Is it OK to laugh and feel your pain at the same time?

Some people are: lazy and stupid. How hard is it to measure and take a picture of what you're trying to sell? We recently bought an antique Duncan Phyfe table/chairs from a CL seller. We went back and forth about the dimensions, exactly how many leafs, how wide they are, etc. It drove me nuts! But, I HAD to have that table, so I dealt with the moron on the other end. After several emails, phone calls and playing phone tag, my DH and I made the hour drive down to pick up the table. It was worth it in the end.

Recently instead of selling I've been giving stuff away on CL "Free" and/or Freecycle. All the nuts come out of the woodwork then. I listed a picture of a desk, the dimensions and all the details. One guy emailed and asked if it had any scratches. Duh---look at the picture, plus it's free! Needless to say, he was not the one I chose to give it to.

Hang in there. It's frustrating but can be so worth it, plus you make it sound comical!

Yes, there are too many stooopid people out there, and unfortunately they have found their way to the Internet. (Also, unfortunately, they drive. I think they're probably almost all in my neck of the woods.)

Sometimes I think going to Ikea (with the families shopping together, couples disagreeing with each other and the carts whose wheels want to go one way while you want to go another) is the SANEST option vs Craigslist!

The people who've come to see stuff I've put on Craigslist for $ (only about 6 things) showed up. The stuff I listed as free were the things that got the no-shows.

I really think Craigslist should have a mandatory template for furniture, where you have to type in the dimensions and then can type in whatever else you want.

(RED: I hope you still have some of your hair left after that conversation!

I have experienced the reverse many, many times. People would come into where I had worked looking for a small or big sofa, chair, bed or whatever. Then give you a blank stare when asked dimensions of the space. These must be the same ones posting on CL with no pic or description.

Wow... that just got worse and worse as I read.

The lack of measurements in ads I'll never understand. It's really important. I love it when they come back with "approx". No, I want exact dang it. Find your tape measure and DO IT.

I've once had a time set up to pick up a table, drove far away, and was a little early. I sat waiting in the driveway for someone to show up. Guy warned me about his dogs so I didn't get out of my car since nobody appeared home. Some guy pulls in and next thing I know he's coming around the back of the house with my table. I was so mad. Seller got a phone call (which he wouldn't pick up) and an email from me. Then I immaturly flagged his other listings. Tell me if you're going to be a weasle or if it's "first come first serve" so I don't even waste my time.

I hear you, Red!

I try to remind myself that not everyone is as detail oriented as I am. People regularly buy new furniture without measuring their space or the furniture, so the idea that someone would want to know the dimensions of furniture doesn't occur to them. But not provide it when asked? Dumb, very dumb.

On not posting photos: I don't even look at ads that don't have photos. But is it possible that they can't upload a photo taken from a cell phone to craigslist? I don't know how to do that.

I don't get the lackadaisical attitude of not replying to calls, e-mails, texts. If they are like this in a transaction, you can only imagine what they are like as employees.

It is amazing how many times I find something, even with a pic, but there is not enough info. I usually don't bother and move on. Sometimes I will ask a question if I see it has not sold but am again amazed when the person will reply and then a few minutes later tell me it is sold. I think the item really has not sold yet so the seller keeps trying to sell just in case first deal falls through.

I remember when we sold our house. The realtor was horrible. We kept asking when pics would be done, and when they did post them, the house had already sold. I bet we would have had more offers from out of town folks if pics had been there. When we looked for our new house we were turned off by so many houses that had no or only a few really bad pictures.

So I agree with you Red, people just make it so hard to buy things.

Here's a CL funny.
A friend of mine was getting rid of a sofa and chair and put it up on CL free section,stating it would be on the curb and come and get it.
She goes out on an errand and when she returns it is gone.
Later in the day she spots it in the side yard of one of her neighbors.
The next day he comes to her house and tells her oops, they wanted a sofa bed(this wasn't) and he said he was bringing it back. She told him no and it was his job to kick it to his curb.

That's SO annoying isn't it? I remember I was looking for a little table to go beside a bed in my guest room, but it needed to be on the tall side -- 18"-24" tall. I see one on Craigslist and email the seller. I state specifically that I need a tallish table -- How tall is the one she's selling? She calls back and answers that it's 18" tall -- so just barely OK. After driving 45 minutes to see it, it's obvious it's far too short. My measuring tape confirms that it's only 14" tall, and the seller has the gall to be PO'ed that I don't buy the table!

denali, that is soooo funny. I have a console that I wanted to put out for free but my dh said no. We got it years ago on trash day, the day they come and haul big stuff away. We drove around and found it along with two barbie bikes. We took parts off both and made dd a bike. Dh was afraid the original owner might recognize it and be mad we took it??

I recently went back and forth on an exercise ball. I needed a smaller one. Seller said this one was huge at 36inches. Took several emails to figure out that it was by diameter not circumfrence. So it really was huge. Again, if sellers would be specific it would really help.

And it is so annoying when the item is listed as georgeous or the most beautiful item ever. Then you click and it is some butt ugly monster from another era best forgotten.

And........more complaining...

I'm off today. Looking for a dresser to go buy. I've been looking all the last 8 weeks. Just found one and wouldn't you know....

Please email me.

So there's ONLY an email address...Again! Why oh why oh why, do these craigslist posters NOT GET IT? I want to call you now and come see it now. Or at the very least, make a plan for later and be the first one to look. I do not want to wait till after dark for you to check your email and then email me back. Plus, if 8 other people email you, I will look like the last one on the list instead of the first.

Include your phone number if you want to sell your stuff.

ok. done for now. sorry. I'm annoyed.

Red

I don't think it's unusual to not a phone number in a CL ad. I never do. I don't want my phone number posted and want my email to be anonymous. I do have a smart phone, and receive emails anywhere and can respond quickly.

It's not unusual, it's just frustrating. And a lot of people don't get their email on their phone...I don't. So if I have a day off and want to go look at something, I want to contact the seller and see if I can set up a time. I Don't want to have to check my email all day long and stay tied to the computer when I have other things to do. Plus, since the CL ad is anonymized anyway, no one knows it's YOUR phone number.

Red

BTW...after being tied down for hours waiting to hear if she could let me go see, the other buyer was a no-show, and about 4pm I got a call on my cell phone to come look. Against my DD's better judgement, I bought it. It needs work and may prove to be too much but I love the style and size and finish on it, so hope I didn't get a lemon that will never be lemonade!

Red

I know this is an older thread, but rather than start a new one, I thought I'd reply with a need to rant. Why are there so many idiots on CL? Why post an add and then NOT REPLY TO INQUIRIES? Gad, this drives me nuts.

Mostly, I'm trying to get measurements (which should be included, especially for furniture), and to verify travel times and availability to view.

SO frustrating!

A agree. Just went through this with someone selling a cabinet I like. They asked for no emails, texts only. So I text asking for dimensions, wood species etc. No response. Next day I text again, no response. A couple of days ago I see the piece is re-listed, same request for no email only text. Fool me once.....

I went through that with someone who was selling on craigslist. I finally posted a message titled "To the person selling [title of her post].

She turned out to be a really nice, level-headed lady who wasn't receiving the e-mails I was sending.

I respond to alot of adverts where size & dimensions are crucial:

"What width, depth, and height is your vanity sink cabinet"?

Next day: "The sinks are about 8 inches deep. The round part of the sink is 16" wide, but the hot and cold knobs are only 8" apart. The stick out a few inches. They are silver."

"I know that. I'm asking about the CABINET size, not the basins molded into the top. How large is the main box?"

Lots of people selling refrigerators. What size, what brand or model, what color, what configuration, how old? Don't most people want to know these things before driving half an hour to a stranger's house with a car that may or may not fit the appliance being sold?

Aaarggh. Idiots.

I've had better luck with backpage.com sometimes, which is better organized than craigslist (see the *larger* pictures before clicking on the item, etc.) but there aren't enough eyeballs there yet. But nearl all the ads you do see are real ads from individuals, not the mass everyday spamlists that have filled up many CL categories. We'll see if anyone can compete with "free", except another "free" site.

Will check backpage. Kijiji also seems to be getting more attention, but CL rules in my area thus far (Seattle Metro). I was just really bummed because I was off this week for Spring Break and trying to find a bed for DD2's room. I had the time to drive hither and yon.

It makes you wonder if people really want to sell or not. With gas prices and traffic being what they are, I'm not going to drive and hour +/- just to take a look.

Arrrrg indeed!

*Something* needs to take over for CL. The site seems not to have changed since 1997.

Why is everything so unorganized?

Why, in 2011, must the photos be so tiny?

Why don't they do something about keyword-spammers that make it impossible to search for certain items without bringing up 35 items for sale by the same guy, who doesn't even have the item you searched for, but puts a list of 25 name brands at the end so his items will show up on any related search?

Why isn't there a multiple city search option? I know they want to keep it local, and that's part of the appeal of the site, but certain items are small, light, easy to ship, and too obscure to be likely to find buyers locally. My other option is eBay whose fees have gotten out of hand ("buy it now" items seem to now be more common than actual auctions on eBay. Yes I know about allofcraigs.com and the like, but by necessity there's alot of lag time before things show up there, so about 30% of what you find has already been sold or has expired, and newly-listed items aren't there yet.

Why don't they crack down on people listing items for $1 that are really being sold for much more than that?

And what's with the weird barterers? I had one guy who had a piece of A/V gear he wouldn't sell outright, would only trade for motorcycle parts....

But craigslist is where the buyers and seller are, so I continue to use it anyway, just like everyone else. Backpage and the rest are a very distant second or third place in popularity, kind of like auctioning stuff anywhere but on eBay.

I need to figure out how to do partnership sales on Amazon.com, those third-party dealers that always seem to have the lowest prices. Amazon.com has become today's true department store, the one place you can go to buy anything. Brick-and-mortar "department stores" don't really exist anymore - they're just big clothing stores now. Sears comes closest to being a real department store, but even they've eliminated most of their departments over the years. It's basically another big clothing and housewares store that also sells tools, paint, appliances, and electronics.

Yesterday, I had a great CL experience so I want to show you guys that I don't always have to complain....!

I took good pictures of my Blue mason jars and my handmade cake plates and a big antique jar that we used in September to hold flowers and cakes for DD's wedding. I put reasonable prices on each thing and posted them late Saturday night. 8am Sunday morning, I get a text from a girl who says: "Hi, my name is ____, If you still have them, I want everything you have posted."
I think....well, let's see how this goes...So I text back, "Good. Call me so we can make a plan and you can come get them this morning."
She sends back that she's a flight attendant and won't be back at the airport till 8pm Sun night but would like to come then if I will sell them to her. I text back that I can do that. Then, she sends me a text that thanks me and says to have a nice day. Well, that sealed the deal for me. I usually won't hold an item unless the person talks to me over the phone, but I'm not in a hurry and she was so nice. At 8 p.m. I get a call and she tells me she's leaving the airport. She arrives and hands me the money not even asking for a better deal. Her wedding is in October and she realizes my price on the antique blue jars is pretty good. So, we pack her stuff, DH loads her SUV, and I threw in a few extra of the blue jars for her because she was so sweet.

And just a sidenote because I'm a freak. I ACCIDENTLY did the email contact too on CL, the one where they anonymize your email addy, but if you reply to someone, then, they have it. I had planned to ONLY do the "Call me or Text me" that I like. So I got 2 emails that I believe are both scammers.

Red

Yup, been there done that so many times it's no longer fun. I used to scour CL like people read the daily paper. Just don't have the time or inclination anymore to do that dance. (But as you fellow antique lovers and score hounds know, this will not be a permanent phase. ;D )

I just wanted to add, I've had the same experience with NO measurements...no info...even when I asked specific questions. This last time the girl said call me....so I did and she couldn't find a tape measure.....so no measurements then either... :0)

I thought of this thread when I came upon the following CL ad.....

Here is a link that might be useful: You want to sell WHAT?

Hi y’all! (I say y’all now that I’m in the Deep South instead of California!)

i was searching for a pic of an antique buffet I re-purposed into a bath vanity c.2009 and found this thread.

Wow. I ready do go off about stuff don’t I?

And now, my Irritation of Choice is Facebook Marketplace. And since I finally got a smartphone a while back, I can get emails immediately. Thank you to all who subtly reminded me I was not utilizing current tech!

FB Marketplace Can Be Great.

1. Lots of great pix because people have been practicing their photo skills.

2. You can really customize your search area with the map.

3. Lots more regular users than craigslist.

4. Instant messenger gets more rapid response no need to give out your email.

But many of the same same old issues too, plus a few new ones. There’s no good way to know how long that Mid-Century Modern credenza has been on Marketplace. No dates. So you could be getting all excited about something the guy sold 3 months ago. (Truck we bought early this year is still online, so if you see it don’t IM the guy, we’ve already taken it to Indiana 4 times!)

People still don’t put enough information on their post. They still don’t add measurements on the initial post. And they don’t post their location. And maybe your FB says you live in Selma, Ca. You may have moved to Madera but just haven’t adjusted Your profile. So it’s hard to know how far you’re gonna need to go if you’re wanting to go look. And you send an instant message to the seller asking for details but just receive a one word response.

But, with a combination of craigslist and FB Marketplace there are still deals to be had. And all the photos are so much better than they used to be that you can really see what things look like.

So. Let me know what you guys think about the state of buying these days?

Red