Craigs List A********

dhermesc

Well-known Member
I advertised a flatbed on the local Craigs list, it had some rust and not the best of condition but I priced it accordly. I got a couple phone calls and one guy who was out state on vacation talked like he was really hot for it but he wouldn't be back until Sunday. A guy showed up last night with a trailer paid full price and I loaded it and sent him on his way. As a favor I texted "sold" to the two other people who had expressed interest - including the guy on vacation. He sends me back a nasty text on how he couldn't believe I sold it out from under him when I knew he was interested. I had a more than a few choice words to send back but decided to delete the thread and try to forget about him. Nothing good can come of it.......
 
You are correct there is not much gain to fighting with these telemarketers or people online, what ever you call it. Worst case these days the guy could look you up and well bad things happen. 6pm news and a manhunt across 4 states!!!
 
Take the high road. Not worth your time.

People think that people like that are a new thing. They aren't. You've just never sold anything before because classifieds in the paper are too much of a hassle and cost money. 9 out of 10 of the people who respond to your ad are just tire kickers, or some form of kook.
 
Well,at least he didn't call and tell you he was on his way and you sold it before he got there because you had two people coming at the same time and didn't tell him. That happened to me. Wasted four hours on the road.
 
When I deal with folks on CL or Ebay I deal with them the same as I did when I answered an ad in the paper years back or called on a roadside sign. That would be openly and honestly. If I can take it that day, I do. If I cannot and they are not willing to hold it, I evaluate the person and decide if a deposit is safe. Did you tell the guy you would hold it? If no, he has no real beef. There is such a thing as Paypal and he can get you a deposit at no charge to either of you. I tend to shy away from sellers who tell me the first $xx.xx takes it or first come first serve. I wonder what the hurry is to sell it. If it is a quality item they can always sell it to the next guy later on. On the other hand, the guy who will trust me and offer the courtesy of a hold...him I am more likely to trust in return. I just picked up an item two weeks ago that I arranged to buy in January. Three hours from home, too far for a $100 item. I explained it to him but said I was coming thru his town in April. He said call him when I was going to be there. Next day the item was gone from CL. I called him three months later, he had it set aside for me and I picked it up and paid him. I think you were right though, to ignore the guys harsh response. Really no point in going there.
 
I deal extensively on CL and although 98% have been great you have the ding dongs. All good thoughts posted here, as tempting as it is to jump in the gutter with goof balls like him it is best to take the high road, you did good.
 
I know they are nothing new, and I have sold a lot of stuff on CL and I'm up front with the first person with cash gets it. I'm not holding something because "some guy" might show up "some day" in the future and he might make an offer to buy it. Even though I told him to call before he came out to make sure I still had it he seemed to think he had some kind of claim on my property - that alone kind of ticked me off. I thought I was being a nice guy sending the text to let him know it was sold.
 
When I see a CL add I'm interested in, most of the time I can't even get the other person to reply. While we're on the subject of CL, maybe I can ask you good folks a question - seems most of the people advertising in this area don't want to communicate at all through email, especially the CL email address that is supplied to them. Can anyone enlighten me as to why?

As for your out-of-town kook, you did the right thing. It was good to notify the person that the item had sold rather than letting them keep dangling on an imaginary hook. It was their response to you that was totally uncalled for!
 
Dave to answer your question it is bird in hand or two in the bush!! The seller wants to sell the item. What is he supposed to do turn down cash and wait for you? What if you are a no show?
 
kcm, a good deal of the emails that ask if item is still available are only to harvest your email address when you reply. or another type scam possibly. When I put something for say I say "phone calls only, will not respond to emails" It will weed out most of the scammers/spammers.
As far as holding something, I wont do it unless I met the buyer person and feel like taking a chance.
 
I would have told the guy who called that if someone else came by and bought it before he got back you would let him know. That way he knows upfront that you're not holding it for him.
 
You did the right thing- very considerate of you to inform him of the sale. So many wouldn"t bother.
 
You open up an interesting discussion. Keep in mind that the majority of people are basically honest. BUT, there are plenty more that are not. Many of the goofs will want you to hold an item while they shop around to see if they can get a better deal. Then, the seller is left high and dry to start out all over again. I can see where folks can get fed up and frustrated with this.
I have sold a few things over CL, and my policy is that the first serious buyer is the one I will sell to. I would not expect a seller to hold something for me under normal circumstances. There are times when I would like to have something held for me, but I also see the seller's position.
Distance plays a big part. If an item is far away, and I want it, I will try to make a deal with the seller over the phone or email if possible. The biggest problem is that there are too many scammers out there that are trolling CL ads for a way to scam somebody.
 
Cash is Cash........Talk is cheap and Cheap never pays the bills. Take the Cash from the first buyer that shows with CASH. Everything else is worthless:
 
Although he expressed interest, he did not express an intention to buy. Therefore, it follows that you did not "sell it out from under him" so to speak. Had he expressed an intention to buy, some arrangement might have been possible. But, it is not reasonable for him to expect you to hold the flatbed until he returned from his vacation.
Getting into a hostile discussion with him would not have been productive as well.
Like my dad always said "never get into a pi$$ing contest with a skunk. Win or lose, you will still end up stinking."
 
I agree first with the cash gets it. On the other hand, I called on a J.D. 70 diesel a couple year ago near Williamston, Mi. that was advertised on here, it was late in the afternoon, I told him I had the cash and would come the next morning and get it, he said OK. I was out hooking up my trailer when my wife came out and said he called back and that he sold it to someone else----------they had wired him the money. I know what happened, someone called up and offered him more for it and he took it. I feel if you advertise something at a certain price and agree to it you should abide by it. Some peoples word are no good anymore. I haven't called on anything advertised on here since then.
 
"I had a more than a few choice words to send back but decided to delete the thread and try to forget about him. Nothing good can come of it......."

A very wise decision!

Proverbs 26:4
Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him.
 
You did the right thing. He who pays first gets it. I've gotten chewed for selling a couple of things on this site by people who "were interested" but made no formal commitment, and consequently didn't get it when someone else showed with money.
 
Jerry F -- Thanks for the reply. I definitely understand the scammers part, but what confuses me is when there is no other means of contacting the seller. I ONLY use a disposable Gmail address for that very reason.

(quoted from post at 08:18:48 04/27/17) He must of been having a lousy vacation if he's cruising craigs list.
*lol* Ain't that the truth!
 
To me a "formal commitment" is handing over some cash. Anything else is talk, which is pretty cheap.
 
i found a tractor i wanted about 400 miles away. i called and he still had it. i asked him as i was driving 400 miles, if he would hold it until 4:00. he agreed. i rolled into his place about 10 minutes before 4:00, and there were 2 different people with money wanting to buy it. they weren't too happy to see me. ernie, if you are reading this, thanks again for keeping to your word.
 
In this case I may have gotten less.

I wasn't home when the buyer with the trailer showed up - my sons loaded him and he handed them $360 in cash - price was $350. My son didn't have a $10 on him and told the guy to just take it for $340. His concern was if he headed to house to get the $10 he's look out the window to see the guy driving away with the flatbed and the cash. I was good with that, he might have been overly suspicious but at least he wasn't being a fool. I've had guys hand me a wad of cash and say "Its all there" and I'll count it back to them so we are all in agreement on the amount paid. I've only had it matter once - the guy had "accidently" put $100 bill in his other pocket. Maybe it was an honest mistake maybe it wasn't but counting it back to him made sure everyone was in agreement.
 
I've wondered the same thing. I emailed on a Gleaner combine,asked where he was and did it have a grain head since he only mentioned a corn head and "another" head. He emailed me back and just gave me a phone number,told me to call him and leave a message. Ya,I wanted to play phone tag. How long would it have taken to say yes or no on the grain head and an idea what town we were talking at least? The ad's still up,the price has been lowered,now it says he won't answer emails. Apparently he doesn't want to sell it bad enough to email me again to tell me he's come down on the price. And yes,I'm interested if the price is right and I don't have to pay a fortune to truck it,but I don't want it bad enough to play games with somebody who can't even answer two questions when he's already emailing me anyway.
 
I got in to a situation like that when I sold my dairy cows. This was before CL. I had an ad in a statewide farm weekly paper. A guy called me from 120 miles away,told me he'd take them. Said there was another herd somewhere else he wanted and he wanted mine too,he'd have the money in a few weeks to buy both. I told him I wanted him to look at them first and see them in person. He grudgingly agreed to drive up here. He drove in with the whole family,took a quick look and said yes,he'd take them. He gave me a date about ten days later when he'd have the money. Meanwhile,sombody about 20 miles away stopped in because he'd heard from the milkman that I wanted to sell them. He was expanding and buying cows.
The date that the first guy gave me came and went and I didn't hear from him. I called twice,got his kids on the phone. I heard the old dork in the background the second time telling the kid "Tell him I ain't here".

That useless SOB! I called the other guy who'd been here,got one of his sons on the phone. He said "No,dad went to the auction today and bought all he needs.". We're not talking chump change here either. I'm talking 60 grand. I won't hold anything for anybody anymore unless I know they're on the road with money in hand.
 
I know a guy that sold a 4850 that way. Had two buyers show up at the same time with trailers. No one got mad but they had a little auction and he got more than he was asking for it.
 
I advertised a 2 bottom plow on CL Tuesday and a man contacted me that evening saying he wanted it but could not get here till Friday evening. We talked quite a while about his tractor and equipment and what he wanted the plow for. I told him I would take down the ad and wait till Friday. My word is my bond. The plow will be waiting for him.
Richard in NW SC
 
This guy didn't even tell me there was somebody else coming. I called and told him I was on my way. Took about two hours to get there and find the place. Then he wasn't even there. His brother came out of the house. I asked if I had the right place,he said yea,my brother's not here. I asked if the tractor was there so I could look at it. He said no,it went out of here about a half hour ago. I was a little ticked off,said I told him I was on my way. He said "Yea,he said he had two guys coming and he wondered which one would be here first",like it was some kind of a joke.
 
Before the days of CL I responded to an ad selling a MM 670 that was in a local advertiser that came out on Saturdays. The farmer was only 10 miles from me and we set up a time to meet after Sunday mass. When I drove in his yard there was a school mate of mine who drove 40 miles looking over the 670. My presence was enough to pull his hands out of his pocket and Dan is still driving my tractor. Which I remind him of every chance meeting.
 
(quoted from post at 09:44:37 04/27/17) I've wondered the same thing. I emailed on a Gleaner combine,asked where he was and did it have a grain head since he only mentioned a corn head and "another" head. He emailed me back and just gave me a phone number,told me to call him and leave a message. Ya,I wanted to play phone tag. How long would it have taken to say yes or no on the grain head and an idea what town we were talking at least? The ad's still up,the price has been lowered,now it says he won't answer emails. Apparently he doesn't want to sell it bad enough to email me again to tell me he's come down on the price. And yes,I'm interested if the price is right and I don't have to pay a fortune to truck it,but I don't want it bad enough to play games with somebody who can't even answer two questions when he's already emailing me anyway.

Yes, my point exactly! I actually don't want to reply to ads for "calls only". Reason is, our phone never rings. We have no bill collectors calling, no telemarketers, nothing. So why would I want to just open up and give such a rare phone number out to every nut job out there that might be simply collecting contact info? At least I have options using email - called the 'Delete Button'.

I called on a truck a while back. Ad said the truck was in a nearby town, about an hour away. At that time was very muddy roads. He would have had a sale if he would have simply answered one tiny little question - I needed to know what the gear ratio was, which is listed inside the glove box. Funny, the ad is still up and has been renewed!
 
An old scam is to have someone there waiting (like a cousin, neighbor, brother-in-law, etc) when a potential buyer arrives. Not saying that's what happened in your case, but it's done all the time. Then panic mode sets in (like I think I better buy this, their pockets look full of money). Never use your mother-in-law though, they'll screw up the sale guaranteed.
 
I have been on both ends of that one, like most have. Sold a 1175 Case once on there and received over 20 calls in one day, only 1 showed up, and none of the others that said they would be there such and such day showed.
 
Had a similar situation a few years ago when my father died. My brother and I decided I would handle selling his S-10 truck, it wasn't in good shape, a lot of rust and the price was low. Had it parked on the main road infront of a friends house with my phone no. on it. Got a call from a guy, wanted it, agreed to meet after work the next day for him to buy it. No money exchanged yet. I show up and somebody else stopped and after looking at it wants it. I say "If you got the cash it is yours, but I am waiting for someone who is supposed to be meeting me here so if you want it I wouldn't waste any time". He paid me and he and his friend drive off, one in the truck, the other in their original vehicle. About that time the other guy shows up and he is ------ when I tell him what happened. I say "sorry" and my girlfriend and I get into the car to drive off and this guy, who has a car carrier truck starts to drive the truck like he is going to hit us. I left in a fair rush and got down the road fairly fast and tool a different road. As has been said "cash talks". In this case I had no way of knowing if the first guy would actually show up and I had a cash offer so I took it. I have had a lot of folks on the phone say, "I want it, will be right there, don't sell it to anyone else" and t hen never show up. Cash talks.
 
I would have done the same as you.
Except...
When someone calls and is interested I always tell them straight up that this is craigslist. That means the first man here with the cash gets the goods.
If you are out of town for a few days call me when you get home. Maybe it will still be available.
I will hold things of course. If a guy calls at 8 am and says he's 100 miles away and can be there at 10. But to hold something for a couple of days doesn't work with me unless I get a deposit.
 
When I was in the small engine business, the policy was, the first guy to hand me the cash bought it. If some guy from out of the area called to see something, I'd hold it until he got there. If they gave me the I'll be back tomorrow with the money, I simply told them, I said I'd hold it for you to come and look at. You haven't bought it so the cash and carry rule now applies. You might want to call before you drive all that way first, to make sure it's still here. And NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO a ten dollar deposit ain't gonna hold it.
 
Reminds me of once I advertised a 4wd pickup for sale.

Three guys showed up within 20 minutes of each other. I thought I was going to have an auction. The three decided among themselves to let the first one that was there have first shot. He bought it without even haggling over the price.

The whole story was, there had been a couple of inches of snow the day before, and this fellow had an old International 2wd pickup. His wife had slid off the road the afternoon before and got stuck. I think when the poor guy left home that morning, he had orders not to come home without a 4wd pickup.
 
Found a 2020 deere on clist first one who called the guy, he said He was setting appointments and I would be the first at 8am. Told him I would bring cash that night he said no just show up first thing at 8 and its yours. Rented a flat bed got nephew to help. At 0745 was 3 miles from the guys house when he calls and says someone else showed up 2hrs early and bought it. I told him I hope the check bounces.
 
(quoted from post at 16:14:08 04/27/17) Found a 2020 deere on clist first one who called the guy, he said He was setting appointments and I would be the first at 8am. Told him I would bring cash that night he said no just show up first thing at 8 and its yours. Rented a flat bed got nephew to help. At 0745 was 3 miles from the guys house when he calls and says someone else showed up 2hrs early and bought it. I told him I hope the check bounces.

To me, that's wrong! If the guy is setting up appointments, then he should abide by his own rules and disallow anyone from purchasing before the ones ahead of them have had their chance to look at and purchase it.
 
I had two balers on there . Guy calls asks for pics , history blah blah. Calls two more times more info , I sez come look . He asks what I'd take cash , I dropped 300 . He sez if my taxes don't come back I'll come and put 100 down on them. What ? You're dealing with money you don't have . Total jack wagon.
 
When I talk to a person who places an ad, I always end the conversation with "Of course, if somebody else gets the cash to you first, I know you will sell it."
If I'm placing an ad, I always tell the prospective buyer that the first person who gets me the cash buys it.
Although just two weeks ago I bought a car from a dealer who was about 3 hours away and after I called him that I was on the way, he said he would hold it for me and wouldn't sell it to anybody else until after I had looked at it.
I wouldn't lose any sleep over your situation. After all, it's Craigslist.
 
everybody has a story to tell & that story does in fact speak for their character.
 
I try to reach an "understanding" with a potential buyer. If circumstances warrant that I "hold" an item: we agree on how long or give a reasonable amount of time to receive payment. In the meantime: I place anyone that calls on a return calls list in the order they call. If a deal falls through (no show at agreed time or no payment) I call the next person on the list and tell them it's still available. Using C/L : I put in the ad PHONE CALLS ONLY. I get too many scammers and spammers otherwise. I figure if you're interested enough in an item you will call. Time wasters don't get any satisfaction. (Just my opinion)
 

I just bought a 1945 2N off craigslist $700 I was not the first to answer the ad. The tractor belonged to his granddad who bought it new. He held on to it for sentimental reasons as he used to ride on it as a kid. Tractor needed some tlc as it had sitting in his garage for awhile. ad had an email contact and I asked for contact information. an answer was sent within minutes and told the guy i would take it after looking at it...The guy was headed to work and said he had several people asking about it but wanted it to go to a good home...I assured him I was a "hoarder" and rarely sold any of my equipment..met the man after his workday was over loaded up my new toy. guess he didnt want to see it parted out...[/img]
 
48410.jpg
 
My only craigslist purchase so far. A 1951 John Deere A parts tractor. Found it on craigslist on a Saturday evening. It was 345 miles away. I called the number and he said he still had it. He had several calls but everyone wanted a running tractor. This one broke a rod and broke the block. I told him I wanted the tractor but could not come get it until the next Saturday. He said that was ok. I told him I would call again on Friday evening to see if it was still available. Called Friday and it was still available so I told him I would be there around noon on Saturday with cash in hand. 14 Hour road trip, got lots of good parts.

Rodney 8)
 
Redcow92 -- First of all, welcome to YT!! Second, that's a right fine looking tractor for $700. Great buy, IMO.

Wife and I went yesterday to look at a Dodge pickup that was advertised on CL. We got there and the body rust looked a little worse in person than what the pics showed. Also, it was a 2000 model 1/2-ton, 4x4, 5.9l. I was starting to have my doubts when the owner came up and stuck his arm in, turned the key and the engine roared to life. It was a stone-cold engine block, so I knew he hadn't been out there warming it up beforehand.

Got in and took it for a little spin. Boy, this thing purrrrrrred!! Engine was so smooth that I almost couldn't believe it! He had replaced all that air intake fluff with a K&N setup - nice! Tried out the shift ranges and was simply blown away! This was THE nicest truck I'd ever seen when shifting between 4hi and 4lo!! Only reason they were selling is they had just gotten a new (to them) 28' enclosed gooseneck trailer for pulling their race car and needed something bigger than this truck.

Now the wife is wanting me to hold off on my project and maybe even keep this as our second vehicle. ...Not sure she understands that I "need" such a base platform to Frankenstein from. Anyway, I thought the price was a little high until I heard it run and then felt all the shifting (both the gears and the ranges). I was sold! It was easily worth every penny!

This is only the 2nd time I've bought something off of CL. Have inquired (or tried to) on many items, but keep coming upon these folks who just don't seem to want to sell much. But I must say, found a family yesterday that I wouldn't mind stopping in and saying 'Hi' to now and then when passing through.
 

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