Cut throat I tell ya

There is a pristine 10mm 044 on CL right now for $400 and the guy is one of those whoever is in front of him at the moment will likely get it. I texted him about it last night and at the end said I would take it and call in the morning about meeting him, but he "forgot" about me when he got 10 calls this morning, one of them mine and I left a message which he didn't respond to. Called after lunch and he finally answered and I spoke to him and got the serial # confirmation. But someone was coming to look at it in 10 mins.. Then he texted me to say the guy didn't show and I called and texted to try to get it and he won't answer again. Oh and did I mention he has an 026 and 026 pro he wants to sell both pristine as well?

Just needed to vent a little.

 

Stuff like that is way I don't buy anything on cl.

 

I hear ya, so many 'not in good faith' game playing from CL.
They take the highest bidder and first come, first served with cash in hand.
sucks sometimes

 

I've tried selling a lot of stuff on CL over the years. 9 out of 10 appointments people have made with me are no shows. Don't give up. It's the name of the game.First one there with the cash takes it home. I don't care if the guy is Shrek.
I got so tired of people wasting my time on no shows that I'll only schedule a viewing of whatever I'm selling for Sunday morning at my shop. That's when I'm there doing maintenance on equipment and that's where most of the stuff is I need to unload. Works good since I started doing it that way and my time isn't wasted waiting.

 

I buy and sell on CL, but you guys are right it mostly ends with some degree of disappointment both selling and buying on a lot of potential transactions.

 

I buy and sell a lot on CL. I've only had one no show.

To weed out the losers I only give out my adress after I talk to them on the phone. No texting/email. Pickup the phone!

 

I saw that saw on Craigslist this morning. I thought it looked in really nice shape also. Too far for me though....

Good luck, and be persistent.

 

Welcome to the forum!

I agree about not giving out location till you have them on the phone and they are serious. But I don't have a problem with texts or email for tire kicking. I would rather do that than have to hear someones life story or off topic rambling.

 

I don't do a lot of transactions on cl and when I do I like any other time I am out have my friend Glock with me.

 

If you call me when you are on your way and tell me you are coming in x minutes I'll hold it for you, otherwise it is first come, first serve. Too many times I talked to people that swear they are coming and never show. Recently a guy called me the day after he didn't show up to tell me he that he is no longer interested and I can go ahead and sell it. It was already sold at that point.

 

Yeah call me a pessimist but I hate dealing with sellers who don't have the organizational skills to be even slightly fair. So when I see an ad and it's "available" I just temper myself because you never really know.

On the selling side it's just as difficult when you agree to meet at a place at a time and they don't show. Or 20 minutes after the agreed time they call (or text) and say they'll be there in 5 minutes. And they arrive 20 minutes later than that, and finally decide "it doesn't fit" or "I'll offer you half of your asking price" or some crap. (If you want to save money, you'd better be using my precious time wisely!).

The good news is when I get in touch with a seller or buyer and they seem solid, they usually are. I'm getting more comfortable with letting go of promising ads because they don't seem to take the process seriously or take time to communicate worth a darn.

 

I had a guy last summer that outright lied to me about a furnace he had for sale. I questioned him a lot before I met him because it was a 60 mile drive. The pics of the unit were good and it looked in excellent condition. The price was also right. He told me it had been a good unit just didn't need it because he lived in town now and was on cheap nat gas. Said he heated his house many winters with it.
I ended up buying for half of what he wanted due to some cracks in the firebox around door. Got it home and pulled all the firebrick out as most were cracked and found a dent and big crack behind the brick. Looked like someone force fed it a too long piece of wood with a sledge hammer. I was pizzed and knew he lied about having heated his house with it. If he had it would have been full of smoke.
I didn't even consider calling as I knew he would have already forgotten who I was. I know a guy who can patch this up for prolly $100 so all is not lost. Just glad I found it before being installed. This wont go in the house now due to the repair but will be handy in the shop.
Also got shafted on what looked to be good tires. 2 of 4 had broken belts as soon as mounted. I don't buy CL tires unless they are mounted and hold air anymore.
CL is by chance maybe a good deal but doubtful ! It is what it is. A place to buy sell or trade problems.

 

I hung in there; and while he hasn't sold the saw and is having second thoughts about selling the saw, he said he will decide by morning and let me have first shot at it if he decides to sell it. He says he has told everyone else it is sold. Hope it ends with this .

 

Cl is a crap shoot. I've sold and bought quite a bit of stuff on cl with no issues. I'm a fan of having my friend Walther on hand just in case though. I'm a big dude, aware of my surroundings, and never have had an inkling of needing it, but I've walked away from a deal or 2 based on my gut feeling.

 

I carry usually when I go to a meeting and meet during normal daylight hours at places like lowes or big gas station parking lots...not my house.

I try to be fair and work down a list when I sell and be as fair as possible.

The few saws I have sold I have not been talked down too much or at all. Very respect full buyers.

I did have a guy flake out on me when I wanted to look at his toyota to buy. Just disappeared the day after he posted the add.

 

+1 on bringing your PPE with you when meeting someone for a craigslist deal. There have been a rash of people meeting someone to sell a cell phone in broad day light and getting robbed at gunpoint.

 

I've had enough no-shows when selling stuff I've gotten to where I'm pretty vague on what order people have called me, I normally just sell to the first person who can actually show up and doesn't offer me 1/3 of what I'm asking. I've had a lot of "I only have XX amount today, but I'll pay you this and get you the rest next week" and they seem upset what I say "sure, I'll hold onto your money and the item until next week"

 

I think if you're mostly buying/selling pro class saws, the buyers are aware of the cost of buying (and feeding!) a heavily used saw and just want market price.

 

My favorite craigslist buyers are the lazy mental midgets that can't take 10 seconds to look up what town I am in before they call. I always list the town and zip in the ad but still have had more than one person ask me how far I am away from them after asking me a hundred questions only to find out they are half way across the state. Or the ones that bust my chops when I am giving something away on craigslist. My second favorite are the ones that bust my chops when I am giving something away for free. I just ignore them and give it to the first person that is nice and appreciative.