Craigslist Flakes

[troutsqueezer]

I've been selling a lot of stuff on CL lately because I am downsizing for a move. I have found that you cannot judge a persons character or how the deal may go down based on what may seem like a silly inquiry - not worded correctly, fragmented or what-have-you. Some inquiries that seemed like a sure thing, even after talking to the person on the phone or texting back and forth just vaporize into thin air. Others, where you swear that you must be dealing with a looney tune, turn out to be just regular folks when the deal is done.

 

[jerrybob]

Several years ago......I bought my Yanmar 186D on Craigslist and even lived to use it after the transaction.

 

[California]

I have found that you cannot judge a persons character or how the deal may go down based on what may seem like a silly inquiry ... Some inquiries that seemed like a sure thing ... just vaporize into thin air. Others, where you swear that you must be dealing with a looney tune, turn out to be just regular folks when the deal is done.

!!! I'll just copy the following verbatim from another thread over in the Yanmar forum where I posted it as part of a conversation among friends:

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Man, Craigslist transactions can get weird.

A buyer for the cement mixer spent a few minutes breaking it down to fit into his car. Talked the whole time, wouldn't listen to anything. All about he was a real Christian and nobody earned his respect, for not agreeing 100% with what he told them - nonsense like he pulled his kids out of public school [in Kentucky!] for home schooling to evade the daily Muslim prayers required of all students by the new Common Core curriculum. Ok, whatever, I was going to offer you the apples I just picked but if I don't get a chance to speak then forget it.

I'm not criticizing sincere Christians who are more conservative than me. I think we all need to find our own path, and get along with one another. But this guy was a nut.

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My favorite reply to the above:

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"There is conservative, there is liberal, and then there is crazy."

 

[California]

From another post I made about the CL cement mixer sale, serious this time:

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"I'm running an ad for a cement mixer and got a sad reply. A guy who was going to come buy it this weekend sent me a note he wouldn't need it any more, he lost everything in the Middletown fire." [One of the huge California wildfires last summer, that one was 95 square miles.]
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There really is a broader variety of people and their experiences out there that we seldom see until we reach outside our own little comfort zones.

 

[California]

Several years ago......I bought my Yanmar 186D on Craigslist and even lived to use it after the transaction.

There's got to be more to that story!

 

[MNBobcat]

In all my CL ads I make a statement that the ad will be removed promptly when sold. If they are reading the ad, it is still for sale.

This helps reduce the flake inquiries and also helps sell stuff that doesn't go immediately.

Ha! I do the same thing and they still email asking if I still have it.

If you see replies to craigslist Ads where they ask you to email them at their email address rather than using the craigslist email relay, don't do it. There are automated programs out there trying to harvest email addresses to send spam to. That's why they want you to email them directly - it exposes your personal email. If the emails refer to what you're selling as an "item" rather than what it is, that's another clue.

 

[jerrybob]

There's got to be more to that story!

Picked up the tractor in a small town down near Salem, Oregon. Coming back on I5 with the tractor on a car trailer. Suddenly......an out of control big rig came through the center divider and hit several cars and trucks heading northbound. Chain reaction involved many vehicles......I later heard 17 vehicles. The whole thing happened around us......how we didn't get hit was amazing. We stopped.......I helped pull two folks from crushed cars. My wife helped a lady who was bleeding badly from a head wound. Two people ended up dying from the pile up. We felt lucky to not have been hurt. About an hour later......we drove home without a scratch with our tractor on the trailer. It was a very long day.

 

[TomSeller]

I recall sending an email reply on a CL add asking about the Jobox gang box he was selling. I received a snotty response back saying he did not have a Jobox for sale. I politely mentioned that his add showed a picture of one. A few days later he responded back saying he posted the wrong picture.

 

[azranger]

My wife and I replied to an ad where someone was selling a 5th wheel travel trailer, and that I would like to set up a time to look at it. I get a response that the 5th wheel is not in the town that it is listed in, and that it would be shipped to me after payment transaction was made. "yeah right, I'll get rght on that":muttering:

 

[California]

My wife and I replied to an ad where someone was selling a 5th wheel travel trailer, and that I would like to set up a time to look at it. I get a response that the 5th wheel is not in the town that it is listed in, and that it would be shipped to me after payment transaction was made.

Similar experience on Ebay. New auction, listed nearby, unreasonably low price, they replied I couldn't inspect the tractor for a few days because it had been sent to Portugal (!) after listing it for auction. But it would be delivered with free shipping after I paid the BuyItNow price. Ya sure.

 

[Travelover]

Ha! I do the same thing and they still email asking if I still have it...........

On the flip side, I've answered many Craigslist ads only to have them tell me it has been sold a while ago. Why didn't you remove the ad then, I ask? Shrug..........

 

[rtimgray]

I agree with the above poster - I, too, have checked on several items, only to find out that they were sold days or weeks ago. I just chalk it up to "some people"...

For the most part, I've had good success off of Craigslist (and a similar local site, and the local "trader papers" - all essentially the same thing). I am cautious in my initial contact with folks, but for the most part, I like it.

Good luck and take care.

 

[Garandman]

On 4/5/06 at 7:20 PM, two people were robbed at 42 Westville St. when they went to look at a car that was listed for sale on Craigslist. The victims made contact with a man through a phone number given in the ad for a 1995 Honda Civic. The suspect was waiting for the victims in front of the address, and asked them to walk to the back of the property to view the vehicle. Once in the rear of the property, the victims were forced to the ground at gunpoint, and robbed of their money.

Boston also had the "Craigslist Killer."

 

[PHPaul]

I've been on the odd wild goose chase, driving considerable distances to find that the seller blatantly misrepresented the object in question.

Other than that, my experiences both buying and selling have been pain free.

I think two things contribute to that:

1. Virtually all of my transactions have been with rural folk. I don't live in or near anything that could reasonably be called a city, never have, never will.

2. 90% or more of what I'm buying/selling is farming-related. Farm folk, in my admittedly limited experience, tend to be pretty honest. My other interest is motorcycles, I'm 2 for 3 on that. Drove a LONG way to look at a bike once. When I got there, the "needs a little work to be rideable" bike was in a half-dozen boxes...

I've never felt the least bit uncomfortable with the people or surroundings on my transactions.

 

[PILOON]

My other beef is listing in wrong categories intentionally and cluttering space.
Then there is the sellers that list same item about every page or 50 times in a category.

 

[mbohuntr]

Did he send pictures of his wife:devil:

I was going to say "test drive?" :stirthepot:

 

[farm boy00]

Well I've been playing games with a scammer. I got him all excited last night because I didn't get back to him in 3 days. He was all excited to do the deal then I told him again cash. Poor thing he even has a "God Bless You" signature

 

[kcflhrc]

Well it all finally worked out for me. Sold the TV for what I was asking, the guy didn't need the stand, sold the stand the next day for $25. Only in America.

 

[California]

Then there's this guy. Not CL but he sent a $23,000 money order from Eastern Canada to Houston for a car. Then he drove down and discovered that the seller didn't have title to it. Then the seller disappeared.

 

[kcflhrc]

Then there's this guy. Not CL but he sent a $23,000 money order from Eastern Canada to Texas for a car. Then he drove down there and discovered that the seller didn't have title to it. Then the seller disappeared.

That's not a Craigslist Flake, he's just an idiot.