Craigslist in Dallas (Lawn: for sale, apartment, broker)

[Funtastic44]

Any tips of first time Craigslist user?

[Gilah G.]

Never had any good experiences with c.l. Dallas.

Sold a baby stroller about 7 yrs ago...what a hassle, bunch of flakes.

Inquired about a few dogs....emailed and called these people...nothing came of it.

Have had good luck with freecycle Dallas. but this was about 2 years ago.

[DFWgal]

I've used Craigslist to buy/sell books mostly. I follow the usual rules: meet at public places, make sure you agree on a price before meeting to avoid awkward situations, only cash, ask someone to accompany you when buying/selling, etc. And, if you plan to sell something, be ready to get tons of those automatic scam emails. They are easy to detect most of the times but anyway...

[bencronin04]

If you can deal with flakers and that hassle some good things can come of CL. If selling be completely honest on any issues and post pictures. It may take longer to sell, but you won't have to deal with explaining anything at the time of sell. We've bought and sold quiet a few things from CL. Our best purchase was $15 for a beautiful coffee table I just had to sand, refinish and tighten up some screws.

[Squirl]

If you are advertising anything and the responder asks "is this item still available?" just ignore it. They are just trying to engage you and didn't even read your ad....only respond to emails that specifically address qualities or pricing and mention what the item is. Refuse to accept checks or money orders. Refuse to ship anything or deal with non-locals. Have a phone conversation with any buyer to confirm meeting place. Lots of people seem to enjoy arranging a meet just so they can giggle about sending you on a wild goose chase (I think teens do this) and maybe even observe from a distance.

If you are buying, try to meet in a public place. Don't go into anyone's home unless unavoidable. Of course, if you are buying a piano that would be impossible so take along another person. I carry pepper spray in my pocket when I am meeting someone from CL. Set the price before you see the item. If you don't like the item when you meet, you will just have to say its not what you want afterall but don't try to negotiate after the seller has driven some place to meet you.

[Ablebodied]

I recently sold an expensive camera on Craigslist and have had a very good experience on Craigslist overall using common sense. On this sale I worked with the local police department to allow me and future Craigslist sellers to meet at the police station and conduct the sale. Worked well for all involved. The police department would rather help make the sale go smoothly than have to have to use valuable resources when things go wrong.

[ETex2]

I guess I must be the exception to the rule, but I've sold at least a half dozen cars and trucks, plus a motorcycle, two boats and a pair of jet skis on CL. I bought three cars listed there, and I've sold a couple of pieces of furniture as well. I've never had a problem except once when I was selling my Camry for $6K, when several car dealers with heavy foreign accents were repeatedly calling and telling me I was way too high and saying that they would give $4K (I got $5.8K). I sold some land in East Texas listing on CL too, after listing it with a broker on MLS for a year without even an offer.

[ReppingDFW]

Never had a bad experience with Craigslist here and I use it pretty frequently. Use common sense, avoid money orders and checks, only sell from your house if the item is large and would be a pain in the ass to transport yourself, don't list your phone number on your add, use only the email (most people have email access on their phone nowadays anyway), my friend had some prankster text bomb him after listing his number there. Now, Craigslist has a feature to make your email address anonymous if you're selling (not sure if buying.)

[ETex2]

I recently searched for a late model car for sale - about 4 different high end models, and noted that one dealer, located in Florida, had almost 100% of the listings. Same car in the photos, although the descriptions and prices varied. Maybe CL HAS gone to the dogs in Dallas. At least for late model cars, it was not at all good for me this time.

[Willsson]

Found an apartment in north Oak Lawn there. And a couple of suitable jobs.

And a couple of good ideas.