Favorite Stupid Craigslist Experiences

[MNBobcat]

I thought it would be fun to share stupid craigslist experiences.

I had this old Farmall H farm tractor. Not a lick of paint left on it. We're talking a farm tractor here. I had it priced accordingly (cheap) and multiple photos of it in the Ad.

So this guy shows up and decides not to buy it because, and I quote, "I couldn't even drive it in a parade" I about died.

 

[dodge man]

I've tried a couple of times to sell a car. I'm always annoyed that people try to talk you down on price before looking at it or driving it.

 

[Garandman]

I'm 62 and drive a standard shift WRX - they all were until 2015. Thought about selling it last summer and two young men showed up and each decided they couldn't take a manual in traffic.....

 

[farm boy00]

Never really had anything like that. I use craigslist allot but what i hate is that everyone contacts you but then won't get back to you. They will say that they want the item but then won't get ahold of you. Then the scammers

But i wish i could have a few good moments. But the people really do get a kick when they realize a 15 yr old is paying you a hand full of cash. I've just kinda bought and sold tractors over the last few years

 

[CobyRupert]

Last year I posted a free ad to get rid of some of the pile of horse manure. I figured a few people would show up wit pickups or trailers, I could load them with the FEL, win-win for everybody.

- One guy shows up with a "trailer", maybe it was converted from a snowmobile trailer? One bucket load fills the trailer about 1/4 and has the trailer scraping on the tires. He shovels off some and I send him down the road with a "good luck, slow down for the bumps"

- Next guy shows up with a nice shiny new Chevy 1/2 ton, 4wd, loaded, 4 door king cab road queen. Only problem is this truck has a 4-1/2, maybe 5 ft box? I really tried to scoop from the pile with just one side of my 6 or 7 foot bucket, but.......(I wonder if that pile of sh*t on his cab made it all the way home? Oh well I'm sure it washed off eventually) He actually tried to use a big sheet of cardboard wrapped around the tiny truck box as sideracks?!

- Best guy shows up in a minivan, with 5 gallon pails and a shovel. The best part was that he showed up wearing flip flops!!! Have at it dude I'll be standing over here laughing .

 

[CobyRupert]

Generally had good luck. Sold my unregistered truck, guy paid me and extra $100 on a $900 truck to drive it home for him.

 

[EddieWalker]

I've never sold anything on Craigslist, but I do like it for browsing and occasionally buying stuff. I've found that some people post prices that are crazy high. So ridiculous that they are at or more then what I can get it brand new from the store or a dealer.

My favorite craigslist experiences are when I show up to buy what I'm wanting and the guy I talked to isn't there, and his wife is. I'm pretty sure he is hiding in the house, but he sends her out to play dumb and say "I don't know" over and over again. Then she has to go get the neighbor to come over and help me load it, while the neighbor is asking where her husband is, he just saw him ten minutes ago.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

Last year I posted a free ad to get rid of some of the pile of horse manure. I figured a few people would show up wit pickups or trailers, I could load them with the FEL, win-win for everybody.

- One guy shows up with a "trailer", maybe it was converted from a snowmobile trailer? One bucket load fills the trailer about 1/4 and has the trailer scraping on the tires. He shovels off some and I send him down the road with a "good luck, slow down for the bumps"

- Next guy shows up with a nice shiny new Chevy 1/2 ton, 4wd, loaded, 4 door king cab road queen. Only problem is this truck has a 4-1/2, maybe 5 ft box? I really tried to scoop from the pile with just one side of my 6 or 7 foot bucket, but.......(I wonder if that pile of sh*t on his cab made it all the way home? Oh well I'm sure it washed off eventually) He actually tried to use a big sheet of cardboard wrapped around the tiny truck box as sideracks?!

- Best guy shows up in a minivan, with 5 gallon pails and a shovel. The best part was that he showed up wearing flip flops!!! Have at it dude I'll be standing over here laughing .

I tried the exact same thing. Free manure, all you care to take. The deal was if you wanted it loaded you gotta give me a few bucks to do it. That tractor doesn't run on good will after all. Had a few takers and it was all comical. The old half ton trucks that would take a bucket load and we're already on the stop blocks. Had a wheel chair bound guy ask me if the manure pile was wheel chIr accessible! ? How the heck do you answer a question like that? ? I finally just told him don't even bother, I don't know how to pull a wheel chair out of the mud.

 

[MarkF48]

I'm 62 and drive a standard shift WRX - they all were until 2015. Thought about selling it last summer and two young men showed up and each decided they couldn't take a manual in traffic.....

Not a CL story, but once needed tires for a manual shift car I had and went to Sears for a tire sale they had. An attendant at the service counter drove it into the tire bay and the tire "mechanic" set about changing the tires. I was watching most the time and when he was done got in the car and started it up. After about 5 minutes and no movement of the car he comes to the waiting area and asks me to drive the car out as he didn't know how to drive a stick shift with a clutch. That was the last time I went to Sears for tires or anything car related.

Craigslist....
- Several times I've gotten someone that says they'll be out to look at what I'm selling. They'll give an approximate time, I hang around waiting, and then they never show up or call back.
- Had a basketball hoop and backboard for sale really cheap. Had a potential buyer keep asking questions via email about size, would it fit on a pole, how heavy, etc. Must have been 8 or so emails with these sort of questions. Turned out he was only about a 10 minute drive away and he knew where I was, so he could have easily just driven to see it and avoided all the emails. He did finally buy it.

I've pretty much given up on Craigslist due to the scams and other crap that goes on.

 

[KubotaToy]

Bought and sold several items over the past few years, definitely have to be patient due to all the tire kickers that say they want it but never come back.

Best one so far, I sell some of my goat bucklings (not wethered) as soon as they are weened, they are from registered dairy herd so they are not good for meat just breeding so I price them cheap to move them out fast. That unfortunately gets me a lot of folks that know nothing about animals much less goats. One lady wanted a house pet, I told her that is not what I have, you need a puppy, she was adamant she wanted a goat, she claimed to have grown up on a farm and had goats. I guess her money is as good as any other. I tell to come visit and pick one out. You know it is going to be good when they show up in a Prius to get a goat. All of my goats are handled daily (dairy) and my bucks are bottle fed after the first month so they are friendly to say the least. I invite her to go in the buck pen and of course all my bucklings think it is dinner time and come running and she takes off for the gate but does not make it, they surround her. I yell to her to scratch them on the neck, they seem to like that. A few minutes later after what she thought was a narrow escape with her life, she asked what is that smell. I pointed to one of the bucks that was a little excited and peeing on his face, neck and front legs. I told that usually makes for a pretty aromatic smell after a few years of them doing that. I told her she needed to go to the shelter and give some poor old dog a good home. She seemed mad that I did not think a goat was a good pet for her. Go figure.

 

[SPIKER]

Like others I look and some times want to test drive or something but the people selling are some times less than forthcoming on conditions etc. Then the obvious scammers selling 2014 truck 4K bucks cash only come to dark ally by the drug dealers on east side... Love the ones with pics of their cars with coconut trees or some similar very southern plantings in pic (selling car in Ohio mid winter.) idiot scammers for sure I always click the spam button.

I have sold a few things on there but 90% of people ask questions and then dont show up... Recent one sent half doz emails and was buying sight un-seen (other than the 50+ pics and video I sent for him.) For my (2001 $5K 120K mile 4x4) decided a 3/8" rust spot on was too much rust & offered $1200.00 I didn't even bother replying as I just put 2K in all new top end on the thing..

M

 

[Garandman]

We used to live in South Boston, MA. We were selling a double stroller and a woman from Newton (wealthy suburb adjacent to Boston) arranged to buy it.

She showed up in a Volvo station wagon and would not get out of the car. My wife loaded the stroller in the back, gave her the money and peeled out.

 

[FTG-05]

So far, I'm running 100% for Craigslist ads buying stuff.

The latest was today: I bought a 10x10x6 chain link dog kennel for $125.

I have three puppies, two are lab/Great Pyrenees mix, the other a GSD/something or other mix. Sometime last night, they dug up my wife's favorite plant and chewed on it until I caught them this morning.

$125 for a kennel or three bullets. I chose the former. The puppies are penned up but still alive.

I call that a win!

Previous wins include my RTV, my 25 gallon sprayer, 6' disc and 6' rock rake/landscape rack. I think I'll keep using CL.

 

[Travelover]

When I cut down a tree I cut it into 3 foot lengths and pile it in my driveway and advertise it as free firewood. Guy calls and sez he will take it. He showed up with a Ford Escort, put a couple pieces in the back seat and left.

Recently advertised some odds and ends at give away prices (10% of new) and got a series of emails offering half, sight unseen. One guy wanted it delivered 60 miles away for 1/2 price - on a $50 item. :confused2:

Worst was a long time ago when I sold a lawn tractor. After it was loaded, he says it doesn't look as good as he thought and offers $100 less. I was so pi$$ed, I let him get away with it to be rid of him and the tractor, but now I always have cash in hand before any loading is done.

Recently sold a Sears riding mower and guy shows up with a minivan with a little kid in a car seat in the second row. Tractor barely fits with the rear wheels just inside the van, lift gate won't close on it.. He says it will be fine, he has a bungee cord to hold the lift gate down. I couldn't in good conscience let him go like that so I took some of my own good rope and tied the tractor down so it couldn't roll out or crush the kid.

 

[QRTRHRS]

I have a question about the trolls. If you answer them, can they actually get to your email address or is it really protected by Craigslist?

I list on Craigslist occasionally. Overall good but I sort out the one liners that cannot spell, the ones asking for my bottom line even though I have posted a fair price, and the ones that are too far away relative to the price and the item in question. I try to match my response to the quality and quanity of the potential buyers query.

 

[TomSeller]

I have bought off of CL probably 30 times or so. I have always paid asking price because I won't consider or respond to anything that is overpriced. I have my old Caddy on CL now, my first attempt at selling anything there. I am learning the other side of the coin exists. Emails to me with no follow up to my response... Requests to drive the car followed up with a promise to respond "yes or no" by the end of the day not kept.... Test drives and then low ball offers...

It has been quite an experience.

 

[aczlan]

I have a question about the trolls. If you answer them, can they actually get to your email address or is it really protected by Craigslist?

They can only get the CL address unless you put your regular address in an email.

Aaron Z

 

[slow84ta]

Some of these are funny! I had an argument with a guy Selling a 1993 3rd Gen Camaro with a 5.0 Litre v8 400 cid big block 4 speed manual Corvette Edition for 10k......

 

[sixdogs]

This is before Craig's list but I was selling an old --and HUGE--TV just to get rid of it. A guy called and was having the worst of luck. Said he came home from work and his wife had really cleaned him out. "Took everything in the place" he said. OK, sure but it was a small town and his place was on the way to work so when he offered $50 extra to deliver it, (wife took the car) I took a chance on his character. Besides, he was the only call.

Anyway, when I got to his trailer, he wasn't kidding that the wife had cleaned him out. All he had was a tall bar stool type chair, a couple of canned goods and a blanket. He slept on the LR carpet. Other than that, I couldn't see where he had anything else in the place. Bare to the walls. She even took his clothes. Talk about down on your luck.

 

[square1]

Bought my tractor from 250 miles away. I accepted a U-ship bid to deliver the tractor, but the trucking firm kept adding $$ to their bid until I said forget it. Relisted on U-Ship but couldn't get any good prices so decided to buy a trailer close to where the tractor was located and pick it up myself. After all I would need a trailer anyway, right?

After a couple weeks of looking I was able to strike a deal after several back & forth texts for a trailer about 50 miles from the tractor along the route to get tractor! I paid a little more than I wanted, but figured being along the way and only having to tow it 50 miles empty made up for the slightly higher cost. The Thursday after the trailer deal was struck I texted the seller saying I'd be there at 9 AM Saturday with cash in hand. He responded that was good with him.

Rushed around to get together chains & binders and borrow a tow vehicle ( I had none of this stuff!), packed some food, and loaded up my elderly father (he didn't get out much, so I thought it would be a nice time for him to take a leisurely ride) early Saturday morning. We arrived at the trailer location 5 minutes ahead of schedule and I texted the seller to let him know we had arrived. No response. I wait a couple minutes and call the seller. No answer. Looking around, I see no trailer either, but figure it could be in one of the sheds on the property.

At 9 AM I went up and knocked on the door of the house. A lady answers and I tell her I'm here to pick up my trailer. She gets a funny look on her face and replies her son (seller) is in town plowing snow (It didn't snow the night before and it wasn't snowing then either). She asks if I can wait a minute and disappears into the house returning shortly with a phone in her hand and hands it to me. It's her son the seller who says "Oh, sorry man, I sold the trailer last night". I just hung up handed the lady her phone back, turned and walked back to the vehicle.

Nearly $200 dollars in gas (tow vehicle was 1/2 full when I picked it up & full of gas when I dropped it off) and a day on the road later. I'm not sure who was the bigger freaking moron, the trailer seller or buyer.