Help with temporary security!!

C

cbrgator

New member
Need some advice regarding the following situation:

My parents are selling all of their bedroom furniture on Craigslist, and they have not moved it anywhere (wish they would have put it in the garage). A potential buyer is coming over tomorrow morning to check it out and my dad is concerned about security because of how shady Craigslist can be.

He is one of us, and he will be carrying his PM9 in his pocket. The bedroom is in the back of the house and has direct access to the back patio via sliding glass doors. My dad intends to bring him around back, instead of through the house, and close any doors which might give this individual a view of other parts of the house.

He doesn't know this potential buyer, and doesn't know if they are bringing additional people. He has asked me to be there for additional help/security, etc. and I am happy to oblige. I will be carrying my Glock 19 and intend to place either my AR or Saiga 12 (maybe both?) somewhere accessible but hidden for use in a worst case scenario.

What should we be doing tomorrow to best ensure our safety? Should my dad and I remain together for strength in numbers? Should we separate? Any help you can offer would be great!

I don't foresee anything bad happening, but I want to be ready if it does. We all know its better to be overprepared than unprepared.
 
well id say its good to be prepared, but i do think you may be a little overly nervous. if more than two guys show up i might be concerned. i have had pretty good luck with cl. however i do not invite anyone in my house or back yard
 
Take the furniture out front into the driveway or at least into the garage and don't bring anyone you don't trust inside the house or into the back yard.
 
I cant bring the furniture anywhere. It is not my house, it is my dad's house and I do not live with him. I'm not overly concerned, but I don't want to be caught off guard either.

My dad's plan is very poor. He is bringing them around the back to see the furniture in his bedroom because he never put it into the garage. I tried to get him to do it. Was not within my control.

Those are the cards I was dealt. I just want to make sure I don't make any obvious boo boos here. I've had good experiences with Craigslist as well, I'm doing this for my dad, not for me and he is concerned, being a naturally pessimistic and cynical person.
 
First of all, you are a good son.

I have several layers of "security" for CL sales. Unfortunatly, here, some seem to have been bypassed. BUT The last security step upon meeting a CL contact is to make it painfully obvious that I am writing down their licence plate number. Yes, I stand in the middle of driveway while you go down the hill with a pad of paper and a pen, diligently writing.

No vehicle visible? I'd be invisible too. :D
 
It would be a "Dad leads, . . . I follow" scenario for me.

He would let them in (I would be taking pictures as they walk up to the house, . . . through a window or something).

I would make sure he introduces me and they know I am there, . . . and I would make sure that they always stayed between us.

If there were more than two, . . . I would ask who the buyer was, . . . and he could come in, . . . the rest could sit on the veranda, . . . and if you need an excuse, . . . we don't need a lot of traffic on the carpet back here, mud and all, y'know.

If they have a problem with that, . . . they can leave.

May God bless,
Dwight
 
If I had a situation where I felt like I had to have two armed men with a loaded shotgun nearby just in case....

I wouldn't.

If selling things on Craigslist makes you that nervous, don't.

Being prepared is one thing. Believing that the guy coming to buy your couch requires the presence of a virtual SWAT team is quite another.

I can't believe people take pictures of those who come to buy stuff they're trying to sell. If I responded to a Craigslist ad and the seller was taking my picture and acting like you guys describe, I'd be gone. That's way, way over the top.
 
Craigslist can be sketchy. Sometimes you go to buy some furniture listed there and there's an armed security team prepared to kill you at a moment's notice.
 
just carry concealed like normal and dont sweat it. if you were giving the furniture away i would expect some seriously sketchy people, but if i was giving it away it would be on the curb. more than likely you will have some "nice" people come look at it.
 
Did your dad post pics of the furniture taken with a digital camera? If so, was the geotagging disabled before the pics were taken? IMO, digital pics or videos with geotagging are a very legitimate security concern. I don't allow people I don't know into my place. People I do know do not take pics or videos with cell phones or cameras with geotagging. If they post the pics or videos on a social website or email them to others, other people can see what goodies you have and find your location with the geotag information.
 
I'll tell you what I did when I sold a pair of snowshoes on CL.

I dug a pit, put a trapdoor over it, and put a couple lions in the pit. Had the guy stand right on top of it while we did the deal.

Two observations:

A) Trapdoors can be tricky. There was a little mishap when my neighbor came into the yard to fetch his straying dog. I'm sure he'll be fine, eventually. Can't say much more...pending litigation, blah, blah, blah.

B) Be sure to check the fine print when you rent the lions. Had no idea I was supposed to kill the pig before feeding it to them! What kind of lion can't avoid a flying pig hoof? Well, live and learn.

Hope this helps.
 
I think the loaded shotgun, rifle and picture taking is overdoing it a little. If I was that worried about it, I wouldn't invite them in, I'd put the stuff in the garage or something. Inviting them into your house ready to start shooting if things get hairy is silly. It's bedroom furniture, not a drug deal. It's good to be prepared, but you shouldn't use the excuse "I have a gun" to rationalize disregarding basic security measures.
 
There's prepared, and then there's paranoid.

I think you're borderline on the latter.

If I were that worried about using CL, I wouldn't.

I carry pretty much all the time, and I observe people fairly well. Aside from that, there's not much you can do.
 
You're both armed and working with the buddy system. That's about all you can do without having this guy run away with his money, or call the cops.
 
I can't believe people take pictures of those who come to buy stuff they're trying to sell. If I responded to a Craigslist ad and the seller was taking my picture and acting like you guys describe, I'd be gone. That's way, way over the top.
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