2 arrested in Akron robbery of man trying to sell Xbox on Craigslist
AKRON, Ohio -- An Akron man was robbed Tuesday night by three men who went to his Triplett Boulevard home to buy an Xbox video game system that he had advertised on Craigslist.
Akron police said one man went to the victim's house and looked at the gaming system around 6 p.m. He then called a friend to bring him money to buy the game.
Now, this being OH and not MA, once the dude's friends showed up with guns, he pulled his own pistol (he was at least prepared) and defended himself, so he wasn't injured. Being out $85 and an XBox is a small price to pay for learning an important lesson while remaining uninjured... A better plan might have been to have met in a public place - I don't know that I'd invite some random stranger into my home for a quick sale of a cheap consumer electronic... Especially considering that now the goblins know where this guy lives and have a beef with him...
Now, the Mrs. and I have debated about another related point. I've met with folks from online to go shooting, or barter firearms/ammo/gear/etc., and in a few cases I've met them at my house. Generally, my feeling is that someone that has gone through the time and expense to jump through the hoops to get a MA LTC isn't likely to be the type to show up at someone's house to rob them - especially someone they know to be armed.
In any case, there's a lot to take home from this quick story. Don't invite strangers into your home if you know nothing about them except "I have $50 for that game/pair of shoes/widget you're selling on CL". If that's the only way you can make the sale, walk away. Pick a public place if possible; plenty of coffee shops where you can meet and exchange items and cash - I don't even want to think about how many private transfers of firearms I've done in MA over a cup of coffee! Be alert - "Imma call sumdood to come bring me the money" should have resulted in a "thanks but no thanks".
And, of course, carry your damn guns...
That is all.
6 comments:
I sell on Craigslist all the time. People are usually surprised when I ask to meet at a Panara Bread near my home. Surprised in a good way. Everytime it has been, "Ok, that sounds like a good idea, see you there". I usually sit at a table right inside the door, buy a coffee and with the item sitting on the table in front of me the person can see it while coming in the door. Never once had an issue. Of course I carry my gun.
It was a little ackward when I was selling a LitterMaid cat litter box though. I left it on the floor that time.
We bought a Sig from a policeman. We met him in a McDonald's parking lot. Can't be too careful...
Doubletrouble invites lots of Internet-only people to the Sooper Seekrit location, but then again he knows he's got massive amounts of well-armed back-up during those gigs :)
Heh. I wrote a post on this earlier this year.
The number of people who either invite someone into their home to buy something, or will meet in a random out-of-sight parking lot to do a deal, is insane.
Carry. Always.
I've bought and sold on craigslist and even done some local buys off ebay. I always carry anyway, but I make sure I'm on alert when I meet up to exchange my money/item for money/item. Letting anyone know where you live is just a bad idea generally. Keep your eyes open and you powder dry.
And then we have a LTC, USMC, 29 year service Iraq/Afghanistan combat veteran who decided to help his girlfriend sell a 18K gold necklace via Craigslist and was shot in front of his four kids:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fl-marine-trenker-craigslist-robbery-20111230,0,3489548.story
YMMV, as they say.
I live in Akron. This is the second Craigslist-related murder case in the last few months - and the other is quite uglier:
http://goo.gl/YFU0F
(Stow is a suburb of Akron, essentially)
While CL certainly emphasises the point, I think the better tip is to stay out of condition white, full stop.
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