I think it depends on the area. I live in the birthplace of CL. People in this area tend to keep the spirit behind CL in mind when they post, but let me qualify that by saying I'm not talking about personal ads. I think those are posted mainly by flakes across the board.
I was recently in LA and could not believe the abuse of CL personals. Blatant rule breaking and tons of flagged posts that were likely associated with prostitution but still tons that didn't get flagged and absolutely were about prostitution, even in their headers! Sheer craziness no matter what part of greater LA you pulled up. This simply does not happen in the Bay Area. Considering the high profile industry in greater LA is nothing more that a bunch of people blatantly whoring themselves out in one way or another, I guess it shouldn't be a surprise that CL would be overrun with lesser knowns doing the same thing. Don't get me wrong, I love LA, but have no respect for an entertainment industry that does anything but anymore.
I think the items for sale is going to be hit and miss in general, but the CL community is only as good as its members choose to make it and there will be varying results depending on your location.
