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Dear healthwellness82@gmail.com, There is plenty to love about the convenience of the Craigslist Web site for its free classified ads, but there’s something to fear, too -- specifically the ease with which a scammer can con you out of cash. Don’t let that be your story. Craigslist enthusiast Skip Press, author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Making Money with Craigslist, describes six common Craigslist frauds and tells you how to defend yourself against them. He also shares a marketing secret to help you get the highest price for any item you sell. Something else you want to avoid -- flatulence from eating certain foods. Douglas A. Drossman, MD, professor of gastroenterology and hepatology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, shares a list of culprits that cause this embarrassing problem. Hint: There’s a surprising remedy. All the best,  Jessica Kent Editor BottomLineSecrets.com Don't Get Ripped Off on Craigslist Skip Press I’m one of more than 50 million US users of Craigslist, the top source of free classified ads on the Internet. Since the online marketplace started up in the 1990s, I have used it to buy and sell all sorts of merchandise -- ranging from computers to cars. I’ve used it so much that I’ve written a book about it. Here, common mistakes on Craigslist and how to get the very best deals... SCAMS SELLERS FALL FOR People who post merchandise for sale on Craigslist may get more fraudulent responses than genuine ones. Often they contain Web links. If you click on such a link, your computer may become infected with a virus, or a "cyber-robot" may harvest your e-mail address. (The crooks then sell the addresses to spammers.) Sometimes the link comes only in a second follow-up message after you have responded to an innocent-looking question, such as, "Is the item still available?" Never click on links in e-mail from people you do not know. Other common scams for sellers to watch out for... Buyers who pay more than the asking price. They will e-mail you a complicated story giving their reasons (they received a check from an estate, or they made a mistake and sent too much). They then ask you to refund the extra. You send them a check for the difference between the amount they sent and the price of your item and then discover that their check has bounced. Buyers who want you to send the item before they’ve paid for it. They come up with an excuse (a birthday, a vacation trip) so that you will deliver the item right away. Some buyers will claim that they have sent payment through Western Union or another wire service. Since it can take days for money to go through with these services, you may find out too late that payment was never sent. Accepting payment through PayPal usually is better. Buyers who pay by certified or cashier’s check. These sound official, but can be faked. If you deposit a fraudulent check, you’ll take the loss. Again -- stick with payment through PayPal. SCAMS BUYERS FALL FOR If you are a buyer, be aware that the more expensive the item, the more prevalent the scams... "Vehicle for sale" requires an especially suspicious eye. Craigslist says that offers to ship cars after purchase are 100% fraudulent. How it works: You see a vehicle listed at a very low price. When you communicate with the seller, you learn that the car is overseas and must be shipped. You will receive a complicated message detailing a complicated method of payment (through an escrow service, Western Union, etc.). Don’t bite. Do stop all communication with the "seller." If the listing is still online, flag it (all ads have a special area in the upper-right-hand corner to do this). If enough people flag a listing, Craigslist will pull it -- and you will help prevent other people from being burned. Stolen merchandise. Another reason that a price may seem too good to be true -- the merchandise may be stolen. Before buying a computer, bicycle, jewelry or other valuable item, ask the seller to send you the original purchase receipt, owner’s manual, installation disk or other proof of ownership. Trust your instincts if the seller is vague about proof. Fraudulent housing. Beware of listings for rentals or lease-to-own housing that require a deposit. Once you send the deposit (often by Western Union to an overseas address because the "home owner" had to leave the country unexpectedly), you are mailed the keys. When you go to the house, you find out that the keys don’t fit and the house is really for sale, not for rent -- and your money has disappeared. The listing was probably cribbed from a house-for-sale posting. SELLERS’ MISTAKES You are more likely to sell an item for a higher price if you avoid common mistakes... Creating vague headlines. Instead of browsing through local listings, many prospective buyers use the search feature on Craigslist or Google to find, say, a used cell phone with certain features. To help them pull up your listing, create a headline that is specific and succinct. Headlines can contain up to 70 characters. Use your allotment wisely. Always include important information such as size, brand/model and condition (for example, "New"). Avoid unnecessary words ("Look!") and abbreviations that people may not know ("EUC" for "Excellent Used Condition"). Real headlines that need help: "Brand-New Mattress" lacks manufacturer and size. "Simmons King-Size Beautyrest Mattress" lacks the item’s condition. Not including photos. Many people won’t click on a listing unless search results show that it includes photos. (You can post up to four.) But don’t rely solely on photos to communicate what your merchandise looks like. Colors may not show up well on buyers’ computers. Patterns may not be clear. Make sure that descriptions are clear and complete. Bad ad I recently found: The headline reads, "Large Chinese Vase." No photos are included. The description says, "Large, very pretty ornamental hand-painted authentic Chinese vase/planter -- acquired it many years ago -- not our taste -- maybe it is yours." What is the size of the vase? The color? Pattern? Shape? Condition? Age? Questions can be e-mailed to sellers, but many folks won’t take the time. Not protecting your privacy. When you create a listing, you can have your e-mail address automatically "anonymized" -- Craigslist will assign the listing a made-up e-mail address so that your real one is not seen by people who send you an e-mail response. But if you answer the e-mail, your e-mail address is no longer anonymized, and the person who received the response may use it to send you junk messages. Solution: Set up an e-mail account to use only with your Craigslist postings. Use Yahoo (www.Yahoo.com), Gmail (www.Gmail.com) or another free service. I often include my phone number in my listings so that prospective buyers can call me. If you don’t want to give out your number, consider signing up for Google Voice (http://Voice.Google.com). The service assigns you a free phone number that bounces incoming calls to a number you already have. Bottom Line/Personal interviewed Skip Press, longtime Craigslist enthusiast and author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Making Money with Craigslist (Alpha). He is a Hollywood screenwriter, former editor of Entertainment Monthly and author of more than 30 books. www.SkipPress.com  Gas Be Gone! Douglas A. Drossman, MD The average person produces one to four pints of gas daily and expels it about 14 times a day. Sometimes gas gets trapped in the body, causing uncomfortable bloating. What you should know...
Over-the-counter remedies: Charcoal tablets or simethicone (Gas-X) may help by breaking up big gas bubbles. Beano contains an enzyme that breaks down cellulose, a carbohydrate in legumes and cruciferous vegetables -- take it just before eating. To help prevent gas, take a daily supplement that contains the probiotic Bifidobacterium infantis, such as the brand Align. For lactose intolerance, avoid dairy foods or try Lactaid supplements, which contain lactase.
Bottom Line/Women’s Health interviewed Douglas A. Drossman, MD, professor in the division of gastroenterology and hepatology, and codirector of the Center for Functional Gastrointestinal and Motility Disorders at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, School of Medicine. He has published two books and more than 400 articles on gastrointestinal disorders. Important: Help your friends get much more out of life -- forward this E-letter to them. Better: Send it to many friends and your whole family. This is a free weekly e-mail service of BottomLineSecrets.com and Boardroom Inc. Boardroom Inc. 281 Tresser Boulevard Stamford, CT 06901-3229 ATTN: Web Team You received this e-mail because you have requested it. You are on the mailing list as healthwellness82@gmail.com. Or... a friend forwarded it to you. Disclaimer: Bottom Line Secrets publishes the opinions of expert authorities in many fields. But the use of these opinions is no substitute for legal, accounting, investment, medical and other professional services to suit your specific personal needs. Always consult a competent professional for answers to your specific questions. Bottom Line Secrets is a registered trademark of Boardroom Inc. Subscribe | Unsubscribe | Update My E-mail Preferences Change My E-mail Address | Contact Us | Privacy Policy Copyright (c) 2011 by Boardroom Inc. |
Flatulence occurs when bacteria ferment undigested carbohydrates in the colon. The telltale noise is caused by vibration of the anal opening... odor depends on the foods eaten and types of bacteria present. Flatulence producers include asparagus, beans, bran, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, corn, onions, pasta, peas, potatoes, prunes and wheat. Dairy foods cause gas in people who lack the enzyme lactase needed to digest the milk sugar lactose. Called lactose intolerance, this gets more common with age. 
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