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Rich Riddle
10-07-2012, 9:39 PM
I am fast tiring of dealing with folks on Craigslist. Several want you to send phone numbers and never call or call in the middle of the night. Others never reply to e-mails yet keep posting the same tools for sale. I also noticed an increase in junk mail after responding to some advertisements. It makes me wonder if these are just people fishing for e-mail addresses and phone numbers.

That does not even begin to cover the stories of the people who actually do contact you and what they look and/or act like. So what are your best Craigslist stories? Halloween is approaching, were any of your contacts scary?

Myk Rian
10-08-2012, 7:46 AM
I find that if you click on the respond link in the ad, it doesn't work.
I copy and then paste the address into my e-mail program.

Rich Riddle
10-08-2012, 4:48 PM
My wife and I purchased a new refrigerator and had an old one to give away. I cleaned it, sanded it, repainted it, and replaced all the seal in the old one before giving it away. A charity indicated they had a man who would take it directly without having to haul it to them and then have him haul it home. He arrived and demanded, and I mean demanded, the new refrigerator instead of the other one. He said people like me "owed" it to him. I had to call the police to have him removed.

When trying to give things away, I have had people show up with missing doors on cars and others who tie furniture to the roofs of cars. Shoes and teeth seem optional for the Craigslist bandits where I live.

Kevin Bourque
10-08-2012, 5:09 PM
I've done dozens of deals and can't think of any that went bad.
I've had a few people who said they would come over to look at what I was selling and then never showed, but thats about it.

Rich Riddle
10-08-2012, 5:16 PM
I've done dozens of deals and can't think of any that went bad.
I've had a few people who said they would come over to look at what I was selling and then never showed, but thats about it.
That's good. I live in Kentucky though, so perhaps that's why I get some of the better stories. I have held a few items for people who never showed. Strange thing is that most of those were free items. I now use a long disclosure when posting to Craigslist:

The selling price takes into consideration that the item isn’t cosmetically perfect. The price is NOT a starting point for negotiations. Payment must be made in cash at pickup, no exceptions. Unfortunately, I cannot hold the items for someone because of previous “buyers” of other items not returning with the cash.

If you make an appointment to view the item, arrive promptly when scheduled. Have a means to lift this item into your automobile. Have people sufficiently strong to load the item into your automobile.

Please act in a polite and appropriate manner; be clean. The previous statements may seem to appeal to common sense, but some of the people attracted to Craigslist seem to enjoy shocking others with inappropriate actions and behaviors.

Please e-mail your telephone number to be contacted. I will not call before 9:00 AM or later than 8:00 PM. If you can see this advertisement, then the item is still available; the advertisement will be removed immediately upon sale. Thank you.

Myk Rian
10-09-2012, 9:05 AM
I like your rules, Rich.

Paul McGaha
10-09-2012, 9:57 AM
I like Rich's rules too.

The rules I use for craigslist are:

1) Ad's should have a picture of the actual tool, not a catalog picture.
2) I want to buy directly from the guy that used the tool, not a re-seller.
3) Pricing should be in line from the start, not need much or any tweaking.
4) If I say I agree to buy a tool and set an appointment to pick it up the seller will take it off the market.
5) I want the tools to be in very good to excellent condition

So far this has worked ok for me. A bit of filtering I guess. I'm no expert by any means but I've bought or sold a few things.

PHM

Myk Rian
10-09-2012, 11:02 AM
5) I want the tools to be in very good to excellent condition
Well, I've broken that one.
I bought a 1938 8" jointer from a guy 250 miles away.
It was in pieces on his garage floor. :rolleyes:

Scott Shepherd
10-09-2012, 11:18 AM
I had a few things on there and I kept getting the "Please remove it and consider it sold immediately. I'm out of the country right now, but my son is going to school in South Africa and really needs this computer, so I'll paypal you the money and get you to send it to him".

I had that exact story sent to me on 3 different ads, 3 different times, but by different people.

So in my next sale, I posted that it was for local pickup only and that I didn't take paypal and wouldn't ship it to your college student that's studying in Africa.

I got an email on that item almost immediately after posting, telling me that I was a horrible human being for posting such a disrespectful ad and that my business will fail because I don't know a thing about human relations and marketing. It was a very long email, very detailed. They told me it was the worst ad they had ever seen in their life and I was a piece of garbage for writing and posting it.

I assumed it was written by the people that are sending that same scam out. I'm not sure how it meant by business would fail. It was a personal sale for a personal item and I never mentioned what business I was in, if I owned my own business or if I worked for Wal-Mart.

Ben Hatcher
10-09-2012, 11:28 AM
If you think that the tool postings are crazy, you should look at some of the boats for sale. I can't tell you how many boats I've seen described as "nice" that aren't much more than an oxidized hull sitting in the dirt.

Mike Circo
10-09-2012, 2:49 PM
I've had nothing but success and good engagements both selling and buying on Craigslist.

The fun one was giving away a few hundred pounds of sand from my kids sandbox that they looong since outgrew. I couldn't figure out how to get rid of all that sand (can't just dump it on my suburban lot) so I put a free add in craigs list. I had 5 people lined up for it. The first three took what they needed and cleared out the entire supply. One guy didn't have a good way to carry it home, and asked to use my buckets. I lent him five 5 gallon buckets, he filled them and I figured I may never see them again, and that would be the end of it. The next morning the buckets were on my front step, rinsed out and ready for reuse.

Like I said, you be careful, but I've had no problems. Maybe I just have good neighbors.

Peter Kelly
10-09-2012, 5:53 PM
I've both sold and bought a lot of machinery and tools from CL and it's been great overall. Takes a bit of patience though.

Eric DeSilva
10-09-2012, 7:37 PM
4) If I say I agree to buy a tool and set an appointment to pick it up the seller will take it off the market.


Guess you won't be buying anything from me. :D

You can blame all the people that set appointments and never showed up or kept rescheduling, or showed up and then wanted to renegotiate the price. Now I'm strictly first with cash in hand. If you say you are interested, I'll call you to tell you someone else bought it so you don't have to waste a trip, but my ad stays up 'til I've got cold hard cash.

Eric DeSilva
10-09-2012, 7:40 PM
I made the mistake of offering a workbench for free--had the most PO'd people yelling at me that they were first and they were more deserving, yikes. Now when I want to get rid of something for free, I post a curb alert to CL and explicitly say that I won't answer emails and if you don't see it, it's gone. I do say that I'll pull the ad as soon as I see that it is gone, but there are no guarantees for "free."

Paul McGaha
10-09-2012, 7:50 PM
Guess you won't be buying anything from me. :D

You can blame all the people that set appointments and never showed up or kept rescheduling, or showed up and then wanted to renegotiate the price. Now I'm strictly first with cash in hand. If you say you are interested, I'll call you to tell you someone else bought it so you don't have to waste a trip, but my ad stays up 'til I've got cold hard cash.

Maybe I'm lucky but all my craigslist transactions have been problem free. It's been my experience that once the buyer says I agree to that price and I want to make an appointment to pick it up there is an agreement in place. So far the agreements have held up.

I've made a couple of craigslist purchases (a JET Benchtop OSS and a Powermatic Sign (???)) from guys that turned out to be creekers.

Maybe it's good that I've been dealing I think 100% with woodworkers because all the craigslist transactions I've made have been woodworking tool related.

PHM

Damon Stathatos
10-09-2012, 7:56 PM
4) If I say I agree to buy a tool and set an appointment to pick it up the seller will take it off the market.


Could be regional differences, but I've never even considered asking someone to take something off the market and always assumed 'first-come, first-served.'

I've never missed an appointment to go out and see an item and (after arranging an appointment) never have had it sold out from under me. I have, however, made the appointment and then, after seeing the item in person, decided against buying it, usually based on misrepresented condition.

I've never sold anything on CL but if I did, and I received a second inquiry, I'd make that appointment after the first one with the caveat...I'll let you know if the first guy shows up and or takes it before you come out.

All in all, I've scored some great stuff on CL with very little problems but haven't much pursued it recently, and so, it may be a 'different world' out there now, not sure.

Paul McGaha
10-09-2012, 8:12 PM
I like Rich's rules too.

The rules I use for craigslist are:

1) Ad's should have a picture of the actual tool, not a catalog picture.
2) I want to buy directly from the guy that used the tool, not a re-seller.
3) Pricing should be in line from the start, not need much or any tweaking.
4) If I say I agree to buy a tool and set an appointment to pick it up the seller will take it off the market.
5) I want the tools to be in very good to excellent condition

So far this has worked ok for me. A bit of filtering I guess. I'm no expert by any means but I've bought or sold a few things.

PHM

I think I'm going to revise my rule #4. What I mean is if I say I agree to that price and request an appointment to come and get it there is an agreement in place and the tool won't be sold to others so long as I keep my end of the agreement.

I really didn't mean to take the ad down. The seller shouldn't do that until the transaction is completed. Just advise others interested in the tool that there is an agreement in place.

PHM

Rich Riddle
10-09-2012, 11:05 PM
I went one and one today on Craigslist items. One seller was at his father's home and sold me an old Inca 570 Jointer Planer. The unit was just as advertised, actually better. He turned on power and demonstrated it and answered all questions for which he knew the answers.

The second one had arranged to sell another tool and wanted to meet around six in the evening. I called several times and sent e-mail messages and received this response:

Richard - so sorry. I got invited to the Reds game and couldn't take the call as I wouldn't have been able to hear.


I'm around tomorrow - I can give you a call during the day or after 5. Again, so sorry!

Would any of you call tomorrow after making arrangements and then having him no show because of a last minute invitation to a ball game?

Eric DeSilva
10-10-2012, 10:08 AM
I should clarify that even though I've had some issues with craigslist, overall I am a supporter and the number of stress-free, simple transactions I've enjoyed vastly outnumber the problems. Someone commented that they hadn't had issues with woodworking equipment and woodworkers--by and large, I think I've found the same with any really specialized gear. With patience, the deals to be had on CL can be tremendous. Where I've had issues--oddly enough--are cases where the items are closer to generic consumer goods (cameras, sporting goods, stereo equipment) or lower cost (tools you can find at home depot, for example). Seems like the closer you get to an asking price of $0, the more oddballs emerge.

mike holden
10-10-2012, 10:24 AM
Would any of you call tomorrow after making arrangements and then having him no show because of a last minute invitation to a ball game?

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Normally, no - but this is playoff season so I would cut some slack on that basis. Playoff tix are both harder to get and obviously there may not be another chance to go.

Mike

Steve Peterson
10-10-2012, 1:34 PM
Where I've had issues--oddly enough--are cases where the items are closer to generic consumer goods (cameras, sporting goods, stereo equipment) or lower cost (tools you can find at home depot, for example). Seems like the closer you get to an asking price of $0, the more oddballs emerge.

That's my guess as well. I expect a lot of shady characters to be involved when it is a low cost HF item. A different type of person will be buying or selling higher end woodworking tools in the $500 and up price range.

Steve

Rich Riddle
10-10-2012, 3:22 PM
That's my guess as well. I expect a lot of shady characters to be involved when it is a low cost HF item. A different type of person will be buying or selling higher end woodworking tools in the $500 and up price range.

Steve
I agree to a point about the buyer of expensive tools but have seen some former snake-oil salesman types trying to sell expensive tools. If I remember right, he had bought a self-storage locker's contents though.

Charles Wiggins
10-11-2012, 6:53 PM
Guess you won't be buying anything from me. :D

You can blame all the people that set appointments and never showed up or kept rescheduling, or showed up and then wanted to renegotiate the price. Now I'm strictly first with cash in hand. If you say you are interested, I'll call you to tell you someone else bought it so you don't have to waste a trip, but my ad stays up 'til I've got cold hard cash.

+1
I won't pull an ad until the item is SOLD. SOLD means that I have the cash in hand.

Brian Elfert
10-11-2012, 8:06 PM
When I sell stuff I never give my phone number in the ad. I'll give my phone number to someone who replies via email. I give folks a few hours to call me and if I have other interested parties I will move on. I won't hold out for the first emailer forever or I might miss another interested buyer.

The stupidest thing I did was advertise a partial pallet of free leftover sod with my phone number. I had to leave the house right after posting the ad. My phone was ringing off the hook. I should have not posted my phone number and just stayed home an extra 30 minutes to answer emails. I had to to stop at work to remove the ad.

Jim Koepke
10-11-2012, 9:07 PM
Would any of you call tomorrow after making arrangements and then having him no show because of a last minute invitation to a ball game?

Heck, if I was in the area and someone invited me to the game I would have gone because I'm sort of a Giants fan.

Yes, I can understand someone getting a last minute invite to a game.

I would give him my condolences since the Giants beat the heck out of the Reds.

jtk

Hoping for a repeat of the Giants and A's World Series. Hope I am far away enough to not be affected by what happens.

FYI, the two longest delays between World Series games was between these two franchises, 1911 & 1989. I lived in the Bay Area in 1989 and was lucky by just a few minutes of not being on the lower deck of the freeway that collapsed.

Andrew Pitonyak
10-12-2012, 1:57 PM
I have had good luck on CL, but I have also been choosy about what I respond to for purchasing, and careful when I post. I have also been careful about doing things in a way that did not cause my wife or young children to be interacting with unknown people. After operating this way for years, a neighbour listed a free couch, set an appointment to come see it while they were out of town, and then asked my wife to meet with these unknown people. not too happy about that one.

Now, that said, I have met some very nice people selling stuff on CL.

Kevin W Johnson
10-12-2012, 5:47 PM
I've had very good luck so far myself. I don't post phone numbers in ad's, carefully screen email's, and use a Gmail email address to respond to ad's and people that respond to my ad's. I can easily dump the Gmail address if it starts getting spammed. For items I sell, I usually ask people to meet me at the local supemarket parking lot. It's easy for them to find, and I'm not bring unknown people to my house. I have sold a couple things though that require people coming to the house, things like tools that need to be plugged in, and I'd like to have a way to avoid that too.

I've found some good deals, and If I know it's already a good deal, I don't haggle on price. Likewise, if I'm selling at a good deal, I won't haggle on it. Usually though, I set price a little high in anticipation of a lower offer.

So far all my CL experiences have been good.

Rich Riddle
10-14-2012, 10:42 AM
I had a successful Craigslist transaction yesterday after posting a portable planer. The buyer showed up on time and the sell went well. He seemed to be a bit overly energetic if he didn't have help from substances. Perhaps I will start giving the less valuable tools to charity as to avoid dealing with the people who purchase less expensive items.