I bring my husband almost every time I buy from Craig's list. I have only been inside 1 persons home to pick up a set of Ethan Allen chairs. The other stuff the people brought outside to a covered porch or it was just outside.

I just listed some items on our CL. I took everything out of the house that I wanted to sell and put them in the garage for that exact reason, I didn't want strangers in my house. But not everyone does that. If I would want to buy something on CL I would talk to the seller as much as possible to get a feel for them and I would definitely not go alone.

You're not the only one. I get all worked up when I go to pick something up. I normally have someone with me. There was only one time I didn't. That was the web back chair I have in my LR. It was in a very nice neighborhood and the lady actually brought it to the door for me. Fine with me. I stood and chilled with the dog. :)
I wouldn't want people coming to my house to pick up stuff though. I'll never understand why people will sell stuff really cheap. Shirt for $5.00, glass dish $2.00. Why not just give it away or donate it? IMO it's not worth having a stranger come to my house for a couple of bucks.

I may be crazy, but I have gone into people's homes to see their CL 'wares', and I have had nothing but wonderful experiences and met fabulous people! I called the woman today who is selling the Hickory Chair Co chair that I hope to pick up Saturday, and we had a great chat. She loves to sew, likes antiques and auctions and Karastan rugs - just like me. I can't wait to met her and her hubby of 51 years.

I always go alone or bring the 2 dogs who like to ride, because there's just me. I'm not saying that your fears are not justified, just that I haven't had them, and have had only good experiences.

There have been times in my life when I've felt scared of something and other times when it's the opposite and I feel quite assured nothing bad will happen. I think we all need to listen to our inner voices, our intuition. If you're really scared of something, maybe there's a part of you that knows you are in danger in that particular area. And we women have learned to be a bit cautious, if we're smart. But no, I'm not overly afraid of CL ... not yet anyway. I just don't think I have bad CL karma. shrug

In this day and age, these types of fears can be justifiable. But you can do a certain amount of due diligence. Do an internet search of the person's name, address, and phone number. You can find out who owns the house and lots of other info.

I work in animal rescue and regularly walk into homes of strangers. It just doesn't bother me, but then, I also sit on toilet seats in public restrooms. I'm a real risk taker - LOL!

I've never bought anything big from CL. I've only bought sports equipment. My lacrosse playing, snowboarding, skiing, golfing DS1's hobbies get expensive otherwise. I always arrange to meet in the middle of the day at Barnes & Noble for the purchase.

I did get rid of some stuff from my kitchen reno(range, kitchen table & chairs, etc.) through CL. That stuff I kept in the garage until the buyer called to say they were on there way and then it got hauled out onto the driveway.

I'm a second degree black belt in Washin Ryu Karate, but still very cautious. It's a scary world out there.

I just had my first CL experience this last weekend.

I started looking at it once in a while because of all the talk here about it.

My current BF mentioned he wanted to buy a church pew for his empty hallway so he could sit on it when he came in and take off his shoes and store them all underneath near the door, along with his laptop and work stuff that he has been currently storeing in a pile on the floor by the door. He knows I go to Goodwill and places and has been amazed at my finds, so he told me to 'keep an eye out' for one.

Sooooo, I told him about CL, and showed him on my computer so he could see it, and get a feel for it. While I was doing this..........Boom. There one was! I wasn't expecting to actually see a pew for sale while I was showing him CL furniture forum. It was only $40. He emailed his phone number to them right away and his cell rang in five minutes. It turned out the address was just a short drive over there.

The guy was standing on the sidewalk outside and chatted with us a bit. He probably wanted to see if we were insane first before letting us in. One the way up the stairs on the landing was a maniquein with a leather jacket and a majorette uniform on. I felt relieved when I saw that. It seemed like they were cool people - the artsy type.

The pew was near the door inside since that is what they used it for too - taking off shoes and setting down laptop. We paid. The guy volunteered help load it. He said they were moving to Washington and it was too heavy to pay for shipping. That thing was really SOLID. Good condition too.

The four of us then chatted and exchanged stories. They were the nicest people ever. I hated to see them move away. LOL.

The CL experience went so well my BF is probably under the impression that this is how it always goes. :) He is talking about getting a new desk now...............

I usually send my husband, or accompany him. I don't always trust that he will inspect it properly, or bargain down if necessary. A few things I have purchased on my own, and I always give exact numbers and address to my husband or someone else. I call them the moment I get there, and the moment I leave. Or, I meet somewhere like a metro station. There really are some weirdo's on CL, you are right to be wary. Christy

The one thing we actually bought off CL was a leather couch. I was pretty sure we would take it since it was only $40 I figured if anything we could put it in the basement playroom. So I sent my husband and brother. The next time we went to look at something my husband and I went. The lady totally stood us up and on the door was a eviction notice. I was really freaked out and instead of waiting around I decided we should get out of there. I think you have to judge the situation. I don't think I would ever go alone though.

I haven't bought anything from Craigs List, but I've sold stuff. I had some stuff from my mom's house that didn't sell at the estate sales and I listed them on Craigs list. I have to admit I was slightly nervous letting a couple of men into the almost empty house to look at what I was selling. But everyone was really nice.

Recently I sold a TV and stove on Craigs list and the men came into the house to look at them. My husband was there, too, and it didn't bother me.

I would be much less worried going into someone's nice house then letting someone into my house, though.

I dont mind strangers coming into my home. I have also gone to other people's home to buy stuff. Use common judgment to see if the place/people look safe. Bring a man if it makes you feel safe.

I am very trusting of people. with CL and such you can talk to them on the phone a couple of times to get a sense of who they are.

I've only bought once from CL. In that case, the seller had his dining room set in the house because the house was listed for sale.

If you're selling, I can understand wanting to place the furniture in the garage before having people over, but I highly recommend you get good photos of your things in a room setting before setting them out. A dim light in a dusty garage isn't going to show anything to advantage.

I won't buy any inside furniture that has been sitting in a garage for a length of time.. its the bugs I worry about. I purchased a china cabinet/hutch from someone who was moving. We emailed and talked first. Also purchased a bookcase. The woman had it in her foyer, no need to walk into the house. I've seen this done before. All you need to do is open the door, no stepping in.

Saying all that, I'm hesitant about listing anything to sell.

I do get that we are living in dangerous times, where a casual encounter at the supermarket might be an introduction to a serial killer. (Anybody surprised that I watch Criminal Minds?) But with a little instinct, a bunch of due diligence, and a reasonable amount of thinking ability, I do believe that the average person (me!) can tell the difference between a flake on the phone, and a real elderly lady selling a coffee table.

Anyway........no, I don't stress or worry about this. I've been going along with my mom to people's homes since I was little; to look at litters of puppies, to buy furniture, to pick strawberries right from the field, and once upon a time, to pick up a batch of boiled peanuts right here in Fresno county.........much to the delight of my Georgia-born Mama. I've been buying stuff from the classifieds since I was 21 and newly married, going to yard and estate sales, Hoping-hoping-hoping......to be the first and only person there, and doing the Craigslist thing since I first heard a whisper about it. I've also bought one or two items through the Radio-Tradio kind of deal that some citys feature on Saturday morning. I can only remember one time ever that I got a bad feeling about something, and I decided because of the look of the house, to just pass on by. Probably nothing but it was way out in the country and the guy sounded a little off even over the phone.

Red

I bought my first item several weeks ago and it never occurred to me to be concerned. If when I got to the house, if something set off my radar, I would have rescheduled over the phone and brought dh or a friend before going back to the house.
But the woman I talked with was really nice, had her two grandchildren with her and lived in a million dollar neighborhood. (There were some 10,00 square foot homes that looked like rock chateaus. ) The only emotion I was feeling was amazement and envy.
The three car garage held the table I bought and it definitely did not have bugs- table or garage.

I am not afraid of no sellers! I always bring my big strong DH with me,( who is often mistaken for an undercover police officer or military man.) I would never go in a strangers house alone, ever. I think I get a good read from how someone responds to my emails.
When we are selling something, we have had folks in our house. pretty much you can tell a lot about a person by the email and phone. We have met some of the nicest people on CL.

thanks for all of your feedback/advice.
I'm fairly new to this area, so maybe that is why I'm hesitant to just drive around to strangers homes. Perhaps I'll feel braver once I understand where the good areas are, where the drug areas are, etc. It's just not so obvious in our rural area. Nice homes next to trailers and I just haven't figured it all out.
That said, I know I would never go to someone's house alone. I won't even watch scary movies or read scary books. I guess I'm a wimp. So for now, I think I'll have to live vicariously thru your CL finds. Maybe with time I'll figure my area out and will take the plunge. :o)
Thanks!

Besides the safety issue of going to a strangers house beware also of "a sale of bad goods". My son and his wife responded to a CL ad for a slide in range. It was in beautiful condition( they thought) and the person they bought it from seemed fine.....well, they got it home and they were remodeling their kitchen so it sat in their garage for a few weeks. DH and son went to install the range, plugged it in and it started smoking from the back!! They took the back off the range and the whole back of it was fried and black!! My DH is a retired lineman so is very familiar with electricity and he said our son must have purchased it that way!!! Son tried to get his money back from the person but they would not admit to anything. So, be sure and test out any appliances before you leave the premises!

I've purchased quite a few items off CL and always take DH with me. We haven't had any problems and honestly I never thought about a safety issue until this post. I guess some of it has to do with the neighborhoods of the seller. You can usually tell where the sellers are located by the description in CL. Also, I judge by the CL ad itself. If the ad is junky and it is obvious that the person didn't take the time to post clear, viewable pictures then I'm not going to bother. We did meet one couple that had really beautiful furniture and told them to keep us in mind if they decided to sell anything else. We chatted with them for a long time and then left.

I've never actually offered anything for sale on CL but have been thinking about trying to sell the BR furniture I purchased a few months ago and now realize doesn't work in our Master. I'm still thinking on it as my DH would say.

I've bought and sold. Good experiences all around, but DH was around for all transactions.

I was able to go see the Hickory Chair Co chair today, that I mentioned above, about 20 miles from my home. The couple who were selling it were the NICEST people! As soon as I walked into their home, I told them I could move right in, as it was full of antiques and just gorgeous. I got a full tour of every room, and I literally could have stayed there all day! I have met the nicest people through CL, and these folk s were no exception.

I bought this chair for $125. It is the 'Weston', and has the original tags attached to its underside! In their lowest priced fabrics, this chairs starts at $1969, and goes to $3229 in their upper end fabrics. The cushions are down, the fabric is silk or a silk blend, and it's incredibly comfy. Pic is at the sellers house. I'm going to play musical furniture here in my office.

Never have bought anything on CL, but I've sold many things on CL. Have had nothing but good experiences, met some extremely nice people. Oh I may get several calls from odd people, but they ultimately don't end up being the buyer. Most of the time, I speak to the buyer 3 and 4 times before they arrive to pick up the stuff, and by that time I know where they live, where they work and pretty much their whole life story, LOL.

A few times I've sold something on CL and the friend they brought along to help them load the stuff has ended up buying something else I had for sale. Two birds with one stone! How cool is that?

BTW, I stopped posting stuff for free because there are people who prowl the free forum and just email for stuff left and right, without going to get them.

After a week of trying to get multiple people to come for a free item, I posted it for $10 and had someone come pick it up within 2 hours.

Different forums have different crowds in them.

I had an ugly chair I couldn't unload on Freecycle. I posted if for $5 on CL, and had several takers.

my3dogs~ Sounds like you not only scored a great chair, but some wonderful new friends. Love that you have such great experiences. :O)
jeannine and liz h~ That is HILARIOUS!! It must be something about the perceived "value/bargain" vs. "must be unloading their broken junk". LOL!! :o) Psychology is a funny thing.
Good thinking about testing things about before you haul away. I feel so bad for the young man who bought the range. How awful. :o(
I love reading your CL experiences. Thanks for sharing!

I buy stuff from people all the time, and some of them have turned into friends. The woman who sold me my pilates reformer moved to France, and now we're email pals. I bought a leather couch from a web designer, and he designed our blog. I dunno, I'm guess I'm just lucky or something. I almost always go in the day time, and tell my husband where I'm going, and I speak to the seller on the phone, but I doubt that any rapist or murderer is luring anyone to the house after advertising on CL. Think about it--you have their address, usually the phone number, and they're advertising on a public forum. Not a lot of chance for secrecy.

I am also a bit hesitant to buy things or sell things to strangers, although I did sell a futon on CL, but it was a nice lady and she was by herself, so I figured I could take her if I had to!!

But, I'm more hesitant to sell a car through the paper than furniture. It really makes me nervous to have someone come and drive my car around - I don't want to really go with them, and I'm afraid they'll drive off with it or wreck it. My husband is not at home regularly in the evenings or on weekends, so we just trade in the car when we need a new one. I feel bad in a way because I know we could get more for it by selling it ourselves.

And let's not forget, that just as some people would have a coronary walking into JCPenney or Macy's and just picking out a piece of furniture, without checking EVERYWHERE ELSE FIRST, and eliminating all possible used sources....(Me!) there are plenty of other who would be far more pleased to buy something from a beautiful, well-decorated, brightly-lit store with good sales help and forget worrying about getting someone else's dirt, or dog hairs, or who knows what else?

We have to allow for different comfort levels and different budget constraints and different ideas of what's a great deal.

Red

Oh no. Don't tell me I have to get married so I can bring along a DH so I can CL safely?

I asked my husband about this (figuring maybe I've been incredibly stupid) and he pointed out that any homicidal sadist would have better luck luring potential victims to his House of Pain by advertising in the Personals section of CL, rather than "antique buffet, $150". If nothing else, the sheer volume of responses, wanting to know "If it's oak or walnut?", "Has it been refinished?" and "Can he deliver?" would be enough to thwart his plans for mayhem.

ideeFixe~ You dh is hilarious. That's a good point.
Still, I'm afraid I'd get the ONE nutcase in the entire universe. Uggghhh. I probably need some therapy. :o) LOL!