[Lovamelin]

I troll Craigslist to find great deals on either ungraded cards at great prices or buying already PSA or BGS graded cards that I can verify the cert number on. I recently found a Jordan rookie (I know the most faked card out there) for 2k. It's graded at a BGS 9.5 and the cert number checks out. But here are some of the flags:

1. Seller supposedly lives in the same city but won't meet so I can see the card
2. Will only go through Paypal. (not the worse thing as there's buyer protection)
3. Phone number is from a different city
4. Email address has a different name than the name on the listing
5. The exact same listing with the same pictures and cert number is on a listing on CL several hundred miles away

The seller of course tells me it's not a fake card but it seems hard to believe with all of these weird details and he hasn't really responded to or defended any of the weirdness. I've bought a great 1993 SP Jeter ungraded for $200 on CL that graded at a PSA 9 and I've also bought a reprint once for $200 so I have experience with the good and bad on CL. I think there are a lot of opportunities for investing in cards for my own collection or even reselling them on eBay. Any thoughts on this particular situation or buying cards on CL in general? I'm trying to tread the line of cautious and paranoid. I don't want to not trust anyone on CL as I think there are definitely honest sellers and honest deals to be had out there. Thanks!

[The_Zodiac_Collection]

Deal locally, face-to-face follow this one rule and avoid 99% of scam attempts.

Do not extend payment to anyone you have not met in person.
Beware offers involving shipping - deal with locals you can meet in person.
Never wire funds (e.g. Western Union) - anyone who asks you to is a scammer.
Don't accept cashier/certified checks or money orders - banks cash fakes, then hold you responsible.
Transactions are between users only, no third party provides a "guarantee".
Never give out financial info (bank account, social security, paypal account, etc).

[djohn]

Huge red flags on this listing. The biggest being the super cheap price for the condition and only accepting Paypal. While you might feel like you're perfectly protected using Paypal, there are methods for a seller to still scam you and take your money. I would bet anything that this person is a scammer and he is trying to get as many people as possible to quickly send him $2k for a BGS9.5 Jordan RC (which normally in that condition would be 5x that price). Maybe he really has the card, but just as likely he simply took pictures from one that was on eBay or some other place online. However if you send him $2k, I would guarantee that the card you get (assuming you get anything at all) will not be a real BGS9.5 Jordan RC. I also guarantee that you will have a hard time getting your money back from Paypal.
Here's how it will play out...you send $2k via Paypal. The seller receives the money and takes photos of the card being packaged with tracking and everything. Only problem will be that the card won't actually end up in the sealed envelope. Then the seller will ship you the envelope. You'll get it and excitedly rip it open to reveal that it's not the card you were expecting. You'll file a claim and the seller will show his pictures to Paypal, and the seller will claim you're trying to scam HIM. Paypal will side with the seller, and you'll be stuck having paid $2k for a common. Now let's say you're smart and video tape yourself opening the package. Then you'll have a he said she said, and you'll both be providing proof. He'll say that you must've opened the package and resealed it with a common inside before videotaping. In the end you may or may not get any money back, but it won't be worth the risk or fight to get it.
Just remember the simplest motto, if a price is too good to be true, then it probably isn't true. Nobody who owns a BGS9.5 Jordan RC and is selling it online, doesn't know it's real value.

[Lovamelin]

Thanks for the feedback guys. After I noticed a BVG 4 Mantle selling for half it's worth and found it was the same number but had a different name on the listing I was pretty much a 100% certain it was a scammer at that point. For fun I texted him about the Mantle and asked if I could see that one too. He never replied, which I anticipated. I agree with all of your advice above and generally follow those rules. Occasionally though I feel like there are legitimate deals that if the price is low enough I'll take the risk. I'm glad I avoided the scam, like I said, I try not to be paranoid and trust there are some good deals out there. So we'll see how my Craigslist trolling continues to go. I kind of feel like it's taking a metal detector to the beach and see if you can find gold, haha.

[NateNichols]

This is a Craigslist SCAM that's been posted in pretty much every major city. DO NOT send anyone any money via PayPal before meeting up IN-PERSON and inspecting the card, especially if it's in an older PSA holder. Obviously a BGS holder would be exceptionally difficult to fake, but anyone can take a picture of a legit card from eBay and throw it on whatever other listing they'd like to.