Craigslist Scam question

[Miragemaiden]

Sort of a derail here.

I'm selling an item on craigslist and I got an email from a guy who is interested in buying. He says he is from out of town and wants me to ship the item. He is asking for my full name, address, and postal code and he will mail me a certified check. I would much rather deal with someone locally and deal in cash, or paypal. However, hes been the only person to respond to the listing thus far. I would not ship the item out until I received and cashed the check.

So does anyone know about this scam and how it would work?

Sometimes the (fake) checks will go through (as it often takes a few days for them to verify it), so if you send the item out after cashing it, you could be in trouble--this may be what the scammer is banking on if it is a scam.

edit: What Avinor said.

[Melena]

Ehh, when I bought and sold on ebay, I told people if they paid by check, I would hold the item a minimum of ten business days before I would ship the item. Gave me time to make sure the check cleared and was legit before i'd ship.

[Jefe]

For Craig's, local only and face 2 face in a public area. Never ship shit around unless they pay you upfront, then that's when u do the scamming ;o