Oodle

I contacted 4 or 5 different people today, advertising pure-bred kittens at a very low price. Most were charging $500 or even less for these kittens and the photos were showing absolutely adorable, top of the line examples of these kittens. After about 45 minutes, I realized that every one of these sellers were running a scam. They all followed the same formula:
1. I texted one seller who posted that they lived in Brooklyn. This was Awemba, who was selling a Siamese kitten. When I wrote that I lived in Manhattan and I would like to come meet the seller and the kitten, he/she texted back that they were no longer living in Brooklyn they had just moved to the mid-west for a new job. The date the ad was posted was today - they obviously didn't realize I would see that. I was told the kitten would be shipped to me without any extra charge. As soon as I said I would not buy a kitten sight unseen, they dropped all communication.

2. A woman named Cynthia L. Was selling a Bengal & wrote that she lived in Trumbull, CT. Again, I texted that I would like to come meet. She wrote feel free to call - when I called I got an announcement that I should leave a message for Juan. "Cynthia's" area code was not a Connecticut number - it was the area code for San Antonio, Texas.

3. Dorothy C. Posted a photo of a gorgeous purebred Bengal that every breeder is selling for $2,500, which is the going price for these kittens. She was selling her kitten for $400. She also wanted to ship the kitten, with payment up front.

4. David F. Had a similar story - when I contacted him, his name was now Lee Wange (no explanation offered) and he was in Las Vegas with the kittens of his deceased mother so he would have to ship them. These were the terms he sent:
"When you email me the information's, we shall prepare the change of
Ownership papers before we do the delivery registration with the
Carrier. And i also note that it will cost you $500 before the kitten
Including the delivery and sale fee and you will be making the
Payment directly and UPFRONT FIRST to the delivery agency. Then you will be
Contacted by the shipping carrier and they will tell you exactly the
Arrival time of the kitten to your doorstep and I will send all the
Paper works for the kitten together with the health certificates and
Ownership papers."

I can't imagine anyone naive enought to send money under these terms! There were 2 more cases like this. All had the same method. These are all frauds. I hope this helps potential buyers to avoid getting scammed.

The site is very similar to a number of other sites. Oodle simply aggregates adverts from other sources and makes it easier to search... and you need to sign up and very your email address before you can post.

I tried this site out to sell a bicycle and had pretty good results with it. This is a more refined version of craiglist, but they have a lower volume of traffic. I am not sure why CL doesn't upgrade their look and feel to something like this site. It is free to post, so just like CL it is a great way to get people to look at what you are selling. I even posted a link on CL to my photos on this site. CL has that sad ability to only upload tiny photos online.

I didnt sell my item on here but I did like the look and feel much better than craigslist. The also have you sign on with facebook which I think helps keep some of the freaks away. Craigslist is full annonimity, while oodle has some information behind because of facebook. I ended up selling my item on craigslist but felt more comfortable on oddle. I hope they can get more traffic to help people sell items.