That’s actually listed in the “things you shouldn’t do” when you post a Craigslist ad. Every 72 hours is their repost time.
But they do alert you to the fact that the person is either (a) phishing, or (b) a complete fucking dunderhead. Because if the details they’re asking about have been clearly and explicitly laid out in the ad, then you don’t need to reply to them anyway.
If my ad says i’m selling a “Morey Boogie Board, blue, 42”, with leash and wrist strap. No marks, dings, or creases," and someone sends me an email asking “Hey, what size is the board?” or “Does is come with a leash?” then i’m not even going to waste my time responding to that person.
All excellent advice.
I’d use my number. When I sold, I used my home phone and only got calls from people interested in buying. Spam bots don’t make phone calls. Even though Craig’s anonymizes your e-mail address, you will, as Chef pointed out, you’ll get e-mails which turn out to be efforts to gather your e-mail address for spam. I’ve received several e-mails that are non-specific, and go something like “What condition is your item in?” or “I would like to buy this.” Once you respond, they write back with obvious spam. Bastards! Feel free to use your e-mail address if it’s one whose inbox you don’t mind having crap in it. Otherwise, be careful about responding to vague or strangely worded messages.
You’d think that would be enough, wouldn’t you? I now feel compelled to re-post something I wrote in another thread. The following actually happened:
*"I’ve found that Craig’s buyers are just as useless as the sellers. I was selling a mini-fridge some months ago, and described it thusly: “Three years old, works perfectly fine. Sorry for the fuzzy cell phone shots, but my real camera was dropped by a super klutz (me), so my phone is all I got these days for taking pictures. Bottom line is it’s a small, white Haier fridge. It works, it keeps your beer cold. Dimensions are 26"x18.75"x19.125” and included two photos: one of it open, and one of it closed. So some shit-for-brains calls me up with the most asinine conversation ever.
Shit For Brains: So uhh… how old is it?
Me: Three years old.
SFB: How tall is it?
Me: 26 inches tall… like the ad said.
SFB: So did you say you bought it from Target?
Me: No, I didn’t. I bought it from Amazon, and it’s a Haier.
SFB: So you didn’t buy it from the store?
Me: Amazon is an online store.
SFB: So it works?
Me: Yes.
SFB: How old is it now?
Me: Three years old. It’s a small, white fridge and it works. Its photos are in the ad. If you need to think about it, call me back if you decide to buy it.
Gods! What else is there to say about a mini fridge? Some woman came by and bought it 20 minutes later. She put her hand inside to make sure it was cold, it was, so she gave me money and took it away."*
I use Craigslist a lot.
If you put in the description that the item is x years old, in good working order, have a picture that shows the color, mention that there are no defects, etc., you can just not respond to the emails that are from people who can’t be assed to read a thorough description and only answer the emails that have legitimate questions that weren’t covered in the description. Then you go in and edit your ad to add the additional information.
I have gotten some great deals on Craigslist. Al Bundy lays it out well. Without a picture it won’t sell.
My best Craigslist deal was a beautiful leather sofa for 50 bucks that looks brand new and is top notch leather.
I got a 14.9 BTU Sears Kenmore AC, 2 years old for 100 dollars. You have to check the listings regularly because the good stuff goes fast.
Wow! Not a whole 14.9 BTU! Will it cool both your feet at the same time, or do you have to swap back and forth?