Here are some tips to help make your Craig's List transactions go smoothly.
I've bought & sold over one hundred items on Craig's List over the years without any negative transactions so I feel like an expert by now but the climate has changed from when I first started buying & selling on CL.
While transactions almost always went smoothly in the early days of CL, I've noticed a degradation over the past few years. For
whatever reason, there are people out there who seem to get satisfaction out of replying to your ad in one of the following ways:
1. "Is it still for sale?"
2. "if it's still available, I can pick it up right away."
3. "I used to sell stuff on CL to get some money but I've found a better way to make hundreds of dollars a week. Just click on the link below to learn more about it."
There are other variations but they all come from people who have absolutely no interst in buying your item. Generally, I've found that these e-mails come from gmail accounts and are sent in the middle of the night (after midnight).
Simply delete the e-mail without responding. I place my ads in the following manner.
1. I put an asking price a little higher than what I actually want for the item since everyone haggles.
2. I always include a picture or two so any serious buyer knows that I actually have the item and I'm not trying to scam them.
3. I always say the following: "If interested, please e-mail me with your first name & phone # and I will call you." I also say "I will not respond to any e-mails that don't contain this info." This has been working for me so far although I'm sure I'll eventually get an e-mail with a bogus name & phone #.
In the past 4 weeks I have sold a refrigerator, dishwasher, 3 microwaves, a gas range, kitchen faucet & a telescope all to different buyers in separate transactions. Every one of these buyers came to my house and all transactions went smoothly. Once you speak with people on the phone (remember that you have their phone # and your communication should be via phone & not e-mail), you'll get a pretty good feel. If you're uneasy, don't give them your address and simply end the call.
For those uneasy about having strangers come to their house, you can always meet at a public place, i.e. in the lobby of Home Depot, Target, etc. but never agree to meet someone at night in an area that isn't safe, i.e. a parking lot. It's kind of difficult to sell your refrigerator or other large item without the buyer coming to your home so always schedule an appt. when you're not going to be alone.
Here's a true story that occurred about 1 year ago.
My wife and I went to someone's house to buy a car seat & stroller. The seller was a young mother and she was home alone with her 2 year old daughter. I guess she felt comfortable with us because, when I asked her if she had any other baby items for sale, she took me down to her basement and left her daughter upstairs with my wife. WHAT WAS SHE THINKING?? We were total strangers!!! Word to the wise. USE YOUR HEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hope some of these tips help.