craigslist

I've been replying to ads on craigslist. Mostly they don't have phone#s just have to email back. The problem is they don't get back to you. Not all of them but most. I even called an ad on here Friday and haven't got a call yet. has anyone else had this happen to them.

Yes, I have had it happen with emails and phone calls and it is very frustrating. I usually just figure either they sold it or they don't want to sell it very badly.
Zach

I usually have several things on Craigslist all the time. Yesterday I sold a piece of equipment to a guy from two states away.
The trouble sellers have is people harvesting email addresses.When you contact a seller make sure you have language that speaks directly about the item. If you just ask "Is your item still for sale?" You are not likely to get a response. But if you ask "I see the parts tractor on your add and was wondering if you would sell it separate?" You sound more legit.
Ron

I have bought a lot of things off of Graig's list. I have not had much trouble. It seems that most are straight shooters around here. My daughter lives close to St. Louis and has had some issues. One time she and my SIL went to pick something up an they felt that the person selling would have been much different if my daughter had been alone.

Many have poor people skills. They should either take the adv. down when it sells or at least send back "sold" so you know. I also rarely respond to generic questions from buyers when I am selling and even say so right in my ad.

It is good to be cautious as a buyer or seller if meeting in person.

the main thing is you hvae to be specific or your gonna sound like a scammer and if you still dotn get a reply email again in a couple days. maybe they dont check often or it didnt go through or it went to the junk box but i always check mine anyway.

Yes! I called last week about a grain truck in Farm World. Didnt hear anything over the weekend so I tried again monday, still nothing. Arrrg! I need/want/gotta have that truck. Tell me its sold, go pound sand, anything just respond. I know exactly where your coming from.

Thanks for the responses. I have a question for Clodbuster, what do you mean by generic question? I always put in the response to call me about the item for sale and that im interested in it. I know all about the --is it still for sale as I don't respond to them either. I put what the item is in the Subject line and tell them im interested and for them to call me. I don't like emailing as I've found out that nothing usually materalizes from just emailing. Guess i'm from the old days and i'm sorry you can tell a lot from a phone call verses email. I sell a lot of stuff and I answer all email's and calls, other than is it still for sale. I just can't get over how many people don't respond.

INCONSISTENT is the word. i have bought and sold on cl. sometimes excellent results,sometimes i feel like im in hyperspace
with captain kirk? i prefer phone numbers will not hassle with email. like someone said--AT LEAST CALL BACK--either way...for cryin out loud.

Yes,it is much too common for sellers not responding. The nonsense going on with Craigslist isn't much different than what happens while dealing with the public in general. I think much of it is because idiots can remain anonymous. Ever notice the down turn in late night wrong number phone calls since caller id?

Had a strange one about 2 years ago. Car on Craigslist, no email listed, only a phone number. Problem was, the phone number was my wife's! I had Craigslist remove the ad, because there was no other way to contact the seller. Seller put it back up with the wrong number again! He had made a vague reference to where the car was, so I went driving. Found him, gave him an ear full! He had an 8 instead of a 7 in the phone number! What a mess!

I never call anyone who answers my adds,i send them my phone number through email,but most never call.Some numbers are scams that cost dollars per second.

If you are a buyer, you need to remember the medium you are dealing with. In this case, what you are dealing with is internet based so email is standard unless otherwise stated. If sellers really wanted to deal with phone calls, they would leave their phone number in the ad. When they dont, you are wasting everybodys time by sending an email simply stating you are interested with a phone number saying to call you.

I get this all the time when I list something, I put up a detailed ad with nice pictures and it never fails, people respond with "Im interested in your _______. Call me 123-456-7890." Whats worse is these idiots dont get it because the next day I get a duplicate email from the same people. By the third day, some people are getting the hint and asking any question they may have but more importantly, saying they want to look at what Im selling and asking where I live and when a good time to come is. The only problem is, by the time these chowder heads waste 3 days sending me a phone number instead of setting up a time to see what I am selling, they are so far down the list of real buyers that they dont stand a chance to buy what I got.

If you want to buy things on craigslist, you need to be a good buyer. The best way to be a good buyer is to respond quickly. If you have a question, ask it, dont send a phone number just so you can ask your secret question on the phone, buyers dont have time for that. If you want to look at whats being sold, say that and even give some examples of when you are available to look. For example, if its Monday, tell the seller you are available any day after work except Thursday because you bowl and then tell them when you get done every day.

If you dont want to be a good buyer, you will just end up at the bottom of the pile of the other good buyers. Then your only chance of getting what I have for sale will be if the others decide they dont want it or Im overpriced. In any case, you just gotta wait till I decide when (or if) I feel like taking the time to get back to you.

Yeah.

I once listed a car on Craigslist. Kelly bluebook retail was $4300. I priced it at $3895. One guy emailed me and said when my price got down to $2500 to email him.

Those guys I don't bother with.

First of all Rich of WI a good buyer to me is a buyer with money. That means anyone with money. And I can't beleive anyone selling something would turn away potential buyers in this economy. If you look at the ads on here and Craigslist most are still for sale at the end of the month and longer. I have stuff on Craigslist for sale and sold some but it not selling fast by any means. And talking to the seller also helps determine if its worth taking a trip to buy the item or if he's as you say an Idiot. A lot of times you can tell if he going to be good to deal with or if he's not going to budge on the price, even if the price is high, or talking to him also might bring out things wrong with it that's not in the add. Yea time is important to the seller but also for the buyer and the expense of the trip. And you can't tell anything from EMAIl. And I don't email two or three times, no call back or you don't give a # then I move on. There's nothing on here that I absolutely have to have. Have a nice day.

(quoted from post at 22:21:22 10/09/11) First of all Rich of WI a good buyer to me is a buyer with money. That means anyone with money. And I can't beleive anyone selling something would turn away potential buyers in this economy. If you look at the ads on here and Craigslist most are still for sale at the end of the month and longer. I have stuff on Craigslist for sale and sold some but it not selling fast by any means. And talking to the seller also helps determine if its worth taking a trip to buy the item or if he's as you say an Idiot. A lot of times you can tell if he going to be good to deal with or if he's not going to budge on the price, even if the price is high, or talking to him also might bring out things wrong with it that's not in the add. Yea time is important to the seller but also for the buyer and the expense of the trip. And you can't tell anything from EMAIl. And I don't email two or three times, no call back or you don't give a # then I move on. There's nothing on here that I absolutely have to have. Have a nice day.

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I agree with you, first person to put cash in my hand wins. The thing is though, Im not "turning away potential buyers in this economy", far from it in fact. The truth is, Im selecting them. Im prioritizing them. Im picking the ones that [b:630ca78fe2][i:630ca78fe2]want[/i:630ca78fe2][/b:630ca78fe2] to do business with (non-idiots). If the good buyers dont want what I am selling, I will work my way down the list and start contacting the idiots. Its not like I just have things going unsold on craigslist. When I list something, I usually price it fair so I can sell it. Some things have a very narrow line between overpriced and underpriced but if you do a few searches ahead of time, you can usually hit the mark. If you miss it and nobody is buying, relist it with a new price. Its been my experience that unless you have something super rare where only a limited number of people want to buy it, there is usually a line of people wanting to buy things.

If you dont like emailing people and walk away from deals just because you dont get a phone number on first contact, then maybe craigslist aint for you. At the least you are missing out on buying some great bargins and missing out on selling at top dollar (assuming you try listing at a high price the first time). To me, thats much more limiting than your thoughts that I am turning people with money away.

I dont buy from the classifieds here but I have heard that they are very overpriced just from reading the threads here. As for craigslist, if you are seeing them for a month, those are the overpriced ones. The good and great priced stuff has long been deleted in a month. I bet in my local craigslist, only 5% of the overpriced junk lasts a month, everything else is sold and deleted before the month is over. Some of the best stuff is only on for hours or minutes and you [b:630ca78fe2][i:630ca78fe2]never[/i:630ca78fe2][/b:630ca78fe2] get to see those ads because of the way craigslist indexs its site.

In any event 400Dtractorman, if you dont want to buy from somebody because they dont fire off a phone number for you to call, by all means, keep your cash in your pocket. The sellers sure dont care because it sounds like they got their stuff sold to somebody else anyway. If your the seller and just deleting buyers emails because they dont have a phone number for you to call right away thats cool too. Just remember, it dont hurt anybody buy you because like you say, you are not selling anything they absolutely have to have.

Good luck in all your selling and buying, both on and off craigslist!

By a generic question I mean things like:
"Still got it?"
"What is your best price?"
etc, etc etc.
They are non-specific one sentence emails that get you to reply so they can harvest your email address to sell or us for spam. They usually come from a gmail account as they are easy to get and change often. After a while, you get to be able to spot them pretty quickly. They often send a reply very shortly after you post an ad.

A good seller or buyer will be able to return an email or return a phone call. I don't mind calling a buyer or seller on the phone as it can speed up the sale and get more information faster than typing.

I think some of the ads are posted for sale to make the wife happy but the hubby doesn't want to really sell it so he won't folow up!

Thanks Clodbuster, your generic is my scam. I don't answer those. I think the guy from WI really sums it up. Those people live in there own little screwed up world and expect everyone to bend to there idiot level. I really don't mind emailing back for a question and pics if there isn't any, but you really need to talk to get all the information you need before you spend money driving to look and find out the guy is an idiot and the item is not what is described. Thanks for the info and I think I got what I was after.