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Are craigslist people always meanies?

T

toowrongfoo

Guest
Nov 25, 2017
418
982
#1
Honestly. After deciding to use this I've had two offers. On one, they wanted to buy something 50 bucks under what I was offering (which is insane considering the price I had it at) and the other ignoring the "cash only, neutral location" and saying he'd be sending a check, once it clears he's send over the mover?

Who are these people, and why so sleazy? I'm pissed now. Maybe I'll have to list here (where people seem to have some integrity)
 
#3
Over the last 5-6 years, the number of flakes and jerks has increased noticeably in my area.
It's the same crowd that haunts CL, letgo, and OfferUp.
It's to the point now for me that it's just easier to give stuff away, but not by using those methods.

-Mike
 
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#5
toowrongfoo said:
ABSOLUTELY! Which is why I wrote back with a "lol, you've got to be kidding me" post....
Click to expand...

When the guy offered you $50 less you should have done what they occasionally do on Pawn Stars....

You: $1,000 .

Him: $950 .

You: $1,050 . (with nothing else in the email/text message except the higher price).

He either settles for what you originally asked, or gives you a written LOL in return, which by not answering him after that, you get the best laugh of all, your non-acknowledged laugh inside, as you move on to plan 'B'.

Tell the other guy if and when the check clears, to meet you outside the police station parking lot.
Send him a picture of it and/or Google map directions!
 
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#9
Guys, we have a profanity filter for a reason. Going around it with "creative" misspellings is a great way to get infractions.
 
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#10
tl;dr - scambots and scammers are always meanies. People are not.

There are a lot of scam artistes and low-ball goofballs when you are selling via CL.

Ignore them, and be basically edumacated so that you know that check/courier/whatever is a total scam and you ignore it. They can't send their scammy check and movers if you don't tell them where to send it (or you could give those ones the address for the local police station - do NOT cash the checks, then you are involved in the fraud. If for some reason you get one, take it to the police.)

It's basically noise, and when selling, you have to learn to filter it out. It's hardly limited to CL.

State in the ad (you may have) that price is firm, you already stated cash only, neutral location, etc. and simply ignore any reply that ignores those parameters. The ones that don't ignore it are the real people, who are out there. But the scam artists are out there all the time, replying to every ad, so there will be a lot of those to ignore for every real live buyer response. And real live buyers may take time, because (not being bots) they have to see your ad and see that you are selling what they want to buy and that they can reasonably get to a location near you without it being a $100 trip for a $20 item.

Don't bother to write back and point out that (thing you said in the ad already) is so - just spam-can it and move on. If you did not state that the price is firm, and you want to reply to the low-baller, you can, or you can just wait for someone who isn't a low-baller to come along. The congenital low-baller will offer half the price even if you make it very clear that it's non-negotiable, and the only thing to do with those is ignore them.
 
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#12
I don’t know why all the hate for CL. I’ve used it in multiple big cities with great success. A lot. I imagine CL in smaller cities or towns is less useful. That’s why there’s ePay. (No seller fees on CL)

Things I’ve purchased on CL: assorted pedals, Epiphone les Paul (pinned neck, plays fine, though I’m a terrible guitarist), like new bass combo amp, camcorder, rented apartments, the list goes on

Things I’ve sold on CL: Old Bass, broken amp head, like new combo amp, like new acoustic guitar, pedals in all conditions
 
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#14
My experience is similar to BassAndReeds two posts above. I've sold and bought probably close to 50 items via craigslist and have had virtually no issues with the people I've dealt with. Most have been as nice and friendly as can be expected.

Sure, you'll get those idiots who offer you 40 cents on the dollar for what you're asking, but I just ignore them. It's very easy to say "I'm firm on the price." Another couple inquiries were all talk and no action but I eventually sold the item to someone else so no big loss other than a few texts.

It's free, and it works. By now we should all be aware of the different scams. They've been publicized for years now.
 
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#19
I’ve bought and sold hundreds of items on CL. I bought a suit of armor, wore it to a wedding (long story) and sold it a week later for a profit.

Yes, it does attract some weirdos but after a few exchanged emails, I either exchange phone numbers or tell them to buzz off. When we talk, I judge their character and move forward or close down the conversation.

Of course I don’t meet at my home, but rather a public place. Never had a problem.
 

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