Craigslist Question....

[wortmanfamily]

I hope this is okay to post here -

Those of you that sell on Craigslist...how do you handle 1st responses, pick up following thru, holding merchandise, etc.

For example - I have something for sale and have had @ 4 responses - one said she'll be out Sat. to pick up to not sell it (it is only Sunday) - but now I have several others interested and if I am ready to get rid of an item and they are willing to pick...what do you do?

[Marcster]

Without a monetary deposit or full-payment, I can't see how the first responder could expect you to hold it past the deadline she agreed upon.

[LonghornMomma]

My CL rule is "the first to put money in my palm, gets the item".

[dealluvr]

i would write to the first responder and say look i have someone who wants this and can come get it and pay today .if you can do it today its yours otherwise i have to go woth the other offer to come get it.

[MelissaS]

Craigslist is full of flakes. I don't hold anything.

 

Anytime a person has asked me not to sell something, they have always ended up being a no show.

[tazolover]

I agree. If the first person was a No Show, and has not made any contact, I would say it is fair game for another person to purchase.

 

Good Luck!

[Penelope]

I agree. There are a lot of flakes out there. Years ago, when we had a washer

and dryer on sale, a girl and her dad came by and said they would buy it. They

did not put any money down, but I believed them. My husband said that we

don't need to hold it for them. I felt like I was betraying them, but guess what?

They never came back! So, since we didn't hold it, we ended up selling them to

the next person who came by.

 

You should line up the other buyers, and tell the first one that you have other

people interested. If she really wants it, she will find a way to get over to your

place and buy it.

[tmnt]

People never buy squat off of Craigslist! It has always been a waste of my valuable time.

[tntsmomie]

I actually just had this happen -- and the items were FREE! I was giving them away (a bike and a large piece of exercise equipment) and I stated in the ad "I WILL NOT HOLD" b/c I KNEW that a million people would respond. (okay, maybe not a million) :)

One lady responded, said she wanted both, would be here in an hour. I waited, and waited...she never showed up. So that night, I went through my list calling numbers that people provided and said "phooey" on the first lady. I had both gone by 9am the next morning.

 

I agree with LonghornMomma...the first to put the money in my hand (or actually show up to pick it up) gets it. CL is too full of no-shows.

[DLM]

After many no shows I no longer hold anything I post on CL - first in with the $$ gets it. I always make sure I include that info in the ad as well--NO HOLDS!!!!

[txmomma]

Personally, I wouldn't hold it. If you have someone ready to come pick it up today, why wait?

[nelly]

i would write to the first responder and say look i have someone who wants this and can come get it and pay today .if you can do it today its yours otherwise i have to go woth the other offer to come get it.

I agree w/Dealluvr. Call or email those that already told you they are ready to p/u. Don't worry about insulting the first lady. She is asking you to hold it for a week- that is not right. Tell us how it went.

[cacsmama]

The only time I have held something for someone was because they were at work (and so was I) and they said they couldn't get there until evening. BTW they did come through for me without a problem. I've had people do the same for me. I just try my best to "read" people by their email and use my best judgement.

[amberc]

Craigslist is full of flakes. I don't hold anything.

 

Anytime a person has asked me not to sell something, they have always ended up being a no show.

I totally agree. I'd say at least 60% of people are no shows.

[hairstylin247]

I agree that there are a lot of no shows so give the person an opportunity to pick up earlier otherwise move on to the next potential buyer.

[Shortness]

I think it's good to agree on a specific time, and tell him that if they don't show by "this" time, you will let the next person come by. I can see waiting a couple hours in case they're just late, but if you've made them aware on the phone that you're not waiting past a certain time. We purchased something before Christmas, and that's what the guy told us--and we got there and purchased it. Had we been late, he would've sold it quickly to someone else...

[katiesmommy01]

I sell ALOT on craigslist, have had alot of no-shows (yes, for free stuff too!). My rule is first to email me gets dibs, but if they cannot come in the time frame i'd like, then i move on (telling the first responder I have another response, can they get it sooner). You do not owe anyone anything...tell the first lady you have 3 other people that want it and can pick up sooner, so if she cannot do so, you have to sell to the next person. In the future I suggest putting a line in your ad saying "first come, first served" or something like that...good luck!

[smallwood]

I sell ALOT on craigslist, have had alot of no-shows (yes, for free stuff too!). My rule is first to email me gets dibs, but if they cannot come in the time frame i'd like, then i move on (telling the first responder I have another response, can they get it sooner). You do not owe anyone anything...tell the first lady you have 3 other people that want it and can pick up sooner, so if she cannot do so, you have to sell to the next person. In the future I suggest putting a line in your ad saying "first come, first served" or something like that...good luck!

 

I do the same. First contact = first in line, but that's only if they have $$$ in hand. Hold nothing.

 

General rule of thumb is, money first. Remember, these are not your friends, these are the same people that would trip you on a rush for a BF item.

 

Of course, there are exceptions. If someone wanted to give me a deposit via PayPal, then that's cool.

 

There was something I wanted on CL's, about three hours away. I wasn't gonna get a chance to get over to get it for about a week. I specifically told the seller that I would give him a deposit via PayPal if he wanted, but he didn't want it (high dollar item).

 

For the most part, most people just don't care about things if they have nothing invested. Sad, but true. And then there's the scammers. Talking about the real life scammers. I had a guy come and buy some hay from me (posted on CL). I had a funny feeling about him when he showed up, so I cut open a bale to show him the hay, see that it was good, etc. One month later he calls up, saying that a bale was really moldy, and that he couldn't feed it to his horses, etc., and started talking about getting his money back, or getting more hay to "replace" the 'bad' hay. I reminded him about how we opened a bale beforehand, and even pulled some samples out of about half of what he took, and it was fine. I then told him I would be HAPPY to refund his money, just bring back the hay he didn't use. Never heard from him again.

[smallwood]

Sorry, almost forgot. There was something on CL awhile back I was looking at. Called on it, it was gone. Saw it again a couple days later. Buyer never came through on the first deal, so he relisted it. BUT, it was already spoken for again. This happened a third time, and when it got to the fourth, it just wasn't worth my bother.