Craig's List experiences

[Big_Hitter]

i bought my last car on cl

 

[pb4uski]

Has anyone had any overt positive or negative experiences purchasing or selling items using Craig's List assuming you have taken the usual precautions using this format?

All positive for us. We sold our house from a craigslist ad, a car, a boat and lots of smaller items. Have bought on craigslist as well and never a problem... however, I am cautious.

 

[travelover]

Small stuff gets sold on eBay, as it has a much wider audience. Big stuff gets sold on Craigslist. Stuff sells for a low price compared to new generally, but low-ballers don't even get a returned message. I always take cash only. Everyone wants a discount, so if you want $100, advertise it for $125 and let them think they got a deal.

I let people come to the house, but only after they give me their name and phone number and I check it out on line.

 

[John Galt III]

I had good results using Craigslist to sell stuff and offer some stuff for free from my parents' house when they downsized. My parents were ready to donate it all, but I volunteered to try to sell it on CL, and give them the cash. My mom was generous and gave me about half of the profits. So many interesting things to sell. A 1992 Ford Taurus went for $700. 2 old wine barrels went for $35 each. A set of expensive china went for about $60. It was hard to get any interest in some stuff, but other stuff was in hot demand. I think there is a limited local market for some stuff that is actually in general demand across the country, but there might be only one person in the CL area who even cares about the item. For example, certain antiques nobody wanted at first, and stayed on CL for months, until someone would show up and freak out about the discovery, and give me more than I was asking for it!

 

[ponyboy]

Sold hundreds of items on craigslist. Only took 1 no show at a meet up to never meet people again. I always make them come to me...and I meet them outside. I do live in an apartment complex though. If it was a single family home I probably wouldnt want to meet them at my house.

Other than the one no show I never had a bad experience. Sometimes people will tell you they're coming then never show. Not a big deal since I didnt have to drive anywhere to meet them.

 

[Marita40]

I've used Craigslist quite successfully, both buying and selling. One piece of advice is that I always state on my ads: "YES, this item IS still available if you are reading this ad!" And then just don't respond to the many people who just ask "Is this item still available?" without any other show of interest. I can never figure out who it is who asks this question--well, obviously people who can't read. If they can't read I don't deal with them.

 

[Going Sailing]

We sold our boat on Craigslist. Saved $5000 in broker commissions. Made some great new friends in the process.

Of course the ad also brought out the scammers but they're a quick delete.

 

[Sarah in SC]

There was a guy here in Charleston who met two men who wanted to buy his truck off a Craigslist ad. They met in a parking lot and he went with them for a test drive. They shot him on the Ravenel bridge, dumped his body, then took off in the truck to party, using his debit card to finance their trip. He was 25.

I'm very cautious, but I do buy things from Craigslist, including cars. My husband or father always goes to look at them with me. I would never go by myself, not even to meet up in a parking lot, nor would my husband.

 

[kaudrey]

We have sold things on Craigslist; usually without incident. I'll keep doing it.


A few months ago we listed 3 old iphones in various states of usability, and the first guy who contacted me was out of state and....blah blah blah long story short he sent a cashier's check for $2000 for a $200 purchase. I blocked his # from my phone and reported all the information I had, including scans of the check and his address (that looked like an empty lot on Google Maps) to the appropriate places - never heard from any of them, though. Guess they are too swamped...

 

[kgtest]

When we bought our second home in FL I needed a lot of tools, since I wasn't going to haul all mine back and forth with me. I used CL a lot, and was pretty satisfied with it. No rip-offs, and only a couple of serial killers. Makes me wish I'd done it with the original tools instead of buying most of them retail. I've never sold anything on CL, but I'm thinking about it as part of our downsizing exercise.

I once saw a listing for a LOT of tools, the poster was pretty ticked off at her cheating boyfriend and was almost giving them away!


Used craigslist extensively and never a bad experience. I meet in public places when possible and for purchases over $100 I meet at the bank. Got a steal on a chevy Silverado from CL. Also sold my lifes belongings when I relocated off the mainland. Better than tossing the stuff.


Also meeting at the bank when selling weeds out the tire kickers. They won't offer to meet there if not remotely serious.

 

[kgtest]

We have sold some used furniture on CL - sofa and loveseat to 2 guys furnishing their school pad. $100 for both (asking $200). Just sold 6 DR chairs. Some wear on the cloth. $20 for the set. The junk guy was going to charge us $150!

Not as much luck buying. Well-priced stuff moves quickly. Did buy an iPhone 4S a few years ago. No probs.

When I was in maui my co-worker always had craigslist open...he would refresh the browser and literally look at every single item posted. It was more difficult to get a deal done in rural American than it is in my 2million+ city.

 

[Walt34]

I have bought a high end on-camera flash off CL, and sold a folding boat and a motorcycle, but CL is not something I look at frequently. No issues so far but then I don't use it much.

 

[skibum]

I see that a nearby police office has provided a craig's list meeting zone in their parking lot. Seems like a good idea to have a neutral meeting spot with video coverage and law enforcement nearby.

 

[FUEGO]

I use it 1-2x per month to offload stuff. Occasionally search on there for stuff I want but rarely find a deal worth my time compared to buying it on ebay/amazon (new/used/refurbished).

I sold my FIL's construction van on there in no time at all for much higher than blue book. Had a few folks that didn't really know what they want but sold it quickly once the right buyer showed up. Many sellers were flaky - not showing up, claiming they had significantly less cash than I was asking for (and asking to pay the balance later), etc. Such is the way of facebook. Expect half the people that confirm a time to come see something to not show up or have something come up last minute where they contact you after the appointment time to make an excuse, then you never hear from them again.

 

[Sue J]

Our city Police Dept set up an "Internet Purchase Exchange Zone"-

Internet Purchase Exchange Location | City of Cuyahoga Falls

We haven't used that but we did sell a car on Craigslist. We also advertised a garage sale instead of putting an ad in the local paper. We had plenty of traffic just from the Craigslist post.

 

[athena53]

I see that a nearby police office has provided a craig's list meeting zone in their parking lot. Seems like a good idea to have a neutral meeting spot with video coverage and law enforcement nearby.

Ours does, too, but earlier this year a guy elected to buy a gun and to complete the transaction in the very parking lot I'm facing now on the elliptical trainer. The "sellers" shot and killed him as his 7-year old daughter watched.

I just put free stuff at the end of my driveway and list it first-come first-served. No special arrangements to hold it for someone; too many
No-shows.

 

[stephenson]

Bought and sold ... recently sold a lot. As always, pay attention to things that will provide clues to the buyer or seller sincerity and reality: like, punctuation, spelling, use of the language, appropriateness of terminology, etc.

ANYTHING that sounds weird - is weird.

Sold lawnmowers, garden tillers, leaf blowers, furniture.

We give away a lot of stuff - especially during moves. Go into CL, select For Sale By Owner, next select "Free Stuff." Then, in the subject line type in, "Curb Alert." Put in a photo or two of what you are giving away, put in your address (this part is where some folks have an issue), then tote the item(s) to your curb ... my fastest Curb Alert is around 20 minutes. I swear some people check constantly, based on where they are while mobile, then swoop in a nab the item.

You would be surprised at the types of things people will grab - and grab quickly - used toilets, used washing machines, old tools, half full containers of oil and cleaning liquids, broken furniture, boxes of bolts, plastic shelves, old plants, old table saws, etc - astonishing.

 

[Sunset]

There was a guy here in Charleston who met two men who wanted to buy his truck off a Craigslist ad. They met in a parking lot and he went with them for a test drive. They shot him on the Ravenel bridge, dumped his body, then took off in the truck to party, using his debit card to finance their trip. He was 25.
...

Same thing in Ontario Canada. They got caught and convicted.

 

[Sunset]

I bought a canoe on CL.
I've sold a car, 2 snowblowers, 2 lawnmowers, a walker, mirrors, dresser etc. all stuff way to big to sell on ebay.

I read the meet them somewhere else, thing, but that is hard to do with some stuff, so I first email back and forth, then tell them to give me their phone number so I can call them.
We arrange a time for them to visit, and I tell them text or phone when heading over to be sure I didn't go grocery shopping.

When I meet, it's outside the garage with the doors locked, and for the car I told DW to call 911 if she saw something bad as she watched from inside the house.

Honestly, 99% of folks are honest and who is going to kill me so they can steal the snowblower?
If I was worried about that, I'd worry about just being outside my house as anyone could walk up to me.

One rule I have is I won't let anyone in the house, even if they claim they have to pee. Nobody has asked, but if they did I'd tell them the dogs have bitten people in the past, so I can't risk it. (I don't really have dogs. )

 

[athena53]

We give away a lot of stuff - especially during moves. Go into CL, select For Sale By Owner, next select "Free Stuff." Then, in the subject line type in, "Curb Alert." Put in a photo or two of what you are giving away, put in your address (this part is where some folks have an issue), then tote the item(s) to your curb ... my fastest Curb Alert is around 20 minutes. I swear some people check constantly, based on where they are while mobile, then swoop in and nab the item.

"The" item? One thing that mildly bothered me in the beginning was that I'd carefully list individual items and the first person to arrive would take all of them. It accomplished the purpose of getting rid of things but it seemed greedy to me. I once specifically TOLD they guy not to take additional items beyond what we'd agreed upon because the other items were for someone else. He agreed. ALL of the items disappeared. I texted him and he apologized and said he'd sent a buddy and told him to take only X and Y but not Z but the buddy "was on auto-pilot" and took it all. He said they'd return the other items. They never did, of course.

One more CL story from our local paper-a woman met a guy on Craigslist and agreed he'd pay her $400 for sex. Sadly, she was beaten, raped and robbed instead, but I did wonder what she thought she was gonna do that was worth $400.