trade me out of debt: May 2012

Go with your "gut feeling"

You know that gut feeling you get when you feel like you shouldn't do something? Listen to it! Each time I've gotten one of those feelings that I shouldn't do whatever I was about to do, I later found out that the "gut feeling" I was having was God prompting me and telling me, "Hey Matt, this is really stupid and you're going to get hurt." As expected, I got hurt.

I am writing this post because of a recent incident that happened here in my home town of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Just this afternoon a man was shot twice after meeting up with whom he thought was a legit Craigslist seller of a laptop. Instead, the suspect shot the victim, grazing his head and shoulder. I don't know all the details, so I'm not in any way saying the victim should have gone about his Craigslist sale any other way. I'm just bringing light to the situation and sharing my experiences, as well as sharing about the potential dangers of meeting up with somebody on Craigslist.

"TPD Captain Rick Helberg told Tulsa's Channel 8 that a man selling a laptop grabbed the buyer's money without handing over the laptop and ran.

Helberg said the man trying to buy the laptop gave chase but was shot by the seller."
Channel 8 News Tulsa

I was a medic for an ambulance service called EMSA for 3 years, you can only imagine the kind of stuff I saw. I worked anywhere from 60-90 hours a week, and I'd see just about anything you can imagine. I've been in on some of the craziest traumas you can think of. Having experienced so many dangerous situations, you can only imagine that safety is my first priority.

I've experienced a little of everything since I started this project. I can't even count the number of trades that I've made outside of this project. I've met a lot of people at many different locations: Quick Trip, trailer parks, MY HOUSE, their house, in the middle of nowhere, Walmart, school parking lots, in the middle of the night while it's pouring rain, I could go on and on. Looking back on it all, some of those places were bad choices.

I want to share a story with you that will give you a better idea of what I am talking about, so you don't make the same mistakes I have. Due to the fact that I could write a book about all the stupid "meet up" mistakes I've made, I'm going to share one of my highlight "Matt what the heck were you thinking" stories.

It all started around 9:00PM on a stormy, heavy rain type of night. That should have been my first clue! Before I had my back surgery, I was what they call a "Craigslist Free Junkie." People actually drive around with their laptops or phones, constantly hitting refresh in order to see the the latest and greatest post. They would then race to get ahold of the person or drive to whatever given address. Sometimes people would even fight over stuff.

I myself was not that extreme, but I would hit refresh ALOT on my computer to see what was being given away on the "Free Section," It's crazy what people are either throwing away or giving away. Anywhere from garage sale left overs, attic clean outs, storage shed clean outs, to I don't want to deal with fixing furniture type of stuff. Sometimes people get rid of perfectly good stuff just because they got something new to replace it. I have gotten some really nice stuff. Some of it I kept, and other things I sold. One time I made $400 just by selling stuff I got for free!

Okay, back to the story. Now that you have the background of my "free section addiction," you will better understand why I did what I did. As I was saying, it all started around 9:00PM on a stormy, heavy rain type of night. I came across an ad that said they were moving and were giving away a really nice armoire because they did not want to deal with moving it. It went on to say that they would be up all night packing because they were moving in the morning. They said to look for the trucks in the driveway and that the lights would be on. They also said to "knock really loud" because they would be in the back of the house. How was that not a good enough clue for me to not go that night?

I've gotten really nice armoires on Craigslist before so I didn't think much of it. I told my wife that I would be back after a while, and she of course put her 2 cents in about going out late AND she voiced her concern that the address was literally out in the boondocks. Why didn't I listen do her?

So I got in The Trade Mobile and was quickly on my way to claim what I thought was a "really nice armoire." By the time I finally found the address, it was pushing midnight. Again, I told myself, "Matt just turn around." I ignored my gut instinct and went ahead and put my multi-colored van in park, and then proceeded to walk up a really long and steep driveway.

There were trucks in the driveway and the lights were on just as they said in the post. I went up to the door and "knocked really loud" so they could hear me, just as they had asked for whoever responded to the ad. As I was knocking, I noticed there were no lights on inside. Why didn't I just leave? I knocked again after 30 seconds or so. Finally I heard a voice say, "who is it?" So of course I went through the whole bit that I was responding to their Craigslist ad and all that jazz.

The voice sounded like a girl probably in her late teens. After I rambled on about the ad, she said, "hold on, I'll be right back." I waited and I waited, I even went back down to the mailbox to see if I was at the right address. I didn't have the best feeling about all this, but for whatever reason went back up the long, steep driveway.

I gave the door a few more bangs, and then I looked up to my right... There was a small window just to the upper right hand side of the door. My heart sank, there was a small camera moving around behind the window. SNAP! I had been set up! I went against all my rules and got sucked into something that was too good to be true!

Now remember, I was in my Trade Mobile, you know the multi-colored van. I took off down the driveway knowing that this was not going to end well for me. I jumped in my van, turned it around, and headed towards the exit of the neighborhood, that is until I was greeted by the red, white, and blue lights. That's right, I got pulled over in the Trade Mobile! This did not look good.

I pulled over, turned my van off and turned off the lights. I opened the van door and started to get out (something I now know you're not supposed to do when a cop is approaching you). Of course his hand was now on his gun, ready to pull it if need be. I slowly held my hands out with my cell phone, stating that I had responded to a Craigslist ad. Saying that made things sound even worst, as now he saw what I was driving.

I recognized the officer from having worked traffic accidents along side of him. I stated who I was and showed him the ad on my phone (always print off, or save the ad on your phone to prove you were telling the truth). He took my phone back to his car and spoke with dispatch, and then soon after came back to talk with me. Apparently, I was at least the 5th person that night that had responded to the ad, but the first to get pulled over. The officer said that the homeowner had reported some weird people showing up at their house, thinking they were you know whats. My theory is that either a friend was playing a prank on them, or they were having a little sleep over and decided that they would play a prank on whoever responded to the ad. People can be really mean on Craigslist. I can not believe I fell for it.

This was an extreme case by all means, as was the shooting today. The point to take from all this is that you have to be careful. Though stuff like this does not happen all the time, other minor stuff does. Below I tried to write a handful of things I've learned from mine and other peoples experiences. This is not an exhausted list and my advice is not that of a professional advisor, these are just my opinions and not necessarily the best practices. Each person should do what they feel is the safest practice.

Don't meet people at night, especially a stormy night!
Make sure there are plenty of people around, just case something happens. Well known convenience stores and banks tend to work well. Big parking lots aren't always the best choice. You can easily be pulled in between a car.
Always make sure there is plenty of light where ever you meet up. That shouldn't be a problem though if you are meeting outside in the daylight.
Try to avoid meeting at your house or the other persons house if at all possible. If not, meeting outside of the house normally is best. You don't want people seeing everything you have.
Having another person with you tends to be a good idea.
Trading or selling weapons can tend to be very tricky. I would avoid it, because if someone sees your weapon, they will most likely call the police. Then you will have a lot of explaining to do if you are on a property that forbids firearms. I've seen this happen before.
Try to avoid meeting at schools. An overload of people can sometimes be more of a distraction and there is more of a chance the other person that committed a crime would get away because they would blend right in. Also, just the fact that it is a school. You don't want to bring possible trouble around kids if you can avoid it.
Know that the other person is not your best friend. Always approach the other person cautiously, but also with respect. Just make your exchange and move on.
If whatever you are selling or trading has a lot of value, set up a meeting time at a specific place that deals with whatever you have. Let the store know as well.
Know that people will stand you up from time to time. People are just mean. I have had this happen several times.
It's always good to have a few backups you can call in case you do get stood up. Don't take your ad off of Craigslist until you have actually traded or sold whatever you have. Otherwise you will just get frustrated and spend a lot of time on the computer.
Let me repeat: daytime is normally the best time to meet up.
The work place is typically not the best time and place to meet up. You are getting payed to work, not take care of personal things. I've never done this, just making a point.
If you are going to be late or not be able to make your meet up, contact the person by phone if possible. Not everyone checks their email all the time. It's never fun to find out that you waited for nothing. Time is money.
Take your ad down as soon as your item is gone, especially if it's a giveaway. It's a bummer to show up to nothing! It's also a waste of gas. Once you delete your ad, it normally takes about 15 minutes before it goes off line. All that to say, you may get stragglers responding to your ad even though it has been deleted. Expect people to be mad, especially if it was something good. Sometimes just updating your ad by stating the item is gone will be more than enough to get the point across.
First come first serve; don't hold things for people unless you know without a shadow of a doubt that they are going to show. That is how you fall into the "stand up" category. It took me a while to learn my lesson.
Put things by the curb if you are giving it away. Anywhere else just invites a thief to take your stuff.
Mark your giveaway clearly! You don't want someone to innocently take whatever your'e actually not giving away!
Don't tell people you're not going to be home. Pretty straight forward!
"Don't knock, just take it". If you don't want to be bothered, add that line to your Craigslist post.
When in doubt call the police. It's always best to play it safe. If you set out anything with any kind of metal on it, expect people to be out there taking stuff apart and leaving a mess. You can say in your post to "take everything and don't dig through stuff."
One mans junk is another mans treasure! If you are throwing out stuff that is metal and you don't want to deal with hauling it to the dump, add in the words "SCRAP METAL," I promise you it will be gone in less than an hour. I've gotten rid of a lot of stuff this way. I'm not saying that everyone who collects scrap metal is a criminal, but one thing to remember, is that a person is willing to do anything to come by extra cash to get their fix. If someone just does not look right or is acting a bit odd, refer to #21 (CALL THE POLICE!)
If the ad seems too good to be true, then it probably is. Look for miss used words, or words that are spelled completely wrong. Many times these are computer generated posts that are out to get your contact information once you respond.
And lastly, I will end with this: If an email reply from Craigslist is ended with "Best Regards," then it is probably a hoax. For whatever reason, the scammers and spammers like to use that ending. Just use your best judgement.
Okay, I lied, one last bit of advice: Don't chase the suspect, because you could get hurt. I'm not going to admit that I may or may not have done this before while working for a certain place I will leave un-named. Your life is worth way more than whatever you are trying to buy or sell. That stuff can be replaced, your life can't. Though adrenaline can get the best of you, try your best to think safety first.