Frustrations on Craigs List
#1
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Join Date: Mar 2010
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Frustrations on Craigs List
I apologize in advance but this is a bit of a rant. Craigs List is a great resource for those wanting to sell items quickly. I use it often as I sell books and sports equipment. It is usually a painless affair because most people show up with the money and the item is exchanged. Deal done.
However, a string of bad experiences has left be cold. Occasionally, I sell vehicles and am currently selling a Subaru Forester. People seem to think that it is alright to offer 30-50% below your asking price. Most recently, I turned down an offer, politely, from a party offering $8000 for my $13,000 Forester, which is already below private party value. People seem to think that cash is everything and feel they can low-ball the heck out of you with cash. To make it clear, I like cash but I am not going to give something away for it. Just when I thought it was over, now, I am getting spam calls on my mobile from massage, escorts, and other services I have never previously contacted. I am pretty sure it is coming from the party whose offer I declined because I have never gotten spam on my mobile before and it just started now. Needless to say, I am disappointed that they decided to choose this route and I will be sure to post a warning about this party.
Dealing with people on Craigs List has taught me a number of lessons. Never let someone test drive your car without you in it. I let a party test drive my 2003 Toyota MR2 Spyder and mysteriously, after it was done, it had a bent rim hmm...they claimed it was already bent! Never trust sad stories. I sold a BMW 540i for pennies to someone I pitied, was told their baby had a brain tumor. But...they ended up selling it for triple my price weeks later! And it goes on...
Sigh, I know I am gullible but quite frankly, dealing with people on Craigs List has left me bitter. Humans...
Anyone else experience bad dealings on Craigs List?
However, a string of bad experiences has left be cold. Occasionally, I sell vehicles and am currently selling a Subaru Forester. People seem to think that it is alright to offer 30-50% below your asking price. Most recently, I turned down an offer, politely, from a party offering $8000 for my $13,000 Forester, which is already below private party value. People seem to think that cash is everything and feel they can low-ball the heck out of you with cash. To make it clear, I like cash but I am not going to give something away for it. Just when I thought it was over, now, I am getting spam calls on my mobile from massage, escorts, and other services I have never previously contacted. I am pretty sure it is coming from the party whose offer I declined because I have never gotten spam on my mobile before and it just started now. Needless to say, I am disappointed that they decided to choose this route and I will be sure to post a warning about this party.
Dealing with people on Craigs List has taught me a number of lessons. Never let someone test drive your car without you in it. I let a party test drive my 2003 Toyota MR2 Spyder and mysteriously, after it was done, it had a bent rim hmm...they claimed it was already bent! Never trust sad stories. I sold a BMW 540i for pennies to someone I pitied, was told their baby had a brain tumor. But...they ended up selling it for triple my price weeks later! And it goes on...
Sigh, I know I am gullible but quite frankly, dealing with people on Craigs List has left me bitter. Humans...
Anyone else experience bad dealings on Craigs List?
#2
I'm currently selling a car on CL. I used a Google number to thwart spam calls and a separate GMail account for email inquiries. Response has been slow and most people just ask the same questions...answers to which are already in the ad. Some people offer ridiculously low amounts, but I guess that's just the way it is.
I did have one guy try and spam me (PayPal scam...)...so I had fun with him. I dragged on out conversation for weeks and sent him the most ridiculous emails. I even told him the third turbo on my car had a faulty intake velocity capitulation valve and he continued emailing me. It was the funniest thing...kept me entertained lol.
I think he finally caught on that I was bullshitting him when I sent him a fake Western Union number and called him a retard.
I always Google the sender's email address before replying, and most of the time they've tried to scam others and the results pop up. It's fun to mess with them.
I did have one guy try and spam me (PayPal scam...)...so I had fun with him. I dragged on out conversation for weeks and sent him the most ridiculous emails. I even told him the third turbo on my car had a faulty intake velocity capitulation valve and he continued emailing me. It was the funniest thing...kept me entertained lol.
I think he finally caught on that I was bullshitting him when I sent him a fake Western Union number and called him a retard.
I always Google the sender's email address before replying, and most of the time they've tried to scam others and the results pop up. It's fun to mess with them.
#3
Suzuka Master
iTrader: (1)
Just curious, if you expect 13 why not list it for 15? and if you get an offer of 8 do you counter offer?
I ping people on CL all the time and offer lower than I would pay so I can work up but it seems like people forget how to negotiate and get all pissy.
I have to admit I laughed when you said you fell for the sad stories, I hate to say it but you cannot trust people these days.
I ping people on CL all the time and offer lower than I would pay so I can work up but it seems like people forget how to negotiate and get all pissy.
I have to admit I laughed when you said you fell for the sad stories, I hate to say it but you cannot trust people these days.
#4
Moderator
iTrader: (3)
Two weeks ago I posted my Nikon D60 on Craigslist for $400. I get a call from a guy offering $180. I told him I would go down to $360 and he said he couldn't go over $190.
If your budget isn't even $200, why bother inquiring about something twice your budget? That's like me looking at a Bugatti Veyron when all I can afford is a Phantom
If your budget isn't even $200, why bother inquiring about something twice your budget? That's like me looking at a Bugatti Veyron when all I can afford is a Phantom
#5
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Just curious, if you expect 13 why not list it for 15? and if you get an offer of 8 do you counter offer?
I ping people on CL all the time and offer lower than I would pay so I can work up but it seems like people forget how to negotiate and get all pissy.
I have to admit I laughed when you said you fell for the sad stories, I hate to say it but you cannot trust people these days.
I ping people on CL all the time and offer lower than I would pay so I can work up but it seems like people forget how to negotiate and get all pissy.
I have to admit I laughed when you said you fell for the sad stories, I hate to say it but you cannot trust people these days.
That google numbers thing sounds like a good idea, I'll try it!
#6
The Dumb One
iTrader: (1)
negotiating is not offering 50% of the price..
negotiating is offereing $325 on something that is listed for $400. if they decline, you offer $350.
if i list a TV for $400 and you offer me $250, you're not even gonna get a response, thats just shitty lowballing. if i was willing to sell for $250, it would have been listed for $300 or less.
most of the items on craigslist are already listed for much less than their actual worth... lowballers plague the site and it has made me lose interest as well.
negotiating is offereing $325 on something that is listed for $400. if they decline, you offer $350.
if i list a TV for $400 and you offer me $250, you're not even gonna get a response, thats just shitty lowballing. if i was willing to sell for $250, it would have been listed for $300 or less.
most of the items on craigslist are already listed for much less than their actual worth... lowballers plague the site and it has made me lose interest as well.
Last edited by Rockstar21; 06-03-2011 at 08:17 AM.
#7
Trolling Canuckistan
negotiating is not offering 50% of the price..
negotiating is offereing $325 on something that is listed for $400. if they decline, you offer $350.if i list a TV for $400 and you offer me $250, you're not even gonna get a response, thats just shitty lowballing. if i was willing to sell for $250, it would have been listed for $300 or less.
most of the items on craigslist are already listed for much less than their actual worth... lowballers plague the site and it has made me lose interest as well.
negotiating is offereing $325 on something that is listed for $400. if they decline, you offer $350.if i list a TV for $400 and you offer me $250, you're not even gonna get a response, thats just shitty lowballing. if i was willing to sell for $250, it would have been listed for $300 or less.
most of the items on craigslist are already listed for much less than their actual worth... lowballers plague the site and it has made me lose interest as well.
People make offers all the time without looking at what percentage off the list price they are asking. $5000 below asking price on a $50,000 car is negotiating, $5000 below list on a $13,000 is retarded.
I would never use my real phone number or real primary email on CL, google voice or set up a new email specifically for CL responses. That way if things get out of hand it's easy to abandon the number or email with no inconvience to you.
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#8
In the Mid-South meow
iTrader: (2)
I use my junk email for CL when I list anything and never put my phone number up. I had a great experience selling my Accord because I listed it at basically at the lowest price I'd consider taking for it and said I was firm on the price. 2 days on CL and it was sold. The guy that bought it offered me the asking price in cash and it was a done deal.
#9
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Never give your phone number away in the ad. I've sold nearly $10,000 in furniture in the past 8 months over craigslist alone. I consider that a success story. Some people have attempted to lowball me but overall it wasn't that difficult.
Maybe cars are a different story.
Maybe cars are a different story.
#10
Senior Moderator
iTrader: (5)
I've had pretty good luck with CL. The thing with CL is that you have to know going in that you will be low-balled... and you need to price accordingly. If I have an item that I want to get $400 for I'll list it about 25-40% higher (depending on the item and the market for that item) knowing I'll get low offers. Been pretty successful that way.
If it's an item that I want to get top dollar for... I put it on eBay. I have sold a TON of stuff on CL, including my motorcycle and even our business assets... so you're talking tens of thousands of dollars of items over the years, and never really had any issues. I don't really entertain the low-ballers and never fall for pity stories. I've had a few try it and I just reply that I am sorry for their situation but it doesn't change the value of the item and then I give them my final offer. If they don't buy it, someone else will... so doesn't really bother me. In my ad I put cash only and all transactions in person. Seems to cut back on the spam. I never list my number and do not even list my email (use the CL notification and I use a junk email account). If people email me with questions that were already answered in the ad, when I reply back I start the response with "Per the ad".
Again, it's the same thing with every CL item... so as long as you know that going in, it's all good...
If it's an item that I want to get top dollar for... I put it on eBay. I have sold a TON of stuff on CL, including my motorcycle and even our business assets... so you're talking tens of thousands of dollars of items over the years, and never really had any issues. I don't really entertain the low-ballers and never fall for pity stories. I've had a few try it and I just reply that I am sorry for their situation but it doesn't change the value of the item and then I give them my final offer. If they don't buy it, someone else will... so doesn't really bother me. In my ad I put cash only and all transactions in person. Seems to cut back on the spam. I never list my number and do not even list my email (use the CL notification and I use a junk email account). If people email me with questions that were already answered in the ad, when I reply back I start the response with "Per the ad".
Again, it's the same thing with every CL item... so as long as you know that going in, it's all good...
#11
The ICEMAN
Join Date: Sep 2006
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Sorry about all of the insulting offers.
Coming from the buyers perspective it never hurts to ask(I am a lowballer). Everyone has an asking price and I have a price that I willing to buy something if you do not like my offer just say no thank you or counter offer.
Some items are just plain overpriced. I usually do not offer less than 50% of the asking price, but I have had lots of success offering between 60-75% of the asking price.
Lowballing might be rude but I think it is just as bad when the seller never responds. I did get told once that I take the cake for lowballing. I was looking for a cheap project and accidentally offered $1000 for a car listed for $2300. I must have had the wrong email address for the wrong add.
Coming from the buyers perspective it never hurts to ask(I am a lowballer). Everyone has an asking price and I have a price that I willing to buy something if you do not like my offer just say no thank you or counter offer.
Some items are just plain overpriced. I usually do not offer less than 50% of the asking price, but I have had lots of success offering between 60-75% of the asking price.
Lowballing might be rude but I think it is just as bad when the seller never responds. I did get told once that I take the cake for lowballing. I was looking for a cheap project and accidentally offered $1000 for a car listed for $2300. I must have had the wrong email address for the wrong add.
#12
Lt. Gamble
iTrader: (1)
I've had pretty good luck with CL. The thing with CL is that you have to know going in that you will be low-balled... and you need to price accordingly. If I have an item that I want to get $400 for I'll list it about 25-40% higher (depending on the item and the market for that item) knowing I'll get low offers. Been pretty successful that way.
If it's an item that I want to get top dollar for... I put it on eBay. I have sold a TON of stuff on CL, including my motorcycle and even our business assets... so you're talking tens of thousands of dollars of items over the years, and never really had any issues. I don't really entertain the low-ballers and never fall for pity stories. I've had a few try it and I just reply that I am sorry for their situation but it doesn't change the value of the item and then I give them my final offer. If they don't buy it, someone else will... so doesn't really bother me. In my ad I put cash only and all transactions in person. Seems to cut back on the spam. I never list my number and do not even list my email (use the CL notification and I use a junk email account). If people email me with questions that were already answered in the ad, when I reply back I start the response with "Per the ad".
Again, it's the same thing with every CL item... so as long as you know that going in, it's all good...
If it's an item that I want to get top dollar for... I put it on eBay. I have sold a TON of stuff on CL, including my motorcycle and even our business assets... so you're talking tens of thousands of dollars of items over the years, and never really had any issues. I don't really entertain the low-ballers and never fall for pity stories. I've had a few try it and I just reply that I am sorry for their situation but it doesn't change the value of the item and then I give them my final offer. If they don't buy it, someone else will... so doesn't really bother me. In my ad I put cash only and all transactions in person. Seems to cut back on the spam. I never list my number and do not even list my email (use the CL notification and I use a junk email account). If people email me with questions that were already answered in the ad, when I reply back I start the response with "Per the ad".
Again, it's the same thing with every CL item... so as long as you know that going in, it's all good...
#14
Senior Moderator
I just use eBay because of these issues. I haven't had a problem in 13 years of ebaying.
#15
Evil Mazda Driver
I have my ways of filtering out the spammers when I do occasionally sell stuff on CL. Every now and again I'll get a spammer who will tell me that they're in Portland and are interested in the item so I ask what part of town they're in and where they'd like to meet. Real people respond, spammers don't.
#17
COME AT ME BRO!
Didn't read the whole thread, but I am currently trying to sell my 335 on CL. I too am asking a few thousand less than KBB. next to the asking price I put FIRM and also state this car is marked much lower than BBV and I will not take less than my stated date. I also don't give free test drives unless the person is a SERIOUS buyer. Im not going to be giving some kid my 335 6mt to test drive that A cant afford it or B cant drive stick. I will be damned if Im going to pay 3k to replace the clutch all over test drives. I may come off a bit assertive, but I ask no more than I would do to someone else.
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