Is it me? Craigslist rant!

[MiCarl]

I've got a couple items for sale on Craigslist. On each of them I have very complete descriptions including the condition and photographs. I also list my asking price. I don't include a phone number and explain it's because when I do that I get swamped with telemarketers and 3AM texts that wake me up. So all of my initial contacts are by email.

 

Following is an exact email I received about a travel trailer I have for sale, and it's type is quite common:

********************************

What's your bottom dollar for the trailer?

 

2005 Gulfstream Innsbruck 275FBS

 

via cPro Craigslist App

iOS: Warning! | There might be a problem with the requested link

Android: Warning! | There might be a problem with the requested link

 

 

Sent from my iPhone

************************************

 

Now since the guy has never seen the trailer it could be the deal of the century or overpriced junk - he has no way of knowing other than to trust my description. When I get one of these emails I conclude it must be one of two things:

1) Somebody with spare time and an iPhone fires off this message to every ad he sees hoping somebody will start discounting and he'll somehow get a deal. (They all seem to come from iPhones.)

2) The guy can't come near my asking price and he doesn't want to waste his time unless I cave on the price before I even show it. (Maybe he already gave all his money to Apple for the iPhone?)

 

Neither one is someone I take seriously. In this case I replied with my asking price, but the next one I think I'll say "make me an offer". Am I wrong? Do people really buy and sell stuff this way?

 

Here is how I see it. I've got a travel trailer I don't want, I've publicly announced that if someone puts 78 Benjamins in my hand he can take it home. Is it too much for me to expect someone to say "I want this trailer, but I think your price is too high. I've got XX Benjamins I'll give you for it.", and show them to me?

 

Am I all wet, or is the rest of the world nuts?

[MiCarl]

It occurred to me that some jokers on here might think it funny to click the ad and send me emails asking what my lowest price is. I edited the link so it goes to an invalid page.

[mraf]

You know sometimes you take all the fun out of it. But seriously, when selling you hear it all. Some of its nuts.

[Eck]

Add $500.00 to your asking price and send it to him. Tell him this IS your bottom dollar..

[BlueSky]

I always respond by email or telephone if that is the case and tell them to come look at it and decide if they like it first. If they want it, we can haggle over the price. If they don't know if they want it, everybody's time is wasted talking price.

[cowpuc]

It occurred to me that some jokers on here might think it funny to click the ad and send me emails asking what my lowest price is. I edited the link so it goes to an invalid page.

 

So,, maybe am reading between the lines here a little BUT,,, toward your potential customers on Craigs you are deeply concerned and questioning the type of character they display - you wrote = "Am I all wet, or is the rest of the world nuts?"

 

But than when coming here you remove all avenues of "questioning" by leading us down a dead end street

 

Indeed Carl,, Craigslist can be excrutiating if you let it be, the key is not to let it be.. I have sold a LOT of stuff (and purchased) on Craigs.. I just take em in stride, respond to each inquiry as if they are standing right there beside me (if asked like you mentioned - "whats my bottom dollar" - I respond with my bottom dollar). I dont post my phone or email addy though, I always just run everything thru Craigs (or Ebay if dealing with them) so I have a chance to discern whether or not I am dealing with a real scammer.. Once I have a good gut feeling that I am not dealing with one of those low lifes, then, sure - make me an offer in email or over the phone.. I just let the childs play stuff bounce off like water off a ducks back.. I look at it like I am having folks walk into my old shop and walk up and down the rows of bikes and look at em like they used to do,, window shopping as it were.. If you have people stopping and looking,, sooner or later something is gonna sell,,, at least thats my perspective..

[MiCarl]

 

But than when coming here you remove all avenues of "questioning" by leading us down a dead end street

 

 

No 'puc, I did not have you in mind when I modified the link.

Edited March 12, 2015 by MiCarl

[djh3]

I guess Im different than most. If a fellow is asking 7800 for something, thats what he needs out of it. Is it worth that to me? I have learned nobody wants to pay you what you want for something or have it listed at. So you have to list everything higher than what you expect to get for it, just so you can lower the price,so they think they are getting over on you.

[MiCarl]

I guess Im different than most. If a fellow is asking 7800 for something, thats what he needs out of it. Is it worth that to me? I have learned nobody wants to pay you what you want for something or have it listed at. So you have to list everything higher than what you expect to get for it, just so you can lower the price,so they think they are getting over on you.

 

Well, I look at it this way. I've said I'll definitely part with it for $7800, and it's not an unreasonable price. On the other hand I need the thing gone and if someone is standing in front of me waving cash I'd probably give a little. But to ask me to give (some unspecified amount) with no commitment from the buyer is just yanking my chain.

 

I generally try to get something off when I'm buying. When we bought the trailer new from a dealer I eventually got it for about 30% off their starting number, but the process was brutal. I won't fight that hard with a private seller, if they're that much over where they should be I just walk away. Likewise, if someone opens with me at 30% off I'm not likely to take him seriously. Sometimes if I find just what I'm looking for and the price is reasonable I just snatch it up rather than fighting over every nickel.

 

My suggestion to you would be it never hurts to ask. To make it work you need to be in the sellers face ready to close the deal and your offer needs to not be insanely far from reasonable.

[BratmanXj]

JC Penny revamped their price protocol a few years back and stopped doing Sales & Coupons; the experiment failed miserably as their sales (and stock value) plummeted. People get a high if the PERCEIVED value of a coupon or sale, even if they could have saved more elsewhere at "regular price."

 

Any time I list something on Craigslist I assume 10-20% off my asking price just so I can "hook" a buyer who comes to take a look. If they hem-an-haw you drop your price and 90% of the time they'll bite.

[bill in mn]

I will negotiate like this. I'm asking $5.00 for something and they offer .50¢ less I'll ask if they will pay .50¢ more $5.50. I will sometimes ask a general question on CL just to establish a contact and kind of get a feel for the seller.

[SilvrT]

I advertised my boat for sale last night.

 

This morning I get a text saying "I would be happy to purchase your boat. Email me back at this address _______ (leaves an email addy) and I will give you $800 more than your asking price"

 

:Laugh: yeahsureright a$$hole!!

[MiCarl]

I advertised my boat for sale last night.

 

This morning I get a text saying "I would be happy to purchase your boat. Email me back at this address _______ (leaves an email addy) and I will give you $800 more than your asking price"

 

:Laugh: yeahsureright a$$hole!!

 

 

If your experience is like mine, today you will get an email wanting to know if you'd be interested in trading for a three legged dog.

[Freebird]

I've sold a number of things on Craigslist and with that always comes the spam type emails. You just have to be wary of them. I always use a throw away email address from Google or Yahoo that I can cancel when done. I have a boat listed now as well as the Chrysler Crossfire. There is a boat broker in NY that just won't stop emailing wanting to sell my boat for me in spite of me telling him in no uncertain terms that I am not interested in his crap. I got an email about the Crossfire last week from a person in Houston, TX. Could be legit but I'm not interested in going through the aggravation of finding out and doing a long distance deal involving his credit union so I just stopped replying to him after telling him I would prefer to sell it locally. It's a pain sometimes but I've always found it to be a fairly successful way to sell things.

[Marcarl]

You're going to get yourself a nervous breakdown. Know that this is going to happen and live with it. I really have no answer for you, for I have not investigated the kinds of people that are in question, but it happens all the time. Too much time on their hands, bored watching TV, no other relationships worth pursuing or enjoying????? many different reasons I suppose. Just try to loo past all the crap and realize it's a 'cost' of doing business.

[MiCarl]

Don, there is an outfit that does the same thing with RVs. When I first listed the trailer last fall my phone rang off the hook with their robo-calls. They're the primary reason I don't have a phone number listed.

 

I see that all the emails (both directions) are going through a Craigslist anonymous relay now so I don't think anyone is seeing my real email address. Except for the fact I have contact information in my signature, which I didn't think about until last night:doh:.

[djh3]

I had some furniture for sale for about a week and a half thru the newspaper. (Yea some people still read them) Had a few bits and even a looker or 2. But no cash. So after almost 2 weeks in paper wife says she will throw it up on facebook locally. BANG she starts getting all kinds of messages and inquiries. All 3 pieces sold and gone in like 3 days. So maybe if you have the face book thing you can try that. Use your throw away e-mail for a response to place.

[Flyinfool]

On Craig's List I always put in a disclaimer that I know all the scam tricks so don't bother. If it must be sold local I put that in there also, along with any other requirements of the sale, like cash only. I have found that it significantly reduces the amount of scammers and people that I have no intention of selling to. The scammers do not want to waste their precious time if they know you are on to them.

[Brenner]

I am a little late to the party to throw my two cents in but I will admit when searching online for an item I tend to ask some of the questions you mentioned. Why? Well I have a few reasons, One is that many people ask quite a bit more than they will take to leave room for negotiating thinking that the buyer will try knocking their price down so in the end they get what they really want. Also I have seen many out there who buy something the try to sell it for what they paid or even more even though it is now used and worn. Another reason is many sellers are not accurate in descriptions or are reluctant to tell the negative on their items being sold. I am guilty of asking someones bottom dollar but when I ask I always let them know in advance I will not counter offer but decide whether to come see the item only if I feel their bottom dollar is fair for me. I am not afraid to drive a few hours to see an item and have had jerks advertise a price then raise once I got there. For example I found a set of rims for my corvette and inquired I was told $300 for a set of four. I drove three hours and got there and was shown the rims and I said I would take them. I was then told we needed to talk about price and that the $300 price was just to get me to come see them and we would start at $500. Man I was not impressed, I had his info and had text stating his price offer of $300 so I told him I would see him in small claims court for breach of contract offer and he got mad saying I would get no money out of him and I replied that I would just make him lose a day of work and inconvenience him the way he did to me and that would satisfy me so he told me to take the rims for $300 and then started to ask me questions about his project car like we were friends. What a tool... Getting back to my original point, I do ask peoples bottom dollar but only to decide if it is worth checking a deal out but I do not offer less than that. Consider it a measuring tool on the persons honesty. They get one shot at being honest after that I have no interest.

[MiCarl]

I am a little late to the party to throw my two cents in but I will admit when searching online for an item I tend to ask some of the questions you mentioned. Why? Well I have a few reasons, One is that many people ask quite a bit more than they will take to leave room for negotiating thinking that the buyer will try knocking their price down so in the end they get what they really want. Also I have seen many out there who buy something the try to sell it for what they paid or even more even though it is now used and worn. Another reason is many sellers are not accurate in descriptions or are reluctant to tell the negative on their items being sold. I am guilty of asking someones bottom dollar but when I ask I always let them know in advance I will not counter offer but decide whether to come see the item only if I feel their bottom dollar is fair for me. I am not afraid to drive a few hours to see an item and have had jerks advertise a price then raise once I got there. For example I found a set of rims for my corvette and inquired I was told $300 for a set of four. I drove three hours and got there and was shown the rims and I said I would take them. I was then told we needed to talk about price and that the $300 price was just to get me to come see them and we would start at $500. Man I was not impressed, I had his info and had text stating his price offer of $300 so I told him I would see him in small claims court for breach of contract offer and he got mad saying I would get no money out of him and I replied that I would just make him lose a day of work and inconvenience him the way he did to me and that would satisfy me so he told me to take the rims for $300 and then started to ask me questions about his project car like we were friends. What a tool... Getting back to my original point, I do ask peoples bottom dollar but only to decide if it is worth checking a deal out but I do not offer less than that. Consider it a measuring tool on the persons honesty. They get one shot at being honest after that I have no interest.

 

I will grant you that a lot of people selling on Craigs List seem to think their item is made of pure platinum. When I'm shopping I won't even contact someone who has an unrealistic price.

 

Now, if someone says "I'm three hours away and I've got XXX to spend. If I come and it matches your description I'll take it for XXX. Would that be acceptable?" that is a way different scenario.

[gggGary]

Yup, you just can't get too excited about it. I am semi retired and make my spending money buying and selling.

It flows both ways, sellers that only have the reply link and never respond, buyers that low ball, and scams. If you really want to sell put your phone number in the ad. I actually think a cute some numbers spelled out phone # gets less spam than the one in the reply section. I throw a lot of offers to buy out there and some of them work, others I never hear back. Sometimes the response is weeks or months later. I have gotten some really good deals form the those late responses. I think some sellers are just slobs, they list an item, if it sells they just leave the ad up and stop responding. Like someone above said; retail's the same way, there's all kinds. I threw out a $100 offer on an item with no price a few minutes ago and just got this back. "Thank you for the offer, but the highest offer thus far is $175. Dan" What a long way around selling an item, if you want to sell list a price! yes haggling is part of CL Some have the gene for it, others don't.

I have scored some real deals on old ads with a too high price throwing out low ball offers. Yesterday I missed a running but kinda rough 25k miles R1100RT for $500 didn't see the ad soon enough...... It's a game, don't take it too seriously. I also make listings and sell for people who just are too "nervous nelly" to deal with selling themselves. By the way on CL or any other on line ads it's all about the pics ALways shoot the crap out of it and post LOTS of pics I often take 40-50 pics and post the best 24 On CL. get in close fill the frame with your item, shoot inside, underneath EVERYWHERE. I keep a digital camera set to shoot at 1024x768 to make pic uploads easy.

I did this ad for my neighbor yesterday. http://madison.craigslist.org/cto/5724663294.html

I had already done the ad that sold his VTX1300 with side car. A reason for selling helps the sale... I sell 5 or 10 items a week on another MC forum mostly responding to parts wanted ads.

Hint; forum classies are a hot bed of buying and selling, you have a much more focused group of people there. Usually no fees also. Less spam more "real" buyers and sellers. I have virtually never been burned selling through forums. And seldom when buying.

Edited August 10, 2016 by gggGary

[rickardracing]

I've got a couple items for sale on Craigslist. On each of them I have very complete descriptions including the condition and photographs. I also list my asking price. I don't include a phone number and explain it's because when I do that I get swamped with telemarketers and 3AM texts that wake me up. So all of my initial contacts are by email.

 

Following is an exact email I received about a travel trailer I have for sale, and it's type is quite common:

********************************

What's your bottom dollar for the trailer?

 

2005 Gulfstream Innsbruck 275FBS

 

via cPro Craigslist App

iOS: Warning! | There might be a problem with the requested link

Android: Warning! | There might be a problem with the requested link

 

 

Sent from my iPhone

************************************

 

Now since the guy has never seen the trailer it could be the deal of the century or overpriced junk - he has no way of knowing other than to trust my description. When I get one of these emails I conclude it must be one of two things:

1) Somebody with spare time and an iPhone fires off this message to every ad he sees hoping somebody will start discounting and he'll somehow get a deal. (They all seem to come from iPhones.)

2) The guy can't come near my asking price and he doesn't want to waste his time unless I cave on the price before I even show it. (Maybe he already gave all his money to Apple for the iPhone?)

 

Neither one is someone I take seriously. In this case I replied with my asking price, but the next one I think I'll say "make me an offer". Am I wrong? Do people really buy and sell stuff this way?

 

Here is how I see it. I've got a travel trailer I don't want, I've publicly announced that if someone puts 78 Benjamins in my hand he can take it home. Is it too much for me to expect someone to say "I want this trailer, but I think your price is too high. I've got XX Benjamins I'll give you for it.", and show them to me?

 

Am I all wet, or is the rest of the world nuts?

 

 

I do not even bother answering those people. And whenever I do sell something on craigslist, I meet the person away from my home in a public place and my .40 cal is strapped to my belt in full view.

[SilvrT]

I meet the person away from my home in a public place and my .40 cal is strapped to my belt in full view.

 

How fortunate many of us are that we don't have to live our lives in such fear....

[rickardracing]

How fortunate many of us are that we don't have to live our lives in such fear....

 

 

Obviously you never read or watch the news. There are a lot of individuals using craigslist to rob people. Has nothing to do with fear. It has everthing to do with keeping someone from imposing their will onto me. I just hope that one day the only thing I have to worry about is how I get my change back from a cashier.........................

[WildBill1]

Craigslist is full of scammers some are annoying and some are very serious in their intent. I have in the past informed the local FBI office here in Charollete NC. They always ask will I appear in court if they are brought to justice which I always say I will.