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One time my wife was selling a nice, very large mirror. Her reflection could be seen in one or more of the pictures in the ad. She received dozens of perverted emails that had nothing to do with the ad, some of which included pictures of male genitalia along with phone numbers. One of the responders even asked if she would "rub herself off" and sell him "a deliciously gooey pair of panties" for $50. Needless to say, I found it a lot more humorous than she did. She did end up selling it to a kind older couple though...
One time my wife was selling a nice, very large mirror. Her reflection could be seen in one or more of the pictures in the ad. She received dozens of perverted emails that had nothing to do with the ad, some of which included pictures of male genitalia along with phone numbers. One of the responders even asked if she would "rub herself off" and sell him "a deliciously gooey pair of panties" for $50. Needless to say, I found it a lot more humorous than she did. She did end up selling it to a kind older couple though...
They have touchups in the photo apps to blur the reflection!
People are incredibly childish under the veil of anonymity.
Yes, Craigslist sucks, but I used to use a local printed Want Ad publication to sell stuff, where you paid a commission when the item sold. And the responses were pretty much as idiotic as those described in this thread.
Next time I have something to sell, I guess I'll try one of the Facebook (shudder) for sale groups.
If it ever interests you, you might want to join the Buy Nothing Project operating in most states and all English speaking countries. It's a social movement based on a hyper local gifting economy. It's not to sell things, everything is given and received free of charge.. and it's only with people who live in your immediate community. I run a couple groups in my area and I literally will not have to buy soap, deodorant, coffee filters and hand lotion for at least a year. We've gifted waffle irons, vacuums, home decor... in other groups there have been cars, yoga classes, house cleaning services.. it's kinda amazing and a way more interesting and for the most part, safer, experience than Craig's List.
When I use CL I put "Must pick up (and will also state to bring help if it's heavy, like when I sold a truck cab).
Cash only
Exact change only"
I see I should add "No returns" lol
I was once selling 2 chairs for $150 and didn't have the above clauses in. They show up with 2 $100 bills and I had to dig around for change. They were my SOs chairs, I found the change in my own pile of cash and never got paid back. Not a win for me and the first and last time I let myself be someone's bank.
I have also used Freecycle lists here, but I gave up when a guy kept being vague about when he was coming by for something, and ended up showing up when I was home and just rummaged through my backyard (knocking a pile of stuf over) to get the item he wanted. He claimed he knocked but my screen doors are aluminum, inside doors were open and I would've heard him. I reported him to the list owners for not following protocol and going through stuff on my property. If he had told me when he was coming, I would've moved the item to the front yard.
Another time I picked up a long chest from someone a few towns away. She never posted pix and wouldn't send me any, but sent me measurements. It was perfect, as I needed something to fit under my windows to store artwork in. I had to arrange for help with a truck, we get there and not only is the thing so musty it isn't funny (never mentioned in the ad), but she had mistyped the measurements by 10", which then limited the item to just one wall in that room, and not the one I had planned on. I was able to get most of the smell out but it took me the better portion of a week, baking soda, sun and an entire can of spray shellac. Never ended up moving it upstairs. Guess I could've refused it, but I had committed to it and figured I'd just re-advertise it if I couldn't make it work or found something else that fit better.
Since phone numbers can sometimes be tracked to addresses, never tell a CL buyer you'll deliver something to a specific location without having prepayment or some sort of an upfront deposit. Even then, make sure someone stays at your house while you are gone. Otherwise, while you're at the local shopping center parking lot waiting for the buyer, they may be at your house loading up a moving van.
This didn't happen to me regarding a CL deal but a we believe a similar situation did on a real estate deal several years ago.
Regarding making a sale at your residence, I now carry a weapon when dealing CL buyers here at our very isolated farm. We also have security cameras that record the entire event.
I listed a 32" CRT TV for my parents CL, price: free. This TV is over 100lb and you need two people to move and load it unless you a hulk. 65 year old guy shows up at the house and tries to pick the TV up by himself and almost kills himself. I guess he had no clue to what he was getting.
This past month, I was selling two French doors. A guy offered me two smaller French doors and $30 as a trade. I told him the whole purpose of me selling the French doors was to get them out of my garage, and he said I could sell the other ones too really easily AND get $30. He was serious.
I listed a 32" CRT TV for my parents CL, price: free. This TV is over 100lb and you need two people to move and load it unless you a hulk. 65 year old guy shows up at the house and tries to pick the TV up by himself and almost kills himself. I guess he had no clue to what he was getting.
Haha! I once put one on freecycle, same size. Lady answered and I suggested she get help as it was heavy. She showed up with a huge guy. I still had it in the sunroom and offered to carry it outside for them so he wouldn't have to squeeze through 2 doors (I'm small). I get outside and hand it to him, and he almost dropped it! Said I carried it like it didn't weigh anything and that's what he expected when he took it from me. I laughed all night over that one.
Stupid questions?
How about this one.
Truck advertised as having lost 2nd gear, reverse and brake pedal now going all the way to the floor.
Guy writes from 900 miles away asking if I thought he would be able to drive it home.
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