Not sure if this is the right place to ask this. Sorry in advance.

Hello. I found a perfect bird that I've been looking for for a while and unfortunately his address is in an area that is very notorious for being scary and full of shady crimes and stuff. This may be too good to be true honestly. Please give advice if you can. Also keep in mind the price is $500 INCLUDING the cage which is very cheap IMO for the bird and I don't know if that is adding to sketchiness...

He even wanted me to go at night which is very weird??? He won't even send me more pictures of the bird because "his phone is broken"

I don't know if I am just being scared because, you know, craigslist, or if I am being logical. Idk guys should I even go?

It's hard to say, I live in Philly and I've gotten some birds from people that might have been a little sketchy but I spent some time talking to them first. Craigslist can be a huge source of scams, don't ever send money electronically or through Western Union or anything like that of course, but many times people will send you for a loop.

Have you spoken to this person on the phone at all? Can they email you pictures from a computer? Do they have any vet records? Can they tell you about the diet or more personal things about the bird, like things they like or things they might say?

Can they meet you anywhere, somewhere like a Walmart or Target parking lot that's well lit? If they don't have a vehicle to transport the cage, can you ask for the bird first and get the cage later, just to verify the bird exists first? Do you have anyone that can go with you?

Beep Beep Beep - scam alert. All the classic stories are there.

Google search the picture, they may have just grabbed a few from other adds around the web.

wrench13 said:

Google search the picture, they may have just grabbed a few from other adds around the web.

Click to expand...

Yes that's something I forgot too!

If you can post the picture here, I can crawl around and see if it's stolen from anywhere if you can't.

Most all Police Stations allow individuals to meet onsite (indoors) for such exchanges!

Offer an additional fifty dollars it they will meet you 'inside' with the bird and cage! If they refuse - its a scam for sure. Its just one additional tool in today's world.

this screams scam to me. Very shady dealing there, refusing to send picturs cause "phone broken" when the ad was set up there should have been pictures. Let me guess the bird isn't tame but will take food? And is being sold through no fault of his own, no time to look after them?

All of those set my scam-radar off leading me to ask follow up questions to all of those

I'd do as Boats said and ask to meet at a police station and offer the extra money (don't pay anything before you get there. If they refuse then walk away

It does seem sketchy, but theres a lot of information you've left out. Like the species of bird? If it's a small or medium bird $500 with cage might not be a "too good to be true" price, but if they're advertising a hyacinth macaw for $500, then it is clearly a scam. It's all relative. Mind you, this was 9 years ago, but my amazon was $350 and very much a real bird. If the guy lives in a bad part of town, it's likely a low income area and maybe he really does have a broken phone he can't replace, or maybe he's a scammer. Could you ask him if he could have a friend or family member take a pic of the bird with someone holding up a paper with todays date or a random word on it? What are his reasons for needing to meet at night? Is he at work all day? Could he meet on the weekend instead during the day, or a day he has off work? Do you have a friend (or several friends, preferably big guys) who can go with you? Have you asked if he'd mind meeting in a public place? So many unanswered questions!

Even if it's not a scam, if it's a shady area the bird might not have been brought up in the best of health. Or it could be a hot bird, a bird stolen in a robbery from it's real owner. I'd call the police and ask if any birds have been reported stolen, I'm sure the owner would report it if it happened.

If it is legit, then they should have nothing to hide.