Is craigslist a total waste of time? [Archive] - Colorado AR-15 Shooters Club Discussion Forums

rammit

05-01-2011, 20:57

Going off the thread in the for sale section, how many of you out there hate/despise/loathe craigslist?

I have had many terrible experiences on craigslist, including the website itself. I feel like other people flag my adds to stop me from competing with theirs, 95% of the time people end up meeting up with you only to bitch and moan about the condition, the price, how much of my time they wasted.

I sold a snowmobile, not perfect condition, used but a everything ran, and I had it listed for less the trade in blue book value, and had MANY people come to look at it to shoot the shit wasting over an hour of my day, to say their time was wasted. I feel like craigslist gone way downhill, there was a time when there was deals to be had, now days I have to list everything for way over my real asking price just because i expect to be lowballed.

Every sale I have had with people in this board has gone flawless,[Beer]. Is it just me or does 95% of the world really SUCK that much

Colorado Luckydog

05-01-2011, 21:12

hip55

05-01-2011, 21:48

I love Craigslist.

It's free, everyone uses it and I have complete control over my ads.

I also understand that there are many flakes that you have to deal with.

I sold a car last month in 5 hours.

rammit

05-01-2011, 21:50

I just dont get why an my add for an Outboard motor got flagged 4 times in one day, it was in the right sectio, in the right area, I just feel like there's someone that just out to get me.

patrick0685

05-01-2011, 21:53

hip55

05-01-2011, 21:53

Who knows why someone would do that. It might have been someone selling a similar item.

sniper7

05-01-2011, 22:14

Flagits are annoying that is for sure. I love craigslist other than they are anti-gun. Probably for the best though.

I like it. Free. Can put whatever info and condition of sale as you please. I like less regulation. With that comes more responsibility and the need for higher awareness to protect yourself.

Busta Prima

05-02-2011, 00:53

I would take Craigslist over Ebay for sure!

I've had all good experience both buying and selling. The only real complaint I have is the spam you get when you sell. They have machines that answer ads with short questions like "is this still available" and "is this your best price." When you answer they get your real email and WHAM . . . you get SPAM!

I've learned to spot these but what helped more was asking people to provide a phone number or say something a machine wouldn't!

But hey, it's all free so the price is right!! Try placing an ad in the paper . . . it will cost a fortune and I bet less people will see it.

flan7211

05-02-2011, 03:05

90% of every ad i've contacted has wound up being spam. Pretty gay.

gcrookston

05-02-2011, 05:28

90% of every ad i've contacted has wound up being spam. Pretty gay.

casual encounters section? [LOL]

I sold a car on Craigs list last year and didn't have any problem. I've never bought anything off of it, though I've tried (no seller response or already sold).

Recently I listed a couple of items and received scams on each, but no serious offers.

MrPrena

05-02-2011, 06:14

I would rather do eBay over craigslist.

TOns of welchers.
Spammars and frauds.
Craigslist also do not have a great pw reset.
Now, I need to open a new craigslist, because I can't get to get my pw reset.
I had bad luck with help@ either.

86k10

05-02-2011, 06:57

I do a lot of deals on craigslist. I have the most problems giving things away. I have about 80% bullshit rate on free items. My boys trade/buy/sell PS3 games on there often, Its a lot better than Game Stop.

Ranger

05-02-2011, 08:07

I do a lot with Craigslist as well and I just prepare for the worst. When selling something WAY below book I'll get a hundred emails and it's out the door in an hour, if I'm selling close to book then far fewer responses and many low ball offers that want to come out and look at it and waste my time (or no shows, these really piss me off) and for free stuff, I plan to run the ad for a half a day and take it down because they never stop asking. Last year I gave away rocks and dirt from my backyard project and was inundated with calls for it, had about 20 no-shows and finally got someone to get it after a day waiting for the people to actually show up.

Roll the dice, Craigslist is a mixed bag depending on what you are selling/trading/giving away.

10x

05-02-2011, 08:21

The list has its place. I sold a car there that we couldn't get rid of in Colo. Springs. Sold it to someone out of our immediate area and happy with the deal.

Bought a few small things. Bike carriers were $200 - $300 in the stores. I found one for $40. Just what we needed.

We got no response on furniture for sale, so, that went to Goodwill.

Although only a few deals, we haven't had any problems.

Zundfolge

05-02-2011, 08:26

Craigslist is one of those great examples of caveat emptor/caveat venditor.

If you're real careful how you word your ad you can weed out a lot of idiots.

I sold a car a while back and when I first posted the ad I wasn't specific enough and had people wanting to trade other crap, write me personal and 3rd party checks and probably 3/4 of the people asked if I'd take payments and of course several people that wanted me to ship them the car.

Once I rewrote the ad to make it clear that I wasn't going to put up with any foolishness and that cut down the idiots by a significant amount. Still sold the car to an idiot but it got sold and I got cash.

mrghost

05-02-2011, 08:28

I would take Craigslist over Ebay for sure!

Same here. "feebay" is not at all what it used to be and I prefer to avoid the hassle of boxing something up and shipping it if I don't have to. The pluses ebay has over craigslist is you open up to a wider market (obviously) and don't have to even consider having a stranger come to your home, but I've always had good experiences with CL so far. Never had a problem with any of my ads getting flagged, but like others, the initial responses tend to be the spam/scam/Nigerian responses, but those are easy to ID.

Other than that, sometimes it seems like there are periods where it's just a bad time to be in the marketplace and there's no bites whatsoever, and then a couple months later the same item goes quick.

Lex_Luthor

05-02-2011, 08:48

I've had mostly good experiences with Craigslist. I've bought and sold a few cars on there. I've sold numerous other items, as well as bought things. As long as you're smart and watch yourself, most of the people I've come into contact haven't been to iffy. I've only had 2 cars sold where people came to my house to look at it. One was a truck that the differential was completely locked up and it was stuck in the garage. The guy ended up towing it out with a loud screetch as the tires dragged along the driveway. I usually arrange to meet someone open and public, like a grocery store parking lot.

mrghost

05-02-2011, 09:09

I usually arrange to meet someone open and public, like a grocery store parking lot.

That is good advice and I try to do the same as often as possible. People I don't know don't need a tour of my home just to inspect a used printer, etc.

sandman76

05-02-2011, 09:23

I've sold a pickup. a vintage motrcycle and Nuggets tix on CL. Bought a trailer from a guy and got a great trailer for a good price.

Got some spam and some of those responses where they say they are out of town and want to buy the item. That they will send their agent with the money yada yada.

Overall good experience.

Zundfolge

05-02-2011, 11:06

I usually arrange to meet someone open and public, like a grocery store parking lot.
Indeed. I usually have people meet at my office (as some of y'all here that have dealt with me have discovered).

Of course part of that is because I can give easy, clear directions to my office ... my home is in one of those confusing, twisty street residential areas.

Tweety Bird

05-02-2011, 15:28

I love Craigslist.

It's free, everyone uses it and I have complete control over my ads.

I also understand that there are many flakes that you have to deal with.

I sold a car last month in 5 hours.

The car I sold about a year ago took a little longer. It took 9 hours from the time I put the ad up to the time the car went away on a trailer. But that included the time the guy took to drive to my place from Omaha to get it.

I also sold a nearly new riding mower last year. It only had about 5 hours on it and I had it listed for more than $600 below the price of a new one. Had a guy drive a Chevy Suburban with a trailer 100 miles (one-way) to look at it only to finally decide it wasn't described properly and wanted me to drop the price by one or two hundred dollars. I wouldn't do it so he drove all the way home with an empty trailer. Hell, he probably spent almost that much money in gas with that rig. I relisted it the next week at a price $100 higher than my original, and sold it to someone else in a day or two (at my original asking price).

Most of my headaches with CL is the emails I get from the scammers. I usually just reply with a picture of a naked girl, asking if he's seen my wife. Generally, that's answered with bad words. But it's still great fun.

rammit

05-02-2011, 16:41

I also sold a nearly new riding mower last year. It only had about 5 hours on it and I had it listed for more than $600 below the price of a new one. Had a guy drive a Chevy Suburban with a trailer 100 miles (one-way) to look at it only to finally decide it wasn't described properly and wanted me to drop the price by one or two hundred dollars. I wouldn't do it so he drove all the way home with an empty trailer. Hell, he probably spent almost that much money in gas with that rig. I relisted it the next week at a price $100 higher than my original, and sold it to someone else in a day or two (at my original asking price).
.

I have had this happen to me multiple times, with two different machines, I sent them very detailed pictures, and then they show up to haggl, I think its one of the unwritten craigslist tactics. In both cases I wouldn't budge, one guy took it and the other walked.

hip55

05-02-2011, 17:15

I always post in my ads-

- CASH ONLY
- NO LOWBALLERS
- FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED - I WILL NOT HOLD IT FOR YOU

esaabye

05-02-2011, 17:25

I love it, just picked up 10 PMAGS new in the bags at a great price. Last month and the month before I picked up ACOGS for very good prices. Got the wife the exact table she wanted for 1/2 price and when I sell I generally get what I want.

Lot's of flakes but that is part of the fun, got to look at it as a game, and win it! It is how I fund my shooting problem.

[Beer]

jmg8550

05-02-2011, 18:04

I've bought some good stuff off of Craigslist. I have sold some stuff on Craigslist. I haven't had any problems but I watch the people that I buy or sell to very close and I'm always packing. I guess I have just been lucky.

I agree with all except that I have had so many flakes it isn't funny. They say they will show up and never do so I sit around waiting for nothing. Not even the common courtesy of a phone call. Or they text message me about the ad. REALLY? are people that antisocial they can't pick up and dial a phone number and talk to a person about something being bought/sold? And I always am packing. Too many weirdos.

Scanker19

05-02-2011, 18:16

I too like the list. My worst experience on there was trying to give a FREE X-mas tree away. I had a lot of people call and were coming over to get it but i ended up putting in the trash. The reading comprehension of some of these people, over half backed out after finding out that the Free Real tree was in fact real.

That one and my ad for a cat. The rules allowed for a small adoption fee but not selling. My wife wanted to ensure it went to a good home, but the flagits kept taking it down.

Other than that i've sold a car, bought a car, school books, and numerous other stuff without a problem.

However comma. Scammer are rampant and annoying, and I always meet packing. (that sounds dirty)

Plus who doesn't love the rant and raves or missed connections. the personals are the best.

claimbuster

05-02-2011, 20:20

Use it from time to time. Most transactions have been good, a couple of flakes.

Woodchuck

05-02-2011, 21:39

I have had success in selling to vehicles. I have picked up some tips from reading this post - thanks.

kwando

05-02-2011, 22:26

put specifics in the ad when they email you, and it will hopefully filter out some spam.

cash only, and never accept a check of any kind.

I've sold a lot of items on CL from camera equipment, to cars.

fitz19d

05-03-2011, 01:58

My favorite was when I was trying to give away a good condition mattress that appeared to be worth at least >$50, so many parties that would arrange to meet, then never show up or call back.

Some good clean deals first time through, lots of no shows like everyone says. But sometimes still much better than dealing with the hassles of ebay and non face to face encounters.

I love it, just picked up 10 PMAGS new in the bags at a great price. Last month and the month before I picked up ACOGS for very good prices. Got the wife the exact table she wanted for 1/2 price and when I sell I generally get what I want.

And passing along those savings flipping acog and mags for ~retail here?

Tweety Bird

05-03-2011, 15:42

I've said it in other threads and I'll say it again here; make them put some skin in the game in the form of a 10% deposit via PayPal or something. Tell them it's only refundable if they meet as promised and then decide they don't want it. Once they know they have to put a few $$ into it, you'll get far fewer no-shows, and only the serious ones will go through with it if they want you to hold it for them. The ones who aren't sure won't follow through on it and you won't be out any time, gas or $$.

It's just too easy for someone to claim they're going to show up, and then leave you hangin'. I think some people do it for sport. Forcing the issue will weed out most of the assholes like that.

Fly Fisher

05-03-2011, 15:54

Other than the spam you get Craigslist is awesome.

If you are patient and have cash on hand you can get some sweet deals.

I got a brand new Orvis fly fishing backpack $150 retail for $60
Got a $1200 Sage fly fishing set up used a handful of times for $300. I have bought no less than 8 fly rods and reels off CL in the last year, all hign end stuff and I feel I can use it for a year or too and get at least 90% of my $ back. Never is hard to get a deal with the rivers are frozen over[Coffee]

Usually decent luck selling stuff quickly too

The nigerian scammers of you won the lottery I ll send a check for your table and you wire me the difference crap gets old.

I managed banks for 10 years and it is amazing how many people fall for that.

ChunkyMonkey

05-03-2011, 19:32

I managed banks for 10 years and it is amazing how many people fall for that.

Oh you meant, how one would show up with a very obviously fake Bank of Nigeria cashier check to cash it, then get pissed 5 days later when it bounced, or how one would show up with joyful tear in her/his eyes saying that he just won millions from a stranger through an email. [Help]