What happened was complete and utter lunacy and irration. I've always had the sneaking suspicion that people in general were crazy. Craigslist only served to prove my suspicion. The interactions I've had with people (mostly via email) ranged from outrageous to weird to annoying. Below are some of my correspondence with Craigslist crazies...
Trying to sell my bridal crinoline, for $35...
Hi again, I haven't heard from you and I am starting to get nervous because, as I stated earlier, I am getting married on Sunday and I have to have something by then. I am willing to pay the full $35 if you do not want to negotiate. I will also even come to your house to pick it up if need be. Just please let me know if the Crinoline is still available and if you will sell it to me.
This girl first emailed me on a Sunday, and I responded to her immediately. Obviously she didn't get my email, and I love how she got a little testy with me. Bridezilla anyone? Turns out, the girl I had been emailing was in fact not the bride, but the maid-of-honor. She told me on the phone that she thought it would be easier to email with me in the first person as the bride...wow...talk about completely weird. I ended up asking $25 for the crinoline, but sold it to the bride for $33 (sucks when you don't bring exact change and I don't carry cash!).
Trying to sell 4 IKEA wine racks, each for $10...
great...i know this is crazy, but i am in greensboro...so i can meet you anywhere but if you are willing to come this way at all, anywhere off 40 just so that i don't have to come into raleigh, that would be great...but if not, that's fine too. i can't believe the luck of finding one of these local. you can call me to arrange a time/place. anytime today before 6 would be best, if not, then maybe tomorrow.
WTF? Like I am going to DRIVE to Greensboro to sell a $10 wine rack (she only wanted to buy one). I would loose money in this transaction because of current gas prices. But, she did give me the option of meeting her that day, before six, as if I didn't have full time job during the day. I emailed her back and told her that I would not drive to meet her, and that we could meet in Cary. I never heard back from her.
Trying to sell 4 IKEA wine racks...again...still for $10 each...
Hi Melanie. I've had something come up and am not going to be able to buy the wine racks from you. I'm terribly sorry. Good luck.
I had planned to meet this woman at the mall, but like she said, something came up.
Trying to sell a brand new vessel sink that we can't use, for $100...
Melanie,My brother just called - I am so bummed out - we are not going to Cary Saturday. They just have too much to do and not enough fun stuff going on! I don't know as I can convince my boyfriend with the price of gas to just go without making it a "visit my brother's family" kind of trip. If the color is right, this would be perfect for our bathroom - just the right pop of color!! Let me see what I can work out - if we don't come this Saturday, possibly next Saturday. I'm sorry for letting you know I was interested and then changing our plans. Have you had lots of other interest? Maybe if I can convince my boyfriend that this is PERFECT, we'll come anyway! I'll let you know for sure...thanks!
Again, we had made plans to meet in Cary and then I received this email. Wonderful. I even gave her my cell phone number just in case she were to come to town today. My phone has not rung once today.
The only transaction I had that went fairly smoothly was selling our dog crate that we bought for River that she only used once. I sold it to a nice man who was getting a puppy for his sons. I posted it for $100, and he ended up giving me $80. I was glad to sell it because it was definitely taking up a lot of room.
So, after all this, I'm $113 richer (not really - all the money has been spent on dog food and groceries). However, I have no future plans to post ANYTHING on Craigslist. Selling stuff is fine, but dealing with crazy people is way too much. I'll save that fun for the yard sale we are planning.
16 comments:
Melanie--this is hilarious!
Sounds like Craigslist can be frustrating. I'm glad you were able to find "the ghost" (crinoline) a new wearer. It must havetaken up a lot of space.
um.... Melanie... yeah, I'm interested in your wine rack... is it still available? If so, will you meet me in Alexandria,VA. If that won't work, I could meet you at the border of North Carolina and Virgina. OH and one more thing, I can only offer you $5. What do you say?
Oh, man, stay away from "hosting" yard sales!! You know that society has reached an all-time low when you actually have people shop lift at your sale!
Jane
I had very similar experiences on Craigslist. I will not do it again although I did end up selling my jewelry to a really nice lady that met me at Sheetz in Franklin County. But that is it! Never again!
Pardon my intrusion. Have you tried Bonanzle.com? Google Bonanzle and see what people are saying about us. I do believe that this is your answer for future transactions. Interested in what you think.
Let me know,
Mark Dorsey
http://www.bonanzle.com
I agree with you. I hate Craigslist too. I also hate its interface. That is why I created MoMingle.com . First your post will be shown up on a map and can be searched by users easily. Second, you don't have to reply through email but through MoMingle's message system. Reply can be public and private. Try it out. If you like it, tell your friends.
here is what I use for aparment rentals SlickHunt.com. Craigslist apartments are mapped on a google map and you can search by zip code etc.
I'm not a big fan of craigslist either. Has anyone else heard about americanlisted.com? Heard about it through a friend but the site seems pretty new. I like that it lets you search in every zip code in the US and they claim to review all ads before they post them. Seems promising!
Anyone else have other sites they've had good experiences with?
Yes, I have actually tried it once. I recently posted a bed frame at AmericanListed.com and sold it in 2 days! The company said my ad would be available for 2 months. Luckily, such offering was not necessary for me, but I liked to count with it.
I found convenient to post ad with them and more: it’s for FREE. It’s a smart tip to boost one’s private finance, especially in tough times like now.
DEB@WEB
I had a car listed For Sale & the ad was flagged & removed by "the community" for the following reasons:
#1. Ad was too professional looking.
My response: So what, I know how to write professional ad that sells.
#2. I was asking too much for the car.
My response: I can ask what I want & it's worth it. View car & they would agree.
Other reasons were given by "the community" in the forum, but why should I give these "Little Hitler’s" more free press. It just feeds their weak egos.
The language they use is repulsive & intended to belittle the poster. They offer no help. I am curious how these "Egotistical Little Imps" get their authority.
All the while CraigsList continues to promote Illegal "Adult" services & other criminal activity.
CraigsList is a Terrible place!
I had a car listed For Sale & the ad was flagged & removed by "the community" for the following reasons:
#1. Ad was too professional looking.
My response: So what, I know how to write professional ad that sells.
#2. I was asking too much for the car.
My response: I can ask what I want & it's worth it. View car & they would agree.
Other reasons were given by "the community" in the forum, but why should I give these "Little Hitler’s" more free press. It just feeds their weak egos.
The language they use is repulsive & intended to belittle the poster. They offer no help. I am curious how these "Egotistical Little Imps" get their authority.
All the while CraigsList continues to promote Illegal "Adult" services & other criminal activity.
CraigsList is a Terrible place!
If you are really fed up with CL maybe try EverClassify.com. We are new on the scene and doing some really exciting things with options for silent bids and national selling. Most all of our categories are free and we have couple advanced options and categories which cost a couple bucks. We are really focused on easy search and the shopper’s experience.
We would enjoy your feedback.
I rent rooms, and have had success finding new rooms to rent on CL. However, every time I move I give away most of the junk I've accumulated each time on CL's free section. After each time, I swear to myself never to do it again, b/c there's so many flakes and idiots, even for free stuff. Like you, folks want you to drive long distances to door-step deliver things to them. Or, they want to reschedule 15 times. This last time, I posted a free section ad for misc stuff I was giving away. Followed the terms of service to the letter, nothing offensive, listed my items, but I did say I wuold only meet people that came to me, and specified times I could meet. My free section ad was FLAGGED within an hour. FLAGGED! I couldn't believe it. Decided right then to stop using CL. Guess I'll try freecycle instead. Worst CL moment was when I was trying to sell a heated motorcycle vest. Guy wanted me to ship it to NY at my expense so he could try it on and use it for a bit to see if he wanted it, and if he did he'd send me some money, but if he didn't he'd ship it back to me but I have to pay the S&H again. I asked him to first send me the pot he was smoking, b/c I would have to be high as a kite to agree to that crazy arrangement. Another time I sold a car on CL. I made the mistake of not over-inflating the price a bit, b/c everyone wants to low-ball and feel like they're getting a deal (pro-tip: never say "$X even, no bargaining"...everyone wants to bargain, and you will go insane at how people completely ignore the price you list in an attempt to frustrate you and whittle you down). Anyways, guy whittles me down to $2500. I agree, and he comes to meet me. He gets here, and after showing great interest in the car pulls out his wallet and says "I only have $1500 in cash, will that be enough?" NO! "Well...uh, will you take a check for the other $1000?" NO! "Well...uh...I guess I won't get it then." Good, leave. He calls me 3 hours later saying he magically scrounged up the cash and is on his way to get the car. Had same thing happen another time selling a scooter...guy tried to lowball me 1/2 the price when he got to my place. I want to seriously tear the heads off some of the jerks on CL. They figure it's no harm in asking, b/c you never know when you might get lucky. But, there is harm...it upsets me as a seller greatly when idiots do stuff like this. So, I've just sworn off CL. It's just not worth the hassle.
I'm so glad I found this. Craigslist can be so frustrating - for me as a musician too which is why I founded www.MyRockBook.com!
Post a Comment