Why throw shade on Craigslist?

Everything on my local CL is priced at full retail. If I was 30 years younger, I'd probably call and try to bargain. I used to love getting stuff through the Recycler. Nowadays, I can't be bothered.

 

Apparently there is a Craigslist for Ireland, although I've never used it, nor do I know of anyone who has.
Funnily, I looked up it's musical instruments page section and it's got 2 ads, one for a flute at 600euro, the other one looking to rent a guitar.
The musicians section has 18 entries, none of which seemed to be worth investigating.

We do have a site called Adverts.IE, which I've used a bit, and never had a problem with...but it's a buy-and-sell site, not a contacts one.
A shame, really. I'd like the idea of craigslist for meeting other musicians...it can be tough otherwise.

 

It's sifting through crap often enough, but the crap is local so you can easily enough see it and walk away from it. More often you can tell it's crap without bothering to see it in person. Now, if you don't do your CL deals in person, I have a bridge I'd like to sell you, of the suspension over water sort. Since they added the "search by distance" along with "include nearby areas" it has become pretty easy to figure how far you might be willing to go and not look at the ads from 100 miles away, or have to check 3 CLs if you live at the edge of one CL area.

The no feedback thing cuts two ways, and there are sleazebags of various sorts, but many are blindingly obvious and easily ignored. I've had perfectly decent purchase & free pickup experiences and OK sales/free givaway experiences (sales, you have a lot more of the sleazebags to actively ignore - buying, you see their ad and move on, most of the time.)

While there is overpriced crapula that's always there because it does not sell, in the local area there's plenty of reasonable and occasionally even free stuff that is not up for long, because someone buys it or takes it away. You just have to learn to ignore the guy who thinks his "custom" gawdawfully butchered $200 (before butchery) guitar is now magically worth $600 due to his gawdawful butchery, and similar folks. They are not hard to spot, really, especially if you visit with any regularity.

And, of course, the stock internet scam artists who claim to be local but are somehow thousands of miles away and want to do a deal for a thing that will be delivered by courier, or they will send you a (fake) cashiers check for more than the amount, you just cash the fraudulent thing and give the excess to the delivery guy, etc....

 

The Musicians section is the aft underbelly of the music world. In Houston, there is a "Ready to gig - " ad thst pops up every two weeks or so. Supposedly Its a bunch of garage wankers zips. They send you a long list of songs for an audition, but its really just getting fresh meat for their jam

 

It’s not the institution, if you will, of CL; it’s the morons and scoundrels who misuse and abuse it. It’s a chronicle of stupid is as stupid does, or how dumb someone else thinks we are. On a good day, business gets done, win-win for everyone involved. On a bad day, hate the players, not the game.

 

Hmm. Did you actually read before knee-jerking that response? I'm far from anti-CL, but I also use it eyes wide open.

 

CL is fine, but it's not for the faint of heart.
You need to know what you're doing or get scammed.

The folks who are selling are generally flaky & sometimes outright lie.
You also have to be willing to walk away when you go look at something & it's not what you expected.

Some people feel obligated to buy once they get there & check out the item, but this is NOT the case.
One of my family members makes some extra cash buying & selling off CL, but this is a person who has been doing that sort of thing for 40 years.