What's the Deal With craigslist?

[Peter Polack]

I'm shopping the used market for a weight bench.

I've responded to five separate ads on craigslist via the e-mail link and none of them reply, even after waiting several days.

Do people more often than not sell the item and not bother to remove the listing?

Sellers must have provided an e-mail for the link to work-is just no one bothers to read their e-mail?

I've always responded to craigslist inquiries within 24 hours.

I'm ready to just say screw it and buy new.

Educate me on craigslist sellers.

[robin3mj]

Facebook killed Craigslist
Facebook is even worse- you can post something saying price is $100 and must meet local and you'll immediately have ten messages asking what's the lowest price you'll take and can you ship it? It's half bots, half idiots.

Anything on Craigslist is probably cross-posted to FB and moves faster on the Zuckerberg machine.

[Too Tall]

Not answer however CL is the fastest way to get rid of something for free I've ever seen.

I put it out there and within mins. it's done.

In my region, I've bought a number of things and sold on CL. Response times are same day.

The bots and scammers will swoop in when selling, just learn to read the room and ignore.

[NYCfixie]

I'm shopping the used market for a weight bench.

I've responded to five separate ads on craigslist via the e-mail link and none of them reply, even after waiting several days.

Do people more often than not sell the item and not bother to remove the listing?

Sellers must have provided an e-mail for the link to work-is just no one bothers to read their e-mail?

I've always responded to craigslist inquiries within 24 hours.

I'm ready to just say screw it and buy new.

Educate me on craigslist sellers.

As a buyer:
Yes, people are lazy. If a listing is more than 2 weeks old, I often ignore it because many times people simply did not want to take the time to remove the listing knowing it expires in 30 days.


As a buyer and seller:
I think most of the back and forth emails to/from CL end up in spam filters before they even get to a persons inbox so they can't respond if they never got the message (and so few people actually check their spam folders).

As a seller:
I cross post for-sale items on eBay/CL and rarely do I get real replies on CL.

I recently posted a very detailed ad to sell a Seiko watch on CL including my address (except my building number) and this is the response I got within minutes of the initial posting:
- No subject
- Reply name and the email they ask me to respond to do not match
- They ask for address although it is top right in every CL listing (if the seller shares it which I did)
- Notice all the ">" in the listing which is often a copy and paste by a scammer
- The did not include a phone number which I require

So, unless someone includes a phone number, I just ignore the email (assuming I get one that was not caught by a spam filter). It sucks but CL is not what it used to be. If you actually communicate with a real person, it is often more likely they will flake out then show up so I always have them come to me. If they do not give a phone number, do not want to come meet me, and don't want to do it the same day, they are not serous and I just ignore it.

CL.JPG

I refuse to sell on FB because I do not want my family and friends knowing what crap I am selling and how much I want for it.

[rec head]

Yes to everything said. I use CL and FB to sell and they both suck for different reasons.

I was listening to a Pinkbike podcast and someone mentioned how people are always trying to trade their paintball guns for bikes. I laughed because this always happens to me on FB. Does anyone else get these?

I just sold a tablesaw and wood planer. I listed both items on both platforms. The tablesaw painlessly sold on CL although it took some time. The planer sold on FB and when the couple showed up to buy it I ended up knowing the lady and hadn't seen her since pre-covid. I do delete my ads after I sell something because I seem to get the most responses right after I agree to sell it to someone for less than the listed price.

[Peter Polack]

I finally gave up on trying to find a weight bench on the used market. No one responded to my five separate craigslist requests to buy. I was looking on Facebook Marketplace at the same time, did see some double listings, but otherwise nothing met my needs.

I liked the idea of recycling a used item. Sad that people don't pay attention to their accounts as it impacts other users as well as the platform.

I wound up buying a new bench directly from Marcy. While they had an after-holiday sale which saved me $20 and included free shipping, on an lark I checked out eBay offerings because sometimes people double post used items there and I might find something used and local. I did not.

However, I found a number of new Marcy benches with prices lower than Marcy was offering including their discount and free shipping. I could have saved an additional $30-40 but the sellers didn't have very high ratings (some negative reviews) and several didn't specialize in fitness equipment but seemed to sell anything under the sun. I was concerned I would get a gray market or counterfeit item or it would be an obsolete item or missing parts.

I wondered whether Marcy is going to ship from one of these eBay resellers or direct from their distributor. I guess I'm about to see.

Anybody choose to pay extra for an item to have that peace of mind?

Thanks for the previous replies, by the way; it's comforting to know it's not just me.

[Bob Ross]

fwiw I've had maybe two dozen transactions (mostly as Seller, a couple times as Buyer, and once or twice answering a "Musicians Wanted" ad) over the past ~20 years and, with only I think two or three exceptions, every single one of those transactions was a Tango With A Crazy Person. Craigs List is just a magnet for drama.

[rec head]

There are probably enough weight benches sitting unused in the world right now that they never need to manufacture another. If people would sell them of course. Weights are something I won't buy new. There are literally tons sitting unused.

[TonyP]

There are probably enough weight benches sitting unused in the world right now that they never need to manufacture another. If people would sell them of course. Weights are something I won't buy new. There are literally tons sitting unused.

Yeah, I've got about 3\400 lbs sitting in the basement.

At least an unused treadmill can be used to hang wet clothes on.

[Peter Polack]

There are probably enough weight benches sitting unused in the world right now that they never need to manufacture another. If people would sell them of course. Weights are something I won't buy new. There are literally tons sitting unused.

Exactly. What amazes me is people try to sell their second hand weights at retail prices and have you think you're getting a deal.