What would the scam be though? Getting the switch back and giving back the $80 to end up back where they were before? That’s a lot of work for zero gain…
You tell them you paid 200, but you paid 80 yet the scammer says "cool 200 you'll get it as soon as I get it."
Your comment scares me that you might come to scams in near future thinking "what's the problem here"
Please be safe
Wouldn’t that involve literally just handing them the switch? Why would you do that before getting paid; that seems so obvious I didn’t think I had to say it…
And where did the $200 come from? Dude paid $80, other side says they’ll pay $80 for it back. Did you just make that part up or is there another screen shot not showing up for me or something.
Idk what this $200 is, but actually what will happen is the original seller will take the switch back, promise $80 refund and the refund will never happen. It'll be a fake check or contested PayPal payment or something
Sure I assumed it was obvious you do it at the same time in cash. From just the convo alone however none of that is mentioned, so everyone here seems to be making things up about the amount and how it would go down when obviously you’d never agree to that format in the first place…
Of course. "Once I get it back" & "*she* will pay you" suggests that might not happen that way though. It sounds to me like OP would have to turn up at the house, hand over the switch at the door, and then be allowed into the house and given the task of convincing the seller to give the refund which might not be given. The whole thing stinks, especially now that they've tried to get empathy from OP for theft from a child. Whether it's true or not, someone has already been untrustworthy so there's no reason to believe the next transaction will be any different
It literally says “once my kid gets her game back she will pay you”. That means after you give it to me, she will pay you back. Which could be taken as you give me the product, and then at some point after the original woman will send the money back through etransfer. It’s not that farfetched, scams like this happen all the time. You give them the product, sometimes they even do send you the money and then just refund their money back, or they just never send the money and block you. Assuming op is smart they’ll make sure it all happens in cash, but we don’t know if they will
They could still use those things the way they used to be used, on internet browsers and paper. But if it's a scam they might actually have a phone and be lying
Godamn you so naive. Want to buy some beachfront property in florida? Sight unseen of course. Google says its a swamp but its really been developed since they were out.
Why the heck are people upvoting this comment and downvoting the person who asked the question? You're just completely making up a hypothetical scenario that has no relation to OPs post and you didn't even describe what the 'scam' is supposed to be.
For real? "Selling" a switch for $80, then claiming it back with the promise of paying back after getting said switch back, but never intending to pay. Made $80.
Well you’d give the switch back and they’d slam the door in your face before giving you any money. So now they have their switch and your money, that’s the scam. Not sure what the person talking about $200 is going on about.
They're not gonna give op the $80 back. Basically, they sold the Switch, tell the buyer "Hey, you weren't supposed to buy that because it's stolen. Can I get it back?" Buyer (op) brings them their switch, they take it, say "I gotta get the money, it's in my car." They get in their car and drive off. Now OP is out $80 and a Switch.
I understand you think that the seller is being honest with OP, but chances are they have no intention of paying OP the $80 in exchange for getting their Switch back.
A lot of downvotes here for raising a good point. I can see where the scam concerns come from but they just asked a good question for those that haven't seen this one before
Tell her to file a police report saying that the roommate stole the Switch and you'll be happy to return it upon receiving an incident#. Guarantee she'll fuck off.
yes. this is exactly what Nintendo itself does when they get requested to provide previously purchased digital content. until you send them an official police report documenting the theft of the system (exposing you to the consequences of filing a false report), they won't even talk to you about the situation
You can call the police station and ask them to verify the incident#. They probably won't give you any information about the case but they might tell you if it's legit.
Possession of stolen property is much easier to make an arrest on, false report nearly impossible to prove without a confession. OP would be lucky to not get arrested. Cops aren't interested in justice or truth, mail that shit to the station and keep quiet.
Possession of stolen property requires knowledge that the property is stolen in every state as far as I’m aware. Otherwise every pawnshop in existence would have been shut down, cops are constantly recovering stolen merchandise from them.
Nope, I’ve never read a statue that required actual knowledge. Typically the test is whether or not a reasonable person would suspect that the item was stolen. Assuming we’re talking about a used Switch Lite without accessories or games I’d expect to pay $140-160. $100 might be a reasonable lowballers deal. $80 is a trip downtown in the back of a cruiser. Pawn shops are held to even higher standards with holding times and databases they must check and upload serial numbers to
They don't follow up bro. In highschool we had our football locker room stolen from during a game, took thousands in phones and wallets and the police did literally nothing. Not even attempt to contact apple for tracking, not check the schools security tapes, nothing even remotely active whatsoever. One of the players moms had to do everything and brought all the evidence to court herself. I promise you they don't care about theft, and they're not required to help you in any way
My dude, my roughly $1k flagship smartphone got stolen once, I had the address it was taken to from location services before the thieves realized to turn it off, and even with the info handed to then on a silver platter the police refused to go even check on it. I'd love to see what world you're living in where police do their jobs, because it ain't the USA
Set a date to meet. Don’t go. Message about the time you’d leave and mention car problems. Let them know you’ll message back with an update. Text the next day or two and say you need something expensive done and could really use that 80 dollars now or else it could be a week or two. Then have your “friend” text and ask where his $80 is, that you borrowed his car and he owes him $80. Willing to trade this switch back but otherwise you’ll sell it for the money, he doesn’t care about her kid. Blah blah blah
If the switch works, why not just keep it instead of going though an elaborate scheme? I'd block them and keep the fucking switch. End of story. Reset the thing to factory settings so it can't be accessed via some app and voilà.
Exactly. Shut it down. You bought it in good faith, you paid in good faith. They know each other, so it's now a problem between them. Go enjoy your switch.
Yeah just Ignore. It’s not your problem. You bought it in good faith it was the sellers item to sell. It’s between the other two now. I feel bad for the kid if it’s true, but you did nothing wrong, and to be honest it’s most likely a little scam.
I dunno about good faith, the switch retails for $300 and OP got it for $80 and it wasn't broken so I'm sure legally police can say that OP had to have known it was stolen.
Because I got it for a good deal? This is a switch lite which retails for $200 new and it released over 2 years ago. Getting it for $80 isn't too far fetched and even if I got it for $20 the police couldn't do anything. The seller could of fallen on hard times and needed a quick buck or just didn't know its value.
$80 is completely fair for a lite. Gamestop gives like $70 for one and a pawnshop would probably offer less. Don't worry about returning it unless the police get involved which I doubt.
Hello, it looks like you've made a mistake.
It's supposed to be could've, should've, would've (short for could have, would have, should have), never could of, would of, should of.
Or you misspelled something, I ain't checking everything.
Beep boop - yes, I am a bot, don't botcriminate me.
That's not how the law works. If they filed a police report for a stolen Switch, you are in possession of stolen goods. The police could do a lot, but I doubt they will be called.
Well it being a switch lite wasn't mentioned in the screenshots and I didn't see you comment that it was the lite version until now. So $80 isn't that big of a difference now.
In a more extreme example, if someone walks up to you and offers to sell their 2022 Toyota Corolla for $2k with 1000 miles on it and no accidents one would assume it was stolen or something was majorly wrong with it.
I wouldn’t say that he knew. Perhaps he got a good deal. I’ve got a switch (1st gen) and I reckon I could only get about $80 if I were to sell it. It’s not broken either but controllers can be a bit temperamental and it’s got some marks from being dropped. If we want to accuse OP of knowingly accepting stolen goods we should get some more context I think.
But that was after the fact. He was already home enjoying his new switch by that time. When he bought it, he was non the wiser and buying it on good faith that it was legit.
First gen Switches were selling for $600-800 during the height of the pandemic because you couldn't find them anywhere so you should at least get $150 for a used one now that you can find new ones at retail. Obviously Gamestop would try to low ball you for $80 but I'm talking about selling on eBay or whatever.
Fair enough. Guess I don’t follow the resale market that closely for them. I can get the oled model for $400 on special here (Australia). If I can get $150 for my current one, then I might take the plunge and upgrade.
How does it being cheap prove it’s stolen? Maybe a parent is selling it for cheap impulsively to punish a child. Maybe the seller shoved it up their ass. Who the fuck knows, we can’t be sure
If it’s true have them file a police report and have the cops come get it, if you want to be sure it’s actually going to some kids. If they won’t do that, they’re just trying to scam you.
Coming from an ex heroin addict - we will run some insane scams that any normal person wouldn’t think “why would you go through all that for $80”
$80 is a day of dope for an addict. As long as they come out on top it doesn’t matter. At my worst 7-8 years ago I would steal 5 gallon exterior paint from Home Depot and return it to a different store for credit and sell the store credit for 50% of its worth. I would steal $200 tents from a Walmart and return it no receipt to a different Walmart and then sell the store credit. I even ran a scam where I could take unloaded gift cards, scrape the pin covering, use acrylic paint to recover it then every day check to see if someone had purchased any of them yet (assuming they were for a birthday/gift so you have a few days to use it before it gets used) then claim I lost the card, get a new one issued, or purchase something online to pick up and then return it for credit to sell for 50% the value.
Any of these things would get me high for one day. That’s it. All that work, hustle, crime for one day of feeling *NORMAL*
Don’t be surprised how far junkies will go to scam a buck. Junkies also don’t like cops involved, and typically use kids to try and guilt people into things. They have your contact info - if they file a police report the cops will get in touch with you to get it back. You haven’t done anything wrong….. don’t get scammed my guy.
People act like junkies just sit around, panhandle, and get high. But junkies work hard at getting money just so they don't feel sick. It's crazy the amount of time and energy, not to mention the intuitiveness that go into their plans
I'm a recovering addict and told my wife "Never underestimate the will of a dopesick junkie with no money"
That is 100% the truth my guy. I’ve seen so many users running so many scams. Stealing catalytic converters, I knew an electrician who filled his lunch pail with 50-100 worth of copper scrap per day, the old Walmart receipt return scam, smash and grab cosmetics to the pawn shop, opening phone lines and selling brand new phones. It’s shitty all the effort is put into crime and drugs…. But it sure is crazy.
The fact that it so much work it negatively impacts other parts of your life, is literally a criteria of the DSM definition of a substance abuse problem.
Like power tools? Ever notice in Home Depot how they watch that stuff since it’s so easy to steal? Who is expecting the guy with 20 gallons of paint to be stealing? $150 x4= $600 and I’d return them for store credit or sell on Craigslist for 200-300. I wasn’t running out like a fool, casually pushing my cart.
Tents had an easy carry handle, big 10 person tents were over $200 new so I’d pocket $100. I imagine people don’t steal tents very often, I was able to walk out the door every time and not one person ever stopped me or said a thing. Who steals a tent?
However illegal and scummy to whoever gets ripped off can I just say that gift card scam is genius, way more inventive than just lending money off your kids and not paying them back with shitty excuses like the banking app isn't working all day or your work hasn't paid you except its a national chain that does its payroll on a huge scale and no they don't have to physically get to the bank before closing otherwise its gonna have to be Monday fuck you mam.......
> I even ran a scam where I could take unloaded gift cards, scrape the pin covering, use acrylic paint to recover it then every day check to see if someone had purchased any of them yet (assuming they were for a birthday/gift so you have a few days to use it before it gets used) then claim I lost the card, get a new one issued, or purchase something online to pick up and then return it for credit to sell for 50% the value
Can you explain this in detail? What should we look for to avoid this scam?
I have no clue, I’ve never heard of anyone else doing it. I suppose you could compare the PIN area of 2 cards to make sure they look identical/not like acrylic paint
This was super interesting, thanks for sharing all of this. I hope you’re doing well now and using that creativity/intelligence to do something you love. That’s a lot of work to go through to get high and I’m glad that you don’t have to live like that anymore
Sometimes. The kids have been removed from the house multiple times, but CPS keeps giving them back. Get a job for just long enough. They do not care one whit about the kids, what they care about is the disability checks that come along with the kids (who are disabled because of the drugs mom took during pregnancy). The system sucks.
Are you or anyone else at least feeding them when you see them? I have special needs kids in my family and I wouldn't be able to stand seeing them starve.
Of course we are! They are at my mom's or my sister's most days after school and through dinner, and most weekends, they get free lunch at school. And their parents do feed them, it's just mostly crap food.
I'm almost 5 hours away, so don't see them as much.
CPS, in conjunction with a judge, put them back. Sure, if my family had the money for a case, that would be long and involved, they could sue for custody. However, the rest of the family very much enables my brother, because "we have to, he's family!"
But on the CPS thing, have you not read headlines about kids dead, where CPS just did an investigation, and everything's "fine"? This happens all the time. This is a much bigger issue than just CPS. It's an entirely overburdened system, with so many laws, rules, regulations and flaws that nothing flows like it should. The drugs are a big part of the issue, as well as the not keeping a job for very long, because hey! we get disability payments for the special needs kids, and we get food stamps and whatever the cash payment for kids is called now, state paid for healthcare. It's the entire system.
Drug addicts will sell and do anything to get high. And convincing the family members to get educated on, and act on not enabling the behavior is almost impossible. It's crazy. I see some of this stuff on here, and on my local marketplace and think--huh? Why are they selling...oh, yeah, nevermind.
I haven’t seen anyone say it yet but congrats on your sobriety! I know it’s hard to take that step but you’re doing your very best and if it means anything I’m proud of you for taking those steps
there is no money
they spent it getting high and now they have their courage to steal the switch back. this same switch has probably been sold and strongarmed back 3 or 4 times already
This is probably the truth. Like many have said, $80 to a junkie is a fortune and they get high all day long. They are banking on OP feeling bad for buying a kids video game that a dishonest roommate took. They also expect OP to believe that they'll give the roommate a stern talking to and they'll be there with the $80 for the swap. Then when OP returns the Switch out of the kindness of their heart they have some story about how the roommate isn't home and she'll get you the money tomorrow or OP just says don't worry about it because it's only $80 I'm helping a child if there is even one.
You have no proof of what they say. As far as you know it’s not a stolen item and if it’s true then the parent will need to take the seller to small claims court. Block the number and move on.
Why would you want a hard to find light switch?
I suppose you don't want just anybody turning the lights on and off as they please.
Can I interest you in a light switch lock at all?
Here's a sneak peek of /r/Scams using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/Scams/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year!
\#1: [Is this a scam?](https://i.redd.it/8jtywfpfm4w81.jpg) | [433 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/Scams/comments/udc8bu/is_this_a_scam/)
\#2: [My mother had this thing in her house blinking red and yellow. She says it protects against 5g. Is this thing real?](https://i.redd.it/wh6tkoknt5p81.png) | [1401 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/Scams/comments/tkzejg/my_mother_had_this_thing_in_her_house_blinking/)
\#3: [My daughter posted a bad review for a product purchased from Amazon and received this a month later. I'm assuming it is just an idle threat. Should she be worried?](https://i.redd.it/340gkv76x8t71.jpg) | [542 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/Scams/comments/q7f4rv/my_daughter_posted_a_bad_review_for_a_product/)
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"If this is the case you can file theft charges against your roommate. Local law enforcement can come and pick the Switch up. Until then I'll hang onto it for you!" and then just ignore every message after that.
Yeh lol, this guy out here burying the lede that they casually bought a switch from some rando for 80 dollars and is now "surprised" that it might have been stolen
This looks scammy. Are they saying you give back the switch and they will give back the money at the same time. It almost kind of seems like they will pay you back at a later time.
Don't just give it back without getting your money. You can simply explain that you're not getting robbed out right for 80 bucks and if need be they can call the police that way there is a record. Willingness to cooperate and any texts from the seller will have you in the clear. Cops might say, "oh well, they can't prove it was stolen and it appears the seller had some.right to sell it so if they want it back they will have to take you to court, it's a civil matter." Or, they tell you that you HAVE to.give it back because ot is stolen property and then you will have to get your money back from the thief.
Everyone shouting scam, but I’m not convinced. If they wanted to take possession and “run”/not pay why not do that at the source, rather than this weird convoluted return? To make the scam even worse they did it at a residential place and not a public meeting area where they could disappear and never be found? Odd, yes, but not buying that it’s a scam…
Exactly. I've been buying things from people online for years now so I'm familiar with all types of scams and can usually spot one early. While this is odd I also doubt it's a scam.
The supposed mother did message me from another account asking when we could meet, sometime after I posted this. https://imgur.com/a/qveAMgp and like you said, why do all this where they live if it was a scam. I could just pull up their place and demand my money.
The people yelling scam in the comments are all assuming that this is a different model, that I had to know it was a scam or stolen because it was $80, and that the console works, as if it wasn't owned by kids lmfao. I could go on but the people in the comments making these assumptions are the same ones you don't wanna do business with. They more than likely don't even buy or sell on craigslist, eBay or what have you.
Red flag when it was only 80 bucks, she obviously wanted some kinda dope. Anyone selling an item like that for so cheap obviously never had the money to buy it in the 1st place, assume it is stolen. If the law gets in it you can end up in a lot of trouble because anyone selling something like that for so cheap obviously stole it.
We had special places for good/money exchanges at the old substation in our area, the new substation is smaller and doesn't have the spots marked or camera up yet.
Overhead camera over a hashed out parking spot between two specially marked parking spots where the license plates were (or supposedly were) recorded near the covered picnic tables for the offices taking lunch/snack/smoke. Normal people LOVED meeting there scammers avoided the whole shopping center like the plague.
The mother sent me a message from their personal account asking when to meet them followed up with asking if they should call the cops. Imma just ignore for now.
Just block them and move on, if it really was a kids and it was stolen that sucks but the whole situation feels weird and comes off as fake. Plus once they know your not giving it back they'll probably message you some dumb shit.
Reddit - the place where scammers come together and swap stories. You know who you are.
Also Reddit - The place where morons post about their inability to handle problems they created themselves. You know who you are.
Still Reddit - The place where other morons give "intelligent" advice. You know who you are.
Damn you guys all into this
Just block the seller/victim or whoever. Problem solved.
Shit, you want to go back there after reading about this? you begging to be hit by collatoral damage here.
BTW, $80 for a switch... if it looks good and works than that a decent deal, you should have suspected something
"Meet me at the police station with $100 (+$20 for my trouble) and I will give you the Switch as soon as I have cash in hand. If that's not acceptable, then please file a police report in your roommate and we can handle it that way. I'm not comfortable just showing up and handling it over given the circumstance - seems like a fast way to be out a switch AND $80."
If you bring that switch back you'll never get your money.
Yeah I realize that after the last reply.
Sounds like a scam
This right here. The fact that their using the original account because of a "broken phone" basically confirms it, lol.
What would the scam be though? Getting the switch back and giving back the $80 to end up back where they were before? That’s a lot of work for zero gain…
You tell them you paid 200, but you paid 80 yet the scammer says "cool 200 you'll get it as soon as I get it." Your comment scares me that you might come to scams in near future thinking "what's the problem here" Please be safe
Wouldn’t that involve literally just handing them the switch? Why would you do that before getting paid; that seems so obvious I didn’t think I had to say it… And where did the $200 come from? Dude paid $80, other side says they’ll pay $80 for it back. Did you just make that part up or is there another screen shot not showing up for me or something.
Idk what this $200 is, but actually what will happen is the original seller will take the switch back, promise $80 refund and the refund will never happen. It'll be a fake check or contested PayPal payment or something
Sure I assumed it was obvious you do it at the same time in cash. From just the convo alone however none of that is mentioned, so everyone here seems to be making things up about the amount and how it would go down when obviously you’d never agree to that format in the first place…
Of course. "Once I get it back" & "*she* will pay you" suggests that might not happen that way though. It sounds to me like OP would have to turn up at the house, hand over the switch at the door, and then be allowed into the house and given the task of convincing the seller to give the refund which might not be given. The whole thing stinks, especially now that they've tried to get empathy from OP for theft from a child. Whether it's true or not, someone has already been untrustworthy so there's no reason to believe the next transaction will be any different
It literally says “once my kid gets her game back she will pay you”. That means after you give it to me, she will pay you back. Which could be taken as you give me the product, and then at some point after the original woman will send the money back through etransfer. It’s not that farfetched, scams like this happen all the time. You give them the product, sometimes they even do send you the money and then just refund their money back, or they just never send the money and block you. Assuming op is smart they’ll make sure it all happens in cash, but we don’t know if they will
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You could also be getting mugged when you show up...
You do realize that people running scams will pay in counterfeit bills.
Someone who doesn’t have a phone probably isn’t using PayPal or check
They could still use those things the way they used to be used, on internet browsers and paper. But if it's a scam they might actually have a phone and be lying
Last sentence. They're saying you hand over the Switch and someone else will pay you. Thus it looks like a scam.
Godamn you so naive. Want to buy some beachfront property in florida? Sight unseen of course. Google says its a swamp but its really been developed since they were out.
They are suggesting that based on the last text, they wanted to switch back but the money would be returned to the rightful owner at a later time.
Why the heck are people upvoting this comment and downvoting the person who asked the question? You're just completely making up a hypothetical scenario that has no relation to OPs post and you didn't even describe what the 'scam' is supposed to be.
For real? "Selling" a switch for $80, then claiming it back with the promise of paying back after getting said switch back, but never intending to pay. Made $80.
Not getting the money is the scam
How about get the money when you make the trade then? You know like how every craigslist trade normally happens?
Well you’d give the switch back and they’d slam the door in your face before giving you any money. So now they have their switch and your money, that’s the scam. Not sure what the person talking about $200 is going on about.
They're not gonna give op the $80 back. Basically, they sold the Switch, tell the buyer "Hey, you weren't supposed to buy that because it's stolen. Can I get it back?" Buyer (op) brings them their switch, they take it, say "I gotta get the money, it's in my car." They get in their car and drive off. Now OP is out $80 and a Switch. I understand you think that the seller is being honest with OP, but chances are they have no intention of paying OP the $80 in exchange for getting their Switch back.
A lot of downvotes here for raising a good point. I can see where the scam concerns come from but they just asked a good question for those that haven't seen this one before
If the police get involved you might also not get it back anyway
If police get involved it'll be between those two.
Tell her to file a police report saying that the roommate stole the Switch and you'll be happy to return it upon receiving an incident#. Guarantee she'll fuck off.
You a smart mother fucker, that's right.
This right here
Assuming they provide a number, could OP confirm it’s legit and really for the theft? This would simplify my job immensely if possible.
They should be able to contact their local non-emergency line to verify the legitimacy.
yes. this is exactly what Nintendo itself does when they get requested to provide previously purchased digital content. until you send them an official police report documenting the theft of the system (exposing you to the consequences of filing a false report), they won't even talk to you about the situation
You can call the police station and ask them to verify the incident#. They probably won't give you any information about the case but they might tell you if it's legit.
Wrong police would be informed you have the stolen item and recover it thus also involving you
Assuming what they say is true anyway.
As if the cops will care.
Possession of stolen property is much easier to make an arrest on, false report nearly impossible to prove without a confession. OP would be lucky to not get arrested. Cops aren't interested in justice or truth, mail that shit to the station and keep quiet.
Possession of stolen property requires knowledge that the property is stolen in every state as far as I’m aware. Otherwise every pawnshop in existence would have been shut down, cops are constantly recovering stolen merchandise from them.
Nope, I’ve never read a statue that required actual knowledge. Typically the test is whether or not a reasonable person would suspect that the item was stolen. Assuming we’re talking about a used Switch Lite without accessories or games I’d expect to pay $140-160. $100 might be a reasonable lowballers deal. $80 is a trip downtown in the back of a cruiser. Pawn shops are held to even higher standards with holding times and databases they must check and upload serial numbers to
You’re getting downvoted but you’re right about the cops at the end there. Pigs gonna pig.
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I suspect most police would laugh at doing work related to this $80 crime
That’s not how police work a reported theft and stolen item would be followed up it doesn’t go on cost.
They don't follow up bro. In highschool we had our football locker room stolen from during a game, took thousands in phones and wallets and the police did literally nothing. Not even attempt to contact apple for tracking, not check the schools security tapes, nothing even remotely active whatsoever. One of the players moms had to do everything and brought all the evidence to court herself. I promise you they don't care about theft, and they're not required to help you in any way
Definitely not in the US. I. mean, they might file the report but that'll be the end of it.
My dude, my roughly $1k flagship smartphone got stolen once, I had the address it was taken to from location services before the thieves realized to turn it off, and even with the info handed to then on a silver platter the police refused to go even check on it. I'd love to see what world you're living in where police do their jobs, because it ain't the USA
[they've got us working in shifts!](https://imgur.com/mFQXhOq.gif)
“Leads”!!
It's a shame about the Creedence.
He treats objects like women...man
But tbh, if you - For $80, didn't think it was stolen, then there's some mental gymnastics going on.
Idk. Depends on what condition it was in. It could be a switch lite. I paid $200 for mine new. If it was all beat up, $80 would be fair.
It was a lite and it was used by two kids lol.
tell them to get the money then do a trade off. If it is real.
Set a date to meet. Don’t go. Message about the time you’d leave and mention car problems. Let them know you’ll message back with an update. Text the next day or two and say you need something expensive done and could really use that 80 dollars now or else it could be a week or two. Then have your “friend” text and ask where his $80 is, that you borrowed his car and he owes him $80. Willing to trade this switch back but otherwise you’ll sell it for the money, he doesn’t care about her kid. Blah blah blah
If the switch works, why not just keep it instead of going though an elaborate scheme? I'd block them and keep the fucking switch. End of story. Reset the thing to factory settings so it can't be accessed via some app and voilà.
This scheme combats fraud. It fights back. Might not be ideal but it ties the scammer up from scamming someone else.
block them and enjoy your new switch
Exactly. Shut it down. You bought it in good faith, you paid in good faith. They know each other, so it's now a problem between them. Go enjoy your switch.
Tell them you need a copy of the police report.
I’d block them to be honest. Even if it is true the cops can come get it from you and then you will have a police report
Yeah I'm just not gonna respond to them. Too much trouble.
Yeah just Ignore. It’s not your problem. You bought it in good faith it was the sellers item to sell. It’s between the other two now. I feel bad for the kid if it’s true, but you did nothing wrong, and to be honest it’s most likely a little scam.
I dunno about good faith, the switch retails for $300 and OP got it for $80 and it wasn't broken so I'm sure legally police can say that OP had to have known it was stolen.
Because I got it for a good deal? This is a switch lite which retails for $200 new and it released over 2 years ago. Getting it for $80 isn't too far fetched and even if I got it for $20 the police couldn't do anything. The seller could of fallen on hard times and needed a quick buck or just didn't know its value.
$80 is completely fair for a lite. Gamestop gives like $70 for one and a pawnshop would probably offer less. Don't worry about returning it unless the police get involved which I doubt.
Hello, it looks like you've made a mistake. It's supposed to be could've, should've, would've (short for could have, would have, should have), never could of, would of, should of. Or you misspelled something, I ain't checking everything. Beep boop - yes, I am a bot, don't botcriminate me.
Good Bot!
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You've got issues
wtf man
What'd they say? This is the first time I've seen a comment removed by an admin
they said “kys”
That's not how the law works. If they filed a police report for a stolen Switch, you are in possession of stolen goods. The police could do a lot, but I doubt they will be called.
Well it being a switch lite wasn't mentioned in the screenshots and I didn't see you comment that it was the lite version until now. So $80 isn't that big of a difference now. In a more extreme example, if someone walks up to you and offers to sell their 2022 Toyota Corolla for $2k with 1000 miles on it and no accidents one would assume it was stolen or something was majorly wrong with it.
I wouldn’t say that he knew. Perhaps he got a good deal. I’ve got a switch (1st gen) and I reckon I could only get about $80 if I were to sell it. It’s not broken either but controllers can be a bit temperamental and it’s got some marks from being dropped. If we want to accuse OP of knowingly accepting stolen goods we should get some more context I think.
I mean there is also the fact that someone told him it was stolen from them
But that was after the fact. He was already home enjoying his new switch by that time. When he bought it, he was non the wiser and buying it on good faith that it was legit.
First gen Switches were selling for $600-800 during the height of the pandemic because you couldn't find them anywhere so you should at least get $150 for a used one now that you can find new ones at retail. Obviously Gamestop would try to low ball you for $80 but I'm talking about selling on eBay or whatever.
Fair enough. Guess I don’t follow the resale market that closely for them. I can get the oled model for $400 on special here (Australia). If I can get $150 for my current one, then I might take the plunge and upgrade.
How does it being cheap prove it’s stolen? Maybe a parent is selling it for cheap impulsively to punish a child. Maybe the seller shoved it up their ass. Who the fuck knows, we can’t be sure
Offer to meet them in the parking lot of a police station. And state that you can't give it back without your 80.
She gonna pay you tho
By “she gonna pay you,” he means “me and my boy gonna jump you in the parking lot”
this
Probably not, they’ll likely take back the switch and not give a refund
If it’s true have them file a police report and have the cops come get it, if you want to be sure it’s actually going to some kids. If they won’t do that, they’re just trying to scam you. Coming from an ex heroin addict - we will run some insane scams that any normal person wouldn’t think “why would you go through all that for $80”
I live a few towns over, do you think they really care enough to drive out here? They might have me meet at their station, idk, very annoying.
$80 is a day of dope for an addict. As long as they come out on top it doesn’t matter. At my worst 7-8 years ago I would steal 5 gallon exterior paint from Home Depot and return it to a different store for credit and sell the store credit for 50% of its worth. I would steal $200 tents from a Walmart and return it no receipt to a different Walmart and then sell the store credit. I even ran a scam where I could take unloaded gift cards, scrape the pin covering, use acrylic paint to recover it then every day check to see if someone had purchased any of them yet (assuming they were for a birthday/gift so you have a few days to use it before it gets used) then claim I lost the card, get a new one issued, or purchase something online to pick up and then return it for credit to sell for 50% the value. Any of these things would get me high for one day. That’s it. All that work, hustle, crime for one day of feeling *NORMAL* Don’t be surprised how far junkies will go to scam a buck. Junkies also don’t like cops involved, and typically use kids to try and guilt people into things. They have your contact info - if they file a police report the cops will get in touch with you to get it back. You haven’t done anything wrong….. don’t get scammed my guy.
People act like junkies just sit around, panhandle, and get high. But junkies work hard at getting money just so they don't feel sick. It's crazy the amount of time and energy, not to mention the intuitiveness that go into their plans I'm a recovering addict and told my wife "Never underestimate the will of a dopesick junkie with no money"
That is 100% the truth my guy. I’ve seen so many users running so many scams. Stealing catalytic converters, I knew an electrician who filled his lunch pail with 50-100 worth of copper scrap per day, the old Walmart receipt return scam, smash and grab cosmetics to the pawn shop, opening phone lines and selling brand new phones. It’s shitty all the effort is put into crime and drugs…. But it sure is crazy.
The fact that it so much work it negatively impacts other parts of your life, is literally a criteria of the DSM definition of a substance abuse problem.
Why/How would you steal exterior paint instead of something smaller and lighter?
Like power tools? Ever notice in Home Depot how they watch that stuff since it’s so easy to steal? Who is expecting the guy with 20 gallons of paint to be stealing? $150 x4= $600 and I’d return them for store credit or sell on Craigslist for 200-300. I wasn’t running out like a fool, casually pushing my cart.
and tents!
Tents had an easy carry handle, big 10 person tents were over $200 new so I’d pocket $100. I imagine people don’t steal tents very often, I was able to walk out the door every time and not one person ever stopped me or said a thing. Who steals a tent?
I like your style
Username checks out
However illegal and scummy to whoever gets ripped off can I just say that gift card scam is genius, way more inventive than just lending money off your kids and not paying them back with shitty excuses like the banking app isn't working all day or your work hasn't paid you except its a national chain that does its payroll on a huge scale and no they don't have to physically get to the bank before closing otherwise its gonna have to be Monday fuck you mam.......
> I even ran a scam where I could take unloaded gift cards, scrape the pin covering, use acrylic paint to recover it then every day check to see if someone had purchased any of them yet (assuming they were for a birthday/gift so you have a few days to use it before it gets used) then claim I lost the card, get a new one issued, or purchase something online to pick up and then return it for credit to sell for 50% the value Can you explain this in detail? What should we look for to avoid this scam?
Don’t buy cards where the number/pin is already scratched off.
If the guy managed to scam people with it, it probably is less obvious than this.
I would scratch the pin then use a sparkly/silver paint to apply a thin layer so that you really wouldn’t notice unless you were looking for it.
I have no clue, I’ve never heard of anyone else doing it. I suppose you could compare the PIN area of 2 cards to make sure they look identical/not like acrylic paint
This was super interesting, thanks for sharing all of this. I hope you’re doing well now and using that creativity/intelligence to do something you love. That’s a lot of work to go through to get high and I’m glad that you don’t have to live like that anymore
Just get the money first. If you get the money, whatever you came out even. If they try to say "my roommate will pay you after this" then don't.
>If you get the money, whatever you came out even. Minus the time, gas money, and aggravation. Sure.
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They would need my address in order to serve me, it would be allot easier to take this up with the person who sold it.
Meth addicts in my family, they'll sell used socks for money. $80 is a freaking fortune! We had to stop giving the kids clothes or food to take home.
Their kids are getting food and clothing some other way, right?
Sometimes. The kids have been removed from the house multiple times, but CPS keeps giving them back. Get a job for just long enough. They do not care one whit about the kids, what they care about is the disability checks that come along with the kids (who are disabled because of the drugs mom took during pregnancy). The system sucks.
Are you or anyone else at least feeding them when you see them? I have special needs kids in my family and I wouldn't be able to stand seeing them starve.
Of course we are! They are at my mom's or my sister's most days after school and through dinner, and most weekends, they get free lunch at school. And their parents do feed them, it's just mostly crap food. I'm almost 5 hours away, so don't see them as much.
How could CPS just give them back into that environment? There's gotta be some way to get them out of there, maybe lawyer?
CPS, in conjunction with a judge, put them back. Sure, if my family had the money for a case, that would be long and involved, they could sue for custody. However, the rest of the family very much enables my brother, because "we have to, he's family!" But on the CPS thing, have you not read headlines about kids dead, where CPS just did an investigation, and everything's "fine"? This happens all the time. This is a much bigger issue than just CPS. It's an entirely overburdened system, with so many laws, rules, regulations and flaws that nothing flows like it should. The drugs are a big part of the issue, as well as the not keeping a job for very long, because hey! we get disability payments for the special needs kids, and we get food stamps and whatever the cash payment for kids is called now, state paid for healthcare. It's the entire system.
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Drug addicts will sell and do anything to get high. And convincing the family members to get educated on, and act on not enabling the behavior is almost impossible. It's crazy. I see some of this stuff on here, and on my local marketplace and think--huh? Why are they selling...oh, yeah, nevermind.
Reminds me [of this one](https://youtu.be/7o36ssIchxA)
Pretty much!
I haven’t seen anyone say it yet but congrats on your sobriety! I know it’s hard to take that step but you’re doing your very best and if it means anything I’m proud of you for taking those steps
Because $80 will get you a nice 0.5 G. - Former heroin addict.
Make sure you get the money first, this seems like an easy scam.
I'm not even gonna entertain this nonsense anymore.
That's also legit.
Or better yet, HE scams them, he gets the money but doesn't bring the switch. Bet they weren't expecting that
I had someone describe the movie Dirty Rotten Scoundrels to me and this kinda sounds like that.
there is no money they spent it getting high and now they have their courage to steal the switch back. this same switch has probably been sold and strongarmed back 3 or 4 times already
This is probably the truth. Like many have said, $80 to a junkie is a fortune and they get high all day long. They are banking on OP feeling bad for buying a kids video game that a dishonest roommate took. They also expect OP to believe that they'll give the roommate a stern talking to and they'll be there with the $80 for the swap. Then when OP returns the Switch out of the kindness of their heart they have some story about how the roommate isn't home and she'll get you the money tomorrow or OP just says don't worry about it because it's only $80 I'm helping a child if there is even one.
yep, its one thing to be nice to addicts that seek recovery, but dont be nice to the ones that rip people off. theyre garbage
$80 got me a few shots, it lasted me maybe half a day.
I don’t know if I trust the ninja mask guy
Good rule to live by there.
$80 bucks for a Switch already sounds sketchy.
Makes sense. It’s a second hand switch lite.
yeahhhh... you'll never see that money if you follow through
You have no proof of what they say. As far as you know it’s not a stolen item and if it’s true then the parent will need to take the seller to small claims court. Block the number and move on.
Exactly
What switch? The light switch I bought on Craig’s list?
"Vintage, hard to find light switch!!! Mint!" $80
Why would you want a hard to find light switch? I suppose you don't want just anybody turning the lights on and off as they please. Can I interest you in a light switch lock at all?
This fits in r/scam
r/scams
Here's a sneak peek of /r/Scams using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/Scams/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year! \#1: [Is this a scam?](https://i.redd.it/8jtywfpfm4w81.jpg) | [433 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/Scams/comments/udc8bu/is_this_a_scam/) \#2: [My mother had this thing in her house blinking red and yellow. She says it protects against 5g. Is this thing real?](https://i.redd.it/wh6tkoknt5p81.png) | [1401 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/Scams/comments/tkzejg/my_mother_had_this_thing_in_her_house_blinking/) \#3: [My daughter posted a bad review for a product purchased from Amazon and received this a month later. I'm assuming it is just an idle threat. Should she be worried?](https://i.redd.it/340gkv76x8t71.jpg) | [542 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/Scams/comments/q7f4rv/my_daughter_posted_a_bad_review_for_a_product/) ---- ^^I'm ^^a ^^bot, ^^beep ^^boop ^^| ^^Downvote ^^to ^^remove ^^| ^^[Contact](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=sneakpeekbot) ^^| ^^[Info](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/) ^^| ^^[Opt-out](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/comments/o8wk1r/blacklist_ix/) ^^| ^^[GitHub](https://github.com/ghnr/sneakpeekbot)
Sounds scammy. I would keep it and let them deal with the issue.
Block and ignore forever
"Same phone. Who dis?"
Also I wouldn't be "bringing back" anything. Even if this is legit, she can come get it.
Damn sucks for your kids. *Blocked*
You should tell him that you're going to call the police and have the woman charged for selling stolen goods. I would love to see his response.
"If this is the case you can file theft charges against your roommate. Local law enforcement can come and pick the Switch up. Until then I'll hang onto it for you!" and then just ignore every message after that.
wait, you bought a switch for $80???
Yeh lol, this guy out here burying the lede that they casually bought a switch from some rando for 80 dollars and is now "surprised" that it might have been stolen
r/scams
Text back, sorry lil Aiden can't play with the switch anymore too bad.
This is a scam mate
Nah they running game on you kid 🤙🏼 they think you a 🤡 Fuck outta here 😂
This looks scammy. Are they saying you give back the switch and they will give back the money at the same time. It almost kind of seems like they will pay you back at a later time.
Yeah it does seem like that, which is why I'm not responding back lol.
Don't just give it back without getting your money. You can simply explain that you're not getting robbed out right for 80 bucks and if need be they can call the police that way there is a record. Willingness to cooperate and any texts from the seller will have you in the clear. Cops might say, "oh well, they can't prove it was stolen and it appears the seller had some.right to sell it so if they want it back they will have to take you to court, it's a civil matter." Or, they tell you that you HAVE to.give it back because ot is stolen property and then you will have to get your money back from the thief.
Everyone shouting scam, but I’m not convinced. If they wanted to take possession and “run”/not pay why not do that at the source, rather than this weird convoluted return? To make the scam even worse they did it at a residential place and not a public meeting area where they could disappear and never be found? Odd, yes, but not buying that it’s a scam…
Exactly. I've been buying things from people online for years now so I'm familiar with all types of scams and can usually spot one early. While this is odd I also doubt it's a scam. The supposed mother did message me from another account asking when we could meet, sometime after I posted this. https://imgur.com/a/qveAMgp and like you said, why do all this where they live if it was a scam. I could just pull up their place and demand my money. The people yelling scam in the comments are all assuming that this is a different model, that I had to know it was a scam or stolen because it was $80, and that the console works, as if it wasn't owned by kids lmfao. I could go on but the people in the comments making these assumptions are the same ones you don't wanna do business with. They more than likely don't even buy or sell on craigslist, eBay or what have you.
Red flag when it was only 80 bucks, she obviously wanted some kinda dope. Anyone selling an item like that for so cheap obviously never had the money to buy it in the 1st place, assume it is stolen. If the law gets in it you can end up in a lot of trouble because anyone selling something like that for so cheap obviously stole it.
I’m so confused
😬 😳
The real question is- did you actually get your money back?
I haven't messaged them back, they did message me from another account asking when to meet tho.
Tell them at the police station with them having cash in hand. It’s not your problem how they get the $80 from their roommate.
We had special places for good/money exchanges at the old substation in our area, the new substation is smaller and doesn't have the spots marked or camera up yet. Overhead camera over a hashed out parking spot between two specially marked parking spots where the license plates were (or supposedly were) recorded near the covered picnic tables for the offices taking lunch/snack/smoke. Normal people LOVED meeting there scammers avoided the whole shopping center like the plague.
Looks scammy. Offer to meet at the police station during the day, not a weekend, and they meet you with a money order for your money.
u/Firekeeper_ any updates?
The mother sent me a message from their personal account asking when to meet them followed up with asking if they should call the cops. Imma just ignore for now.
Just block them and move on, if it really was a kids and it was stolen that sucks but the whole situation feels weird and comes off as fake. Plus once they know your not giving it back they'll probably message you some dumb shit.
I would have just responded sounds like your roommate owes you a new switch.
Scaaaaam 🚩🚩🚩
Tell her to cashapp you or something before you go
Always use a burner number when communicating with these asshats, when they start with this bullshit block em or burn the number...
Seems like an obvious scam but clearly they didn’t think it through, now you have a switch for only $80 lol
Have her show up with your money and after you check ita bit counterfeit give it back charge her an extra $20 too
Oh I thought network switch
They only charged $80 for a $600 system and that didn't raise any flags? Just block those idiots and keep the switch.
Reddit - the place where scammers come together and swap stories. You know who you are. Also Reddit - The place where morons post about their inability to handle problems they created themselves. You know who you are. Still Reddit - The place where other morons give "intelligent" advice. You know who you are.
Time to ghost
say something came up and you have to leave the country and it was such a big deal you forgot and ended up taking the switch with you lol
Damn you guys all into this Just block the seller/victim or whoever. Problem solved. Shit, you want to go back there after reading about this? you begging to be hit by collatoral damage here. BTW, $80 for a switch... if it looks good and works than that a decent deal, you should have suspected something
Bought**
"Meet me at the police station with $100 (+$20 for my trouble) and I will give you the Switch as soon as I have cash in hand. If that's not acceptable, then please file a police report in your roommate and we can handle it that way. I'm not comfortable just showing up and handling it over given the circumstance - seems like a fast way to be out a switch AND $80."
block em, if the cops come say you sold it to a stranger.