Craigslist - good or bad in your experience?

[OldShooter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mountainsoft ... I also hate the haggling process. I have to post things at higher prices than I'm hoping to get, knowing they will try to talk me down to what I really want. It's all a stupid game. That's what I like about Ebay, I can post an ad with the price I want and that's what I get, no haggling. ...

I must be the only guy on the planet who enjoys negotiating as a sport, but here is how I handle CL:

It's normal to get one or two lowball offers shortly after an ad appears. My response is this: "It is possible that I will consider a lower price after my item has been for sale for a week or two, but I have just listed it and I think the asking price is fair, so for now I won't accept less. If you're still interested next week or the week after, feel free to contact me again." Often this will produce an immediate full price sale.

When scheduling a meeting: "Let's make sure we agree that the price is $xxx. If you plan to offer something less, let's have that discussion right now so when we meet there is no need to discuss price any further." This has worked for me 100% of the time.

[W2R]

Neutral - - no experience with Craig's List, no desire to use it either.

Instead, I follow "Use it Up, Wear it Out, Make it Do, or Do Without". Or if it just WILL not wear out or get used up, then give it to a friend or to Good Will.

That seems to work just so much better for me than, "Meet a total stranger for a monetary transaction, being an unarmed, well heeled, elderly, partially disabled female and alone, in a city known for having one of the highest murder rates in the country". I mean, seriously? Gimme a break. I am nobody's fool, and I have other things I'd rather do with my precious time.

[SmallCityDave]

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldShooter I must be the only guy on the planet who enjoys negotiating as a sport, but here is how I handle CL: It's normal to get one or two lowball offers shortly after an ad appears. My response is this: "It is possible that I will consider a lower price after my item has been for sale for a week or two, but I have just listed it and I think the asking price is fair, so for now I won't accept less. If you're still interested next week or the week after, feel free to contact me again." Often this will produce an immediate full price sale. When scheduling a meeting: "Let's make sure we agree that the price is $xxx. If you plan to offer something less, let's have that discussion right now so when we meet there is no need to discuss price any further." This has worked for me 100% of the time.

This is great, I'll have to use this next time.

[SmallCityDave]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R Neutral - - no experience with Craig's List, no desire to use it either. Instead, I follow "Use it Up, Wear it Out, Make it Do, or Do Without". Or if it just WILL not wear out or get used up, then give it to a friend or to Good Will. That seems to work just so much better for me than, "Meet a total stranger for a monetary transaction, being an unarmed, well heeled, elderly, partially disabled female and alone, in a city known for having one of the highest murder rates in the country". I mean, seriously? Gimme a break. I am nobody's fool, and I have other things I'd rather do with my precious time.

I love this saying!

[rayinpenn]

I sold my craftsman lawn tractor on craigslist for $500.. I hated that machine it was a bad design and I had lots of problems with it. When they drove away I spit on the ground and said “good riddens”. After it was gone i got calls like: “That machine is worth $750 all day long” .. AS long as you dont let anyone in your house and are prepared for cheapoos who will try to low ball you ... craigslist is fine.

By the by i am a decent sized guy..were i to be a woman/small person i might not meet with anyone alone.

[SpinDoctorTX]

We sell on EB, FB, NextDoor and gunbroker, with great success. I use them as my personal garage sale and to sell my custom jewelry. I love getting pocket $ for doing something I enjoy anyway! Hubs has sold some stuff on CL but he found it really frustrating, with all of the time wasters & lookie-loos. For his yard tools (mover, edger, etc.) we did have folks come to the house, but we generally will meet someone in a busy parking lot.

We buy on all of the platforms as well. Between Amazon & EB we do close to 80% of our non-grocery related buying online. It is just so convenient, and we are usually buying staples. I have found that if I don't go in (retail) stores, I don't spend much money.

[BoodaGazelle]

I have bought and sold on Craigslist, and have mostly been happy with it. My only complaint is that most people do not want to pay. I assume they buy things for almost nothing, and try to re-sell them.



The best thing is that if you want to get rid of stuff for free, people will also take anything! When we renovated our house, people took 30 year old drapes that were disintegrating. I would have had to take a lot of junk to the dump, but people came and took it away for free.

[Canoeboy]

Used Craigslist to sell many items, both large and small, (partial list below) over past 5 years as I cleaned out Mother-in-law’s house and later mine in preparation to move. Overwell decent experiences and never felt unsafe. Simply ignored low ball offers and only had a few people not show up as promised. 95% of items sold from my garage, providing address only after I felt comfortable with them. Met a few people in parking lots when it worked for me. Also held several “curb alerts” for stuff I just needed gone (or haul to dump and pay to dispose).

One couple I met (moved back to MN from ME) told me they sold all furniture in ME on Craigslist and were now buying furniture to fill their house in MN. They stated it only took a few days at each location to sell/buy, was pretty much a wash money-wise, and they saved 8-10k in moving expenses.

Probably had 40k worth of transactions, all cash except for boat (which I stored for a few months after sale):

- boat lift $2600
- small Honda ATV $3700
- 12 year old Zero turn Ferris mower (professional) $5400
- 20 year old Dodge 4x4 pickup, no rust, 60k miles $3900
- 12 year old 19’ hybrid camper $7400
- 25 year old 17.5 Starcraft fish/play boat $7700
- 30 year old 16’ tandom utility trailer $700
- 400 pound fireproof filing cabinet - free, they loaded.
- old light fixtures $30, $65
- old chainsaws $50
- kitchen tables & chairs
- oak kitchen cabinets I ripped out from remodel $200
- old large projection TV Free, would have cost me $60 to dispose
- new deep cycle battery $60
-air hockey table $70
- an old but working goat Milking Machine $650 (the happiest buyer I ever had)
- high tensile fencing supplies $550 (half the price of new)
And a whole lot of other stuff...

It’s a great way to sell stuff. My trick was to provide great descriptions and pictures, then post at a reasonable price.

[Teacher Terry]

I sold my friends camper in 4 hours on Monday.

[COcheesehead]

Right now I want to flush Craigslist down the toilet. Had two no shows on items this weeek. Grrrrrr.

[Valid not Invalid]

Hundreds of transactions on CL, mostly selling, but also enjoying buying items and flipping the same items on CL. Uneducated sellers, or those who tend to give stuff away are my best customers. Not proud to admit, but I’ve picked up “trash” and sold it on CL, literally hundreds of dollars over the past few years. Even ran a small tire business from the house, advertising solely on CL. Met some very interesting people, never had a scary experience, but spotting the scams is a must. Most sales occurred in Atlanta, but when I travel, I frequently peruse that city’s CL to look for my certain “good buys” for resale.

[athena53]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoodaGazelle The best thing is that if you want to get rid of stuff for free, people will also take anything! When we renovated our house, people took 30 year old drapes that were disintegrating. I would have had to take a lot of junk to the dump, but people came and took it away for free.

This is how I use CL- great to re-cycle, re-purpose things instead of throwing them away. I know deep down that probably some people pick up my stuff and then throw it out if they can't resell it fast enough, but at least it has a chance.

Three pet peeves:

1. The people who want me to put the item aside so they can pick it up, say, after 5 PM on their way home from work. Too many never show. I've stopped accepting those requests.

2. The people who e-mail me (through CL) and ask for the address, even though it's in the listing, because they want to capture it for their GPS on their phone and they're too lazy to re-enter it.

3. The people who grab everything I put out, even if there are half a dozen completely unrelated items I listed separately. I know I shouldn't mind but it seems greedy. I now list items one at a time and don't list a new item till the previous one has been taken.

[ckelly78z]

Don't forget the buyer who will send their shipping agent with a certified check for more than the asking price. They want you to cash the check, and then pay their shipping agent.....These are scams with real looking (but fake) checks that can't be properly vetted by your local bank until 30 days have passed.

[OldShooter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ckelly78z Don't forget the buyer who will send their shipping agent with a certified check for more than the asking price. They want you to cash the check, and then pay their shipping agent.....These are scams with real looking (but fake) checks that can't be properly vetted by your local bank until 30 days have passed.

I had a friend who was selling some Corvette wheels and he got someone trying to run this scam. He knew it was a scam but decided to play along for the fun of it. He was supposed to cash the check, ship the wheels across the country, and refund the difference.

The check was beautiful. Absolutely no reason to question it just from looking. The buyer was in Atlanta and the check was drawn on a bank at the end of a dirt road in Montana (to maximize the float). My friend called the bank and the guy laughed and said "We've been seeing a lot of those lately."

No need to wait 30 days.

[meleana]

We have used Craigslist and for the most part have had no issues. We don't use ebay because of the hassle and expense of shipping. With Craigslist we can get locals to come to our home or to meet up with.


Have also used the Facebook marketplace and on line groups. but have had much better luck with Craigslist, especially with selling our cars.

[COcheesehead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by meleana We have used Craigslist and for the most part have had no issues. We don't use ebay because of the hassle and expense of shipping. With Craigslist we can get locals to come to our home or to meet up with. Have also used the Facebook marketplace and on line groups. but have had much better luck with Craigslist, especially with selling our cars.

If you use eBay correctly, the shipping is paid for by the buyer and USPS provides all the supplies for priority level and above shipping. Its super easy.

[kgtest]

I haven't had to sell anything on CL in a while. I once sold a Tree House that was still built around the tree. Well, I put it up for $50 but by the time the poor sap had it all dismantled I said he could have it. Loaded onto a trailer in like 4 pieces. I called him a month later and he said it was still sitting on the trailer.

[athena53]

Just listed a large stash of yarn as Free Stuff. (Had been donated to the church for a project that died out and was sitting there taking up space for a couple of years.)

Gone in less than an hour.

[youbet]

I haven't sold anything on CL in a while. I had mixed results when using CL heavily a few years ago.

On the plus side, some well maintained, realistically priced items were snapped up by responsible buyers who showed up on time and paid cash and hauled away.

On the negative side, I met a few jerks who obviously spent a lot of time visiting CL sellers and trying to rip them off. The tactic I resented most was when a buyer would arrive and put you through hoops showing and demonstrating the item. Then, make you a low ball offer or want you to throw something in on the deal, etc. You cave in or they just drive away sometimes leaving you with the job of putting everything away again.

For example...... I was selling an expensive kevlar canoe which I had suspended from the ceiling of the garage. It was a popular brand and in great condition. Still, I set a very reasonable price since I wanted it gone. A buyer called and promptly came over. We lowered the canoe from the ceiling and he inspected it with a fine tooth comb. We went through the title, registration and other paperwork. He spotted some paddles, life vests, knee pads, etc., and asked me to throw those in and I agreed. We moved the canoe to the side of his car and were ready to load it when I decided I better ask for the cash. At that time, he said his offer would be less than half of what I was asking....... I was shocked. It seemed we had a deal at my (very reasonable) asking price but with me tossing in the accessories. But he now reneged. When we couldn't get anywhere close to an agreement on price, he simply got in his car and left leaving me to put everything back in the garage, etc.

This tactic of putting you through a bunch of hoops before making a low ball offer seems like a strategy to lower your resistance to accepting far below market offers and soured me on the project for now. I still have the canoe hanging there.

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kgtest ....... I called him a month later and he said it was still sitting on the trailer.

Were you wanting to buy it back?