Am I being paranoid or does this sound like a setup..?

[TabuIsMe]

There are some books I wanted to buy to prep for an exam, and its a process to order them directly from the manufacturer, its a PITA basically.
So there is a for sale section on a different forum, and one of them was selling the books in NJ, local pick up only. I gave her my number, and when I speak to her on the phone it doesn't sound right.

I ask her where she wants to meet, and she tells me to come to her house, in Newark
Who tells a stranger to come to their house to pick up books?
so she was pressing for a time and goes on about how "well some people might pass by and get the books, cause before they didn't have money, but now they might have the money.. you know how it is." Tells me she doesn't have a car bla bla bla and again emphasizes I need to pick it up from her house. This whole deal felt sheisty so i told her i wasn't interested.


Also, i googled the address she gave me and its a few blocks walking distance to many public places to make this transaction.

What does VBOT think?

[Jobaka]

It puts the lotion in the basket.

[Cybercowboy]

I'm sure they have their basement nicely outfitted with the best soundproofing money can buy...

[Kerrmudgeon]

Just bring a couple of gorilla type male friends with you, no problem! I can't think that selling books is a good hook for robbing folks, only poor students want them anyway! Take pics of said house. I'd do it, but then, I'm kind of a gorilla type male......

[TabuIsMe]

Originally Posted by Kerrmudgeon

Just bring a couple of gorilla type male friends with you, no problem! I can't think that selling books is a good hook for robbing folks, only poor students want them anyway! Take pics of said house. I'd do it, but then, I'm kind of a gorilla type male......

The books would cost over 300 dollars with shipping.

This is the address:

[99 pewtercoupe]

Dont go alone.

Make sure someone knows the address you are going to and if they dont hear from you within a specific period of time, alert the cavelry.

[BuckyThreadkiller]

Buy the books through the PITA manufacturer and sleep better tonight.


Sometimes cheap is really expensive.

[Sea Six]

Have her walk down the freakin' stairs and meet you on the pavement in front of her building.

She doesn't want to play this way? Tell her you're forwarding all her information on to local LE to see if they want to run her for priors.

[TabuIsMe]

I already found a different seller not LOCAL this time.

Originally Posted by BuckyThreadkiller

Buy the books through the PITA manufacturer and sleep better tonight.


Sometimes cheap is really expensive.

Its not even about the money, its about waiting nearly three weeks to get them.

[Kerrmudgeon]

Originally Posted by Sea Six

Have her walk down the freakin' stairs and meet you on the pavement in front of her building.

She doesn't want to play this way? Tell her you're forwarding all her information on to local LE to see if they want to run her for priors.

This!, call her from the sidewalk, bring a pet gorilla/big dog, and meet her on the street, check the books, pay, walk away, study, EASY! Don't over think it.

[G8rDMD]

Originally Posted by BuckyThreadkiller

Buy the books through the PITA manufacturer and sleep better tonight.


Sometimes cheap is really expensive.

If you have a gut feeling that something isn't right, trust it.

[DJ_Critterus]

[lspencer534]

Always trust your gut. Life's short enough; don't shorten it.

[R.Zaragoza]

NOT a safe place to go.

[kylebuck]

It's a trap!!!!

[theriver]

you just brought back memories of what a fkin scam college textbooks are. Campus bookstore run by barnes and noble, or some other, that gave pennies on the dollar if they bought em back. Do they still "revise" them every semester to make the current one's obsolete for class?

[69camfrk]

Originally Posted by BuckyThreadkiller

Buy the books through the PITA manufacturer and sleep better tonight.


Sometimes cheap is really expensive.

Probably the best advice here. No damn way. Listen to us old crusty guys on this one!!!

[TabuIsMe]

Originally Posted by theriver

you just brought back memories of what a fkin scam college textbooks are. Campus bookstore run by barnes and noble, or some other, that gave pennies on the dollar if they bought em back. Do they still "revise" them every semester to make the current one's obsolete for class?

It's absolutely the same. My college bookstore is run by barnes and nobles and honestly its a joke. I have donated some books because they became worthless.
The only plus is now you can rent some books for a semester, which is only an option on a few books.

[OddBall]

Old saying: If it smells like a turd, it usually is.

Sounds like this one ain't passed the sniff test.

[Kerrmudgeon]

When I was at university, the professors were in charge of what book was to be used for their course, and of course they would select their own! In the world of academia, the motto is publish or perish! Either your book sells or you're gone, out of sight, out of mind. It's a bullshit scam, they'd change books every year, and the poor students had to suck up the cost, and text books are very expensive!