Craigslist SUCKS!!!!!

[speed_queen75]

This is the third time i have found a BD washer on craigslist, i have sent all three sellers emails letting them know i was very interested in buying their machines, i even sent a check to one of them, the all responded back saying " no problem you can pick the unit up this weekend bla bla bla" as that is the only time i have off from work, and then all three respond back a few days later "oh I'm sorry we sold the unit someone came to buy it today bla bla bla" i did get my check back from the one however, but Jesus if you post something for sale and someone contacts you with interest, leaving you there phone number that should tell them i am SERIOUS and not diking around. Anyway i am over craigslist.

Rant over.

 

[rp2813]

I didn't realize that craigslist was overrun with flakes even outside of the personals section.

I think the rule of thumb here is to insist upon coming over to pay for and pick up the item as soon as possible and not to wait for the supposed weekend. Call after work and tell them you want to come over and seal the deal right then. The moral of this story is that money talks any time of the week and it's important to stike while the iron is hot. I mean, why run an ad during the week if you're not ready to deal until the weekend?

 

[mistereric]

Ya know,

I've tried to sell things on craigslist, and its a pain in the ass. I've posted the same 110 volt apartment sized dryer 10 times already, had at least 30 replies, all claiming they are interested and when can they come, and NO ONE EVER SHOWS UP. Not a call, not an email saying why.

So from a sellers perspective, the first person who shows up with cash is the winner. Period. I put it up for sale because I want it gone, and thats all. There are waaaay too many flakes on CL for me to wait around until the weekend for the first guy who makes an offer, when there is a guy here with the same amount of cash on my doorstep now. I feel for you Lee, and I understand your frustration, but unless you can strike when the iron is hot, you are going to have a hard time.

The check thing is annoying tho. Maybe stopping by after work and dropping off cash is better? I would never do a deal on craigslist by check... same for ebay. If it bounces I am out money, and I still have that damned machine around, and now I've chased off other buyers.

Don't mean to be a jerk, just trying to show why sellers are pretty cut and dry on CL. Money talks.

 

[speed_queen75]

First off

This was Atlanta's Craigslist, as Chattanooga is totally for shit and has nothing, i haven't been able to find a BD washer in this area in several years, everything i have found is out of town, that is why i turn to craigslist, as Atlanta is only an hour and a half away, now if i leave them my ph and send emails this means i am interested correct? They do reaspond back saying you can pick it up this weekend ect ect. I understand they want it gone asap, but if i tell you i'll be there i'll be there.
But oh well, that's just my shitty luck.

 

[kenmoreguy64]

Lee -

I recently offered on Craigslist some Mustang rims and tires that are rare and expensive. I got e-mails from all over the country and within Charlotte too, and like the other experiences the guys above mentioned, many buyers said "I'll come to look at them tonight after work" buy they'd never show up.

In one situation, I had a guy in PA who said he'd send me a postal money order. My comment to myself was "yeah sure you will" so when another guy from California wanted to pay by Paypal immediately, just one day later, I grabbed it and did the deal.

A week later the money order arrived in my mailbox. In my mind the sale went to the first person who paid me, and in this case it was the guy who used Paypal. The wheels/tires were long gone and I sent the guy his money back. He wasn't a happy camper, but that's what happens on Craigslist.

You sound very motivated, but I think you're going to have to make time during the week, or be pleasantly surprised if a machine is still available come Saturday. The one that is meant to be yours will be waiting eventually.

 

[speed_queen75]

I wish i could

Drive to atlanta after work, but that would put me there at 1am and i don't think the people would be happy with that. If i went in the morning i'd never make it back in time for work.
So either way i'm screwed, but then again that is my luck

 

[jeffg]

I found Craigslist works best as a donation method instead of a way to sell stuff. We post ads in the free section, or with a ridiculously low price just to get rid of it, and usually college kids have responded and actually shown up.

Last year we posted an ad for a desk chair and wound up meeting a Cal Poly student, possibly the most adorable guy we've ever met. We told him, if you can get it in your car, it's yours. He acted like he had just won the lottery. It was a riot watching him frantically try and shove a 5' tall leather chair into the back seat of a Ford Taurus. But he did, somehow.

 

[kenmoreguy64]

As we've talked on the phone and by e-mail, I have a couple WPs if you can wait until November. Here are pics of two of them. I know the white one needs wigway work, but it holds water and is in nice shape. The almond machine I know nothing about yet, but it's a beaut cosmetically.

 

[kenmoreguy64]

Here's the almond machine.....

I have three others that are clones of either of these, and one 1985 Imperial 70 in almond (it's been around the block a time or two but has been in storage 10 years).

 

[panthera]

Craigslist

in my experience, is strictly and totally for people who are sitting in their car, driving in the right direction and talking to the seller on their car phone, saying: I will be there with the cash in five minutes.
Anything else is just not going to fly.
Bummer, but that is how it seems to be.

Recently helped my partner sell a few things. One of them was hotly desired by a 15 1/2 year old kid (that alone will tell you what it was) and a group of red-nex who wanted it for junking around.
Personally, I would have rather given it to the kid than sold it to the red-nex, but gosh oh golly me...they had the cash in hand and were willing to do the notary right then and their.
Something not quite right in that last sentence, but anyway...
Told the kid, sorry, it was first come, first served.

But there is a solution. A personal shopper need not be someone you pay a fixed commission to - there are lots of folks out there who are willing to scan the listings, take your pre-payment and their car out, pick the machine up and drop it off at your house. You pay them a percentage of the purchase price and their expenses.

You can find them on Craigslist in many bigger cities, otherwise by posting a wanted ad.

 

[travis]

I've had some good luck with Craigslist and a few bad experiences. However you want to sell is up to the individual seller. I called about a radio once, got all excited, then received a call from the seller to inform me that someone beat me to it. He had explained to me that he felt he should sell to the first person with cash at his door.

Other people reach an agreement with me and hold the item a couple days until I can make the deal happen. The Capehart I just bought came from there. I called the seller, went and looked at it the next day, paid her, and scheduled a time to come fetch it.

Craigslist is just representative of society, some people are flakes and others aren't! The personals are another story, totally full of closet cases and people in screwed up relationships. You might as well look at the pretty pics and take care of business yourself.

 

[gadgetgary]

Excellent experience

Got the matching Gold panel Maytag center dial set on Craiglist, along with the TOL brown panel Maytag WD set.
Got a Maytag portable DW from Craigslist and a Compaq laptop computer.

Currently have a Wheelcare Scooter listed on craigslist.

I have had wonderul results.

 

[rp2813]

We listed our retro space age sectional and our dining room ensemble on CL over the weekend and haven't heard a thing. Looks like our next step will be to call Home Consignment Center and see if they'll take the dining set. We already know they won't take the sectional. It may end up being donated, but before we do that we'll buzz down to the gay community center and post pix of it there. That's the target audience for the sectional anyway.

CL is truly hit and miss.

 

[peterh770]

You can't fart around with CL postings. You have to jump right on them and be ready to get in the car and go get them ASAP.

SQ75, please check your email...

 

[jetcone]

Ralph

"I didn't realize that craigslist was overrun with flakes even outside of the personals section."

Haven't you detected that the entire country is overrun with flakes lately?

Personally I have had good luck with CL and so have other people I know around here.

 

[goatfarmer]

Exactly, Peter! I've sold about a dozen or so refrigerators, stoves, etc on C/L. First one to show with the cash gets it. Nothing get's "held" on a promise of showing up on a certain date, or later.

I gave away a 2 YO queen size mattress, and everyone wanted it, but wanted me to hold it til the weekend, til I get a truck borrowed, etc. Finally, I placed it in a bag, and replied to everyone who inquired "it's outside in front of the garage, first one to show up get's it". One lady who wanted me to hold it for a few days got it. She wanted it bad enough, to figure out a way to get it.

 

[toploader55]

Mixed Emotions

I found my 1957 KD2-P Portable on CL on Cape Cod of all places where I live. Nothing else that great has happened in a year.
How ever, I've been trying to sell my 17' Boston Whaler since March. The few that have showed up are just tire kickers and want someone to talk to. No shows... probably 25. I keep dropping the price and tell them they have 10 minutes to decide if they want the boat or not. You should be able to tell if you want something within 5 minutes or not. It's stupid. One guy spent 2 hours on his cell talking to his friends about how he was disappointed in my boat and actually told him to get off my property or I'd call the police. Then he had the gall to say "You mean I can't make an offer ?". I told him he would be the type of guy that would call me for the next 3 years every time a screw got loose or something went wrong. Told him I'd never sell him the boat and get the f--k off mt property. Rant Over.

 

[launderess]

Have Had Nothing But Positive Experiences

So far..

When the "new" Miele arrived, moved our old Malber on by listing it as a donation (free, just come and get it), and had tons of responses, even though the water inlet valve was starting to go. In the end a nice woman who wanted the machine for her daughter and SIL (they just had a new baby), took the unit. We exchanged a few emails, and she arranged to come over and have a trucking company (or rather one of those "boys with a truck hire servies), meet at our place and took the unit away.

Got our vintage Whirlpool compact dryer off CL as well. Sent teh seller an email, spoke via telephone and went out the same night to pick the unit up,after renting a minivan from local car rental. Several hours later the thing was in it's new home happy as a clam.

Will say like any sort of advertisements, there are bound to be more than a handful of flakes,no matter what side of the fence your sitting on. Ebay controls this behaviour by banning buyers who do not complete enough transactions, but even there one has to put up with allot of nonesense sometimes.

 

[rp2813]

Jon, I think there is a correlation between the increase in the % of flakes and the unrelenting march of the multitasking phenomenon that has pried its way into daily life and its A.D.D-like effects on everyone. Maybe kids born into this type of environment will manage fine, but for us boomer types it's a different story entirely.

I'm not making excuses or defending flaky behaviors, just tossing out a possible reason for why it's become more commonplace.