[hrlyrdr]

I sell a few things on craigslist occasionally. Here lately I get a lot of, DO you still have it, text or email. Couple weeks ago I waited on a joker that never showed up. Same thing today. What's up with people? I guess I am just too old to mess with a bunch of NO SHOWS and scammers. Anyone else have this problem?

 

[Longroofguy]

I know the feeling as this has been happening to me lately. I even had a person supposedly from farther north who asked if I could meet him part of the way on the Wed before Thanksgiving. He communicated with me for about a week. As one car guy to another, I was willing to do that. The day before we were to meet about 30 miles from my home, he contacted me asking to meet on Thanksgiving morning because he had been invited to a friend's home for Thanksgiving early dinner. I agreed, and I was at the meeting point near the Phoenix airport at the designated time. He never showed, nor did he respond to my text messages while I was there or after. While this was a bummer, it will not sour me from helping a car guy/gal in the future.

 

[65novaken]

that's why I detest selling.
to many jerks

 

[H8tulooze]

flakeslist.....

 

[Steve G.]

I believe the term is "Craigslist Clowns!"

 

[1quik69]

The same goes for Facebook marketplace.

 

[Nova Thug]

Think about it for a minute, if you want to buy something you ask legitimate questions related to the item you are looking for. You have a need to know various aspects of the item you are looking at and need feed back from the seller in order to determine if their item is suitable for your needs.
When a prospective buyer contacts you with the “is it still for sale” question, it is more likely to be a scam.. That is a cut and paste reply to anything for sale and the scammers run through the new ads so fast that they don’t even realize that they are contacting multiple ads from the same seller. I will reluctantly reply to the “is it still for sale” question with a “yes” just to rule out a possible legit inquiry to a posted item. But it really doesn’t take long to figure out the intent of the prospect as a scammer. Then you block their number.

Furthermore, I don’t deliver, I don’t take cashiers checks, I don’t pay your movers, I don’t hold items for you and I don’t give discounts because you have to travel some distance to my location. If you want it you come and get it.. If you show up with cash, and a way to transport the purchase I will help you load it.

 

[Dave B.]

Furthermore, I don’t deliver, I don’t take cashiers checks, I don’t pay your movers, I don’t hold items for you and I don’t give discounts because you have to travel some distance to my location. If you want it you come and get it.. If you show up with cash, and a way to transport the purchase I will help you load it.

100% correct. This is the way to do it!!
Also, I never put a phone number or an email address in the ad. If you want to contact me, do it through the Craigslist link. I usually put something in there about leaving a phone number if you have pressing questions. I've found that serious buyers are willing to wait a few hours for a response.

 

[droptop63]

I do too, sell occasionally on CL, I have had good luck, sold a snow blower and a saw this week, last summer I see a nice John Deere riding lawn mower, after a few text, guy said he take 1k bring trailer, asking price was 1100 so I went and looked at, pulled up nice house, lawn tractor looked and ran great, so I said ill take for 1000, guy said did you bring cash, I said I did, he said come on in, so went in we sat at his dinning room table, he had all paper work he had, and owners manual, then ask me if I didn't mind read this and sign it, it was a 2 page document relieving him of anything know to man kind, I read that couldn't help but laughed, (were talking 1000 bucks) I asked if he was a Lawyer he said no, I am a book keeper, but know how these things work and come back on ya, I signed paper releases him from everything and anything, all turned out fine, but thought that was very strange, weird and funny

 

[CdnL79 Registry]

Advertised my Jeep last summer using various ad platforms. I got scam responses from just about all of them. Craigslist was the worst. Example:

'Hi, my name is Nicole. I hope your Jeep is still for sale, because I just love them and I'm finally in a position to buy one, etc. etc.'

Next day, 'Hi, my name is Nancy. I hope your Jeep is still for sale, because I just love them, and I'm finally in a position to buy one, etc. etc.'

Nobody said the scammers were smart.

Bob

 

[TechNova]

I've blocked a fair number of sellers also that want to play games.

 

[mrlaze]

I sent a message to a guy(FB Marketplace) asking for extra pics of the underside of a 63 vert, as I am over 2hrs away. "Sure no problem" never heard from him again. I guess you dont want to sell your car?

 

[Redrider66SS]

buying an old car is a challenge for sure. i looked at maybe 300 different cars back in 2016-17 on the internet. an finally one caught my attention, an it was only 170 miles away. i did give the vin to the local police to run, just in case. i did bye my nova from this place an it was one of the easiest auto purchases i've ever done.

 

[AllyMcReal]

C/L is tough, from both the buyer and seller's standpoint. I need it for what I do, so I ALWAYS show up when I say I will, and if there is an emergency that I need to reset the appt for, I'll do that every time. I also never go to looky loo, I go to buy...the time is too valuable for me and the seller.

As a seller, I'll always answer legitimate questions. I'll always make time for someone who seems like they want the car or the part. But I never:

-negotiate price over the phone
-take anything but cash
-offer a guarantee
-let the new owner leave without a release of liability signed

I'm not for doing away with C/L or not using it; you just have to set your own rules.

 

[J Mark]

I buy and sell Nova stuff on CL and there are flakes on both sides. Frustrating.

 

[vics63]

I recently went to look at a car. Told the guy on the phone I had cash and would meet him at a certain place and time. I did have the money available but did not have it on me when I went to look at the car. I was really uncomfortable when I got there. The car was not as advertised and he kept asking to see the cash. Cash is king, but in large amounts, only at the bank for me.

 

[Duntov]

I have used it since it came out and i have had 95% positive experiences (even meeting some long term friends) during both buying and selling.

I always put first sentence "if ad is up I still have it I will ignore emails asking if I have it"

I do not list a phone number unless I think the item I'm selling is largely to a non-computer savvy audience (for example, some cylinder blocks I recently listed)

I do not give my address unless they tell me exactly when they are coming out. One thing that works well is to say text me when you are leaving and I'll text you my address for directions

I refuse to negotiate or discuss price if the person isn't standing there looking me in the eye. That one thing right there has reduced 90% of the flakes.

I can tell you that craigslist has saved my budget on nearly any type of project I'm working on (remodels, cars, hobbies, etc.) There is no way possible I could have built my car without craigslist.

cash talks bull**** walks

 

[lwlevens]

When I post on Craigslist, I write calls only and I get nothing but texts and no shows... idiots.

 

[dbasdan]

It's pretty sad. The first thing people usually say is, "What's the least you'll take?" That just about sends me over the edge. I usually don't even reply to them. No shows are too common.

 

[AllyMcReal]

I agree, Duntov, it's absolutely necessary. Ebay fees, and worse, ebay's poor performance in reconciling fraud on it's site make it unusable unless it's a specialty, crazy rare or one-off item that needs a national market. So Craigslist is absolutely necessary for my hobby and for my business. So is a sawzall, but I have some safety rules about using it.

I'd like to hear from some other members out there if there is a new prevailing classified ads site. I'm loathe to use facebook for its notorious troubles with privacy, though I'm not sure I manage that any better using Craigslist. Frankly, this site has, on nearly every occasion, been the best source for what I was looking for or even for selling Nova items I have had. What other ad sites have people used?