Craig-flakes

[smallbloc]

My ad's state ''calls only'', then I get text messages for more photo's, or low offers. I ignore them all, and they never call! Craigsflakes! Recently got a call back about a '36 ford coupe I'm selling, we agreed on a price, and then he never called back.Then others will call for your address and come by with cash.

 

[seagravedriver]

BEWARE OF PEOPLE THAT SAY HONESTY', 'TRUST', 'PAYPAL'

There is a good chance if you run into flakers, they are trying to scam you.

Don't forget the all important, "God bless you", on a poorly worded e-mail.

 

[VWandDodge]

Don't forget the all important, "God bless you", on a poorly worded e-mail.

ROTFLMAO!

 

[Valk]

I sold a Mustang 5.0 a while back on the local craigslist, and I had money in hand less than 12 hrs after I posted the ad. I probably had 8 different missed calls and a bunch of emails within that time period, and the first guy showed up, drove the car and low balled me bigtime... I just flipped open my phone and showed him all the missed calls and told him he was first in line, and I'd take what I asked. Guy left, then 5 minutes later he knocked on my door and handed me a wad of cash. Easiest sale I've ever made. . .

 

[tolken4]

I have almost exclusively good dealings on craigslist. I don't even count the calls that say they will do something though. Sure there are thousands of them, but I never even pay them attention. Show up at my door with the cash and we talk.

Everyone else gets their questions answered and are forgotten as soon as I hang up. Regardless of their promise. If they show up, then we talk.

 

[thrifty bill]

My basic rules:

1. Cash in person only. No email negotiations (most people never show, so why bother).

2. No holding the item, with a slight modification: Call when you leave your house, (we know the approximate travel time), and I will hold it until you arrive.

3. I don't adjust my schedule for Craigs List buyers, too many no shows.

4. On deals I am buying, I never bombard the seller with questions, instead, I get in the car and drive. Most of the time, sellers take the easiest route. The guy with 100 questions gets put on the bottom of the list, while I am there in person closing the deal.

5. On stuff I am selling, I always take full size, high quality pics, and use a hosting site. C/L pictures ****. Pictures will sell your item.

6. Remember its free, not fleabay. So expect some hassles with flakes in return for it being FREE.

 

[jhelrey]

I've missed some sweet deals due to me not seeing pics. For instance, a pair of sleds on a trailer. Guy had it advertised for $1500.00. 2-1999 ZL500 Cat Sleds. One was actually a 2003 F7 Patriot Edition and another was a 2000 ZR 500 EFI with reverse. Guy that bought them cleaned them up and sold them. Kept the trailer. The sleds, etc were from a tenant whom left it all behind.

 

[long handles]

Craigslist is a free service. If people had to pay to play (list stuff) it would get rid of the flakes,

No it wouldn't, there's flakes on ebay and other pay to sell sites.

 

[long handles]

My basic rules:

1. Cash in person only. No email negotiations (most people never show, so why bother).

2. No holding the item, with a slight modification: Call when you leave your house, (we know the approximate travel time), and I will hold it until you arrive.

3. I don't adjust my schedule for Craigs List buyers, too many no shows.

4. On deals I am buying, I never bombard the seller with questions, instead, I get in the car and drive. Most of the time, sellers take the easiest route. The guy with 100 questions gets put on the bottom of the list, while I am there in person closing the deal.

5. On stuff I am selling, I always take full size, high quality pics, and use a hosting site. C/L pictures ****. Pictures will sell your item.

6. Remember its free, not fleabay. So expect some hassles with flakes in return for it being FREE.

All very good rules.

Especially the email negotiations. When I sold my jeep on C/L, I had some jack wagon email to ask me to tell him stories about my jeep (like where it's been, what it's done ). I told him I'm selling a jeep and not Thomas the f****ing train.

I don't negotiate over the phone either. To many idiots that are too lazy to get up off their duff to come look at something, but got the time to lowball you on the phone all day. I just saw one like what you are selling the other day for X amount of dollars blah, blah, blah. Ya should have bought it then. Click.

 

[tkonbass]

My basic rules:

1. Cash in person only. No email negotiations (most people never show, so why bother).

2. No holding the item, with a slight modification: Call when you leave your house, (we know the approximate travel time), and I will hold it until you arrive.

3. I don't adjust my schedule for Craigs List buyers, too many no shows.

4. On deals I am buying, I never bombard the seller with questions, instead, I get in the car and drive. Most of the time, sellers take the easiest route. The guy with 100 questions gets put on the bottom of the list, while I am there in person closing the deal.

5. On stuff I am selling, I always take full size, high quality pics, and use a hosting site. C/L pictures ****. Pictures will sell your item.

6. Remember its free, not fleabay. So expect some hassles with flakes in return for it being FREE.

Good list. This is pretty much exactly how I handle craigslist deals also. I have had bigger issues as a seller though, mainly with no shows. As a buyer I've had pretty good luck. Probably because I do what I say I'm going to do, like show up and have cash in hand. As a seller I'll let the person know up front that if they are truly interested they need to come see the item as I won't negotiate via email or text.

TK

 

[fantasygoat]

I just finished getting rid of a mid-50's steel desk set including two chairs, a desk lamp and a wheeled office chair for $125. It's easily $500 worth of stuff but I just didn't have space for it.

One lady phones me up and says "I'll take it, I'll be right over" then proceeds to show up with her husband and two kids, and then starts critiquing the condition and asking a bunch of questions.

It's $125. Off Craigslist. Take it or leave it!

Then she says "I'll think about it". I ended up selling it later that day, no muss no fuss.

Some people...

 

[Graymills - Craig]

I think you might have coined a term, Craigflake. Might make Websters in a year or 2.
Sho iz da trudt.

Hey, I resent that!

 

[Graymills - Craig]

Craigslist is a free service. If people had to pay to play (list stuff) it would get rid of the flakes, but it would also get rid of stuff posted.

I hate that most people who have used craigslist to sell stuff have been burned. I am a man of my word and if I ask someone to hold something until Friday when I get paid and I will come over whenever is convenient, I'll be there. Too many no-shows have screwed the honest/dependable people who keep to their word but may be short of cash RIGHT NOW! (which is when most people want things gone or they trash it).

The other thing that get's me is "curb alerts". With gas being 3.60 a gallon I'm not going to drive 30 minutes/miles just in case something might be there when I show up.

Patrick

More annoying is getting stood up on Freecycle. I mean, I'm ****** ***giving*** you something, and you can't have the decency to show up when you say you will???

 

[pj_rage]

All very good rules.

Especially the email negotiations. When I sold my jeep on C/L, I had some jack wagon email to ask me to tell him stories about my jeep (like where it's been, what it's done ). I told him I'm selling a jeep and not Thomas the f****ing train.

I don't negotiate over the phone either. To many idiots that are too lazy to get up off their duff to come look at something, but got the time to lowball you on the phone all day. I just saw one like what you are selling the other day for X amount of dollars blah, blah, blah. Ya should have bought it then. Click.

This is about the funniest thing I've read on the internet in a while

 

[SuperSocket]

More annoying is getting stood up on Freecycle. I mean, I'm ****** ***giving*** you something, and you can't have the decency to show up when you say you will???

I would never post something free on craigslist. I'll just put it next to the road with a free sign... the neighborhood ninjas will take it (to this day I have not seen these guys who picks up the free stuff... I would put out something weird like an old shower, 30 mins later it is gone, lol. Quickest has been 10-15 minutes, longest a day.).

 

[Graymills - Craig]

I would never post something free on craigslist. I'll just put it next to the road with a free sign... the neighborhood ninjas will take it (to this day I have not seen these guys who picks up the free stuff... I would put out something weird like an old shower, 30 mins later it is gone, lol. Quickest has been 10-15 minutes, longest a day.).

Freecycle's a different beast and is only for giving stuff away. Sometimes I put stuff out in the alley, and the junkers take it fast. But if it's something nicer (but not worth my time to sell), I'd rather it go to a good home.

 

[occupant]

I've pretty much given up on buying my cheap cars on CL. People don't put a phone in their ad, then repost it every day, and don't reply to emails. So what exactly are you doing? Your thing's for sale. I contact you offering to come see and buy the thing. You ignore me. My money gets spent elsewhere. Why waste your time? You might as well bury it in your back yard and wait for a check in the mail.

I'll probably stick to impound auctions from here out. That or the back row of small car dealer lots. I'm so sick of emailing someone a well thought out inquiry:

"Give me a call, I'd like to come check out the Maverick you posted for sale, here's my phone ***-xxxx, call anytime, I'm only about 10 minutes away from your town, thanks, Alan"

And receiving either nothing in response or something like,

"Yeah it's still for sale"

OK, then, I know that, you only posted it 3 hours ago. Phone number? Address? GPS coordinates? Three quarters of a mile past the old blue barn on 308 going north from Ugottapurtymouf and make a left down the dirt road until the trees make a W on the horizon? Give me SOMETHING?!!

 

[JMartel]

I've had good luck on Craigslist, though usually as a buyer. If I sell anything, I typically sell it on forums and ship it. That way I don't need to deal with flakes as much. As soon as I get money in my paypal account, it gets shipped.

 

[smallbloc]

My ad's state ''calls only'', then I get text messages for more photo's, or low offers. I ignore them all, and they never call! Craigsflakes! Recently got a call back about a '36 ford coupe I'm selling, we agreed on a price, and then he never called back.Then others will call for your address and come by with cash.

Well he called back about the coupe, got my address, said his buddy would be by in 2 days[from Texas], never showed up,and didn't answer his phone! I just gotta laugh at some of them.

 

[earlthegoat2]

This thread is outstanding.

Two days ago I went by a garage sale on the road. I craned my neck to see into the garage past the baby clothes and saw some toolboxes. I am in need of a small tool box or service cart so I did a quick yewie and took a look.

There was a Snap on 3 bay, a 2 bay no name, AND a Matco Service Cart. SWEEET. I inquire about the price for it: Sorry, we are only selling them altogether. This is three boxes full of higher end tools. I did a quick head calculation and came up with $10000 dollars for a realistic asking price with 15000 being an absolute max in this economy. So I cringed and asked how much. THey said $9000. I said I had $300 in cash for the Matco and nothing else. They said no. OK you win.

I went home and checked on CL for any more boxes that might have been listed and low and behold the 3 I had just looked at had also been listed that day. (Jeez, if I knew at the time that they were listed on CL I never would have stopped at that garage sale) There is phone number. I call and ask if I can buy the Matco and nothing else for 350 and that I live 3 miles away and will come immediately with monies in hand. No, only selling them together.