Yes, I rode along with them.
I throw a ‘watch request’ in there. In the middle of the text I’ll say "Any email that doesn’t say ‘squidward’ will not be taken seriously. If they’re truly interested in the item, they’ll read the whole thing, and catch the request.
Thanks. Wasn’t sure if I should do that or keep their other car keys, or something like that.
Speaking of Craiglist scammers.
Reported.(davidlavalley)
Yours went smoother than mine.
Day 1: Post ad for Crappy Old Explorer
Day 2: Sort through deluge of mail, 3/4 of which were offers from Junk Dealers
Day 3: Schedule sale with one of the full price guys
Day 3.5: Test drive and negotiate with the guy for a little less than I listed.
Day 3.6: Sell car, get money, sign over title
Day 3.7: Find out the guy can’t tow the car, or drive it away, can he pick it up tomorrow?
Day 3.8: Deposit cash in the bank
Day 4:
Day 5:
Day 6: Get call, he had a car accident on Day 3.8, had the car towed away with all his stuff in it (like the title)
Day 7: Get call, the guys at the tow yard stole all his stuff, including the title.
Day 8: Go with the guy to the DMV to get a new title (at his expense) and sign it back over to him.
Day 8.1: He gets lost getting back to my house, because he wanted to stop and get Burger King
Day 8.2: He drives away in his Crappy New Explorer.
^See, that sounds like a typical C-list transaction, except you need a bunch of no-shows in there. It’s amazing how often people are surprised when I actually show up to see the item I called about.
I think you are just a lucky person. Maybe you were born that way. Or engineered even.
I was getting ready to list my Scion on CL, but my sister decided to buy it instead. I might have gotten a little bit more for it, but she needs a decent car and I didn’t want to go thru the hassle of spammers and those who would want me to give it away.
However, I’ve sold other things on CL and was pleased with the results. A washer-dryer pair disappeared within an hour. I helped my mom sell a riding mower that she was going to take to the dump - she got $50 for answering a few phone calls. It can be a great resource if you’re smart about it.
I’ve sold a few things on CL. If you have an overwhelming amount of interest from legitimate buyers quickly, it’s somewhat likely your asking price was too low.
I sold an SUV on there a few years ago. I intentionally underpriced it just because I needed it gone before i left on a two month long business trip. People literally raced to my door. First guy there test drove it, while he was driving it two other buyers pulled up and waited to see if he was going to buy it.
Is your real name Donnie Baker?
This. Sold my wife’s Civic a couple of years ago. 12 years old, but only 60K miles. Had several calls within the first few hours, and the first caller quickly got a test drive (with me along), and followed through and bought it a few days later. I’m pretty sure we underpriced it.
Then this spring I sold my car. Took almost a month, progressively lowering the price until I got calls, then test drives, then finally a buyer.
Buyer arrived in the evening with cash in hand. Since bank was closed, I insisted we drive to a local grocery store and close the deal at their customer service counter. Plenty of witnesses and security cameras to forestall shenanigans by either party, and I could immediately convert the cash to money orders. The purpose of the money orders was to signal to the buyer that we would not be sitting at home for the next 12 hours with thousands of dollars in cash, ripe for robbery; money orders provided us with recourse in case they were lost or stolen before we could deposit them in the bank the next day.
I will happily sell cars on craigslist in the future.
If a Craigslist ad can be cute, this one certainly is.
I have 2 stock answers for that query, depending:
Phone/email - “Negotiation will begin when you have looked over the vehicle, we are face-to-face and you are ready to purchase.”
In person - “Not a dime less than the most you will pay”
Shouldn’t that be a whole 'nother kettle of fish?
Which brings up another issue. I’ve seen some horrible craigslist ads. People will post a single blurry picture of a filthy, snow-encrusted car, along with a price and a phone number, and expect buyers to line up outside their door. For my ads, I made it a point to post several good quality pics of a freshly washed car, along with a detailed description of the features and condition of the vehicle. I think that goes a long way toward inspiring confidence among potential buyers.
Or you just live is a big city with good craigslist activity. The last thing I sold on craigslist was a 15 year old car, and I priced it at least a factor 2 too high. I was overwhelmed with emails instantly. But, I’m in the L.A. area, so it’s a big audience of people clicking “refresh” in their browser waiting for the next car to come up, and that audience knows that the listed price is just the starting point.
(In the end I sold it for more than I actually expected, but of course less than what I listed. And this was after my telling the eventual buyer in no uncertain terms that this car would not pass its next smog check because it was burning oil rapidly and that I had no idea what it would cost to fix.)
Bought my son a beater car on CL. Was pretty much what was represented. Brakes needed pads, but otherwise, fine. I’ve bought and sold quite a bit on CL.
Never EVER let someone come to my home. I try not to go to the home of others. Most items have been smaller. Even the car- we were outside on the street. Removes the potential for violence, etc. Sold a cell phone to a young woman. Met her in Manhattan in a Starbucks.
Bought a bicycle. Met the guy down the street from his home. Great find, that bike. Common sense, some caution and a realistic expectation are good to have.
Dunno about buying a house on CL. Wouldn’t want to rush things there and CL typically is the realization of our craving for immediate gratification.
I have a Magliner type hand truck I need to sell. I’ve no doubt it will be gone in 24 hours.
What about something like furniture? Any qualms about buying or selling large pieces (ie: things you can’t easily stick in the back of the car and take to a neutral spot)? Does it make a difference if it’s upholstered or hard surfaced furniture (couch vs table)?
What’s the lowest you will go?
mmm
Nowadays I’d have a qualm about buying used furniture, at least if it’s upholstered. I’d worry about bedbugs.
I don’t know about hard-surfaced stuff, though.