Craigslist idiots.

[Rick M]

I sell a lot of stuff on craigslist, or try. Not sure which is more difficult, selling or buying. I get people who want to do this last minute address thing like I'm delivering a ransom. They want me to go to some business or parking lot near their home then they will text me the address. Oh yeah sure, did you get that from the Serial Killer's Guide to Craigslist? Speaking of, people are getting way too paranoid. I was selling a tractor seat and a guy calls me up, needs a seat for his tractor but doesn't want to come to my house because "you never know." Yeah because you always hear about people murdered over tractor seats.

 

[christopher7390]

went to go buy a car once, after looking at it and agreeing to a price he asks if i could give him half the money now, he'll grab the title and once he gets the title, we could meet up again and i'd give him the rest....I asked him if I have dumb *** written on my head, and walked away..

 

[woodzy]

The city of Toledo has a room in one of the police buildings for you to conduct your craigslist deals. Seems like a great idea to meet there and not to worried about something going bad.

 

[1slomofo]

^^ what he said. I buy and sell alot on CL. And if you can't text me or answer my text, you don't really want to buy or sell it.

I don't answer unknown numbers on my phone, so it's a way for me to verify who I'm talking to.

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**** the texting - use the phone for talking - that's what it is for. many people do not text - one quick phone call will tell both parties if they are likely to be able to come to a deal

 

[va.grouseman]

1Slomo

 

[Falcon67]

**** the texting - use the phone for talking - that's what it is for. many people do not text - one quick phone call will tell both parties if they are likely to be able to come to a deal

Done a couple of long distance CL deals - and I mean, like 260 miles/4+ hours one way. Phone calls first, get the feel of it. Both went down as planned. On those, I would text trip progress at intervals so the selling party had an idea of when I'd show, also confirming intent to follow through.

 

[mike in tucson]

When I lived in the mountains of Colorado, I had a small roadside auto repair operation. One day, a guy limped in with a sick car. He asked how much to fix it....I said $100 to take it apart plus parts. He squawked at the price and asked to use my phone (before cell stuff). He dialed my nearest competitor that was 50 miles down the road. That guy said $150 to tow him in and then more $$ to look at it. He hung up and asked if I would fix his car....I said we had a price increase while he was blabbing on the phone and the price was now $150. He paid it. Now, I do the same on CL....if I ask a price and get a lowball, I add the difference to my original price. They get pissed at the taste of their own medicine.

 

[jd_1138]

I sell a lot of stuff on craigslist, or try. Not sure which is more difficult, selling or buying. I get people who want to do this last minute address thing like I'm delivering a ransom. They want me to go to some business or parking lot near their home then they will text me the address. Oh yeah sure, did you get that from the Serial Killer's Guide to Craigslist? Speaking of, people are getting way too paranoid. I was selling a tractor seat and a guy calls me up, needs a seat for his tractor but doesn't want to come to my house because "you never know." Yeah because you always hear about people murdered over tractor seats.

I think average IQ's are dropping. These brainiacs should simply tell you to meet them at the local Starbuck's/Dunkin Donuts, etc..

I sold a tablet a few weeks ago to a lady and her son. Simply met them at the local Dunkin Donuts, sold it to them, and then bought a coffee and some donuts for the wife and BIL.

 

[bmxdad]

I sell a lot of stuff on craigslist, or try. Not sure which is more difficult, selling or buying. I get people who want to do this last minute address thing like I'm delivering a ransom. They want me to go to some business or parking lot near their home then they will text me the address. Oh yeah sure, did you get that from the Serial Killer's Guide to Craigslist? Speaking of, people are getting way too paranoid. I was selling a tractor seat and a guy calls me up, needs a seat for his tractor but doesn't want to come to my house because "you never know." Yeah because you always hear about people murdered over tractor seats.

I never have people come to my house ... always a public location nearby. My wife works from home, so I don't need some dude sniffing around my property. Beside, I have some big dogs, and it's not a good idea to eat the buyer

 

[KELLHAMMER]

Actually, I had more people waste my time way back using newspaper ads. From not showing up , saying they would call back after an hour describing the thing to them and not calling back, to offering twice the selling price by out -of-the country purchaser(obvious scam) . Since there were no pictures people could not see what they driving over to buy, so CL is good that way. I was selling a Ford diesel tractor and the sob stories from people offering half were ridiculous. But since they used email to communicate I could just email them to reject their offer and not pay any attention to them after that. CL has worked well for me and 99 percent of the time the buyers are genuinely interested in buying. I don't use "best offer" because that put you in bad position. Usually when they show up and they offer less I have no problem negotiating.

 

[jd_1138]

Actually, I had more people waste my time way back using newspaper ads. From not showing up , saying they would call back after an hour describing the thing to them and not calling back, to offering twice the selling price by out -of-the country purchaser(obvious scam) . Since there were no pictures people could not see what they driving over to buy, so CL is good that way.

Heck half the people post a lousy 5mb flip phone pic of the item(s). And maybe one run on sentence (poorly) describing it.

"old ford work truck run good need some work has extra part included only selling cause ol lady say to get it outta driveway thanks"

When I was a kid in the 1980's my dad used to listen to Tradio -- local radio host (AM radio) would take calls from people who had stuff to sell. That was pretty cool.

 

[mikegt4]

I have a car for sale on CL. I can't believe how many people show up that don't have a job (or cash). I guess that since they don't have to go to work they spend their time car shopping.

 

[Rick M]

I never have people come to my house ... always a public location nearby. My wife works from home, so I don't need some dude sniffing around my property. Beside, I have some big dogs, and it's not a good idea to eat the buyer

I'm not afraid of people coming to the house, I am the big dog.

 

[Zrexxer]

When I was a kid in the 1980's my dad used to listen to Tradio -- local radio host (AM radio) would take calls from people who had stuff to sell. That was pretty cool.

I loved Tradio. Always came on over the lunch hour. I bought a Jon boat and some other good stuff using it.

 

[whyNick?]

I sell a lot of stuff on craigslist, or try. Not sure which is more difficult, selling or buying. I get people who want to do this last minute address thing like I'm delivering a ransom. They want me to go to some business or parking lot near their home then they will text me the address. Oh yeah sure, did you get that from the Serial Killer's Guide to Craigslist? Speaking of, people are getting way too paranoid. I was selling a tractor seat and a guy calls me up, needs a seat for his tractor but doesn't want to come to my house because "you never know." Yeah because you always hear about people murdered over tractor seats.

Yeah, nothing bad ever happens during a CL transaction...

http://www.wafb.com/story/28761189/...murders-linked-to-popular-classifieds-website

Cliffs Notes version- 86 murders have been linked to CL. A lot of these seem to be prostitutes who advertised in the personals but there are people who were killed while trying to sell baby clothes, when responding to help wanted ads, etc. I exercise caution during every CL transaction anymore, the human debris to regular people ratio is tilting in the wrong direction fast these days.

 

[iScream]

When I sell on CL, I clearly state "no texts will be answered". If somebody isn't willing to make the effort to make a phone call they are clearly not going to make the effort to actually show up and buy it. It is also a great way to screen who may be coming to your place - you can tell alot from talking with someone a few minutes on the phone

I will purposely ignore most things if the seller says no texts or no emails. If you can't be bothered to communicate in a way that is convenient for me then you must not want to sell your item very bad. Or you will be a pain in the *** to deal with.

 

[bmxdad]

I will purposely ignore most things if the seller says no texts or no emails. If you can't be bothered to communicate in a way that is convenient for me then you must not want to sell your item very bad. Or you will be a pain in the *** to deal with.

Agree ... especially on the texting. I can receive and answer texts anytime, I can't say the same for a phone call. I also have a record of the conversation.

If they are such a Luddite that they can't text ... not interested. Then again, I'm a tech nerd (programmer) and very comfortable with texting. Actually prefer it for keeping in touch with people. I know people with flip phones and who text with T9 ... old school baby.

 

[rmalkow2]

In this day and age many forms of communication are acceptable. If you really don't like texting that is ok. It may eliminate a few real good transactions from your CL sales but if you're ok with that then fine. But we can't assume all texters are good or bad. Just like all written ads are not good or bad. Some phone call conversations I've had make me wonder about the IQ on the other end of the phone too.
Bottom line is people use different forms of communication today and we should all use what we are comfortable with. When meeting people for a sale, no matter where you are, situational awareness is always the key. You can meet in the Police parking lot and still be unsafe but maybe the chances are better in your favor. I've met people in all sorts of public places for a sale. It always helps to be thorough in your chosen form of communication ahead of time and simply avoid the potential "bad" meeting.

 

[1930]

I wont bother with someone that cant be bothered to pick up the phone and talk with me about an item they are selling, it smacks of insecurity. We are all busy and no-ones times is any more important than my own.

 

[Rick M]

Yeah, nothing bad ever happens during a CL transaction...

http://www.wafb.com/story/28761189/...murders-linked-to-popular-classifieds-website

Cliffs Notes version- 86 murders have been linked to CL. A lot of these seem to be prostitutes who advertised in the personals but there are people who were killed while trying to sell baby clothes, when responding to help wanted ads, etc. I exercise caution during every CL transaction anymore, the human debris to regular people ratio is tilting in the wrong direction fast these days.

Second paragraph says 55 victims since 2009, the next paragraph says 86. Over one third were personals and *** ads, so worst case scenario was about 50 people died not being perverts. In that same time period about 9,000 US citizens died of diarrhea, about 200,000 from car accidents. You are thousands of times more likely to die in a car accident, or from crapping your pants to death, on the way to meet someone than to be killed when you get there. So statistically speaking if you want to play it safe, stay home and make them come to you. Keep life in perspective.

 

[bmxdad]

Um, that's not how statistics work. But anyway, I wouldn't want someone to know what I have and know where I live. Some people think that what you have can be there's, just by taking it. Not a risk I'm willing to take.

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[redmondjp]

Agree ... especially on the texting. I can receive and answer texts anytime, I can't say the same for a phone call. I also have a record of the conversation.

If they are such a Luddite that they can't text ... not interested. Then again, I'm a tech nerd (programmer) and very comfortable with texting. Actually prefer it for keeping in touch with people. I know people with flip phones and who text with T9 ... old school baby.

Whether you realize it or not, YOU are the CL person that drives me crazy!

If you are so socially inept that you are afraid to actually talk to a live human being on the phone . . . not interested.

You know why I say that I can't text? Because I have a 9-year-old flip phone and it takes me 5 minutes to type out a text. So when I text "call me", I mean it. Pick up the dam phone. It's part of being a member of the human race.

And you know something else? When I am driving to your house to look at an item, I have my bluetooth headset in, and I can easily take a call (so I can figure out where you live since your address cannot be found on Google maps), but I cannot look at your text without stopping and pulling over somewhere. So when I say call me, I mean it!

So why is it, that even after I tell people to call me, they just keep texting??? This drives me crazy.

 

[bmxdad]

LOL ... so learn T9. Almost faster then typing on a keyboard ...

Anyway, I never said I don't talk to people on the phone ... I have them either initiate the contact, or send a text on where to meet, and we agree on a price. I don't answer the phone from unknown numbers ... to many calls from Rachel.

 

[mrpizza]

Crapping your pants to death has to be the pits.

 

[Zrexxer]

"I will NOT answer emails!!!" is so absurd as to be comical. If you don't want to communicate via email then get off the frickin' internet and go post a flyer on the bulletin board at the feed store.

 

[redmondjp]

LOL ... so learn T9. Almost faster then typing on a keyboard ...

Anyway, I never said I don't talk to people on the phone ... I have them either initiate the contact, or send a text on where to meet, and we agree on a price. I don't answer the phone from unknown numbers ... to many calls from Rachel.

If I tell you to call me, you already have my phone number. So it's not an unknown call.

And I have no idea what this T9 you are talking about even is - I've never heard anybody use that term.

 

[56FordGuy]

I know it's a coincidence, but in hundreds of transactions buying or selling I have never had a deal that was initiated with a text work out. As a result, at this point I don't text. If folks don't want to buy my item because of that, that's fine with me. My experience says they weren't going to anyway.

What I don't get is the people who text me anyway, after I put "email or call, no texts" right in the ad. Did they bother to read it?

And for all the texters, is it that much more difficult to type a message in the email app on your phone instead of the message app?

 

[zkling]

Here's the beauty of texting IMHO. You can discretely make contact in a quite office setting without announcing to the surrounding cubes that you are making a craigslist call. Or late at night.

Unfortunately texting is also commonly used by jokers and time wasters which makes it a bit difficult at times for the seller to take one seriously. But grammatical correctness can help with that, I think.

If I can call, I call. If they say email only I provide a phone number to text or call. It's difficult being a stand up person on Craigslist.

If I tell you to call me, you already have my phone number. So it's not an unknown call.

And I have no idea what this T9 you are talking about even is - I've never heard anybody use that term.

T9 is predictive text.

"I will NOT answer emails!!!" is so absurd as to be comical. If you don't want to communicate via email then get off the frickin' internet and go post a flyer on the bulletin board at the feed store.

My favorite is when they are too ignorant to check off the no emails option. Pretty much lets me know what type of person I'm dealing with. The time and effort they spent typing out the "will not respond to emails" especially when they include a thread is far greater than one more mouse click.

I know it's a coincidence, but in hundreds of transactions buying or selling I have never had a deal that was initiated with a text work out. As a result, at this point I don't text. If folks don't want to buy my item because of that, that's fine with me. My experience says they weren't going to anyway.

What I don't get is the people who text me anyway, after I put "email or call, no texts" right in the ad. Did they bother to read it?

And for all the texters, is it that much more difficult to type a message in the email app on your phone instead of the message app?

Yes, by far.

 

[zkling]

I sell a lot of stuff on craigslist, or try. Not sure which is more difficult, selling or buying. I get people who want to do this last minute address thing like I'm delivering a ransom. They want me to go to some business or parking lot near their home then they will text me the address. Oh yeah sure, did you get that from the Serial Killer's Guide to Craigslist? Speaking of, people are getting way too paranoid. I was selling a tractor seat and a guy calls me up, needs a seat for his tractor but doesn't want to come to my house because "you never know." Yeah because you always hear about people murdered over tractor seats.

Agreed. Just like the people that don't put a part of town or list the major city for the location. Yes, sometimes distance is a factor.

I'm not afraid of people coming to the house, I am the big dog.

Big dogs have to sleep sometime, and unless you are on house arrest have to go out too. I've never met a dog big enough that a few bullets wouldn't put down. Not saying to you should be paranoid, just don't be so naive.

Always puzzled by why set up a time to give away stuff for free. I've given away lots of stuff on CL. . . kids bikes, kitchen sink, old simplicity mower. Put the stuff out by the road, gave an address. First come, first serve.

Now, I just put the stuff by the road with a sign. It will be gone before the day is out.

Because it wastes other peoples time, don't be so self centered.

 

[iScream]

Whether you realize it or not, YOU are the CL person that drives me crazy!

If you are so socially inept that you are afraid to actually talk to a live human being on the phone . . . not interested.

You know why I say that I can't text? Because I have a 9-year-old flip phone and it takes me 5 minutes to type out a text. So when I text "call me", I mean it. Pick up the dam phone. It's part of being a member of the human race.

And you know something else? When I am driving to your house to look at an item, I have my bluetooth headset in, and I can easily take a call (so I can figure out where you live since your address cannot be found on Google maps), but I cannot look at your text without stopping and pulling over somewhere. So when I say call me, I mean it!

So why is it, that even after I tell people to call me, they just keep texting??? This drives me crazy.

Perfect example of what I meant by pain in the *** to deal with. I work from home a lot and get stuck on conference calls. Minutes spent sitting there waiting for people around the country to join a call are perfect for sending emails or texting.

And that socially inept venom you're spewing above shows me my personal policy of purposely skipping ads from you is a good one. Having your voice turned into electrons which are sent across wires then turned back into sound is part of being a member of the human race but having your written word sent across wires is not? Using a free classified ad service made possible by the internet while refusing to communicate using technology common for people on the internet makes little sense. Then you go on an internet forum and complain about those people?

I bet, decades ago, there were people all upset that someone would use a telephone to call someone else down the road rather than looking them in the eye and speaking face to face.

I think it's also a good way to weed out a lot of the ads posted by people who are basically dealers but post their stuff under by owner. Anyone selling so much stuff that they get bent out of shape about the way people want to communicate with them is very possibly making money by reselling stuff on there. In general I don't want to buy stuff like that since there are far too many people who buy some piece of junk, clean it up a little or do a **** repair job then post it up for sale.

Chris

 

[jd_1138]

I think it's also a good way to weed out a lot of the ads posted by people who are basically dealers but post their stuff under by owner. Anyone selling so much stuff that they get bent out of shape about the way people want to communicate with them is very possibly making money by reselling stuff on there. In general I don't want to buy stuff like that since there are far too many people who buy some piece of junk, clean it up a little or do a **** repair job then post it up for sale.

There's a local horse's *** car dealer who posts his entire stupid inventory of rusted out 200k mile cars every single day on CL. Like 30 cars. And the prices are listed at like 550 when he means 5,500, or 250 when he means 2,500.

Some people deserve to lose their CL privileges. I think his car lot must look like the one on that 1980 Kurt Russell movie "Used Cars".

 

[redmondjp]

Perfect example of what I meant by pain in the *** to deal with. I work from home a lot and get stuck on conference calls. Minutes spent sitting there waiting for people around the country to join a call are perfect for sending emails or texting.

And that socially inept venom you're spewing above shows me my personal policy of purposely skipping ads from you is a good one. Having your voice turned into electrons which are sent across wires then turned back into sound is part of being a member of the human race but having your written word sent across wires is not? Using a free classified ad service made possible by the internet while refusing to communicate using technology common for people on the internet makes little sense. Then you go on an internet forum and complain about those people?

I bet, decades ago, there were people all upset that someone would use a telephone to call someone else down the road rather than looking them in the eye and speaking face to face.

I think it's also a good way to weed out a lot of the ads posted by people who are basically dealers but post their stuff under by owner. Anyone selling so much stuff that they get bent out of shape about the way people want to communicate with them is very possibly making money by reselling stuff on there. In general I don't want to buy stuff like that since there are far too many people who buy some piece of junk, clean it up a little or do a **** repair job then post it up for sale.

Chris

See, you have perfectly illustrated that the world revolves around you, Chris. How old are you? Under 40, perhaps? It's not my problem that you are stuck on conference calls. And it's funny, because if you're going to be successful in business, you need to learn to talk to people. Do you conduct business by text too? That may work where you are, but I've been working professionally for 30 years now, and it doesn't fly in the workplaces that I have been in. It's one of the most maddening things about our younger workers - they don't know how to interact with people without using their phone.

 

[iScream]

I'm 43. I work as a senior level software developer and technical lead for a multi billion dollar company. I'm doing just fine professionally. I have to communicate with people all over this country, and outside the country, every day face to face, through emails, phone calls or over instant messaging which is the personal computer equivalent of texting.

I'm the one who uses all these different communication mechanisms every day. You're the guy complaining that the world doesn't use phone calls for everything, because that's how you want to communicate.

But I think the world revolves around me? Now I'm wondering if you're actually a troll.

 

[rednecklimo85]

I have never had a "bad transaction" when its actually happening and the people I have delt with have been honest people looking to make a deal happen. How ever the amount of bs delt with to get to that point is insane. People making offers at half a reasonable offer, seeing "damage" that only they seem to be able to see etc. I cant say I've bought much of anything on craigslist because most of the items being sold around are so far gone they should be tossed in the scrap pile... The best luck I have had is when something is free... haha

 

[dfiler2]

Wow, this whole discussion is really quite unbelievable.

 

[rmalkow2]

Entertaining, isn't it.

 

[Rick M]

Um, that's not how statistics work.

Feel free to work out the actual numbers but whatever they turn out to be, my point will still be correct. If you feel more comfortable meeting someone in a neutral place that's fine, nothing wrong with that, just realize that is irrational if safety is your primary concern.


As far as texting, calling, emailing, I don't care. If you want to buy my stuff you can contact me how you like.

 

[63spyder]

I'm another that won't take text or emails when I sell on Craigslist . I don't get stupid questions from people who are not willing to make more of an effort than type ( do you still have). Phone calls only, and I've had really good luck both selling and buying. Though I do still get some off the wall calls sometimes. But I did when I used the paper too.

 

[dkroth]

Yeah, meet in a public place.

Er, um, well...

 

[Rick M]

Crapping your pants to death has to be the pits.

Haha, yeah to be sure. I was trying to add some levity. This subject has become too serious. I guess we have big feelings about Craigslist ads.