the 150%.
Oh, and I do not have Paypal and have therefore never used it in hundreds of transactions. Only one time did a computer company require it and my HP engineer friend used his Paypal account for me. My age, 59 years old, is probably showing.
