Craiglist ALERT for ice fishermen.

[robert aldrich]

we all know that the ice will be on the lakes soon, but i wanted to warn you about useing craiglist. for example you have to be carefull on craiglist because people will get something stolen lets say a vexlair and the person who stole it posts it on craiglist and trys to sell it. if the person who had it stolen call the police they will track the person down and take them in.

this has been on the tv and radio.

the two rules i use when i go on craiglist are

1. if they have a phone number call it and ask the questions( becarefull on email)

2. check the local police reports or call them to find out if someone had something stolen.

[Stick in Mud]

Thanks for raising this point, Robert. I haven't seen the news reports you're referring to, but I can imagine that this is a problem.

[CrewJones]

even though it seems destructive i always engrave my items with name and phone number wont keep anyone from stealing them but might make it hard to make a buck.

You can usually tell jokers on a-sales-site just by talking to them a bit, I have had good luck on there this year

[blue_healer_guy]

I was going to comment, but thanks Robert!

[FWA]

I sold 3 ice fishing items (auger, flip over, and vex) on Craiglist over the last couple of weeks and all were very smooth transactions. Have purchased many things from listings there also.

Craiglist is an excellent way for buyers and sellers to find each other. I'd say it's not the norm for stolen ice fishing gear to end up there - at least not pre-ice season like now. Maybe once shantys are out, it could change a little, but I would still consider it a small to minimal percentage. Buyers and sellers need to use common sense, but if one is too worried about stolen items or things they read or hear about, they should cough up the money and buy brand new.

[walleye365]

Iv put three items on craiglist none fishing items but everytime a buyer is interested they want it shiped over seas to nigeria or something and thats been a red flag try and get any more info out of them and they disappear. Im glad some on here have had a postive out come,but im not a fan

[cichlid_baby]

If it wasn't for a-sales-site.. or forums like these... I wouldn't have been able to do as many upgrades in my gear as I have been afforded to do. Like they say.. You can't keep them all.

Please do always use common sense, ask alot of questions, and do your research so you know what you are buying... and if it smells funny.. move on.

[amateurfishing]

+1

this is where 90% of my gear has come from with no problems, one also has to use common sense, when looking for something, research brand new $ and what item comes with, do your homework, its not the sellers fault if u dont ask questions and have minimal knowledge of the item u r buying. & personally there are some things i will never buy used & always want a warranty, 1 is electronics especially as fast as the tech market moves, example is i was looking for handheld gps for 2 years, Lowrance H2O was dime a dozen online & i was wondering why, researched product & found out company was no longer supporting software format so it would be obsolete & junk if anything went wrong so i just moved on to other more updated devices. another reason to make sure seller can prove to u it works b4 finishing a transactionl

always make sure seller shows/proves item works b4 handing over $

...and ALWAYS meet in busy public area (store parking lot) etc.

[cichlid_baby]

...and ALWAYS meet in busy public area (store parking lot) etc.

I will even take my camera with me and photograph the other party's vehicle, face, ID... and I usually have a "sales receipt" and/or "paid in full receipt" pre-printed up and ready to be signed before the deal is considered done.

Trust me... when you let the other person know that you are serious ahead of time.. it quickly weeds out the scammers.

[robert aldrich]

oh ya. if you look up craiglist murder on yahoo you can find the abc story.

[JakeJ_Mn]

I buy and sell on there also. I am a cash only in person buyer and seller, never had any trouble. I am reminded of the old "if it's too good to be true deal" just have to be carefull.

[JASS]

I just sold a trailer last night on that site, it went smooth and met them at Super America. Just always meet them in public places, never at the house. My bud thinks thats how he got robbed last year. Garage break in.

[FISHINGURU]

I love finding good deals on ice fishing gear on there, portables, snowmobiles, snowmobile trailers, Ice Shacks, I've bought it all there with no problems.