Craigslist : Serious Issues You Should Beware of Before You Utilize This Service

I am a long time user of Craigslist. Buying and selling merchandise as well as generating income from work offered, gave me a lot of insight on the pros and cons on the site. There are many precautions that should be considered before you blindly step into this venue of free advertising of goods and services offered and wanted. In this article I will touch on jobs offered, services offered, products offered, auto sales, and payment issues. Craigslist is a very well known and useful resource in the online community, but caution is required to save yourself money and aggravation.

1) Let's start with items for purchase and for sale. Most of the offered goods come as is, unless specified to be in a certain guaranteed condition. Other than the condition of the product, you should be aware of the type of payment required. This is not Ebay or Amazon, so do not send them money and then hope you get the product. If you are using your local Craigslist, then the item you want should be close enough to do a personal physical inspection before you purchase. After you are satisfied with the condition of the product and the sale, then make your final decision whether or not to purchase. Cash works best, or a check from a local verifiable bank. Out of state buyers will attempt to purchase your goods using counterfeit cashiers checks or money orders. Sometimes they will overpay using these methods, and request that you send the extra cash back to them. You end up getting stuck with the bad check a few days later, and they get your cash.

2) The automobile section is a very helpful avenue especially if you are looking for a specific make or model of vehicle. But this area on the site has a few problems that quite commonly sting the buyers and the sellers. To bein with, keep in mind the "as is" rule when buying. Never buy an out of state vehicle without seeing it in person, and meeting the seller. if the vehicle price seems to good to be true, then it is most likely a trick. If you are selling a vehicle, use caution when accepting payment. Once again, never trust an out of state cashiers check or money order for payment. Counterfeit methods such as these are becoming quite common. If you are serious about purchasing a vehicle, a Carfax report is essential in determining the cars previous repair/accident history.

3) The jobs section of Craigslist also has a few things to watch out for. For starters, a lot of the jobs are fake and are just fishing for your personal information. Please read this Associated Content article, "Fake Online Jobs And Why They Do It" for more information on the subject. Some of the job offers are vague and misleading. For instance, an environmental set-up and display job turns out to be selling vacuum cleaners door to door. Another trick used is that after you fill out an application, they instantly require an online credit history report. Sometimes even for simple warehouse or labor positions. This entails your giving out very important personal and financial information to a person that has not given you a name, address, or phone number. Serious identity theft problems can come from this. Please see this associated Content article Free Credit Check for a few more details on this subject. Some job offers will just direct you to a website that requires a fee to view job listings.The best thing you can do is verify that the job offer has a physical address and contact number before you send your personal information.

4) Services offered is fairly self explanatory. A variety of services are offered such as plumbing, carpentry, roofing, computer, automotive, finance etc. This is mostly a common sense area. Some of these services will ask for an upfront payment before they start the work, which is a huge red flag. It is a good idea to withhold any upfront payments for materials until they show up with the materials and start work. You also need to make sure they are licensed and insured if required by your state's law. Check any reliable references if they are provided. If you are using a larger company for services, it may be helpful to check Ripoff Report.org and Complaintsboard.com on any particular company before hiring. Just use prudence in these service areas to avoid problems.

Overall, Craigslist is a very helpful and valuable online resource. You can find the automobile you are looking for, get rid of your leftover yard sale items, or maybe even find that specific job you are looking for. You can post your job wanted qualifications in the resume section for employment opportunities. The local pet section is a good place to find the pet you want, or find a good home for one that you can no longer provide for. If you are looking for housing or property to buy, the housing section is quite extensive and informative. The personals section covers a wide range of dating opportunities to meet your every need, but tread with caution. Just about everything you may be looking for in everyday life is available, so take your time and learn your way around the site.

Just use a little caution and common sense to get what you need from the site. Here is an explanation of some of the frauds and disclaimers directly from the Craigslist site. Please look these things over to protect yourself before you decide to step into this online venue.