As many of you know, sites that don't offer buyer protection are to be treated with caution when buying (or selling) any type of photographic gear.

These week I've been looking for a few bits and bobs and found a few on Craigslist. Many are familiar with Craigslist particularly in the US. In the UK, it's known about but not often followed. I know why now.

Of 6 high-end items that look interesting (i.e., cheap), at least 5 turned out to be scams. The other one I'm not sure about but could also be a scam - I'm waiting to hear back on that one. I shan't say what the items are as it might imply I have an ulterior motive suffice to say that if you did your own research you would find within two minutes of googling the details (serial numbers, etc.) that they're obvious scams. To help you, most of these scams use information from sold items on Ebay that are no longer accessible through Ebay itself but are accessible by googling!

I guess the prices they're asking (half that realised on Ebay) should be a warning while all the scams I've seen so far have been based in London (where half the 6 million people living there appear to be criminals).

I'm probably stating what's already known but just in case - avoid the UK 'chapter' of Craigslist like the plague!

Cheers,
Steve.