Selling Stuff on Craigslist

[Caesar]

Do any of you sell stuff on Craigslist?

I have some heavy gear and some non music stuff I might want to try on CL. Is it a horrible nightmare? Do you expect cash only? Are we dealing with the dregs of society here?

[hbombgraphics]

I am a huge craigslister: Sometimes you get some creeps but for the most part people are awesome.
I guess since I sell mostly gear I get strange musician types like myself, but they are usually pretty cool.
I only take cash, and I usually offer to deliver meet somewhere, I am not always comforatable inviting someone into my home around my kids who I don't know.

Don't leave your phone number on the post and use the hidden e-mail option so you get less spam.

As long as you follow some pretty basic precautions it is a pretty good way to move stuff.

Plus: I have met some awesome, like minded pedal heads based on craigslist that I still jam with and swap stuff with.

[grindonomicon]

Yes, I do. Both buy and sell.
Not a horrible nightmare yet, in many transactions. I have been to a couple crazy places, and met a couple weirdos. But they have the neatest stuff @ the best deals.
Dregs as in 'poor ppl', yes, you meet some buying or selling, unless you're selling high $$ gear. Then the poor ppl won't bother writing you. But even obvious druggies/drunks/mentally ill ppl haven't ever given me a single problem.

Same advice as above; Cash only, get/give reciepts, don't put your # or e-mail in the ad. Not much different than having a rummage sale, if you did your rummage sale by appt only.

[theactionindex]

For the most part I've had good experiences selling gear on CL and dealt with cool people. The only real pain in the ass I've dealt with is those people who seem to ignore the ad completely, for example basic information regarding the gear, "no low ball offers", "no trades", etc. but that's to be expected, and as far as deals that have gone through, they far outweigh the amount of idiots you deal with in comparison.

Also, I'm usually pretty keen on meeting people away from the home/practice space if at all possible just to be on the safe side, either meeting them half way or delivering, and definitely cash only exchanges. I'm paranoid I guess.

[nieh]

I've had many good craigslist transactions. I've got plenty of good deals too. Like a DigiTech Whammy for $50.

[Fuzzy Picklez]

I've actually had only good experiences with Craigslist.

[hclapp219]

Yeah all of my transactions have gone fine. I've both met in parking lots and at my apartment. I made sure my roommate was around when I had someone over. You'll get a lot of lowballers but other than that it's fine

[sonidero]

I found out today that you have to have a "listed" phone number to post for sale and my burner phone don't qualify so I can no longer post for sale on my 6 year old account... fuckers...

[sonidero]

Otherwise awesome deals all day everyday in Austin, look at the amount of gear we post daily... I have bought and sold most of mine current and past awesome gears on the list and I can usually tell real quick when peeps are legit or not...

[Noise...]

Eh. I've had mixed results.

First off, plan for flakes. You WILL get flakes. Always have a back up buyer ready. This saved me a couple weeks ago when I sold a MacBook Pro. This girl strung me along for a few days, we set up a time to meet, and last minute she backed out. I had another guy interested, so I called him up and said it was now available. Met him at the same place at the same time and the deal went super smooth.

Next, expect the worst. People will most definitely cover up issues. An example is a drum set I bought. Looked great on the outside. Got it home and went to remove the heads only to smell mildew in every shell. It was all under the drum shell wraps. Look things over as good as you can.

Now, Creepers. You're going to get some creepers. I sold a fridge once. The guy got to my house, and rather than knock on the door, he walked around the house and knocked on a window that he could see me through. I hadn't heard him pull up, so it scared the shit out of me. I told him to go around to the door, and when I opened it, he asked me if the fridge would be good for "keeping flesh cold." I asked if he meant steaks and such, and he stumbled and stuttered out a "Yes, that's what I mean." Creepy? Absolutely. He looked like the people-eating type. However, I totally don't care, as he paid in cash, and moved the fridge himself to his windowless van.

Lowballers suck. You'll get a bunch of lowball, bullshit offers. In general it's best to just ignore them, as the kind of person that offers you $200 for a $600 guitar is the same kind of person that will sit for two hours and mark your listing as spam over and over until it gets removed.

Last, TAKE CASH ONLY. I can't emphasize that enough. CASH ONLY. Put it right in your ad. CASH. ONLY. People will most definitely bounce checks on you if you give them the opportunity, so only accept cash.

I've sold a ton of stuff via Craigslist. Most sales have gone great - quick transactions with nice people. Odds are that you'll have the same. Be smart about stuff and you won't get screwed over. I'm in a rural area, and I've still moved almost everything I've tried to sell via CL, so in a more populated area you'll probably have even better luck.

[McSpunckle]

One guy carried out a long conversation to distract me then was all "alright, I'mma get out of here." and I was all "I think you forgot something." He acted like it was a mistake, but I know what he was doing.

The moral of the story is that guy was a dick.

Otherwise, I've had good experiences. Only been raped twice, but one of those times wasn't all that bad.

[McSpunckle]

Now, Creepers. You're going to get some creepers. I sold a fridge once. The guy got to my house, and rather than knock on the door, he walked around the house and knocked on a window that he could see me through. I hadn't heard him pull up, so it scared the shit out of me. I told him to go around to the door, and when I opened it, he asked me if the fridge would be good for "keeping flesh cold." I asked if he meant steaks and such, and he stumbled and stuttered out a "Yes, that's what I mean." Creepy? Absolutely. He looked like the people-eating type. However, I totally don't care, as he paid in cash, and moved the fridge himself to his windowless van.

Dude... I would not be able to sleep after that.

[Noise...]

Now, Creepers. You're going to get some creepers. I sold a fridge once. The guy got to my house, and rather than knock on the door, he walked around the house and knocked on a window that he could see me through. I hadn't heard him pull up, so it scared the shit out of me. I told him to go around to the door, and when I opened it, he asked me if the fridge would be good for "keeping flesh cold." I asked if he meant steaks and such, and he stumbled and stuttered out a "Yes, that's what I mean." Creepy? Absolutely. He looked like the people-eating type. However, I totally don't care, as he paid in cash, and moved the fridge himself to his windowless van.

Dude... I would not be able to sleep after that.

I was moving, so I didn't care. He can come back and eat the new people.

He even looked creepy. Plus he moved a huge fridge on his own, so clearly he had absorbed the strength of all the people he had eaten.

[grindonomicon]

Now, Creepers. You're going to get some creepers. I sold a fridge once. The guy got to my house, and rather than knock on the door, he walked around the house and knocked on a window that he could see me through. I hadn't heard him pull up, so it scared the shit out of me. I told him to go around to the door, and when I opened it, he asked me if the fridge would be good for "keeping flesh cold." I asked if he meant steaks and such, and he stumbled and stuttered out a "Yes, that's what I mean." Creepy? Absolutely. He looked like the people-eating type. However, I totally don't care, as he paid in cash, and moved the fridge himself to his windowless van.

Dude... I would not be able to sleep after that.

I was moving, so I didn't care. He can come back and eat the new people.

He even looked creepy. Plus he moved a huge fridge on his own, so clearly he had absorbed the strength of all the people he had eaten.

Now that's a 'good' craigslist story!

The only thing I find annoying is when ppl don't write back + never take the ad off CL. Two word e-mail 'it's sold' is pretty simple. I think cancelling your ad is two clicks?

[bigchiefbc]

How do you guys find all these ridiculous gear deals on craigslist? I never find anything interesting on craigslist. I only bought one thing through it once (my kegerator).