How about your worst CL deal?

[Doug Carpenter]

This is more funny than anything else.

I sold a vanity to someone that was left over from a job.

My wife took it to work in her car and they were to meet after work at a shopping center nearby.

I was really worried about her meeting with a stranger and all that. So I told her to call right after they made the deal.

She calls me and says, " I sold the cabinet, he gave me $175 cash..........and I'm at the mall. see you later."

Need I say more.:rolleyes:

[Josiah Bartlett]

Well, there's your problem :)

I bought a cheap pickup truck that blew a head gasket a few weeks later and I basically traded it for a TV. I started to fix it but gave up when I realized that everything you couldn't see (like stuff under the valve cover) was missing most of the screws and had been cobbled together using zip ties and drywall screws. It looked nice on the surface when I bought it. I decided it was going to be a terd even if I fixed it so I basically gave it away.

[Chris Tsutsui]

My worst CL deal was I bought a gift card that balance was changed to $0 a few days after I bought the gift card.

[Dan Karachio]

I bought a bench. The guy was so nice, but the thing was a piece of junk. It was only $175 and I did get an okay old quick release vice out of it, but the rest was quickly converted to scrap wood.

[John Coloccia]

I bought a drywall gun to finish off my shop. What a waste of time. I may as well have saved the $30 and gone around hitting the drywall with a hammer. It would have been cheaper and quicker that way.

[Mike Cruz]

I've had two:

The first was a drill press for sale. I talked to the guy... actually talked on the phone, not email type talking... and we agreed that I would be there at 10am the next day to pick it up. I didn't haggle, I agreed to his price. I showed up at 10am, he answered the door and said ,"Oh, I sold that last night." "Um...and you didn't think to call me?" "Oh, yeah, I was going to..." He shut the door. He was 30 minutes from my house, so an hour and 3 gallons of gas wasted.

The second was for a Jet midi lathe. We agreed on a price. I was to meet him the next day at 2pm (or something like that). He lived 2 hours from me. 1 1/2 hours into my drive, he called me and told me he had a work emergency and had to leave. He wouldn't wait for me, wouldn't give me a time that he could make it back, nor would he leave it with someone for me to pick up. 3 hours and 9 gallons wasted.

[Stephen Cherry]

I've had two:

The first was a drill press for sale. I talked to the guy... actually talked on the phone, not email type talking... and we agreed that I would be there at 10am the next day to pick it up. I didn't haggle, I agreed to his price. I showed up at 10am, he answered the door and said ,"Oh, I sold that last night." "Um...and you didn't think to call me?" "Oh, yeah, I was going to..." He shut the door. He was 30 minutes from my house, so an hour and 3 gallons of gas wasted.

The second was for a Jet midi lathe. We agreed on a price. I was to meet him the next day at 2pm (or something like that). He lived 2 hours from me. 1 1/2 hours into my drive, he called me and told me he had a work emergency and had to leave. He wouldn't wait for me, wouldn't give me a time that he could make it back, nor would he leave it with someone for me to pick up. 3 hours and 9 gallons wasted.


I think you averaged out OK if you include that lathe.

[Jack Pinkham]

Besides the offer to import my '83 Buick Regal into Nigeria to complete the automotive collection of a prince?

[eugene thomas]

had no bad cl deals. never bought anything from their. but that 16" jointer that was $300and only hour away... now wish could say that was my first cl deal or earn my first you suck....:(

[frank shic]

i bought an early industrial boring machine that i had NO IDEA how to fix and the thing was enormous not to mention my wife started wondering what i was going to do with it. wound up selling it to some guy who's brother is an electrician for $20 after buying it for about $100 :( doug, that's hilarious. my wife would probably do the same thing lol

[Jim Stanley]

Had a 3 HP PC router I listed on CL for $175.00. Agreed to meet the buyer in a shopping center at noon. Driving into the parking lot, a guy threw his car into reverse and took out the side of my truck to $2,600. He had no insurance, and the buyer of the router left when I didn't show on time!
On the positive - I called the buyer and he did drive back out and meet up with me. So after I paid my deductible, I only lost $325 on the sale,,,,,

[Bruce Wrenn]

I bought a 60 gallon vertical air compressor that had a bad pump, but I knew that up front. Also included in the deal was a contractor's saw, which I figured was a Craftsman. Turns out to be a Delta Clone imported thru Canada in the mid nineties. Only paid $50 for both. Looking at a $25 compressor now to get pump for 60 gallon unit. Only problem is it's 70 miles away from here. Missed a $40 Grizzly 6" jointer, with bad motor a few months back, but I did sell the lucky buyer a motor for more than $40. (I took that motor in on trade on another motor.) Bought one compressor that had lost a reed valve. (How the heck do you lose a reed valve without removing the head?). Fixed it from my parts repository, aka junk pile. Bought another compressor with a bad check valve, which Sears no longer stocks. Bought a check valve from Grainger and robbed out the spring and piston, and used a piece of steel with valve grinding compound to fix valve seat. Not a CL deal, but I was given a 13" Rockwell planer, that needed a new motor. When I checked wiring, and reattached the control lead, it no longer needs a new motor.

[Chip Lindley]

My only bad CL deals are the ones that got away when I just did not have the cash to spend. That SUCKS! I'm very lucky I have never been burned on a CL deal!

[Doug Carpenter]

Oh boy. I hate it when you make a deal and time with someone and they sell it before you get there.

I always call before I leave because I often drive far. It doesn't always prevent someone from selling it anyway.:mad:

[Joseph Tarantino]

i bought a sears RAS for $20 that wouldn't rotate on it's column that i was going to send into the recall for $100. got the unit home and in short order (yea, i like to fix things) freed up the radial arm locking pin and now the unit works great. but i already have a similar unit that i like. this new saw is close to 50 years old, works like new and has a factory original, uncut table (apparently the original owner had a sacrificial top on it from day one) on it. so what do i do now?

[David Hostetler]

My worst Craigslist deals are the ones that show up AFTER I already bought what I needed...

A Grizzly G0555X with riser block for $300.00, 2 days after I brought home my Harbor Freight band saw!

NIB Central Machinery 8" jointer for $200.00 2 weeks after I bought a bench top 6" jointer...

NIB Central Machiner #34706 lathe, $100.00, 2 days after I bought my 34706 from HF on sale with coupon. Okay so it was $80.00 cheaper, but $80.00 is $80.00 right?

[Eric DeSilva]

My worst was posting an ad offering to give away a couple of craftsman work tables in crappy condition. Got way too much email, and had people accuse me of all sorts of things--generally based on "I must have answered before whoever you gave it too." Next time I'm putting it on the curb and just posting a notice to CL that the first person there gets it.

[Max Coller]

I went to look at a Powermatic single-end tenoner I found on CL for $750 being sold as part of a cabinet shop's going-out-of-business sale. Very, very nice machine, immaculately kept, many extra cutoff blades, profilers and spiral cutterheads, most in the original boxes with the wax still on the business ends. I hemmed. I hawed. I turned it on, turned it off. Smooth. Solid. Very nice machine, but...

How could I sneak something that big into my shop (or "our garage" as it is also referred to by the other licensed driver in the house, who wants to park her car in "my shop" in the winter for some odd reason.) Hindsight being what it is, I suppose I should have swung by someplace on the way home and picked up an oversized Char Broil grill cover. Or some camouflage duck boat netting. Man, I wish I could think quicker on my feet sometimes.

Then I saw, sitting back in a corner, a not-yet-listed Powermatic Model 60 8" jointer. Also immaculate. Late seventies vintage by the serial number. One spot of rust (like a drop of sweat size) on the corner of the infeed table. Boxes of extra knives with sharpening dates on some, others brand new. Made my little 6" Delta look like a pathetic kid's toy. Just turning it on made my heart skip a beat. I turned my back to the dressed-for-his-pending-golf-outing owner's kid who was impatiently tasked with sales that day to wipe the drool.

I asked him how much. He said he didn't know, but given the size of the thing he thought maybe $400 or so - that's what some other stuff about that size was going for. I said I thought it was probably worth that when I took the cash out of my pocket and started counting. The kid took the money. We wheeled it out of the shop on the mobile base and up onto my trailer. I put up the ramp. We shook hands. I started strapping it down. We continued to talk about the weather, the economy, the purpose of human existence in a chaotic world.

The shop foreman walked up. The owner's kid asked him how much he thought the machine was worth. He said he didn't know, but new 8" jointers were going for $1500 or more.

The kid looked at me. The kid looked at the shop foreman. The kid looked at the jointer already loaded in my trailer. The kid looked at the ground. I ratcheted my straps a little faster. It was quiet for a while. I jumped out of the trailer and opened the truck door.

The kid asked me if it was too late to change his mind and charge me a fairer price.

I said no, it wasn't too late, but all I had was the $750 I was going to pay for the tenoner. He looked at the foreman. The foreman looked at him. He took the rest of my money.

But hey, I got a pretty nice jointer that wheels very nicely into the corner of my shop on a very nice mobile base, well out of the way of the one car that actually needs to be parked in my shop to promote a more perfect union and also holy matrimony.

[Matt Meiser]

Next time I'm putting it on the curb and just posting a notice to CL that the first person there gets it.

That's what I do. No contact info in the ad and I don't even give my exact address--just say its on YYYYYYYY Rd 1/3 mile north of XXXXXXX Rd sitting at the end of the driveway. That way no one who comes after its gone can find me to complain. Just did that with a dresser the previous owners of our house left in the basement that we've been meaning to get rid of for 7 years.

[Ben Hatcher]

I agreed to buy a boat, sight unseen. Drove about 3 hours to pick it up and paid way too much. It was older, and not in the best shape, but I knew I could fix it. I was too excited about finally buying a boat that I didn't research how much I'd end up spending on fixing those things.

It could have been much worse. I didn't even put it in the water or try to start it. I just took the guy's word for it that it ran.

[Ben Hatcher]

My worst was posting an ad offering to give away a couple of craftsman work tables in crappy condition. Got way too much email, and had people accuse me of all sorts of things--generally based on "I must have answered before whoever you gave it too." Next time I'm putting it on the curb and just posting a notice to CL that the first person there gets it.

I've found that if you take down the ad as soon as you sell your item you really cut down on those calls. I posted some extra gravel I had left over from a job. I got calls almost immediately. I took the ad down when a guy showed up with a shovel and a trailer and the calls stopped.

[frank shic]

My worst Craigslist deals are the ones that show up AFTER I already bought what I needed...

A Grizzly G0555X with riser block for $300.00, 2 days after I brought home my Harbor Freight band saw!

NIB Central Machinery 8" jointer for $200.00 2 weeks after I bought a bench top 6" jointer...

NIB Central Machiner #34706 lathe, $100.00, 2 days after I bought my 34706 from HF on sale with coupon. Okay so it was $80.00 cheaper, but $80.00 is $80.00 right?

i try not to check craigslist for at least a month after i've purchased something new lol

[Jon McElwain]

Went to look at a car someone was selling for $100, needed a new head gasket. Looked the car over a little, had not made any promises but there was another gentleman there looking at it as well. I walked over to the owner and said I'll take it for the $100. I knew I could easily make $1700-$2000 after the repairs. He said "okay, sold," then the other potential buyer said he'd like to buy it for $100 as well. The owner said, well, I guess whoever puts 100 bucks in my hand first can take it. The other guy whipped out a $100 bill from his shirt pocket while I reached for my wallet.

I called the guy back a little later and let him know that when someone says "I'll buy it," and you say "sold," you don't get to sell it to someone else. The whole who's faster on the draw after I agreed to buy it was pretty lame.

[Eric DeSilva]

I was too excited about finally buying a boat that I didn't research how much I'd end up spending on fixing those things.

I thought that was *always* the case with boats. Even new ones.

[Matt Meiser]

If he would have researched that he'd have known :D

[Robert LaPlaca]

Ugh, the famous Cherry Lumber boondoggle..

Answered a CL ad for rough cut Cherry lumber, Guy sounded sane and his story was believable.. Supposedly had 13-14" wide (yes wide) Cherry lumber that was band sawn on his farm.. So a 175 mile trip with the LOML to the Ashville area in NC, which turned up Cherry lumber that wasn't good enough to be burned in a bonfire.. Guys wife begged me to take the lumber, I could see why

[Scott Donley]

I had a 46 inch projection TV that the picture had been getting snowy. I went ahead and ordered a new LCD and put an ad on CL for free. Had a taker in the first hour and they asked if they could pick it up in the morning, I said sure. Next morning I disconnected the cable box and DVD then hooked the cable back up to show them the picture. Just as they showed up I turned it on and guess what, a perfect picture ! Must have been a bad cable or DVD player. I could not say never mind after them driving out here so they got a good 46 inch TV and I got a new 42 inch TV. I did learn, ALWAYS check cables and acc's first.:o

[Ruhi Arslan]

I've had two:

The first was a drill press for sale. I talked to the guy... actually talked on the phone, not email type talking... and we agreed that I would be there at 10am the next day to pick it up. I didn't haggle, I agreed to his price. I showed up at 10am, he answered the door and said ,"Oh, I sold that last night." "Um...and you didn't think to call me?" "Oh, yeah, I was going to..." He shut the door. He was 30 minutes from my house, so an hour and 3 gallons of gas wasted.

Don't tell us if you did but hope he wondered why his door mat smelt like urine... :D


The second was for a Jet midi lathe. We agreed on a price. I was to meet him the next day at 2pm (or something like that). He lived 2 hours from me. 1 1/2 hours into my drive, he called me and told me he had a work emergency and had to leave. He wouldn't wait for me, wouldn't give me a time that he could make it back, nor would he leave it with someone for me to pick up. 3 hours and 9 gallons wasted.Don't tell us if you continued to drive another half on hour and he wondered why his door mat smelt like urine when he came back from his "work emergency"... :D



My recent one was due to "having a change of heart". We agreed on the price of a PM719T. He knew that I was passing on the sale and relying on his word to come to pick it up the day after the sale ends. It was the first day he could be available. Next day when I called him to confirm that I am on my way before heading out for an hour and a half drive, he said he changed his mind. I missed the sales; PM 3000hour sale + plus 10% store wide from CPO.

Not CL but ebay; bought a Paslode nailer advertised as "like new". It was not only abused but also had a company name painted on it with a phone number engraved. I've called them up to ask. It was stolen. They said I can keep it if I were to tell them the name of the person I've bought it from. I was more than happy to oblige... :D

[Dan Hintz]

Ruhi,

At least you can still get any of the 3000Hour deals starting Black Friday... you haven't missed it, it was just delayed.

[Todd McDonald]

This is more funny than anything else.

I sold a vanity to someone that was left over from a job.

My wife took it to work in her car and they were to meet after work at a shopping center nearby.

I was really worried about her meeting with a stranger and all that. So I told her to call right after they made the deal.

She calls me and says, " I sold the cabinet, he gave me $175 cash..........and I'm at the mall. see you later."

Need I say more.:rolleyes:


This is actually kinda funny.........:D

[Roger Bullock]

Not a CL story but funny just the same. One of my friends is a foreman with several employees. Worker #1 said he was looking for an old car he could use for a work and fishing car, didn't have to look like much but cheep. Worker #2 said he had an older Chevy for sale but the motor was missing. Worker #1 said he was a shade tree mechanic and didn't mind working on it if the price was right.

The deal was made and the money changed hands. The next day worker #1 when to retrieve his new old work car. He popped open the hood only to find that the car had no motor. I guess it got pretty heated for awhile between those two guys.

[Dan Hintz]

Maybe #1 mistook the word "missing" to mean "misfire"? I don't know, that's the kind of detail I'd want to fully understand beforehand...

[John Coloccia]

My buddy bought a horse off craigslist from a neighbor of mine...a nice Italian guy. He went to my neighbor's stable and picked out the horse he liked. My neighbor saw the one he picked and said, "Yeah, butta' you know somating...dat a' horse...well, a' he no look so good". My buddy looked it over and he said, "What are you talking about?? That horse is in FINE shape. He looks great!". My neighbor insisted. "No no, I'ma tell you. Dat horse 'a no look so good." They went back and forth a couple of times and eventually my friend ended up buying the horse.

The next day, he mounted the horse and went out for a little ride. The horse walked straight into tree. After a few minutes of bumping into things, it finally starts to dawn on him. This horse is blind!

Furious, he takes the horse back to my neighbor and screams at him, "You ripped me off you lousy old man! You sold me a blind horse". The neighbor looks at him and screams back, "Ma' son a'ma gun, I told you, he no look so good!".

...
...
...

:D


Happy Thanksgiving. In true Italian fashion, I have sopressata, mortadella, prosciutto, mozzarella and fresh bread for our little mid-morning, before turkey snack. Honestly, I'm not even sure why I make the stupid turkey. Who the heck celebrates with turkey, anyway?