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peggals
Joined: 01 Dec 2009
Posts: 2
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 Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2013 3:16 pm Post subject: Are the hard luck stories a scam? |
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| Hard luck stories...posted in the various ads, are they true or scammers? seems to be more and more of them. Sometimes I am tempted to respond and give whatever they are asking for cause I feel sorry for them. Lots of 'single mother....single father needs...' |
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WildExpressions
Joined: 17 Sep 2009
Posts: 2709
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| Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2013 5:43 pm Post subject: |
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| just like real life, some are scams, some are real. |
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Angus Black
Volunteer Moderator
Joined: 02 Dec 2008
Posts: 6416
Location: BEHIND YOU!
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| Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2013 6:49 pm Post subject: |
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Always check the posters other ads.
I saw an ad where a woman claimed she was a single Mother in need of help asking for baby items.
In one of her related ads she is looking for a home to buy for her and her husband. |
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Speshul to me
Joined: 01 Aug 2009
Posts: 268
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| Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2013 12:28 pm Post subject: Re: Are the hard luck stories a scam? |
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Oh, I know... I saw one ad where a "rescue" was looking for donations of food, chain link fencing etc etc etc. Then I clicked on their other ads and saw "pure bred this breed puppies"; "pure breed that breed of puppies", baby pot bellied pigs, and weanlings for sale. Not an adult among them.
But the funniest one... a single mother was in need of donated items for a bunny she had rescued from a homeless blind guy who had, in turn, rescued the bunny from somebody who was just going to chuck it out his window.
The "single mom" ones, though, almost invariably irritate me - probably because a) I'm a single mom and b) it is invariably followed by "I can't afford said valuable item/rent/etc and am hoping somebody can give it to me for free/$900 per month or less/etc. |
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stormee
Joined: 17 Oct 2009
Posts: 715
Location: Edmonton area
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| Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 2:55 pm Post subject: |
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One can never be totally sure of what is a scam, or what is not.
Even those who take free items and resell them ... is it really a scam, or do they just need the cash that bad? Is it really that wrong ... especially if it's stuff that a person wants to get rid of, and may just send to the landfill anyway?
Any individual or organization that accepts "donations" has a chance of being dishonest in many ways ... so whatever you give, you take your chances.
One way to find out if a person is really in "need" ... or just "wants" ... is the request for only good merchandise, and insists on seeing pictures to see if it's "good enough" for them. Just the other day I delivered to some people at my expense ... partly because they didn't even want to see pictures .. they just wanted the chairs. This told me that they just needed them. |
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gogomom
Joined: 13 Nov 2006
Posts: 3513
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| Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 3:10 pm Post subject: |
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I too have this problem - that I have things (usually kids stuff) that someone in need may want and I would be willing to give away for free... except, I don't want to give to resellers or just plain greedy people. When I gave a set of large arena speakers to a guy because I wanted them out of my house - I gave them to the guy who said his son wanted them for his new apartment. Two days later they are on Kijiji for like $400 - that ticked me off, even though I know that once I gave them away the recipient could then do whatever he liked with them.
Honestly, that one experience has prevented me from doing it again and now I just donate items to Goodwill instead.... |
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jeremy.peck
Joined: 23 Feb 2009
Posts: 1
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| Posted: Sun Mar 03, 2013 2:14 pm Post subject: |
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| i believe some are true and might mean well. Iam surprised there isnt more down here in the maritimes. Times are tough here and people will do anything to survive. Isnt there plenty of work in Alberta? I know Alberta isnt for everyone, I tried going and only lasted 2.5 months. Kind of regret it. came home to my old job with no hours but spring will be here soon. |
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ThatGirl
Joined: 27 Aug 2008
Posts: 57
Location: Toronto
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| Posted: Sun Mar 03, 2013 8:14 pm Post subject: |
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If they post in BUY/SELL I flag them
If a person posts all over/every section on Kijiji stating "they are hard up, need stuff" I flag them
They should not be posting/begging. ad should be removed. Period. |
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Speshul to me
Joined: 01 Aug 2009
Posts: 268
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| Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2013 3:24 pm Post subject: |
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| ThatGirl wrote: |
If they post in BUY/SELL I flag them
If a person posts all over/every section on Kijiji stating "they are hard up, need stuff" I flag them
They should not be posting/begging. ad should be removed. Period. |
Really??? You wanna be arbiter of what people "should be" doing??? Last time I checked asking for stuff was not illegal. Last time I checked, you weren't forced to read people asking for stuff on the internet. Last time I checked, people asking for stuff on the internet were not harassing, following, intimidating anybody (unlike panhandlers).
I find the whole "do as I say, dammit or I shall demand it!" attitude more offensive than I find the "I want" ads to be annoying. |
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Kijiji_nanagoo
Volunteer Moderator
Joined: 21 Jan 2007
Posts: 16912
Location: Peterborough ONT
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| Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2013 4:19 pm Post subject: |
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Flagged ads do not necessarily get deleted.
They get reviewed and looked at first. |
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misterjiggy
Joined: 15 Mar 2013
Posts: 12
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| Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 9:06 am Post subject: Re: Are the hard luck stories a scam? |
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| peggals wrote: |
| Hard luck stories...posted in the various ads, are they true or scammers? seems to be more and more of them. Sometimes I am tempted to respond and give whatever they are asking for cause I feel sorry for them. Lots of 'single mother....single father needs...' |
I think they are probably scams because there are agencies such as the Salvation Army who will give Furniture for free to really hard luck families. There are a lot of church groups who help out people to get on their feet and don't charge them anything. Further, the Government of AB has emergency funds for people who have been in an 'emergency'.
Therefore, the people that use Kijiji (own a computor and probably are paying internet fees) to ask for 'free' stuff because they fell on hard times....well, I don't really believe them because of the safety net system that we have in Canada. Now, if we were in Honduras or in Ghana then yes, I would still have some trepedation because I would first wonder...if they can afford computer to post he ad...then...but the probability of those countries is quite likely that THEY do need help. Here in Edmonton, people do need help, but to turn to kijiji and ask for things for free is not necessary when there are so many agencies dedicated to doing these actions for people in need! So, beware Kijiji is berift of Scammers of all sorts and stories. |
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Kijiji_nanagoo
Volunteer Moderator
Joined: 21 Jan 2007
Posts: 16912
Location: Peterborough ONT
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| Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 10:23 am Post subject: |
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Some of the people advertising for "wanted-free" items
are collecting them and selling them to supplement their
meager incomes without reporting it and paying income tax on it.
Some are truly in need of help.
I have visited people who asked for certain items and they turned
out to be truly in need of assistance and i was glad to donate items.
I also know many people who make a decent income selling
items on Kijiji and are not really in need of the items they collect.
Some of these people are scamming by lying about the need.
More power to them. Jobs are not easy to obtain and some folks
are not qualified for jobs that pay more than minimum wage.
Eventually, the government will start finding people who are making
more than just a few bucks and they will be auditted. |
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ColinDonovan
Joined: 25 Apr 2013
Posts: 1
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| Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2013 2:58 pm Post subject: scams |
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| If you really want to get rid of it for free then you let it go and forget about it. Who cares what happens to it, if you truly just want to get rid of it. Do you know how many people have made crazy money in Alberta by providing a service removing old pipe from lease roads or burning brush piles or a host of other "wish I would have thought of that " things. If you are too lazy or too stupid to turn a buck for something and the person you give it to does, congratulate them on being entrepreneurial, and doing what it is we do in a free market society. |
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jbscar
Joined: 06 May 2013
Posts: 2
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| Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 12:37 am Post subject: free stuff |
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| ColinDonovan wrote: |
| If you really want to get rid of it for free then you let it go and forget about it. Who cares what happens to it, if you truly just want to get rid of it. Do you know how many people have made crazy money in Alberta by providing a service removing old pipe from lease roads or burning brush piles or a host of other "wish I would have thought of that " things. If you are too lazy or too stupid to turn a buck for something and the person you give it to does, congratulate them on being entrepreneurial, and doing what it is we do in a free market society. |
That's true, but stuff I have offered for free, people wanted me to deliver it! One time I offered a free working dryer and the dude wanted me to deliver it and install it in his house! Comon! |
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