The Absent Uncle: Scammers

Last week we decided to put up for sale some items we realized we have just been keeping around for various reasons that didn’t make sense anymore.  

An old gas four-burner stove from our first house 40 years ago. Heavy as you can imagine and we used it for six months in the last 40 years.  And it kept getting moved and stored. 

The second item was a Schwinn tandem bike that we bought in 1982 at a garage sale. We added a front basket and for a time had an infant seat on the rear to accommodate our son born in 1992. We used it through the years until about 2003 or so. I recently borrowed it to some neighbors after having the rear axle rebuilt to make the coaster brakes work properly ($50). It is made of the heaviest steel, no gearing, and while it is in pretty good shape, it is not pristine.

The final item was a three-speed Philips bicycle from my wife’s college days. Just a classic. From 50 years ago.

So, we used our local Marketplace listing, with pricing really low to just say good bye to these items and try to minimize the space needed at the storage unit.

And who jumps on all of these incredible deals? Scammers. All the way from helping them out with their Venmo account, to asking personal information to assist them in stealing from us in the background, to an astounding trust me – I can sell your item for you – but I don’t have the cash to give you upfront.

It is almost enough to give up on humanity. We did get an honest offer on the stove and I am really quite happy with my perceived use from that buyer of that stove going forward.  

It was a keeper – and we kept it forever. Just never had a use for it.

Working on the other two items. Scammers – stay away.