wrote in message
...

On Mar 13, 10:26 am, "John Grossbohlin"

Yup... gotta be careful. It's a good idea to not go alone with
relatively
large chunks of cash... It would be reasonable to bring other people
and/or
friends Smith and Wesson.

Or even better, in stead of cowboying up, use some common sense and
let the whole deal go. For me, I can't understand why someone would
want to buy a used saw so badly that they would need to meet a seller
prepared to go Dirty Harry on their ass. Don't think hauling a gun
into a highly suspicious situation is an answer.

Mmmmm...... maybe some common sense might work. Could be too easy to
do that, though....

I can't ever understand why someone gives a situation like this more
than two seconds of thought, or worse, why they will try to make it
work to their advantage. Guess we can keep an eye on the obits to see
how going to an unfamiliar area to meet someone you don't know to buy
something you are unsure about and cannot test to see if it operates
properly from a highly suspicious seller works out. Don't forget to
bring cash!

In this case there clearly are red flags that there may be a problem and the
situation should be avoided. That isn't always the case... There has always
been and will continue to be risk associated with "private transactions." As
such, a risk assessment should be a prerequisite to meeting someone to
complete any such transaction.

I've had enough suspect responses to CL ads over the years to be wary...
I've also had contact with literally hundreds of felons over the years and
know that identifying an individual's true intent is not a clear cut
endeavor. Having company in the form of other people and/or defensive arms
is not an issue of wanting to play cowboy or Dirty Harry... it's an issue of
self preservation if things go bad despite your best efforts. Common sense
only gets you so far sometimes.

I know people who will not try to defend themselves... one woman whom
suffered two forcible rapes accepts the fact that she freezes and a gun
would be useless to her. I know other rape victims whom had no means to
protect themselves but wish they did at the time--in addition to the rapes
they suffered beatings and in one case a beating and pregnancy. I knew
people who are now dead as things went bad when they made mistakes or
otherwise were not prepared. One was an elementary school teacher neighbor
in her own home... she investigated a noise in her attached garage and was
shot by an intruder. Another was in the wrong place at the wrong time on the
street and became a kidnap/robbery/murder victim... neither stranger murder
was ever solved.

How self preservation is undertaken is up to the individual... After having
bad experiences some, such as the double rape victim, use the avoidance
method and stay home with the doors locked. Others plan for worst case
scenarios and pray they never need to defend themselves. Others are
relatively oblivious.

In the case of this CL saw ad... I'd pass as it doesn't pass the risk snif
test. In other cases flakey people and/or non-experts sell things and they
are relatively clueless about what they have (estates and spouses are good
for that). Some sellers are equally worried about being robbed and will not
meet at their homes. In these kinds of cases seemingly odd behaviors may be
harmless but you never really know until the transaction is over... In
general you need to make your best judgment, hope for the best, and be
prepared if it goes bad.