Craigslist Protocal

[Preacher]

I am just venting I guess but what happened to honor in this world today?

I have been looking for months for a car to replace my daughter's. My standards are not that high, something under $2500 even if it needs a little work which I am willing to do.

In the last three months, I "thought" I had bought a;

'99 VW Beetle - owner and I talked, tried to set up a meeting to pay for it on Friday, owner said earliest they could meet was Sunday. Tried to nail down a time and they said we could call Sunday morning after 8 and they would give us the time and place to make the transaction. Called Sunday morning (at 8:01) and was told the car was sold. Yeah to me, I said, nope someone they knew heard it was for sale and came and got it Saturday. Really? And I was offering to pay their ASKING price.

Another VW Beetle, this one a 2001 - car needed some serious engine and body work, was pretty cheap but owner had it priced a little too high. I offered what I thought was a fair price but they would not take it (it was $500 under their asking price). Fine no sweat. I checked back two weeks later just to see if they had changed their mind, and they said the car was sold. Okay, no problems, until they said, we should have taken your offer, it was $200 more than we sold it for. I was like WHAT? Why did they not call and let me know they would take my offer? Oh well, life goes on.

And then there was yesterday.

So I am in Phoenix on business and was sitting in the airport and pulled up the list to see if anything of interest is on there.
Hmmmmm, 1998 Mustang GT, no pictures but a decent description. Needs some work as the front fender color does not match as the fender and headlights were the targets of a baseball bat attack... really wanted to know the rest of that story... listed at $2300. Not bad I think, so I text them and ask if they would take 2 grand cash for the car. It is a couple hundred miles away and needs to be painted and some parts replaced (headlights, grill, etc). But it would be a good project car. They agree, yep we will take $2K. I asked when we can get together, not today or tonight as they have people coming over, Friday is the earliest they can meet. I ask if they would prefer a time and they said anytime Friday. So then I ask for the adress and lthey sent it. I told them great, we will see you tomorrow morning, looking forward to it.
As my plane lands in Dallas (2.5 hours later), I get a text message "car sold" from the owner. I respond back, "Yes, sold to me for $2K cash, meeting tomorrow". They respond back, "guy offered me $2600 for the car, I sold it to him".
I can tell you that I was pretty steamed, I mean $600 is $600 but we had a deal. He COULD NOT meet on Thursday because of people coming in, EARLIEST he could meet was FRIDAY, and he sells the car THURSDAY afternoon to some guy responding to his add. If I had known that was going to happen I would have sent my friend up to get it on Thursday right after I talked to him, but that was not an option.

I guess I am just too old school for this world today. When I make a deal, I make a deal. I have bought and sold stuff on craigslist and ebay. I have bought some things that were not quite what I thought they were, that needed more work than I thought, but I made a deal for it so that's life. But here recently, these sellers who tell you a deal is made and then don't follow through is really starting to tick me off.

I know this post is long, but I just needed to vent a bit.

Anybody have a used car for sale that you would like to make a deal on?

[emu!]

Craigslist = Crazieslist

[Red Square]

Welcome to the real world.
CL is not really known as a hotbed of integrity, is it....

[tfsails]

I've never bought or sold anything on CL, but I think what you've experienced is emblematic of society in general these days. There seems to be no honor among the younger generation. I could rant on and on, but I won't.

There are still some honorable people in this world but we're getting fewer and further between as time goes on. It's sad.

[sax4blues]

Your experience is very typical for CL. So...... Knowing that I act accordingly. If I want something I go buy it now. If I'm selling something I tell people first ca$h takes it.

[Hiker]

People lacking integrity post on CL every 5 seconds. Another one posted there while your read this!

[rangercaster]

i am a seller on CL and i have my own rules, which are designed to be fair, and make the process easy (for me) ... the first person who expresses genuine interest gets first shot at the item for sale ... no exceptions ... other prospective buyers are informed of this ..." i am showing the guitar to a guy tomorrow, if it doesn't sell you are next in line..." ... buyers like this system, and if a buyer feels you are honest and fair, you have a much better chance of completing a sale ... as far as buying goes, if you want something, move fast and have large wad of cash ...

[Jack FFR1846]

I do craigslist and have a completely laid back, no assumptions attitude. You have to have this. Heck....a friend of mine has had a mim strat for sale forever. He's over an hour from me. I told him at the beginning that I would take it for $200, but he never could meet and seemed to always be out or people coming over. I start seeing it on craigslist. I responded a few times through craigslist.....even addressing him by his first name in the annonymous email. He always responded, but could never seem to meet. He kept dropping his price. Finally had it for $120! I guess it sold. He must have had someone figure out his address and stalk him. He could have paid shipping (all of 60 miles) and made out better selling to me.

I'm in the middle of another one right now. Black mim strat for $225. I email to say I'm interested and want to take a look. He responds back with a one word answer, saying the city he lives in (Rhode Island isn't big enough that I really care). He also tells me that my email was in his spam filter, which is why it took him a month to respond. Without seeing it, I offer $200 and tell him that I'm available to come to him anytime since I was in the last week of a job before starting at a new company. He accepts and that's the end of the story. Still waiting. I'll probably send him another email from my new work email address, in case he's not checking his spam filter again.

None of these situations bother me. It's part of Craigslist and I do expect it. I also expect people to buy from me with stories that they had the same guitar in the past and loved it and have been looking all over......then the night they get it home, it's back on CL for $200 more than I sold it for. That happens all the time! I don't care.....all I wanted to do was sell at an agreeable price to me.

[Shepherd]

The gene pool on CL is running on fumes. I thought Ebay was bad.

[Dejected_Ridge]

Originally Posted by tfsails

I've never bought or sold anything on CL, but I think what you've experienced is emblematic of society in general these days. There seems to be no honor among the younger generation. I could rant on and on, but I won't.

There are still some honorable people in this world but we're getting fewer and further between as time goes on. It's sad.

Agreed. Very soon people who act honorably will be viewed with suspicion by the majority of the population... I can see the day where honorable people are diagnosed with "inflated integrity syndrome" and given therapy and medication to help them live normally without being "disadvantaged".

-DJ

[getbent]

you made an offer on a car you hadn't seen that had unknown damage that was hundreds of miles away?

and you expected to be taken seriously?

craigslist, like democracy, is frequently slow, full of roadblocks and incompetence, ill defined and undefined but highly prescribed 'understood' rules and regulations except that each person does the defining and only applies the rules to others...

c'mon man. you are doing it wrong and your requirements are kind of crazy.. you aren't looking for something easy, you are looking for something kind of hard to find... which is why it is problematic.

[plymman]

I've had the same on eBay, twice I was the winning bidder, once for a strat, once for a jazz bass. After paying I got a quick refund with a "sorry, price wasn't high enough" message. It drives me nuts!

A deal's a deal as far as I'm concerned. I've often accepted an offer then been offered the asking price but to my mind once a deal's agreed, that's it, I accept it and leave it behind with my honour intact and my wallet a little lighter!

[Bones]

I bought a Blues jr off Craigslist this week. Met the guy in the parking lot of a Best Buy and never tried it out. Got home, plugged it in and it works fine and sounds great. All of my CL deals have gone smoothly. I don't play games with people and they don't play them with me. Not sure if that's just luck or not, but it's the way it is.

[McGlamRock]

I sympathize, I have been putting off buying a car for the past month and a half becasue of just the type of interactions you describe. I'm just going through dealers now that advertise on Craigslist... at least the dealers have regular hours!

[musicalmartin]

I am not on Craigslist but frankly I would just take the first one to cough up the money in my hand .No substitute for hard money IMHO.

[Toto'sDad]

I've been pretty lucky buying and selling on CL, but it is an adventure, never know who you will get a note from. Even one poster here on the CL made remarks about how he likes to keep a lister on the line thinking he has a sale, then never show up. I thought when he posted that little tome, he will no doubt be rewarded for his kindness next time he has something for sale. Karma buddy! It will hit you in the behind every time, guaranteed.

Personally, I know it's going to sell, just have to wait for the stars to line up. It's NEVER failed me yet. Sometimes you have to pull stuff out, wait a while, cut the price, raise the price, ya never know. Once I agreed to take $500 for something, the guy didn't show waited a while put it in for $850, settled on $750, the no show did me a favor!

Ya gotta know going in, if you really need or have to buy OR sell something, CL may not be the place for you. You have to shift through the flyspecks, and sort out the pepper. I don't look forward to anything but the worst, that way, they can't disappoint me. I've met some pretty nice guys both buying and selling. One low baller was especially entertaining, he shot me a low ball offer, then wrote me six times to tell me what a jerk I was for not taking it. I thought is was quite entertaining. When you're retired any diversion is welcome! BTW, I ended up getting $400 more than he offered. Cool.

[zimbo]

I had a similar experience, I called about an amp f/s on CL. I was the first caller, texted. The woman said she would hold it for me. I had things to do first so a couple hours later she texts me, do I want it for sure? I text back yes. I text in another hour for the location for pickup and she says the amp has been sold.

This is a modern era where people are completely and totally involved with being on their phones. As long as they still have access to that phone no deal is for certain.

[Ricky D.]

Originally Posted by Bones

I bought a Blues jr off Craigslist this week. Met the guy in the parking lot of a Best Buy and never tried it out. Got home, plugged it in and it works fine and sounds great. All of my CL deals have gone smoothly. I don't play games with people and they don't play them with me. Not sure if that's just luck or not, but it's the way it is.

It's luck. I know you expect the best from people and it has worked out for you so far, but it's just good luck so far. Hope it never runs out. Don't think for a second that the seller showed up at Best Buy because of the kind of person you are.

Originally Posted by tfsails

I've never bought or sold anything on CL, but I think what you've experienced is emblematic of society in general these days. There seems to be no honor among the younger generation. I could rant on and on, but I won't.

There are still some honorable people in this world but we're getting fewer and further between as time goes on. It's sad.

People are the same.

I've been using classified ads since the 60's, buying and selling gear. It hasn't changed a bit. As a seller, I expect 50% of the prospects with appointments will not show up. It varies. As a buyer, I don't expect anybody to hold the piece for me if they have a deal face-to face. That's just the real world. You want it, better get there fast and be ready to take it with you.

[Bones]

Originally Posted by Ricky D.

It's luck. I know you expect the best from people and it has worked out for you so far, but it's just good luck so far. Hope it never runs out. Don't think for a second that the seller showed up at Best Buy because of the kind of person you are.

He showed up because he said he would and because I said I would. it's very easy to tell who you are dealing with in a two minute phone call.

[boneyguy]

Hey I know what will make you feel better!! Buy my red electric guitar for $225. It comes with a chord and also I can sell you the strap too also as well. The guitar is red.