@CameronDev On gumtree I generally stop every text conversation after the first two or three messages with “I don’t have time to exchange texts, and I have two other people texting me. Just call me if you’re serious. My number is XX”. About 5% of people call and they’re always polite genuine buyers/sellers. I don’t bother with email or messages with anonymous people when it comes to discussing sales and transactions.
@CameronDev Yeah it’s unfortunate. There’s no good solution I’ve found to sort genuine people from time wasters and scammers. I have so many people string along for hours with text messages and then end up wanting to do a bank transfer or have me send something somewhere or their brother will drop something off. It’s hard to sift the genuine from the dodgy. If i manage to talk to someone I quickly work out if they’re realistic and serious. It’s a hard problem.