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Should I sell this Woman My item on craigslist?

Im selling my $700 guitar on craigslist. and she says she will send me a cashier check for it. BUT she says she will wait for it to clear in my bank account before we make shipping arangements. she lives is Chicago. i am in MN. Should i trust this? is there any risk?

Public Comments

1. I have a lot of experience with Craigslist. Ask her to send you a U.S. postal money order, not a bank check, if she is actually in Chicago. If she gives you some excuse for not sending a postal money order, I am pretty sure she is in Nigeria or the UK or some odd place. She wants to send you a phony bank check which your bank will cash and in a month or so, they will discover it is fake and ask you for the money back. She knows your bank will clear it right away but as I said, they cannot tell at that point that it is phony. Let me know if I am right. You can tell if they are scammers if their English sounds strange or if they say someone else will pick up the item, or if they want to send you more money than you are asking for the guitar.
2. no risk if you DO wait for teh check to clear - at least 7 bank days before shipping - it's it a fake check, it will bounce before then what "shipping arrangements" is she talking about - that should be decided before she even sends teh check - UPS,insured is best probably and make her pay for the insurance if she mentions something about someone coming to pick up the guitar - 103% chance teh who thing is a scam if she lives that far away ask her why she can't send a personal check - that way at least you have her name and address printed on the check and you can see if it matches where she says t ship it to - if it doesn;t - I wouldn;t go thru with the deal - and don;t accept "starte checks" - those semi-blank checks that you get with a new chkg acct until your real checks come in - BIG chance of check being NSF a personal check is probably actually safer for you - bank checks and money orders can be so easy to fake with computers anymore normally, I only like dealing locally with Craigslist transactions and meeting in public place and getting or giving cash
3. Don't do it. Cashier's checks can be fraudulent, and could possibly even "clear" your bank account, only to come back later as fake and you'll be held accountable for the funds. Do not ever sell items on Craigslist to people out of town. ONLY sell your items to local individuals who will pay cash. EVERYONE should read the "avoiding scams" guidelines which are posted on EVERY page on Craigslist: http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/about/scams Note the first three points: # DEAL LOCALLY WITH FOLKS YOU CAN MEET IN PERSON - follow this one simple rule and you will avoid 99% of the scam attempts on craigslist. # NEVER WIRE FUNDS VIA WESTERN UNION, MONEYGRAM or any other wire service - anyone who asks you to do so is a scammer. # FAKE CASHIER CHECKS & MONEY ORDERS ARE COMMON, and BANKS WILL CASH THEM AND THEN HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE when the fake is discovered weeks later.