Craigslist Flakes

[Dadnatron]

I have been looking for an old dump trailer for a while.

Found one that I was really interested. Priced reasonably, close by, etc.

I texted the guy, as this was his preferred contact method. Asked him if he still had the trailer (2 days after posting). No response. I repeated the text the following day, and received a 'Yep'. That was the limit of ALL communication. I replied that I'd like to look at it, and gave him a few times I could come out or asked for his schedule.... Nothing. Repeated the text the following day... Nothing. Texted a final time saying, "If you want to sell the trailer, I'm interested, but I need some interaction. Otherwise, I'll leave you alone."... Nothing.

The trailer was 'updated/reposted' the last day, seemingly showing he still had it and wished to sell.

I don't know why he would go to the trouble of trying to sell something, then not reply to contact. I just deleted his phone number and moved on. But given I've only used CL one other time, to give away a TV and had no issues, this entire situation was odd.

There didn't appear to be any scam. He didn't reply more than a simply 'Yep' to the entire contact. The trailer is old, and priced appropriately. But... I would definitely consider him a 'flake'.

16 Foot Gooseneck Dump Trailer

 

[MF283]

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.

YEP, same here, had the usual "flake" replies that i ignore & i tell them what works with my schedule, not theirs & that other's are interested, first come first serve.
You can normally tell through a phone conversation pretty quick who is the real deal.

Ronnie

 

[Gem99ultra]

His ad sure seems legit to me. I'd first suspect that he either didn't receive your text messages, or got so many that he elected to ignore them. He did however, post his phone number. If you were really interested, a phone call would have probably been the best way to go. Otherwise the trailer would have been sold by the time the both of you got down to a buy/sell situation.

It may still not be too late to snag this deal if you're interested...

 

[EddieWalker]

I've found that some people are texting challenged and if I'm serious about wanting something, I talk to them on the phone. In every case that I've spoken to the person beforehand, everything has worked out perfectly. When replying by text or email, nothing ever happens.

 

[Dadnatron]

You guys are right.

I guess some people might not be 'texting' folk, and I can't blame them. I wouldn't be if I didn't have 20-something kids.

I'll give him a call and see what happens.

 

[prichard]

There's a local ad that I was interested in that says will not answer text or email. There's no phone number so I don't know how they think they're going to sell. They just keep re posting every couple weeks.

 

[aczlan]

There's a local ad that I was interested in that says will not answer text or email. There's no phone number so I don't know how they think they're going to sell. They just keep re posting every couple weeks.

Yep. There is a ad around the corner from me that says the same thing but has no phone number...

Aaron Z

 

[Travelover]

There's a local ad that I was interested in that says will not answer text or email. There's no phone number so I don't know how they think they're going to sell. They just keep re posting every couple weeks.

I think they appeal to the telepathic market.

 

[sld]

You guys are right.

I guess some people might not be 'texting' folk, and I can't blame them. I wouldn't be if I didn't have 20-something kids.

I'll give him a call and see what happens.

That is a LOT of kids!

 

[California]

Sometimes the weird ads are worth pursuing. I found this Yanmar with loader and power steering - just what I had wanted to upgrade to from my basic one - listed locally as "Tractor $1".

I had seen the photo going through the local listing but the $4,500 in the text of the ad was more than I wanted to pay. I bookmarked it for later.

A few days later the same ad now said $3,500. I phoned and ran down there with some $100 bills as a deposit, and brought home his back blade and scraper box worth about that, to make sure he wouldn't back out of the deal. He said I was the only call he had received.

Well duh, "Tractor $1" isn't going to reach the few people who appreciate these top-quality but orphaned 80's Yanmars. Without 'Yanmar' somewhere in the ad no search is going to find it.

It has run flawless for three years now, it didn't need a thing. I think the seller was honest in saying he just needed money to fix his work truck and otherwise he never would have sold it.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Some people dont text, others would rather email, some prefer calling. I hate calling, I'd rather email or text.

 

[Gunny]

Some people dont text, others would rather email, some prefer calling. I hate calling, I'd rather email or text.

Another one here, the last few years of my job, I was constantly on landline or cell phone. I absolutely hate talking on a phone. I carry a cell with me now, but it's for my convenience / emergencies and not that many people have my number

 

[rox]

When breakingup my parents home when i moved them into a Senior Apartment I found the best thing to do on Craigs List for items I wanted to give away was to post that they were at the end of the driveway and I would update the ad every 2 hours.
I would go in and mark the time like, "4pm items still available"
I got rid of everything that way. As soon as it was gone I removed the ad.
I did not post a phone number and said I would not reply to e-mails.

 

[rox]

When we were moving to France and emptying out our home I found down the basement 4 humongous rolls of that pink insulation. It was real thick insulation brand new left over from when we built the house or maybe when we built the wine room. I didn't want to throw that away, and had never used Craigs List so what I did was take it to a busy corner with a stop light on the corner, in the parking lot of a grocery store that had recently closed, I piled them up and hand wrote a BIG sign- FREE and they were gone that night. It took me a few trips with the mini van as I could only carry one roll at a time.

When we moved to France was the one and only time I ever had a garage sale, I was so happy to see the stuff go all except for the perfect condition ping pong table. I and our kids have so many good memories of the hours they played ping pong together on that table.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

We have had a couple of garage sales since we moved here...40 plus year ago...and the very thought sends cold chills up and down my spine. A LOT of work for two or three hundred bucks, plus about three days that you have to dedicate to the endeavor...and to top it off, we even had shoplifters! Sharn Jean had some women's sweat shirts that she had decorated with gee gaws, nick nacks and shiny stuff that just disappeared off the rack. PLUS...I don't like all of these strangers traipsing through my yard, garage, etc.

 

[California]

Yeah. We participated in a friend's yard sale in the city recently. Real nice neighborhood. Just as we were cleaning up one of our last visitors was a carload of thug types asking about the tractor shown in my CL listing - which I had simply used as a stage prop to display something minor that I had already sold. The tractor itself was 100 miles away and not for sale.

They wouldn't believe me for a while, they kept asking for more details. These guys knew nothing about tractors and seemed like they had never been to the country in their lives.

As soon as they left we all offered the same opinion: we had been close to being mugged for the few thousand $ those characters expected we had in hand after selling the tractor.

 

[sld]

We have had a couple of garage sales since we moved here...40 plus year ago...and the very thought sends cold chills up and down my spine. A LOT of work for two or three hundred bucks, plus about three days that you have to dedicate to the endeavor...and to top it off, we even had shoplifters! Sharn Jean had some women's sweat shirts that she had decorated with gee gaws, nick nacks and shiny stuff that just disappeared off the rack. PLUS...I don't like all of these strangers traipsing through my yard, garage, etc.

We learned long ago that the tax deduction from a donation to DAV is worth way more than the hassle of a garage sale.

 

[Turbys_1700]

I've purchased over the phone and via text on Craigslist. Most of the time everything worked out fine. Some folks don't know how to post pictures or text. Actually got a good Ford 4610 SU because the owner didn't post a picture and actually had the item placed in the wrong area. Took a chance on the area once I found out that it was not that far from my house. I am certain if he had posted a picture the tractor would have been sold long ago.

I see adds where the owner only has e-mail contact. Those rarely ever work out. One time I am certain it was a scam. The few other times I replied I think the owner just is not e-mail savvy.

 

[JMER817]

Love reading these craigslist's comments. Can very much relate. Just had an experience today. My son has out grown his KFX90 ATV and we have been looking to upgrade to a 250. I like the Honda 250X and Suzuki's version as well so those have been my two targets. Looked at a couple 2008's and found the owners wanting too much for what they had. (worn out) I saw an ad on Craigslist for a 2014 Honda TRX250X with less than 20hrs listed for $4K. The price to me was a little high since I can purchase a brand new 2017 machine for about $4800 OTD from a few local dealers. I text'd the guy asking the standard questions then asked what his bottom dollar Cash price was (Since I'm 1.5 hrs away). Not wanting to budge he replied $4k. I replied with an offer of $3K thinking we would meet in the middle. He waited a day and got back to me accepting my offer! It took a few days to set a time between our conflicting schedules, but I took a couple hrs away from work to run out to him and purchase. I walk up to it thinking I just scored a great deal, and the first thing I notice is the plastic is just all scratched up. Never seen anything like it. (I've been riding for 35 years). My first thought is I can get him to come down a couple hundred and just put new plastic on it. I look at the tires next expecting to still see the "nubs" (remember under 20 hrs?) and the tires have a good 1/8"or more of wear. (Lot more than 20hrs). I also notice a strap that was on the handle bar that was rubbing the plastic and just about wore a hole thru it. I then focus my attention on the suspension and frame and see that it has been painted. The rear pull bar is also painted (spray can) He says there were scratches and they wanted to make it look better. He offers for me to take it for a spin, I figured wth, so I drive it down the road and its pulling quite bad to the right. All tires seem aired up fine. Bring it back and asked him if it was ever rolled. He said no, then said well it is actually his younger brother's machine and I can't be for sure, "he might have" he says. I told him it has more than the 20 hrs that he claimed, the paint looks horrible, and could possible have something bent in the frame. I politely tell him that I am not interested. As I'm driving home I'm getting pissed, I just took a few hours off of work, 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.

 

[sld]

Love reading these craigslist's comments. Can very much relate. Just had an experience today. My son has out grown his KFX90 ATV and we have been looking to upgrade to a 250. I like the Honda 250X and Suzuki's version as well so those have been my two targets. Looked at a couple 2008's and found the owners wanting too much for what they had. (worn out) I saw an ad on Craigslist for a 2014 Honda TRX250X with less than 20hrs listed for $4K. The price to me was a little high since I can purchase a brand new 2017 machine for about $4800 OTD from a few local dealers. I text'd the guy asking the standard questions then asked what his bottom dollar Cash price was (Since I'm 1.5 hrs away). Not wanting to budge he replied $4k. I replied with an offer of $3K thinking we would meet in the middle. He waited a day and got back to me accepting my offer! It took a few days to set a time between our conflicting schedules, but I took a couple hrs away from work to run out to him and purchase. I walk up to it thinking I just scored a great deal, and the first thing I notice is the plastic is just all scratched up. Never seen anything like it. (I've been riding for 35 years). My first thought is I can get him to come down a couple hundred and just put new plastic on it. I look at the tires next expecting to still see the "nubs" (remember under 20 hrs?) and the tires have a good 1/8"or more of wear. (Lot more than 20hrs). I also notice a strap that was on the handle bar that was rubbing the plastic and just about wore a hole thru it. I then focus my attention on the suspension and frame and see that it has been painted. The rear pull bar is also painted (spray can) He says there were scratches and they wanted to make it look better. He offers for me to take it for a spin, I figured wth, so I drive it down the road and its pulling quite bad to the right. All tires seem aired up fine. Bring it back and asked him if it was ever rolled. He said no, then said well it is actually his younger brother's machine and I can't be for sure, "he might have" he says. I told him it has more than the 20 hrs that he claimed, the paint looks horrible, and could possible have something bent in the frame. I politely tell him that I am not interested. As I'm driving home I'm getting pissed, I just took a few hours off of work, 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.

I have bought quite a few cars in the last several years for the kids as they were growing up. After about the 3rd trip out of town to look at a "nice" vehicle and getting burned I said never again. It's local or nothing.'

One of the rust free trucks I drove 3 hours to look at had steel wool filling a hole in the rear quarter that had been spray can painted! Unreal.