Nightmare on Craiglist, what should I do next?

[SaraMari]

Hi friends
I'm seeking your advice on a crazy Craiglist pick up I'm dealing with right now. Here is how it went:

So I saw a posting for a garage sale on Craiglist, but only after it has finished. I saw some G1 and G3 ponies that I'd like to have (they were in a box labeled 2$ per pony) so I thought I'd ask if she had any left over from the garage sale.  She replied that she did (and she knew their names, it always makes me nervous when non-collectors know pony names they have probably been looking at "values" on eBay) so I arranged to pick them up.

Yesterday was the pick-up day, unfortunately I ended up having to work later so I couldn't go. My fiance offered to go for me so nicely. Well when he got there apparently she said the cost of 1 pony and a bag of breezies was 50$! How did it go from 2$ to 50$? She also turned her dog on my fiance and had her husband come over. My fiance didn't give in as I told him the cost and have him the exact cash.

Anyhow an hour or so after my fiance got home she messaged me saying "can I have the pony back? My daughter who is 9 is not happy"

I am not convinced it's her daughter that wants it back, but rather she wants it back to try and scam someone else. But I don't know what to do next. I have sold things I regret but it's too late once you have sold it. I am worried she might do something crazy like harass me, or try looking up my address or my mom's address to come and do something.

What should I do now? I haven't replied to her last message but wonder what you might do

[tailrustedtealeaf]

Is there something on Craigslist about changing prices without stating? If it is in writing that she agreed to sell it for $2 and flipped on it last minute, I'd imagine she has to stick to what is written, as you are essentially creating a contract.

[TheBeatlesPkmnFan42]

Oof yeah, definitely sounds like a scam, no doubt. What a terrible woman. :/

Not familiar with how Craigslist works, can you report people on there? Perhaps try reporting her if the site lets you.

[Leave a Whisper]

What a piece of crap. I'm sorry your fiance had to go through that hassle. Idk how Craigslist works, but if there is anyway to warn others about her cruelty as a bad and crazy person. I'd do it. I'd also block her number. It might save someone an actual injury. Though tbh, I think your fiance would be better off leaving the pony. Not worth getting bitten or beaten by crazy people.

I'm sorry this happened to you guys.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

You can always file a police report for the aggressive dog and the harassment, especially if she starts sending any messages that could be construed as threatening!

[Water Lily]

You can always file a police report for the aggressive dog and the harassment, especially if she starts sending any messages that could be construed as threatening!

I agree with this idea, you never know what your dealing with! I am sorry your fiance went threw that! Definitely a scam

[banditpony]

Don't mess with crazy. Document, block, and move on.

[LadyMoondancer]

Don't mess with crazy. Document, block, and move on.

I agree with this.  What a crazy lady!!

I'm not sure if there is really anyone to 'report to' on Craigslist.  It's just a platform (they don't collect fees like eBay does) and it's pretty hands-off.  Like the Wild West.

I agree that if you report to anyone, it should be the police.

[SaraMari]

Thank you everyone for your responses. I really appreciate the helpful ideas as well as the kind words. Yes, if I had been there I would've told my fiance just to leave ASAP nothing is worth risking your safety over. I have found it's best not to deal with people who scalp or scam on prices, so I would've just told her to keep it. But my fiance is a technician and has to deal with aggressive people and dogs everyday, he's been threatened and bitten by dogs before so perhaps he's become too used to it.

I have blocked her number now, I wish I wouldn't have texted her because it's actually quite easy to find personal contact info with a Google search of a phone number. But hopefully she won't be that crazy...

Before I blocked her she sent a huge wall of text yesterday along the lines of her 9yo daughter is so sad, that one pony means so much to her and I'm a bad person for wanting to sell it on eBay instead of giving it back. I don't know why she automatically assumes I'm selling it on eBay. It's not even a valuable pony...

Anyhow I took screenshots of all her texts as well as images of her sale ad with the prices as you have kindly recommended. I just hope it will not escalate. All this for one 2$ pony....

[TheBeatlesPkmnFan42]

Who's willing to bet she doesn't even have a daughter.

[Leave a Whisper]

Who's willing to bet she doesn't even have a daughter.

If she does I feel sorry for the kid.

[Taffeta]

Before I blocked her she sent a huge wall of text yesterday along the lines of her 9yo daughter is so sad, that one pony means so much to her and I'm a bad person for wanting to sell it on eBay instead of giving it back. I don't know why she automatically assumes I'm selling it on eBay. It's not even a valuable pony...

Yes, its absolutely the fault of the person who bought the pony, and not the fault of the person who took the pony from said kid and decided to sell it at a garage sale.

I agree with the block, document, move on - but be prepared to take it to police level if she continues to harass you.

Also, even if the kid does exist, using the kid as a lever for seller's remorse is not cool. It's clear she wants the pony to put on ebay, hence her assumption you do. She only sees the pony as an object for making money, not for a collectable item that you might appreciate and want to keep. You can tell the mentality of people from what expectations they put on others.

I'm sorry you had to deal with this. But definitely do not make any further contact with her. If her kid loved it so much she shouldn't have sold it. Fault is hers, not yours, move on.

[Haruna]

I’m so sorry you had to deal with this 

I don’t recommend that you do this in this situation because, as said above, don’t mess with crazy, but I actually have seen one way you can warn other Craigslist buyers about a person. One poster had a title along the lines of “to the person selling [exact title of listing, e.g. “valuable ponies for sale”],” and in the body of the post they explained that they had purchased the bag of ponies expecting all the ponies pictured in the Craigslist ad, but when they got home they saw some were missing, obviously removed by the seller.

Of course, don’t do this as in this situation there’s nothing to be gained and  it would just escalate. But I thought I’d throw this out there. It certainly made me think twice before contacting the “valuable ponies” person.

[Sweet Daes]

Yeah, it's solid advice to block and move on. Some people may stop at nothing to make others miserable when it isn't necessary. There are also ways of making people miserable without being a jerk, too.

If she continues to contact you then tell her that you will respond when you receive an official summons and complaint that was filed through the appropriate courts with the necessary case numbers, and she can bring her daughter to the courtroom to testify.

But I am an evil person that loves to give people no way out.

If your side of the story is solid then she wouldn't dare intimidate you further and actually follow through with it if she wants the dumb thing back.

[invaderhorizongreen]

Document Block, and possibly make a report in that order. Smells like a huge scam to me.