Dear Lifehacker,
I’ve spotted some amazing deals on Craigslist, but I also know people sometimes get screwed (out of money!) on Craigslist. How can I weed out the scams from the legit listings and make sure I get the best buys?

Signed,
new Craigslister

Dear NC,
Craigslist is a terrific resource for nabbing great deals on everything from furniture to bicycles to electronics—but it’s also full of duds and scams. Although not all listings on Craigslist are fraud attempts, it’s smart to take extra precautions when buying fromany stranger online (whether on Craigslist or eBay or another buy-and-sell site). Here are a few things you can do before and during the sale to make sure you don’t get ripped off.

While Searching: Watch Out for Red Flags in Craigslist Listings

The risks: getting suckered out of your money, giving up personal info to a scammer, and losing your faith in humanity

How can you spot a Craigslist scam? Many of them feature the same telltale signs:

• An abundance of spelling and grammatical errors. A typo here and there is forgivable, but when a listing is riddled with poor English, it’s an indication an overseas scammer posted the ad using automated translators—or the person behind the ad just doesn’t care about the listing. Either way, you probably want to stay clear.
• Generic product photos. Look for real photos instead of the typical product pics or photos found elsewhere on the web. It’s hard to believe the seller actually has the item in question if he’s using PR photos.
• Ad posted in multiple places. Sellers are only allowed to post their ad in one city. If you see the same ad posted word for word in a distant city, that’s a huge red flag. You can search all Craigslist sites at once with previously mentioned Search All Craig’s or more recently highlighted Craiggers. Search Google for the ad wording to see if it’s been posted elsewhere or check the Craigslist Scammers blog dedicated to just this purpose.
• Too good to be true. The biggest telltale sign of a Craigslist (or other) scam is if the ad promises a ridiculously good deal. When you’re buying from sellers seemingly desperate to get rid of their used stuff, it’s hard to know what’s a true offer or just bait for your personal info. Know what your product is selling for (see below) and, if you have any doubt, pass on it.

Craigslist offers other common sense rules to avoid scams, including only meeting in person for local listings, never wiring any money, and never giving out any personal or financial information.

When You’ve Found an Item to Buy: Vet the Seller and Know Your Product

The risks: wasting your time buying a fake or a broken item or something other than what you’re expecting; paying too much for it

Let’s say you found what looks to be a legit deal—the photos are unique and the listing doesn’t look like typical Craigslist scams. Now it’s time to ask some questions and find out more about the seller and the item.

Ask detailed questions about the item you want to buy over multiple emails or calls.Does the laptop come with all the installation CDs and has a virus scan been done on it recently? For an apartment rental, what’s included in the rent or what amenities are nearby (you can verify this with Google Maps)? What problems or issues with the item has the seller had? Why is this person selling the item? What’s the exact model number of the item? Asking questions like this not only gives you more information about the product, it verifies the seller has firsthand knowledge of it.

For whatever you’re buying, also look up ahead of time common problems with the item and how to spot a fake. Google “common problems with [X product]” or “how to spot a fake [X product]” to find the right questions to ask and things to look for when testing out the item in person (see below). You can also check for recalled items at several government sites.

Look the seller up. Search the seller’s email address and phone number on both Craigslist and Google. Look up the seller’s name on Facebook and White Pages services (see if the address matches, too, if you’re given one).

Check if the price is right. Although a lot of items on Craigslist may be great deals, sometimes the prices really don’t make sense. In a Priceonomics study, people sold their used TVs on Craigslist for 14% less than the same TV was selling new, but a 30% discount for headphones. The 14% discount, Priceonomics says, isn’t enough of a deal for the hassle of possibly buying a dud. Sellers, apparently, were pricing their items based on the original prices they paid—not the market value at the time, which made them price their used TVs too high. Check out price guide Pricenomics to find acceptiable price ranges and recommended used prices. You should also check the going prices for that specific model/item on Amazon and other retailers. Want an even better deal? If you’re ready to haggle, use the 15-to-20 percent rule to find a more reasonable price (sellers may be adding in this haggling price too).

At the Exchange: Meet Safely and Inspect the Item

The risks: getting robbed or physically hurt; not noticing problems or missing features until after you’ve parted with your money

Ready to buy? Now comes the most anxiety-ridden part: the exchange.

Meet in a public location, such as a bank or coffeeshop. Craigslist says meeting in person will help you avoid 99% of scam attempts on the classifieds service. Meeting face-to-face can still be risky though, so to avoid the chance of being robbed, meet in a public place—preferably one with lots of witnesses and security cameras. A bank lobby, Gizmodo suggests, is perfect because you and the seller can withdraw and deposit cash without having to carry it around. If a bank lobby seems too odd to conduct your personal secondhand buying business, a hotel lobby, busy gas station, coffeeshop, or similar location would work (and these also usually provide ATMs for easy access to cash). (Note: Buy & Flip advises not using a parking lot, mall, or fast food restaurant because people aren’t actually paying attention there. I think Starbucks or Barnes & Noble may be perfect because of how busy these locations are and you have outlets for testing electronic items.)

Bring a friend. Go with a friend or family member for additional protection. He or she can also help you evaluate the item in question.

Kick the tires. Make sure you test everything and try using the product before you pay for it. For a used computer, check the ports, make sure you have the license keys and admin account information, confirm the battery life is what’s expected and all the specs match, and look for things like massive dust buildup. Before you buy a cell phone, make sure it can be activated by verifying the electronic serial number or ESN with your cell phone provider or atCheckESNFree. If you’re buying a car, make sure all the paperwork is available (registration papers, titles, and maintenance information) and look for other stolen car signs. If it’s got a plug, plug it in to see if it works. Push all the buttons, and try all the features.

After all your sleuthing and research, hopefully you’ll end up with a proud purchase.

Love,
Lifehacker

P.S. See our Definitive Craigslist Guide for the Recession and How to Avoid Getting Scammend When Buying or Selling Online for even more advice. Or share your tips and experience with us in the comments.

Have a question or suggestion for Ask Lifehacker? Send it to tips+asklh@lifehacker.com.

photo remixed from an original by bioraven (Shutterstock)

If you’ve never done it before, the idea of building a computer from the ground up can seem very intimidating—but it’s one of the most satisfying projects a Tech enthusiast can take on.

Being more of a software gal than a hardware geek myself, I was the only Lifehacker editor who had never built a PC from scratch. So when I needed a new PC late last year, I took the plunge and built my custom system. I’m so glad I did—the project turned out to be one of my proudest accomplishments of 2008. If you’ve cracked open your PC before to install a new hard drive or TV capture card, but you’ve never built a whole new system from the ground up, it’s not as difficult as you might think. Here are my notes for first-timers who want to build instead of buy their next computer.

Why Build Instead of Buy

“But computers are so cheap these days,” you say. “Why waste the time and energy building your own system when you can get a great machine fully assembled and shipped to your door?” that’s a great question. Building your own PC will not save you time. It might save you money, but that’s not even the best reason to do it. For me, it was a fantastic hands-on educational experience. It gives me a deep sense of satisfaction every single day when I press the power button on my tower, watch it light up, and know that I plugged in the wire that goes from that light to the motherboard. Building your PC takes the mystery out of what’s going on inside that black box you spend hours on per day.

There are other good reasons to build instead of buy, too. With your own build you can customize your system just how you like and make your perfect media center or gaming machine. You can save money if you already have some parts (though see my warnings on the dangers of a “Frankenbuild” below). Upgrading your PC in the future becomes easier and cheaper since your parts aren’t tied to a particular manufacturer. With a custom build you can do fun stuff like overclock your CPU and get more bang for your buck, or install OS X where it was never intended to run.

In short, building your own PC makes you feel like a badass.

What You’re Getting Into

Don’t get me wrong, though: building a PC (for the first time especially) takes research, time, gumption, patience, and a willingness to deal with several WTF moments. If you’ve never cracked a PC’s case and installed parts, like a new hard drive or a video card, start there first. If you’ve got that experience under your belt, you might think that building a new PC is just a matter of snapping together a few parts. It is, but building from the ground up takes much more than an hour or two. My build took two full days, one online order, one returned motherboard, two trips to Fry’s, one condescending sneer from a sales associate when I asked a newb question, and one trip to Radio Shack. If that sounds like a lot, well, it was, and there were moments in the process when I wished I’d just bought a Dell. But when it finally all came together, all the sweat makes the results even sweeter.

Where to Start: Researching and buying Your Parts

You scared off yet? No? Good. Let’s get down to it. There are a gadzillion articles on the internet about building your own PC, but many are way out of date, or just don’t get specific about what exactly you should buy. When I had to start researching what parts to purchase, of course I turned to savvy Lifehacker readers to help me out. Several readers mentioned Ars Technica’s excellent system buyer’s guide, which breaks down exactly what parts you’d want for one of three levels of computer: a “budget box,” a “hot rod,” or a “God box.” The 2008 guidepublished last fall; make sure you use the most recent one when you start your research. I started by plugging parts from Ars’ “hot rod” system list into Newegg to get a sense of price and see if there were any deals, coupons or upgrades. In the end I didn’t use Ars’ exact recommendations, but it was an awesome, up-to-date, jumping-off point.

Your research into parts is the most important stage of the process. For first-timers it can be bewildering, and you will have questions. Just keep reading, take notes, consult with forums or sales associates, and remember that if you make the wrong purchase you can always return it for the right one. In the photo to the left you’ll see my build’s case, motherboard, power supply, CPU, and RAM. (I had a video card, DVD drive, and a hard drive from an old machine I planned to use in my new build.)

See this entire comment thread for more resources on deciding what parts to buy for your budget.

Get Down and Dirty

Once you’ve got your hot little hands on all the parts you need, the real fun begins. There are two stages to your build: the hardware stage, and the software stage. Adam’s already covered how to install each individual hardware component. Here’s the list:

• Install the motherboard and CPU
• Install your RAM
• Install the video card
• Install the hard drive and DVD drive

Once you’ve got everything plugged in and mounted inside your case, leave the case sides off and plug in your keyboard, mouse, monitor, and power, and press the On button. This is the moment of truth. The first time you see the lights come on and the system setup appear on-screen, you’ll feel like you’ve just arrived at the top of Mount Everest.

If the machine doesn’t power on, or there’s no video signal, or the keyboard doesn’t work—just unplug everything and check your connections. It took me a few hair-pulling, teeth-gnashing attempts to get my new build to boot properly. If it doesn’t work the first time, take a breath, unplug it all, and try again. Don’t cry; that won’t help.

Once you’re into the machine’s BIOS setup, key around and make sure the motherboard recognizes your DVD or CD drive and your hard drive. You’ll need those working in order to install your operating system. Everything there? Now set your boot sequence to check your optical drive first. Insert your operating system’s disc into your CD or DVD drive, and restart the machine. Now your operating system’s setup will launch on boot, and you can install away.

In the meantime, blast very loud rock music, strut about the vicinity, arms upraised, and revel in your greatness.

Mistakes I Made That You Can Avoid

When you build your first PC, keep a few things in mind I wished I’d realized before I started.

• Beware of the “Frankenbuild.” A great way to save money on your new PC is using parts that you’ve already got around. But I was overly optimistic about what items from my very old Dell tower would work in my new system. I assumed my hard drive would work (it did, but it was an IDE drive, which I wound up replacing with a faster SATA model), I hoped my video card would work (it didn’t), and I thought my DVD drive would work (it did). In the end I wound up buying parts I thought I’d be able to reuse, so my total price wasn’t as low as my initial estimate.
• Expect mishaps. I bought the wrong motherboard. Well, not the wrong one, but one that didn’t have a FireWire port, which I wanted. Well, I had a FireWire card, but it didn’t fit into the motherboard. Anyway, I figured all this out after I installed the CPU, which meant I had to remove it from the board, break the thermal compound seal, and ship the motherboard back. When I got the new motherboard and reinstalled the CPU, because the thermal compound left there didn’t work anymore, the machine would start and within 10 seconds overheat and shut itself off. Next thing you know I’m scraping hardened thermal compound off the CPU with Goof Off and a credit card, and reapplying fresh from a tube I had to pick up from Radio Shack. Lesson: there will be mishaps. Expect crap to go wrong. Be confident in your ability to fix it after you Google the solution to the problem hundreds of people have had before you did.
• Read the frakkin’ manual. With years of tinkering in my PC’s case under my belt, I went into my build eager to start working and only skimmed the user guides and online howto’s before I started. Don’t do that. Open and read the full-on manual that comes in the box with every single one of your parts. If you’re not sure about something said manual includes, do your research before you plug anything in.
• Buy locally if you can. My initial parts order was from Newegg, which was great price-wise, but really sucked when I had to return my motherboard, because I had to pay shipping fees and a restocking fee. With a Fry’s down the road, I regretted not just buying everything at the store itself from the get-go to to make returns easier.
• Give yourself lots of time. I wrongly assumed I’d be able to finish my build in a day, but it took two whole days and stressed me out because they were work days. Don’t build a new PC when you’re on deadline or otherwise pinched for time. Give yourself a whole weekend and a clean and spacious work area that you can leave filled with packing debris and electronic parts strewn about for a few days.

Have you built your own PC? Are you considering taking the leap? Let us know how it went or what you’re thinking in the comments.

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$59 for luxury Bentley, Aston Martin, or Lamborghini Ride-Along Experience ($177 Value). $99 for driving Experience ($237 Value).

Now available to anyone with enough cash, luxury sports Cars were originally designated for ostentatious athletes such as basketball stars and champagne-treading water-polo players. Harness power and opulence with today’s Groupon from GT Dream Cars at Old Bridge Township Raceway in Englishtown, New Jersey. Available dates to redeem this Groupon in 2011 include September 1–5 and October 14, 21, 28–30; 2012 days will be specified at a later date. Choose between the following options:

• For $59, you get a three-lap luxury sports-car ride-along experience (a $177 value).
• For $99, you get a three-lap luxury sports-car driving experience (a $237 value).

GT Dream Cars leases its elite fleet of exotic sports cars on a temporary basis to help add a touch of luxury, beauty, and raw power to an afternoon or weekend. Clients select one of three swanky steeds: the powerfully sleek Aston Martin Vantage, the luxurious Bentley Continental GTC convertible, and the Lamborghini Gallardo, capable of speeds up to 202 mph with the power of 550 horses or 78 furious mastodons. Whether easing into the driver’s seat or calling shotgun, auto aficionados take three spins around Raceway Park’s 1.35-mile road course, blasting down the 1,400-foot straightaway and deftly maneuvering the mini corkscrew. Family and friends can achieve a vicarious thrill in the flat-screen-laden lounge and purchase lunch on-site, though the cars will not partake due to their strict celery-and-motor-oil diet.

The New Jersey track is easily accessible from New York City via New Jersey Transit. Clients can take a bus or train from Penn Station to Matawan/Aberdeen, where GT Dream Cars staff offers pickup and drop-off services for an $18 fee. Alternatively, the raceway is about 40 minutes away by car from downtown, or seven days by tortoiseback.