Competitors replying to my ads

[Stephen Nicholson]

I recently posted some ads online in the usual places (craigslist etc) to find any potential leads on homes to purchase. The Ad was geared towards finding homes to flip. I got one email today that just didnt seem to feel right. Some googling led me to finding that this was from another local flipper who I have never met.

My question would be....how do I respond to this email? Would I treat it as if it was a normal lead, giving a competitor a chance to see how I operate? Should I ignore it since the email sender was not open regarding being a competitor? Or should I send them an email back asking if they are who I know there are?

I dont want to burn any bridges with anyone local, you never know when you might need to do a deal with someone, but it annoyed me that they would reply to my ads posing as a potential seller.

[Stephen Nicholson]

Thanks for the advice, I think I will reply without saying I know who they are, I will act as if they are a normal lead and ask some questions on potential properties that they may have to sell and see where it goes from there. 

Has anyone else found themselves in a similar situation? I have been in contact with several other competitors and always identified myself p. I never thought about trying this tactic. 

I guess I should also ask has anyone replied to competitor ads in an attempt to gain some information?