To call, or not to call?

[castlerobber]

I received a PM from a forum member, regarding the Q451 I have for sale. Here is the entirety of the message, redacted to remove identifying information:

Dear castlerobber,

Do still have the Quest available?
If yes, please give me a call at (***) ***-****

Thank you
o***o

The member has never posted on the forums, despite having joined several years ago.

What would you do?

• Jump at the opportunity to make the sale, and call the number ASAP;
• Request more information by PM or e-mail before calling; or
  
• Ignore the message, it's probably a scammer

 

[MrSteve]

As a lifelong telecommunications Luddite, I would, if I were you, request more information via Email and give your prospective buyer the reasons why you wish more
information.
Don't be coy, be cautious.

 

[battleaxe0]

I had a similar message on Craigslist, but they wanted my cell number - I haven't responded.

 

[castlerobber]

As a lifelong telecommunications Luddite, I would, if I were you, request more information via Email and give your prospective buyer the reasons why you wish more information.

Which is what I actually did. I wasn't about to call an unknown number, that for all I knew could have been part of a "cramming" scam or worse.

He replied with information that, IMO, should have been in his original message. It sounded legit, we came to an agreement on the price...and then he backed out the next morning because another seller had subsequently called him with a "much cheaper" Q. Turns out the guy, in his own words, had "went to the Cruzbike forum and wrote to every one that was selling a 451 Quest." He claims to be waiting for the other seller to e-mail pictures before he decides which one to buy.

 

[LarryOz]

If they gave you their phone number, I would call it.
If they are legit, they will answer and you will have a real conversation with a real person.
Usually a good first sign!
If you are worried about your number appearing on their phone, just block the delivery of you number on the call.
You might have to call your provider for how to do this. You can usually turn it off for all calls, or for just one.
Good luck with the sale!

 

[Cruzbiker]

Call him from a street public phone.