Craigslist User Experiences

here is an example...

I'm selling a 2013 car with 400 miles
it retails for $25,000 and i'm selling it for $3,000

i'll have 15 people offer me $1,000, want more photos, want me to deliver, ask if i'll take payments and if I cant let them have the car now but wait to be paid for it a few months from now.


It's hit and miss when using the site to sell or buy anything!
I've sold several vehicles, and purchased several through the site; yet not every post was a success.

several years ago, I listed my wife's volvo on the site for 10% under bluebook. The description, photos and contact info was clear, yet no calls of anyone serious. 2 weeks later, I re-listed the post with the same info, photos, and title. It was a HOT item!!! I had 3 different interested parties lined up to view the car at the same time!

chris<pixelmonkey>:D
 
rider9195 said:
Funny you just posted this because my parents are trying to sell a computer desk which literally sat and was never used. Someone called about it and wanted to come look at it. Was on vacation at the time so couldn't work that out yet.

Just yesterday the person called again twice while no one was home. Finally we made arrangements for them to come today. Called and said they would be there in an hour. 2 hours pass and they called this person back and then they said they weren't interested!! And said they have been trying to call use back. Gotta call BS on that because our phone was working fine and the person called here three time before. Meanwhile they were sitting and waiting for people to show up. It's my first negative experience with Craigslist.
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How is this a negative experience with Craigslist? The prospective buyer was very interested and you were simply NOT AROUND. If you ask me, the prospective buyer had a negative experience with you. What you did was akin to putting stuff out on your lawn, posted yard sale signs all over your community, and then left the house for a couple of days.

Rule #3.... if you are going to sell something, BE AVAILABLE to prospective buyers or nothing gets sold.
 
pixelmonkey said:
here is an example...

I'm selling a 2013 car with 400 miles
it retails for $25,000 and i'm selling it for $3,000

i'll have 15 people offer me $1,000, want more photos, want me to deliver, ask if i'll take payments and if I cant let them have the car now but wait to be paid for it a few months from now.


It's hit and miss when using the site to sell or buy anything!
I've sold several vehicles, and purchased several through the site; yet not every post was a success.

several years ago, I listed my wife's volvo on the site for 10% under bluebook. The description, photos and contact info was clear, yet no calls of anyone serious. 2 weeks later, I re-listed the post with the same info, photos, and title. It was a HOT item!!! I had 3 different interested parties lined up to view the car at the same time!

chris<pixelmonkey>:D
Click to expand...

That pretty well sums it up.
 
I've had nothing but good luck with Craigslist but you have to be smart.

Craigslist is typically great for large, heavy bulky things that are too expensive to ship because you target local markets. In the last month I sold two transmissions and two transfercase, both of which weight hundreds of pounds to local guys building 4x4's.


EBay is great for smaller, things to sell, even costly things where you can reach a huge market but shipping costs won't be much. I recently purchased some hard to find Spindle Lock Nuts that none of the local auto parts stores could locate of eBay for a few bucks shipped to my door.

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I give Craigslist and eBay two thumbs up, just be smart about how you interact on it using the tips provided in this thread.


:dblthumb2:
 
Just bought a Shark Lift-Away steam mop a few weeks ago for $75 new in the box. They're $150 at the store. I've bought and sold several items. My sister just put a 200k mile, 1998 Acura TL up on Craigslist a couple of weeks ago and sold it 2 hours later, after taking 5 phone calls on it ranging from low-ballers to serious negotiators to someone coming and picking it up for the asking price. If you have anything for free, be prepared to take the ad down quickly as you'll probably get bombarded with calls and emails. I put some lava rock up there a few months ago and had 4 people email within an hour, wanting to come get it.
 
BobbyG said:
Hell, I can't even figure out how to navigate for search it easily.....:dunno:

It want's me to search a state, I want to search the whole country....
Click to expand...


+1. I dont like it either. Like, if you were looking for a DA, do you just look under "tools" and flip through each page?
 
BobbyG said:
Hell, I can't even figure out how to navigate for search it easily.....:dunno:

It want's me to search a state, I want to search the whole country....
Click to expand...

Bobby,

To do country-wide searches, you need something like searchtempest.com or searchck.com. I've used searchtempest in the past, and it appears searchck is similar. I actually used searchtempest to find my most recent car. The site searches Craigslist ads within a specified mileage range that you input. My car was located about 4+ hours away.
 
swanicyouth said:
+1. I dont like it either. Like, if you were looking for a DA, do you just look under "tools" and flip through each page?
Click to expand...

That's one way. Or you can use the search function on the left, but that's only as good as the spelling as the person posting the classified ad. For instance, if you type in "Dual Action Polisher" and someon spells it Dule actiun pollisher, you probably won't ever see that ad. Personally, I would just type in "polisher" and see what comes up, then try "buffer" and do a separate search.

Good luck though. Everything in my area are the $25 Craftsman 10" wax spreaders.
 
Y2KSVT said:
Bobby,

To do country-wide searches, you need something like searchtempest.com or searchck.com. I've used searchtempest in the past, and it appears searchck is similar. I actually used searchtempest to find my most recent car. The site searches Craigslist ads within a specified mileage range that you input. My car was located about 4+ hours away.
Click to expand...

Hey, that works pretty nice!!

Thank you Mark!! :props:
 
BobbyG said:
Hey, that works pretty nice!!

Thank you Mark!! :props:
Click to expand...

Anytime, Bobby! It wasn't detailing related, but it's nice to help out someone who is always quick to give very helpful and useful advice!
 
I've bought 3 things off of craigslist,

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I paid $100 for the vacuum and for the air operated bumper jack. The little generator I paid $200 for which was too much.All three transactions went without a hitch.

The vac was delivered to me from an hour away for a fee, the jack and generator I went to their homes and or businesses and picked the items up.

I did learn about the spam emails and texts the hard way so now I do what Nick has outlined to prevent it. Read the rules and warnings pages carefully, follow what they say and you'll should be fine.

The robbers and killers on CSI New York are on TV But make no mistake, they are definitely out here in the real world too, and craigslist is just one of the means they use to lure in unsuspecting victims. I like the idea of packing heat to do craigslist transactions.
 
In Canada, we have Kijiji. I have used it a ton with great success.
 
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