Craigslist is convenient. It’s easy to use, it’s fun to haggle and it’s a great feeling to get a good deal. Unlike Amazon and other online stores, it’s fast—you can get your purchases right away. As a college student, I have a college-student budget. Meaning, my frugal lifestyle is a means of survival, and Craigslist is a great forum that assists me in this.
This semester, I am taking a surfing course for which I am required to purchase a surfboard. I combed through Craigslist for days, attempting to find a great deal, and luckily, I did. I found a wonderful surfboard retailed for over $1,000 in normal brick and mortar storefronts; however, I purchased it for $70.
“Hi. I have cash in hand and am available to pick the board up today if it’s still available,” I emailed the seller. Almost immediately, I received a response. Due to time constraints, the seller and I met in his home. He gave me his home address (where the transaction occurred), his email address and his cell phone number. He explained to me that the reason the item was so inexpensive was because the board had some dings, cracks and a broken nose; also, he wasn’t using it as much as he wanted. I left his place a very happy consumer.
“Hey, that’s my board! You stole it!” The morning after I purchased the surfboard, a random woman aggressively confronted me on Sunset Beach. This woman approached me and repeatedly stated that she would call the police on me because I had stolen her property. After much arguing, I was able to convince Nicole that my surfboard was purchased online. I had evidence of the email correspondence between the seller and me.
Currently, the police have my information and screenshots of my email correspondence with the Craigslist seller. I still have my surfboard, and I have made it very clear to the Huntington Beach Police Department (HBPD) that I will not be giving up my surfboard unless I am financially reimbursed. I am more than happy to provide the information of the seller and to cooperate in regards to the Craigslist transaction—but I did purchase my surfboard lawfully since I was not aware that I was receiving stolen property.
According to HBPD, this woman has no lawful right to my property unless she can prove that she purchased the item and reported it stolen prior to this incident. Surfboards are one of the most stolen items in the beach cities of Southern California. It’s near impossible to determine if this board is truly hers. Even if it is, she needs to prove she was the rightful owner via purchase receipts or photos.
As of right now, several things could happen:
- I will need to return the surfboard because there is a police report documenting it being stolen, in which case I will not be reimbursed for my purchase.
- The police do not have a record of the stolen property, and this woman will file a police report against me for petty larceny (which she wouldn’t win due to my email correspondences with the seller). I can prove my innocence in small claims court, but litigation is a long, time-consuming and financially draining process.
- The board is proven to have been stolen, but I get to keep it in exchange for testifying against the seller who sold it to me online, which amounts to another litigation nightmare.
So is Craigslist safe? No, it is not. Craigslist is a forum where questionable items can be sold, sexual partners can be sought and living mates can be found. It’s a public forum where all sorts of individuals can post and respond as they please. Criminals, sexual predators and the worst kinds of human beings are free to post and respond.
If you plan on taking advantage of the incredible deals and convenience of Cragislist, I urge you to exercise caution. If you, personally, believe that an item is worth the risk, then by all means, Craigslist is worth the gamble.
Craigslist warns, “If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.”