Craigslist Douchbaggery. Add to my list.

The BBQ Pit
#1

Just cleared house and sold a bunch of stuff. I don’t know what’s worse, selling or buying stuff. After much experience on CL here are my gripes.

  1. Don’t email me asking me what my final/firm price is. I’ve posted it in the ad. If I was willing to negotiate I would put that in the ad. This is extra stupid when people ask for a price drop within hours of me posting the ad. I price everything very competitively and am well aware craigslist is for posting dirt cheap deals to get shit off your hands. When I put a Wii, 3 Wii motes, 2 nun chucks, classic controller, component cables, 3 steering wheels, 6 games (including SMash Bros, SMG 2 and Donkey Kong Country) up for a measly $200 don’t waste my time with offers of $125, or even $190. $200 is the price and that’s what it sold for in about 5 hrs.

  2. On the same subject just because people are posting stuff on craigslist doesn’t mean the price is negotiable. Oh wait, I said that in 1.

  3. I’m giving away a TV. You are getting a free TV. No I will not wait around at my house for 2hrs on a Saturday while you finish your errands to come pick it up. I also will not drive 15 miles to meet you half way to give it to you. I sold 2 DSLites for $50, thats 2 for $50 total. I had people wanting me to drive 30 minutes into downtown DC to meet them for the deal. Not happening. You are getting a smoking deal you can make the trek to me.

  4. I don’t understand all the phishing emails. Why do these people send an email saying “Do you still have the item? I am interested in your product!” What does this accomplish? And when people send emails that are item specific like “I’d like the stroller do you still have it?” and I reply immediately and you disappear. WTF is that? Is it a new phishing scam?

Everything I posted sold but there was a lot of frustration along the way. ANy one else have similar beefs?

#2

Along the lines of #1 above, I am willing to negotiate. But not if you’re an idiot. If you e-mail me and ask on a $100 product “what’s the lowest you’ll go,” you’re an idiot. Guess what? The lowest I’ll go for you is now $110.

#3

Fully one third of house rentals are fraudulent. They are always missionaries in Africa, can’t trust property management companies, please send $200 key deposit and they will send keys to the house.

#4

So you’re willing to negotiate, just unwilling to cut the bullshit and state outright what you’ll accept? In the interest of fighting ignorance, what would be a non-idiotic way to ask what your bottom line is?

#5

You want the blocks? Come get the fucking blocks.

#6

Craigslist folks usually = flaky.

I am trying to get rid of a cooktop. Had a guy show up this weekend to look at it, after I had already reduced it to a really, really (really) reasonable price.

I know where this guy lives, so I have a pretty good idea what kind of lifestyle he can afford. Then he shows up in a new Scion, dressed in the perfect ‘I have money but I don’t have a de-tooling consultant’ outfit, with his pretty designer sunglasses…and has the nerve to tell me that it is out of his price range, but if I have can’t get rid of it to call and make HIM an offer.

Not bloody likely, buddy.

#7

That’s beautiful… I cried a little bit.

#8

Regarding the OP’s complaints, if you won’t negotiate, then state in the ad that the price is firm. Otherwise, everybody haggles on Craigslist.

The biggest dick move is when someone sets up a meeting, you take the time to wait for them, they show up and then they haggle on the price. I’m ashamed to say I caved to this once because it wasn’t worth the time to meet with someone else. Haggling should be done before you set up a meeting.

Right now someone is selling an item I want, I contacted him weeks ago about it and he didn’t reply after the initial contact. I’ve phoned him and emailed him and he won’t reply, but he keeps reposting the ad. What the fuck is that? I’m about ready to start flagging his ads as spam.

Also, this Saturday I saw an ad that had some stereo gear for a really good price. The guy set up a time Sunday morning, I showed up and it was gone. He apparently ran it like a garage sale, having multiple people show up for various things he was selling. It was disappointing because I thought I’d scored big, and because I was awake earlier and could have come earlier if he had told me to.

#9

I recently listed an old ugly rusty pick-up truck for sale on CL, with a price point of $900. That’s right $900, for a street legal, dependable Home Depot fetching ugly as hell pick up truck. I listed on the ad all the stuff the truck had that worked, and stuff it didn’t have.

Here are some of the questions I received.

1- Does the truck come with a warranty? Are you kidding me?
2- Does the truck have AC? Nope just like the frigging ad says, no AC
3- Can I deliver it…to a city in another state. Uhh, let me think. No
4- Will you take the truck to a mechanic and pay for a prepurchase inspection. It’s $900 freaking dollars!!! No!!!
I could go on and on, look it’s just an ugly old fucking pick-up truck, but I received dozens of inane questions. Guy who finally bought it called, came and looked at 30 minutes later, paid $900 cash, and he drove away with his wife following him. Too bad I had to weed through dozens of CL flakes to get to him.

#10

Please tell me that’s fucking real. I heart that SO HARD.

I agree with the OP’s #1. Dudes, I JUST POSTED THE FUCKING AD. If the ad’s up for a while (like, a couple of weeks) and I want the shit gone, I’ll deal. Otherwise, fuck off.

#11

The reason that’s idiotic is because when you ask me “what’s the lowest you’ll accept?” you’re asking me to negotiate against myself. I’ve set a price. If you don’t like that price, feel free to make a counteroffer and I’ll consider it. But I’m not going to make my own counteroffer.
On the flip side, there are people who will post an ad like “Want to sell car. Asking $2,000 but will go as low as $1,600.”
Well ok then. Not only will you never see a penny over $1,600, but now you’re going to get chuckleheads who offer you $1,200 because you’ve already set your own starting price at $1,600.

#12

Obligatory: http://www.dontevenreply.com/

Be warned you’ll waste a day on that site.

#13

Negotiation, by definition, is based on witholding information (or “bullshitting”). If you’re going to state how low you’re willing to go, you’re not negotiating.

#14

Another one regarding price. If I say it’s $200, don’t show up with $150 and say “oooh, all I have on me is $150” I will tell you the location of the closest ATM, go get the $50 or don’t come back.

#15

I don’t think I will be wasting much time on the site at all. Isn’t it examples of someone *being *a douchebag? It’s been a while since I would have found it funny to put a flaming bag of dog poo on some random doorstep.

The one page in particular also seems likely to have been editorially embellished, but of course that’s just my wild-ass speculation.

#16

This has happened to me twice on Craigslist, and my answer is always the same. The nearest ATM is right around the corner.

Neither of the douchebags came back.

Selling on Craigslist is a bit of a pain, but be upfront on the ad, and it will make life a LOT easier.

#17

The one and only time I’ve even attempted to even buy from Craigslist, I got a spam email from a hushmail account. They wanted me to go to quibids.com.

#18

Well, is is titled “emails from an asshole”, so yes, he IS being a douchbag. On purpose.

I think it’s called “humor”.

#19

Christ, I hate Craigslist. I tried to sell a pair of swords there once, and got four emails. Three were “obvious scammer is obvious” and one simply read “can you”.

No, you can’t.

#20

Do you still have the swords? What type of swords are they? Combat grade, Ren Faire grade, hang on the wall grade, Halloween costume grade, or what grade of sword? What’s the lowest price you’ll take for them? can you

:stuck_out_tongue: