# Oh, Craigslist: How I love thee. . .

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-craigslist-how-i-love-thee/499395>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [June 10, 2009, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-craigslist-how-i-love-thee/499395 "2009-06-10T23:49:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\
**Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-craigslist-how-i-love-thee/499395/1 "2009-06-10T23:49:21Z")

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Seriously, I freakin’ _love_ Craigslist. Let me count the ways:

1 is for the hilarity that comes from reading your personals sections. Usually the casual encounters are best with delusional creepers that are far from attractive themselves, demanding absolute pinnacles of perfection for their random hook up. I can’t wait to find one that says, “You’re a 10 and you should consider yourself lucky that you get to suck this 2’s dick.”

2 is for the cheap furniture. My roommate just moved out and I found myself in need of some new living room furniture. I found a $4000 leather couch, 4 months old, for $850. I found an amazing kitchen table and chairs that need to be reupholstered for $45 (easy enough with a staple gun). I found this amazing vintage desk with tons of drawers that I turned in to a vanity. . . for $40. Craigslist, while full of tons of overpriced crap, has some real gems if you’re persistant.

3 is for the way you help me find roommates. Sure, we get lots of creepers who are far too enthusiastic about renting a room from two female college students (_“Hey ladies. . . my name is Doug. I’m 45, work part time, and love to party. You guys seem super sexxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxy and I’d love to move in and help out around the house, if you know what I mean!!! ;););););)”_), I’ve been able to find two wonderful, dependable, non raping, non serial killing, non roommate skinning people through you.

4 is for the missed encounters, most of which are surprisingly sweet to read through.

5 is for teaching my phrases like, “Remember ladies: eating isn’t cheating” through me reading your personal ads. ha.  
Ok, mostly I love the furniture part, but still! I love you, Craigslist.

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**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-craigslist-how-i-love-thee/499395/2 "2009-06-11T00:53:39Z")

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Oh, thanks for reminding me…we’re having a garage sale on Saturday.

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**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-craigslist-how-i-love-thee/499395/3 "2009-06-11T00:57:20Z")

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6: the hookers?

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**Author:** ![newcrasher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b3f665/32.png) [@newcrasher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcrasher)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-craigslist-how-i-love-thee/499395/4 "2009-06-11T01:03:33Z")

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Yeah I got a practically new $2500 leather couch and recliner, a pub height dining room table and chairs, for $300 because this guy was moving in with a chic and had no room for it.

CL roxxrss!!!1!!!1

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**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-craigslist-how-i-love-thee/499395/5 "2009-06-11T01:40:15Z")

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I got a huge cock off craigslist. Of course, it was a chicken! He wasn’t even listed in the personals.

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**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-craigslist-how-i-love-thee/499395/6 "2009-06-11T02:01:41Z")

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I collect ads off of Craig’s list in a word doc. My snarky comments in italics. Here are a few:

**18.8 volt xrp 1/2 inch heavy duty drill and reciprocating saw brand ne - $20000**  
_(Isn’t twenty grand a bit much for something that sells at home depot for $269?)_

**ridget tristand - $195**  
_(What this guy is selling is made by a company called Rigid. It would not be funny except the name is on the side of the stand in rather large letters.)_  
\*\*Want a free Colonic? all i need is a handy man that can be put to use in my backyard. (example: build a deck)

must have own tools.\*\*  
_(Words fail me)_

**snap-om tun -up kite - $125**  
_(What we have above is an example of the law of conservation of the letter e. Es can neither be created nor destroyed. But they can move from one word to another. Not sure just what a Snap-om is however)_

**WANTED; PIANT TUNING TOOLS**  
\*(I would guess these tools would be used when your piant is flat.) \*

and my all time favorite:

**For Sale a pair of fire distingishers**  
_(Apparently this is a device you point and something you think might be a fire, pull the trigger and it tells you if in fact it is a fire. Doesn’t put it out or anything like that, but it might come in handy for figuring out if one of those fake fireplaces are real or not.)_

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**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-craigslist-how-i-love-thee/499395/7 "2009-06-11T03:10:41Z")

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I’m not thrilled with Craigslist right now. My daughter and her fiance have decided they need to find a new home for one of their dogs. The rescue facility recommended listing the dog on Craigslist first, since it’s not an emergency placement. So she placed an ad, explaining why they wanted to find a new home for this dog. Her listing has been deleted by someone four times. I didn’t even know iother people could delete your ad! And some woman keeps emailing her, telling her what a bad person she is…and another woman leaves messages saying she’s praying for the dog…plus other rude emails

She’s trying to do the right thing and find this lovely dog a good home that will have time and ability to train him right, and all she’s getting from Craigslist is vitriol.

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**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-craigslist-how-i-love-thee/499395/8 "2009-06-11T04:00:10Z")

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I got a free hot tub last week. I’ll probaby end up doing nothing with it and giving it away on Craigslist in a couple years.

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**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-craigslist-how-i-love-thee/499395/9 "2009-06-11T04:02:46Z")

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> [@kittenblue](#):
>
> She’s trying to do the right thing and find this lovely dog a good home that will have time and ability to train him right, and all she’s getting from Craigslist is vitriol.

Yeah, my wife keeps telling me that Craigslist is a haven for PETA type nuts and all seem to have issues with “free animal” ads or something. I don’t know, I stopped listening to her _years_ ago! 😃

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**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-craigslist-how-i-love-thee/499395/10 "2009-06-11T04:10:34Z")

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My garage burned down in the fall, and I’m building a new one. It’s the garage that craigslist built. Siding $450 (would have been 1k new) shingles 400 (would have been $900 new) 16’ insulated garage door 150 (normally over $500). Not having much luck finding lumber, but that’s okay.

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**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-craigslist-how-i-love-thee/499395/11 "2009-06-11T13:02:24Z")

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A couple years ago I posted this Tractor Wanted ad from my local Craigslist:

> [@](#):
>
> I need a tractor…I bought this cabin on three acres of land, way out in the country. It seemed a really good deal. I mean people had been living in it and quite reluctant to leave. How bad could it be…even if it was an as-is foreclosure deal, so I live there now.
> 
> The place doesn’t have running water, the previous residents must have been hardy folk, as they were transporting their water from a shallow creek along the backside , and running it through a coffee filter to remove the solids. I don’t think they were drinking much of it as there is ample evidence that they drank only beer. A lot of beer, judging from the quantity of beer cans and bottles in the brush, scattered liberally throughout the three acres and the adjoining property as well. So I will soon be drilling a well.
> 
> They sure did like their beer, Bud Lite seemed to be the preferred brand, but occasionally they tried Old Milwaukee and Schlitz, I suppose on those weekends when money was a little tight. They evidently also enjoyed shooting the beer bottles, lining them up in the driveway was a favorite pastime of theirs, such fun loving people…they were good marksmen too! I can’t find any beer bottles in that drive that weren’t shattered! So I really need a tractor, one that might come with a box blade.
> 
> If I can find a tractor with a box blade I could use it to scrape up a lot of the beer bottles and aluminum cans. Probably pay for it through recycling, and it would also be useful for filling in the septic tank hole. I found it one day while picking up beer bottles. Yep, those clever folks were quite an ingenious bunch! Why they had built their own septic system, a very impressive feat of engineering. Unfortunately the fifty-five gallon drum they used for the solids had rusted through it’s top, and the earth above it was only supported by roots interwoven with shot up aluminum beer cans. I had wondered where it was, but I found it just fine when I walked across it and bent over to gather up another arm load of shot up Bud Lite cans. Lucky me…I was going to have to call some one and pay them to find it!
> 
> I will probably now need a new septic tank too, at least a new fifty-five gallon drum, so I don’t have a lot of money to spend on the tractor. But if I could find one that had an old bush hog on it, that would be great. You see…the field beside the house has a lot of beer cans and bottles in it as well, and come hell or high water, I am not walking back out there until it’s cleared! The last venture was bad enough, and I wonder if I could survive another. With ticks as big as house cats, and chiggers as big as softballs, I don’t think the average man could do it. Why they’d take a man my size down like a pride of lions on an antelope scampering across the Serengeti…After I got out of the hospital from undergoing a massive influx of anti-biotic and overnight observation, I found that I had spent a good portion of my tractor money. That spotted tick/lyme disease crap is rough, I can attest to it.
> 
> So in closing, if any one out there has an old tractor, with any of the above two implements and aren’t asking an arm and a leg for it, ticks almost got my one good leg and I am a bit partial to the other even if it is all swollen up from falling in the septic tank. I’d be interested in hearing from you. I am thinking I can spend 3500 maximum, but would prefer to keep it below 3 g’s. Maybe a good running Ford 8/9N or 2000…
> 
> I can be reached at 615-XXX-XXXX evenings, and 615-XXX-XXXX days and some evenings. If you try to reach me several times and don’t connect, I may have found the old well, so I appreciate a call to 911.
> 
> Ask for Jack

It still makes me laugh when I read it.

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**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-craigslist-how-i-love-thee/499395/12 "2009-06-11T13:07:18Z")

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I just barely missed buying an Acoustic 360 bass amplifier which was selling a few minutes from my house for $60 and is worth well over $1000. I replied 4 hours after the ad was put up, but it was gone by then. I wanted to play around with it and then resell it.

I too just discovered that ads can be arbitrarily removed. I changed my wording slightly and it’s still up there so far.

Selling is a pain in the ass because a lot of people contact you and then don’t follow up. I also sold a pair of speakers once and the guy decided to negotiate on the price after I’d taken the time to have him come over. I caved because I wanted to get it over with, but he’s an asshole. I wouldn’t do that unless there was something surprising about the item’s condition.

I have an email account that had been completely free of spam, that I mainly used for CL. Then I listed a piano and got a number of spams. It seems like they watch for ads over a certain value. Now I’m afraid to reply to any email I get that doesn’t actually mention what item I’m selling. The spammers tend to send emails inquiring about “the item” or something like that, and use that to get your email address if you reply to them.

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**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-craigslist-how-i-love-thee/499395/13 "2009-06-11T14:18:43Z")

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I hear you **riker1384**.

Every guitar on CL is in pristine condition, plays like a dream and is worth $10 less than the original price.

I looked on CL for 2 months for a decent starter electric guitar and finally gave up and bought a new one at my local guitar shop.

Forgot to add - Or they get snatched up within the hour.

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**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-craigslist-how-i-love-thee/499395/14 "2009-06-11T14:47:12Z")

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I first discovered CL a year ago when I was recovering from surgery. I was bored and started surfing their no-string-attached sex adverts. I guess I’m naive, but I was rather surprised at all that. I had no idea how many “straight” men wanted to go down on other men, or try anal for the first time, or men/women who wanted to be spanked or well, you get the idea. I read them for a few days and still occasionally go out and check them out.

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**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-craigslist-how-i-love-thee/499395/15 "2009-06-11T15:12:09Z")

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> [@kittenblue](#):
>
> I’m not thrilled with Craigslist right now. My daughter and her fiance have decided they need to find a new home for one of their dogs. The rescue facility recommended listing the dog on Craigslist first, since it’s not an emergency placement. So she placed an ad, explaining why they wanted to find a new home for this dog. Her listing has been deleted by someone four times. I didn’t even know iother people could delete your ad! And some woman keeps emailing her, telling her what a bad person she is…and another woman leaves messages saying she’s praying for the dog…plus other rude emails
> 
> She’s trying to do the right thing and find this lovely dog a good home that will have time and ability to train him right, and all she’s getting from Craigslist is vitriol.

Is she listing it for free? If so, that’s probably why. There are rampant rumours about labs/dog fighters/bad people taking free dogs and doing bad things to them.

The other is that many, many people get angry when people buy dogs, have no time for them/don’t have patience to train them/other lazy stuff and then try to get rid of them. Dogs are huge considerations and should be considered members of the family, not disposable inconveniences.

I’m sure your daughter has a very good reason, but most people don’t think any reason is a good enough reason.

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**Author:** ![Miltonyz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Miltonyz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miltonyz)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-craigslist-how-i-love-thee/499395/16 "2009-06-11T15:12:51Z")

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I wouldn’t post a dog on craigslist because there are people on their who take the free ones and then resell them. There was a big thing in our news about two years ago about a girl that was taking all of the free dogs she could and reposting them on craigslist with a sob story and a rehoming fee.  
The very same thing happened to my mothers dog. She had a toy poodle that was about 7 years old that was getting snippy. It became intolerant of children and would snap at them. She posted on Craigslist about the dog and was looking for to find him a home with older people with no children. She ended up giving him to an older lady in a wheelchair. Sure enough two weeks later the lady had the dog on craigslist with a sad story and a 150 dollar rehoming fee. To top it off in her little description said that he was great with children.

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**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-craigslist-how-i-love-thee/499395/17 "2009-06-11T15:41:45Z")

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> [@StGermain](#):
>
> A couple years ago I posted this Tractor Wanted ad from my local Craigslist:
> 
> It still makes me laugh when I read it.

So did you find one?

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**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-craigslist-how-i-love-thee/499395/18 "2009-06-11T15:46:50Z")

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**Rick** - Actually, that was worded poorly. I posted a copy of that ad here - it wasn’t my ad. However, yes. I did finally get a tractor. Just recently I got a Yanmar 1500D. My stepfather is still working on it. He had to install a new starter and a new muffler and fix the leaky radiator. I’m excited about getting it running. My fields need mowing.

StG

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**Author:** ![Soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-craigslist-how-i-love-thee/499395/19 "2009-06-11T16:02:29Z")

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I’ve always been a little dejected that the health insurance ad I wrote never made Best Of Craigslist. I just went back and reposted it, perhaps it’ll get better results this time: [My humble advert](http://atlanta.craigslist.org/biz/1216386162.html)

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**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\
**Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-craigslist-how-i-love-thee/499395/20 "2009-06-11T16:25:31Z")

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We received one of those above ground pools (bigger than a kiddie pool, not as big as the real above ground pools) and it sat in our garage for years. We never got around to setting it up. I posted it on Craig’s List and a family bought it for their boys. I’m glad it was going to be used.

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