Craigslist Flakes

[California]

...Spent time hooking and dragging my trailer along, went to the bank for cash, spent $25 on gas, and wasted my time on this pc of junk. Oh well, back to the search again.

CL is really stepping off into the land of the unknown. I avoided a similar experience as a seller. Some guy who lives way out in Beyond Nowhere in central Nevada, in the middle of that Godforsaken desert a day's travel east of me, wanted to buy my prior tractor. But he wanted me to tow it to a point a third of the distance to him, where he could look it over.

I hadn't received any offers after considerable advertising so I tentatively agreed but 'let's wait to see if I get other offers'. The more I thought about it I decided to tell him it isn't my problem if he chooses to live so far outside civilization. Luckily I then got calls from two reasonable people willing to come look at it, so I didn't have to support that guy's lifestyle choice. But he nearly had me talked in to doing that.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Friend of mine drove all the way from SW Oklahoma to Denver to pick up a '63 Impala, based on the representation of a dealer there. Needless to say, it was misrepresented ("Well, a car this old, from this part of the country, you can't expect to be perfect"). He was out the trip, the gas and a motel. The dealer is just lucky he didn't get his nose rearranged.

 

[sixdogs]

I like the term "factory original". You or I know what that means but CL can sometimes mean all the parts are there but they may be beat to snot and may not be in the right order. A transmission that doesn't work could be "factory original" but "needs a little TLC" because it slips in gear. And heck, it's got the factory grease--none added--in those loader pins.

A few years ago I drove over half a day to buy a hi-crop tractor I was assured was low hour (700?), had never been repainted, stored under cover and ran fine. I know how to interrogate so I asked the questions repeatedly until there was no question what was being said. You know how it turned out.

The thing had rarely been inside, was dented and repainted, had engine troubles with zero oil pressure at idle (bad mains) and parts were missing. Factory original apparently meant no new parts were added but old ones could be deleted. The hour meter did indeed say 700---but had been replaced.

When I said I had no interest he asked what I would give for it but I just walked away and turned things into a road trip lunch and exploration. Had a nice meal with southern hospitality and loved every minute of that. Apparently, some CL people think if they can get you out to look at it, you'll overlook the little things and buy it to avoid a wasted trip.

 

[sixdogs]

Also on CL, watch out for the phrase "excellent condition for its age".

Why, you can't expect something that old to look all that great. I guess not.

 

[sixdogs]

Another trick that amuses me is when you advertise two items. Like two matching wheels but clearly state the price is for EACH. If someone comes out, they sometimes will try to pay for one and take two. Oh, "I thought you meant for both", they say.

When I say "you know better" and "sorry, but thanks for coming out and looking" and then "goodbye" they always find the other half of the cash in a different pocket ASAP. It's kind of cute because the people that try it aren't very good at the scam and are easy to foil. Kind of brings a tear to my eye.

 

[tman1020]

I deal with craigslist a lot here and it has gotten to be where less than 50% of the calls are legitimate normals. The rest are either scammers deadbeats or crazies. The thing that probably drives me up the wall the most about it is when they say they will meet you and then never show up. No call or anything just a flat no-show after setting everything up.

 

[EddieWalker]

My recent experiences with Craigslist have been with buying hay, or at least trying to find good horse quality round bales locally. I have a guy that has some really good hay, but he is busy all the time and I sometimes have to wait a week or two for him, which means paying $70 a bale at the feed store for one bale in the back of my truck until I can buy a trailer load from my regular guy. I've been trying different guys on Craigslist and it's either junk, old, mixed or overpriced. After many attempts and miles driving all over the area, I found a young guy ten miles away that grew up haying the family farm with 700 head of cattle that is starting his own farm. $40 for really nice, good quality round bales made all the wasted time all worthwhile. He even said that he drives by my place all the time and can deliver for the same price if he's got a trip planned in my area!!

 

[tman1020]

Nice. It's great when it works out and I guess still worth the trouble because I keep doing it.

 

[sixdogs]

The way I handle CL people that want to come out is to never assume they really will. I give them the address of a nearby church and tell them my address doesn't GPS correctly plus there are no numbers by the road. I tell them to call when they are five miles away and then tell them where to turn just before the church. I never give a street address. This has worked perfectly for me. Oh, I always get their phone number so we can talk on the phone.

People that keep insisting on an address are the ones that don't show while the ones that go with the flow always seem to make it. I think if you're a moron taunting people on CL, it's no longer fun when the mark has caught on. CL is much more fun for me now and almost everything sells and near zero BS.

 

[Sprinklerman]

When I give them directions , I tell them to look for the house with the police car and a truck with a plow in the driveway . ................... There is no police car , but it sets the tone