This applies to anybody that is selling or looking to buy anything here

If you receive a PM from a person claiming to 'have a friend that has one' or 'knows somebody looking for' an item you're selling, be very skeptical unless it's a well-known member here.




Usually, if you're looking for an item, this sort of scammer will send you a PM, indicating that they 'have a lead on' or they 'have a friend' with what you're looking for, and an email address to contact. They may say that have the item themselves. They will send photos that they found on the internet to convince you that they're legitimate. They will insist that you email or call them to conduct the sale. They do this to move the transaction off the site as quickly as possible. These people will typically have no posts or very few. Do not conduct business this way.

Please always be prudent and cautious with any online sale. Whenever possible, use any means possible to verify the legitimacy of a potential transaction. As a rule, when in doubt, pass on the item and report any suspicious messages to me.

Some people appearing to have an item for sale that you're looking for will appear legitimate at first. They will provide photos (copied from searches) of the item and might even have knowledge about it. Ask for very specific photos. If they cannot provide them, pass on the sale.

AVOID the use of Cash App, Venmo, or Zelle to send payments. Do not use bank transfers. If you use PayPal, never send money using the "friends and family" option. If the seller asks you to do that, pass on the sale. Those previous methods will offer no protection in case of fraud. Whenever possible, try to have somebody local to the item being offered inspect it for you. Using a debit or credit card can cover you in case of fraud.



For the last several years, I manually approve all new registrations on the site. As you may imagine, that is an extremely tedious process, however it also prevents nearly all potential scammers from entering the forums here. I verify IP address locations, as well as the many patterns that automated registration software uses to scour the internet and target very large message boards like this one. However, inevitably, some of these scammers will slip through the process because a few of them are pretty smart about how they present themselves.

Please PM me anytime with any suspicious activity.

Greg