If you're selling one of your extra Kindles, be careful!

capguncowboy went on a bit of a rant said
21

So I posted up one of my Kindle Fire HDX devices I got from Meh last week. I listed it on Craigslist and surprisingly haven't heard anything since posting it... until today.

Here's how the conversation went:

Piece of shit: Is this Andrew from CL with the Kindle?

Me: Yep

Piece of shit: Ok so this is 16gb never registered right?

Me: Right. Still sealed in the box. Still in the plastic.

Piece of shit: sweet. I'll buy it for $220 and day this week. can you send me the fsn so i can verify its not stolen? Should be on the box somewhere

Me: I can provide a receipt for it. Not comfortable giving out the fsn# to someone I don't know

Piece of shit: sorry, I ask for fsn's for everything electronic I buy. it's not like I can do anything with them...

Me: You can report it stolen rendering it useless. On amazon's FAQ, it states not to give that info out to anyone. It's not that I don't trust you in particular. I don't trust anyone I don't know. I'll guarantee it's not stolen. If you show up with cash in hand, you can verify it with Amazon before you leave.

Oddly enough, he stopped responding. I knew it could be reported stolen, but wasn't aware why anyone would bother such a scam until I did a search. Apparently, the FSN is all you need to get a replacement. Amazon sends you a new one with a pre-paid shipping label to send the defective one back. They have it shipped to a vacant house and never bother sending it back. Meanwhile, Amazon blacklists your Kindle making it useless. You're none the wiser until you sell it and get a pissed off buyer on the other end.

Just be careful. There are lots of pieces of shit out there that like to take advantage of decent people.

By the way (this might be fun) his phone number is [REDACTED]. Feel free to send him a text if you'd like.

If anyone is interested in a Kindle Fire HDX, I have one :)