What's happened to Craigslist?

[LD1]

I've had an immense amount of success and fun on Craigslist in Portland, Oregon and my home in SC. I'm the type of guy that researches a product to a ridiculous level, but when I'm ready to pull the trigger, I pull the trigger!

(2) things that I still chuckle at: I offered to pay $1200 cash for a cello in Portland back in 2010. I had a nice email/phone conversation with the seller, but he would not sell me the cello without talking to my supervisor or another reliable party because "nobody calls and offers the asking price!" :laughing: You may think someone is scamming you, but always remember that there are oddballs out there, like me, who don't tire kick... I guarantee he took a loss on that deal.

I just offered a guy full asking price for a military trailer back home in SC. Explained that I can't call because I'm overseas, which I'm sure he thought was a scam. Bless my Southern brother's hearts, but in my area, we think everyone is out to screw us. Even after giving multiple phone numbers and telling him where I live, nothing. The trailer is, and has been, on C-list ever since...

Unfortunately, not able to call because you are overseas..........That is how MOST c-list scams actually start. Being over seas, or out of state, or out of country.....offering to send MORE than you are asking......wanting you to cash the check....etc etc...

I feel sorry for the folks that are legitimately overseas. But the spammers ruined it.

 

[USAFpj]

I feel sorry for the folks that are legitimately overseas

Yep, I get it. I wouldn't sell to me, either!:laughing:

I tried like heck to sell a $200 engagement ring on C-list one time, and the Nigerian scammers were hitting me HARD. After about 2 weeks, I get a shady text from someone who wants to know if I would trade the ring for a handgun? Spidey senses are tingling that this is a bad deal that won't go anywhere good. I'm intrigued, so I take 'back up' in the forms of manning and weapons, and agree to go somewhere public and during the daytime.

This poor middle aged lady had a home break in, and her wedding ring had been stolen. She also happened to have a new Glock that she could not secure the slide, as her hands were tiny. She desperately wanted a diamond ring, and I desperately wanted that pistol! We had the trade, and it makes for a funny Craigslist story..

 

[Chilliwack Murray]

There is a group of ads in many of the CL areas here that has been repeating for a couple years now that is just an attempt to collect phone numbers and emails.

Ads are for construction materials like asphalt grindings, curbs, concrete blocks etc and all say limited quantities. I had replied to a couple for different product and ended up getting spam text messages for the next month. They never did reply to the actual request though.

Since then I check the “other ads by this user” and only use the CL email which at least weeds out some of this. Those are outright fraud but what annoys me more are
dealers and businesses that spam the listings with the same ad 20 or more times and put in all kinds of unrelated words making the search function useless. CL should have a way to ban them or filter ads from users with more than say 20 active listings.

Sad but there will always be someone looking to abuse an otherwise useful service.

 

[aczlan]

...what annoys me more are
dealers and businesses that spam the listings with the same ad 20 or more times and put in all kinds of unrelated words making the search function useless. CL should have a way to ban them or filter ads from users with more than say 20 active listings.

the problem is, a lot of those dealers are posting as dealers and Craigslist is getting paid for their ads. As such they have no problem with that. If you want to filter them out, pick just ads by owner and exclude ads by dealer.

Sad but there will always be someone looking to abuse an otherwise useful service.

Pretty much.

Aaron Z

 

[Jstpssng]

the problem is, a lot of those dealers are posting as dealers and Craigslist is getting paid for their ads. As such they have no problem with that. If you want to filter them out, pick just ads by owner and exclude ads by dealer.


Pretty much.

Aaron Z

One reason that I stopped looking on CL when auto shopping is because a lot of those dealers are way down in NH or Mass; if I wanted to check out their ads I would go to CL-NH or CL-Mass. There may be a way to filter them out but I haven't found it.

I haven't had the problems that others cite from giving out my phone #; yet have found that by stating I can't receive texts or emails it seems to filter out the tire kickers. I have about a 95% success rate selling to people who pick up the phone and actually take the time to talk to me.

 

[gojira]

One reason that I stopped looking on CL when auto shopping is because a lot of those dealers are way down in NH or Mass; if I wanted to check out their ads I would go to CL-NH or CL-Mass. There may be a way to filter them out but I haven't found it.

I haven't had the problems that others cite from giving out my phone #; yet have found that by stating I can't receive texts or emails it seems to filter out the tire kickers. I have about a 95% success rate selling to people who pick up the phone and actually take the time to talk to me.

I've been through that where a lot of the NH car ones are in the Boston area or down by the Cape; unless it is really special, I'm not making the trip.

I sold a lot of old car parts from cars I'd sold through CL before we moved the last time. I had a set of low doors and side curtains for a TJ Wrangler. I got an email from a woman who said she'd take them as she needed a set for her Jeep. The next day she sends, "Oh you are in NH, and I'm in upstate NY - can we meet somewhere?" I said I'd drive up to Lebanon NH (right on the NH-VT line) as that was about half-way for each of us. The day we meet she sends, "Oh I can't make it so I'm sending my brother to get the doors." OK, now I'm thinking WTH is going on and starting to get the bad feeling... so I drive up to Leb with the doors, and my wife, so if things went bad, my wife would be in the car driving off calling 911. I get up there and there's two big guys waiting - her brother and his buddy. They had the cash, everything goes off fine, so I tell them about having the bad feeling with all the changes from his sister and the brother says, "Um yeah my sister is a little... flakey." LOL

 

[TractorGuy]

There is a group of ads in many of the CL areas here that has been repeating for a couple years now that is just an attempt to collect phone numbers and emails.

Ads are for construction materials like asphalt grindings, curbs, concrete blocks etc and all say limited quantities. I had replied to a couple for different product and ended up getting spam text messages for the next month. They never did reply to the actual request though.

Since then I check the 登ther ads by this user and only use the CL email which at least weeds out some of this. Those are outright fraud but what annoys me more are
dealers and businesses that spam the listings with the same ad 20 or more times and put in all kinds of unrelated words making the search function useless. CL should have a way to ban them or filter ads from users with more than say 20 active listings.

Sad but there will always be someone looking to abuse an otherwise useful service.

I fell for one of those once. Ad was for free fill dirt. Number got spoofed! They used MY number to robocall other scams so I had people calling me saying they received a call from me I didn't make. I have searched all over and copied all the ad numbers to report as scam. First time I did it CL deleted ALL the ads I reported. Since then it's been hit or miss to get rid of them.

Another pet peeve of mine is the tractor dealers filling up the bottom of their ads with irrelevant key words. I will search for an item and get a hundred returns that have nothing to do with what I want because some turd put that in the list of key words in his ads.

 

[jaxs]

There is a group of ads in many of the CL areas here that has been repeating for a couple years now that is just an attempt to collect phone numbers and emails.

Ads are for construction materials like asphalt grindings, curbs, concrete blocks etc and all say limited quantities. I had replied to a couple for different product and ended up getting spam text messages for the next month. They never did reply to the actual request though.


Sad but there will always be someone looking to abuse an otherwise useful service.

Ar,Ok and Tx CL is overrun with those ads. Doesn't matter what you say in the CL email relay,the response is always the same"send me your email address for more pictures and information" or "text me for more information and pictures".

 

[LD1]

the problem is, a lot of those dealers are posting as dealers and Craigslist is getting paid for their ads. As such they have no problem with that. If you want to filter them out, pick just ads by owner and exclude ads by dealer.


Pretty much.

Aaron Z

The problem around here is most dealers don't post in the dealer section. So filtering does nothing.

I hate dealers loading up posts in owners section, and I also hate people posting from out of town or out of state. If I wanted to shop a different location, I'd look in that areas Craigslist.

Heck, may be someone on here, but there are ALWAYS a bunch of farm equipment posts from some dealer in Flat Gap KY.

I like to search Mansfield and Columbus OH areas, by owner only. And when I start seeing 20 items in a row from this KY dealer it irks the crap out of me.

Spammers I get. Ignore them and move on. But people/dealers being idiots....no excuse.

 

[goeduck]

The problem around here is most dealers don't post in the dealer section. So filtering does nothing.

I hate dealers loading up posts in owners section, and I also hate people posting from out of town or out of state. If I wanted to shop a different location, I'd look in that areas Craigslist.

Well said. The multiple posts of the exact same thing is a bother for sure. Sometimes you see where they drop the price of one or some of them but not all of the multiple posts. I responded to one once and the guy wanted to negotiate from the higher price. I mentioned the lower price and he said that was just to get attention. I never got back to him after that stunt. There are flake buyers and flake sellers and I agree things have gotten worse. It used to be a fancy classified add type of thing where you were dealing with honest people, now you still have them but you have all this other stuff going on. I will say it was a great move for CG to drop the personals section.