Craigslist . No number no response?

[CarLuver]

i am giving away an old TV for free. A person has been emailing me to get it. in my first email i gave them my contact number. for whatever reason this person just emails me and does not call or text .

i am not going to give my address out to someone on an email without a phone number . wonder what the angle is on this . probably better to take it to recycle it instead of dealing with this anymore

 

[Dave_T]

No doubt I'd avoid any suspicious issues as tons of scam buttwipes are looking to get contact numbers, email, etc. I always use a generic email account and never give out my contact number to begin with.

 

[researcher]

i am giving away an old TV for free. A person has been emailing me to get it. in my first email i gave them my contact number. for whatever reason this person just emails me and does not call or text .

i am not going to give my address out to someone on an email without a phone number . wonder what the angle is on this . probably better to take it to recycle it instead of dealing with this anymore

Completely agree, sounds like an excuse to get your home address. So many scammers out there.. but.. Some recyclers actually pay you for electronics. Might call around and see if there are any near you that do that..

 

[CarLuver]

No doubt I'd avoid any suspicious issues as tons of scam buttwipes are looking to get contact numbers, email, etc. I always use a generic email account and never give out my contact number to begin with.

not too worried about this . i have multiple emails and use a google voice number.

 

[Lubener]

i am giving away an old TV for free. A person has been emailing me to get it. in my first email i gave them my contact number. for whatever reason this person just emails me and does not call or text .

i am not going to give my address out to someone on an email without a phone number . wonder what the angle is on this . probably better to take it to recycle it instead of dealing with this anymore

They are not interested in your TV but to scam you.. They are playing you. Best to ignore them and move on.

I have had many situations on C.L. similiar to yours. When I sell, I meet at a "safe spot". I only had one buyer come to my home and that was when I was selling a lawn mower. You got to admit, not many would be interested in an old tv, even free. I would donate it and not deal with idiots on C.L.

 

[OilUzer]

I wanted to sell bunch of stuff last year and this is what I found out after some research and it worked out for me:

Some fish for your email and sell them. They don't have your email address. Craigslist has an encoded contact email for you that they see but once you reply back to their email, they can see your name (if in your profile) and real email address.

Best is to have them text or call you. Having only your phone number is safe I think. You can then get a good feeling what's going on. You may also receive bunch of automated scam texts when you list something but they are easy to identify.

Don't respond to texts quickly. Also never text "yes". lol
That's how I think they get a fake Google phone number under a fake name but with your phone number to do some illegal activity. Not sure how it works but they can set it up and if within few minutes you respond yes (they ask you "do you still have it?" ), they get you. I researched and read about it last year but got a headache.

Let them text, you get a feel for it.
Don't respond back immediately and wait 20 min.
Never just say yes in a text.
When in doubt, call them back.
Never give them your name and home address.
Meet somewhere public to transfer goods.

We have been selling junk since last year for a move and did pretty good. Only twice someone had to come to the house and I screened them pretty good by talking to them on the phone and bunch of texts. One of the items was a free chest freezer. I put stuff in the bed of my truck or SUV and met at a public place nearby. Even for free stuff.

Kind of sad but it's better to donate or recycle free stuff than dealing with crazy people. I had people asking if I have change for $100 bill. I said there are few stores nearby and never heard back

 

[RAR]

When I had a car for sale on Craigslist a few years ago, I’d get scammers contacting me by going directly to my voicemail (Comcast phone service) and telling me they had a buyer for my car and he’d need information from me, etc., Nope, never did find out how he could go directly into my voicemail and not ring the phone. And blocking the number didn’t work for some reason.

But worse were the scammers that text and ask for pictures of the starter, brake calipers, the seatbelts, etc.; I can only conclude they didn’t speak English and were picking random car parts for their scam texts. I block any weird texts like that without answering.

 

[skyactiv]

If you are trying to give away an old CRT TV in 2023, or even 5 years ago, you can't give them away. Thrift stores that take free donations won't even accept them in perfect working condition.

Some recyclers might pay for electronics, but around here, you pay them if it has a tube.

 

[MasterSolenoid]

OP - thanks for posting. Everyone needs to stay one step ahead of the scammers.

When I have small items to get rid of .... landscaping rocks, .... rebar .... garbage can .... etc,
I put it out to the curb (with a FREE sign) and it's usually gone in 30 minutes.
It's not money leaving my wallet and I'm no poorer.

 

[Jetronic]

i am giving away an old TV for free. A person has been emailing me to get it. in my first email i gave them my contact number. for whatever reason this person just emails me and does not call or text .

i am not going to give my address out to someone on an email without a phone number . wonder what the angle is on this . probably better to take it to recycle it instead of dealing with this anymore

meet him at a bar, he can buy you a drink aswell.

 

[Leo99]

I took my old TVs to my local old TVs disposal area within the recycling center.

 

[atikovi]

i am not going to give my address out to someone on an email without a phone number .

How do you expect him to pick it up without knowing your address? You have no reason to have his phone number and most people who ask for it are scammers. (not saying you are) When I deal with people, either buying or selling, I don't want the hassle of talking to them and prefer a written record in emails of what's being discussed that I can refer to if a question arises. I usually put in my ads, NO TEXTS.

 

[henni]

i am giving away an old TV for free. A person has been emailing me to get it. in my first email i gave them my contact number. for whatever reason this person just emails me and does not call or text .

i am not going to give my address out to someone on an email without a phone number . wonder what the angle is on this . probably better to take it to recycle it instead of dealing with this anymore

This is very common and not a cause for alarm.

From the "person emailing you" point-of-view, giving out a phone is a security risk. Using a generic email is not.

Simply give a location address for pickup, time, place and wait. It does *not* have to be your home address.

Have bought and sold in this manner over CL, even cars, computers, engines, some over 20k cash, no issues, no problems.

 

[JustinH]

take the old tv to the city disposal area or if you don't have that we have actually paid bestbuy a few bucks to recycle a tv for us, when we bought one from them.

 

[jeepman3071]

This is very common and not a cause for alarm.

From the "person emailing you" point-of-view, giving out a phone is a security risk. Using a generic email is not.

Simply give a location address for pickup, time, place and wait. It does *not* have to be your home address.

Have bought and sold in this manner over CL, even cars, computers, engines, some over 20k cash, no issues, no problems.

+1

I usually deal only through e-mail with CL, or through messages with Facebook Marketplace. Everything is documented in text that way.

 

[JohnnyG]

Just give him the address of the local police station. If you are successful in setting up a meeting, you can do it there. If not, he might get the message.

 

[AZjeff]

How do you expect him to pick it up without knowing your address?

Meet at the WalMart parking lot or whatever public place you choose. Works fine.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

I never give out my phone number on Craigslist. I do not want to talk to or text anyone. All transactions are done via a burner email account that Craigslist hides anyway.

I just sold an old computer on CL yesterday for all of $20, all done over email. The guy wanted me to call him when I arrived at the meetup location at the time we agreed on for some reason. Nope, I'll be there, and I was. See? Easy!

Then he asked for my number after we did the sale in case he needed help with the computer. What? Seriously? No, you can't have my phone number. Post-sale free tech support is not part of the deal nor is fielding complaints or buyer's remorse. I accurately showed what I'm selling so you better understand what you're buying.

 

[jeepman3071]

Then he asked for my number after we did the sale in case he needed help with the computer. What? Seriously? No, you can't have my phone number. Post-sale free tech support is not part of the deal nor is fielding complaints or buyer's remorse. I accurately showed what I'm selling so you better understand what you're buying.

The nerve of some people. sheesh. I think the goal for most people nowadays is to somehow get by with zero responsibility for anything.

 

[atikovi]

Meet at the WalMart parking lot or whatever public place you choose. Works fine.

You're lucky if one out of five who say they are coming to pick something up actually do, and that's for a pay item. For something free, no way I'm lugging a TV to anyplace on the slight chance they will actually show up for it. I'll lug it to the dump first.