I love Craigslist, I hate Craigslist

ARRRRRRGGGHHHH !

I tried to buy an ex-race car on Craigslist yesterday, offered to: meet seller's price, bring cash and trailer. He replied he had accepted an offer, but I was next in line if it fell through. I told him no problem, just let me know, cash waiting.

Late yesterday afternoon he sends out a blanket email… "due to the overwhelming response to my ad…" betcha can guess where this goes next.

"I've decide the fairest thing to do is sell the car to the highest bidder by tomorrow morning." Well, I'm sure its the fairest thing to HIM, as his car was maybe 20% underpriced, but geeez.

So at 645am I forward the ad to a marque expert I trust to fairly value the car and spares, and when he opens the email at 830am, The AD IS GONE.

I've emailed the seller several times using the blind link in the ad, as that's the only way I have to reach him. Craigslist continues to forward emails for 6 months after an ad disappears, so I know he will get it.

Last week it was a Jet Ski trailer. I told the seller his price was fine, send me a photo of the tires… they had split sidewalls from age, so I told him I'll take it as soon as I can line up replacement tires. 2 days later I text him I am coming to get it, he sold it the night before to a guy who showed up with cash. ARRRRRRGGGGGHHHH !

Just Venting: NCV = Negative Crackpot Ventilation

Sucks just as bad on the selling side. A lot of tire kickers and low ballers or people who haven't a clue.

I thought you were going to say the guy decided he would raise the price of the car.

I love ads with that line, "Buy the car now, the price goes up tomorrow!".

Lol

HAPPY ENDING !

The seller answered my repeated emails, sent a copy of his original ad as it appeared on a marque website and later on CL, we talked on the phone, and the car is now sitting in my driveway on my trailer.

A frantic day of running around, but well worth it.

My CL Rules for Buyers

1) Agree on price and terms in the first email exchange.

2) Have the seller email you a bill of sale, return it confirming details of payment and pick up.

3) Get there in a hurry. Bring cash. Drive home happy.

Reminds me of my friend how bitched about a Craigslist seller. My friend told the seller he'd be on his way, then the seller called him before he left to let him know the car was sold.

My friend was pissed the guy didn't hold the car for him. When I asked my friend if he'd sent the guy a deposit, he got pissed at me. I've dealt with way too many flaky buyers to ever hold anything for anyone off craigslist unless you've either paid me in full, up front, or left me a healthy deposit.

Otherwise it's the first person who hands me the cash that gets the item.

I hate cl. Trying to sell wheels. Put an ad up, 200 firm. Guy say, 150. I say no, 200 firm. Because 200 firm dumbass. Guy says 150 because he needs to buy tires. I say- if you need to buy tires you do not need a set of berkeleying racingharts I'm letting go for pocket change you.berkeleying knuckle dragger. Maybe I didn't say that part. But I was pissed.

Just had the same experience with a set of Land Rover wheels - advertised for $400, "I'll give you $200". "Nice downpayment".

I'll have an old project truck coming up for sale very shortly. I absolutely berkeleying dread posting it to CL but knuckle draggers are the demographic in this county. Penny saver or trader papers aren't much better. I've already prepared myself to take that low ball beating.

Not just craigs. You should see some of the stupid crap I've had form Pelicans (most guys there are cool, just sayin')

...from Pelicans...

"What's the least you will take?" in first email. berkeley you, what's the most you will pay?

"No low ballers, I know what it's worth".

Exactly!

Yeah, it's no fun on the seller side either. I was constantly revising the ad for my Cummins truck trying to nip the stupid comments in the bud - mainly with regards to trades (and my general lack of interest in them). Tons of e-mails later, a guy finally shows up with cash, we strike a deal and I sign over the title. Low-ball offers I just started ignoring.

Basil Exposition wrote: "What's the least you will take?" in first email. berkeley you, what's the most you will pay?

This^

My rule is that I don't negotiate price via email. How can you offer me a price for an item you haven't seen in person? (assuming a large item, like a car). You show up, look it over, have cash in hand, make me a fair offer, and we can make a deal.

Inevitably, you neg a lower price via email, then they show up and nit-pick the item and want to offer you even less.

You get one of two possible buyers on CL. Either 1) they're going to ask a bunch of questions you already answered in the ad, offer to trade you a broken 4wheeler, and then not show up. Or 2) they show up with your asking price in cash within an hour.

Back in the spring I was looking for a car trailer. Ad was posted at like 8pm. Emailed the guy at like 10pm asking to come see it the next day. The next morning, at like 9am, he emailed me back and said it was gone already! Seriously?! haha. I guess somebody wanted it bad enough to show up at 8am.

Agreed. I always say I never negotiate by email, only in person. In certain situations, I will by phone if they are a long way away and give off the right vibe. By that, I mean they can, for instance, say porsch-a correctly. That one REALLY PISSES ME OFF!

I put a pile (more than a full size truckload) of scrap metal up for free pickup and stated at the bottom of the ad to message through the ad with contact information and a date(s) when they could pick it up on my time window or that their ad would be passed over.

and the literacy test result was <50%

Including one guy who wanted me to take the pile of stuff 80 miles and drop it at his house when he wasnt home. Um, at that point I would have taken it and gotten the money for it myself!

Or when they want to argue about pricing. You can make an offer an I can reject it. Doesn't make me wrong.

I hate the ones who want you to finance it for them. If a bank won't finance you, why in hell to you think I would?

As a seller, my rule is the first person there with money get's it or send me a deposit.

As a buyer, I follow the same rules. If someone beasts me there with the cash, then it wasn't meant to be.

I emailed a guy today about a cheap (allegedly) Saleen mustang:

I said: I am very interested in this car if it is still available. Is it really an s351 and/or a real Saleen? Can you provide the VIN and a picture of the Saleen ID tag (or at least the #)? Is there anything wrong with the car or is it road ready? Clear title in your name?

SELLER said: Yes

That was it. The entire email response. I don't have a warm fuzzy feeling about trying to follow up and potentialy going someplace with money. Then again, if the guy intended to lure suckers to murder, wouldn't it make more sense to respond with more elaborate answers?

Edit: Now the ad has disappeared, so I assume it was just a spammer collecting email addresses. So, I was fooled again...

CL is a blessing and a curse. My latest purchase should not have happened, but I now have the car that will allow me to tick off a number of bucket list items. My soft spot for BMW's is a problem, I now have four. The newest is an E30 built to NASA GTS2 specks and the safety gear is current through 2015. The builder of the car tried selling the car for a number of years, taking it from CA to VA then IL. The gentleman I purchased the car from found it in IL, had it shipped back to CA then freshened, drove it in one practice session and parked the car. I was the first to see the car, offered the asking price but... He took my deposit and $500 a month until I had it paid for. He took the deal. Now I have to upgrade my trailer for a very low race car. Then....

WilD - Oh yea, that gets me too. I'll ask a specific set of questions about an item. I'll typically even number my questions and present them in a logical order. Yet the seller will only answer maybe one or two of the questions and in no logical order, and with vague one word answers. Come on people! Selling and buying shouldn't be this difficult.

FWIW, million-question-guy never buys my stuff.