I am NEVER using Craig''s List again, EVER!

[MichelleCarmen]

I put an item up on CL because I wanted to sell it and use the money to buy an OEC diamond. A guy responded asking if the item is still available. Well, I decided that I wasn''t going to sell it after all (but didn''t have a chance to delete the ad) so I emailed back saying no and then right after deleted it.

He responded again asking, "so what item do you have available?". I should have just deleted the message, but instead said, "nothing more."

Well. . .he mailed me AGAIN with the following: "Do you have yahoo im let chat and get to know more about each othe so feel free to add me to my yahoo im [insert name] so we can chat." (his spelling/grammer is wrong. . .I cut and pasted his exact email.)

Blech, what a creep. The thing is his name on his email doesn''t match his yahoo name. Luckily, I only use my first name and the initial of my last name so he doesn''t know who I am, just as I don''t know who (if either of the guys) he is.

Yeah, many people write asking that only serious people reply, but what about asking that only non-creepy, non-stawkers only respond?

I know it can be unsafe using CL, however, we have had good luck in the past. We sold a hot tub on there. . .but still, who knows what wackos are out there. I don''t even think I''d want my DH posting an ad on there now!!!

 

[trillionaire]

Date: 12/2/2009 5:36:59 PM
Author:MC
I put an item up on CL because I wanted to sell it and use the money to buy an OEC diamond. A guy responded asking if the item is still available. Well, I decided that I wasn''t going to sell it after all (but didn''t have a chance to delete the ad) so I emailed back saying no and then right after deleted it.

He responded again asking, ''so what item do you have available?''. I should have just deleted the message, but instead said, ''nothing more.''

Well. . .he mailed me AGAIN with the following: ''Do you have yahoo im let chat and get to know more about each othe so feel free to add me to my yahoo im [insert name] so we can chat.'' (his spelling/grammer is wrong. . .I cut and pasted his exact email.)

Blech, what a creep. The thing is his name on his email doesn''t match his yahoo name. Luckily, I only use my first name and the initial of my last name so he doesn''t know who I am, just as I don''t know who (if either of the guys) he is.

Yeah, many people write asking that only serious people reply, but what about asking that only non-creepy, non-stawkers only respond?

I know it can be unsafe using CL, however, we have had good luck in the past. We sold a hot tub on there. . .but still, who knows what wackos are out there. I don''t even think I''d want my DH posting an ad on there now!!!

My sister''s good college friend responded to an ad from someone who wanted to buy his cell phone. They robbed him, at gun point.

I still us CL, but I meet in public places like the mall if I am selling a small item. I never met at my home, or anywhere alone, except for furniture, and it makes me REALLY nervous.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 12/2/2009 5:43:55 PM
Author: trillionaire

My sister''s good college friend responded to an ad from someone who wanted to buy his cell phone. They robbed him, at gun point.

I still us CL, but I meet in public places like the mall if I am selling a small item. I never met at my home, or anywhere alone, except for furniture, and it makes me REALLY nervous.

Yeah, I''ve heard horror stories. . .it was dumb of me to risk my life over a silly trinket.

We''ve had about 7 people come to our house. One was over a $6,000 transaction! They gave us a cashier''s check. What were we thinking? Luckily it was ligit.

 

[sunnyd]

For all the bad stories, there are a million good ones. I''ve bought and sold lots of things, and nothing bad ever happened.

 

[kenny]

Date: 12/2/2009 6:19:12 PM
Author: sunnyd
For all the bad stories, there are a million good ones. I've bought and sold lots of things, and nothing bad ever happened.

Same here.
Any tool could be used by bad people, even a telephone.
That doesn't mean telephones are not safe.

It's not hard to be careful on CL and protect yourself from the creeps.

Oh Wait!

+1

 

[iheartscience]

Date: 12/2/2009 5:57:38 PM
Author: SanDiegoLady
I never advise to use CL because they are not ethical.. I cannot stress enough how unhelpful they are with regards to law enforcement and their ''exotic services''.. I have personally taken multiple complaints with regards to being harrassed by others responding to CL ads and being ripped off. They take no responsibility for things that occur. It could be a great resource otherwise.

It''s people ripping each other off and being unethical-not Craig''s List. Craig''s List is a valuable resource as long as you''re smart about it. Meeting in public places, accepting only cash/cashier''s checks, etc.

My sister had a creep hassle her on eBay and eBay did absolutely nothing about it. That''s just the risk you take when dealing with the public...it''s sad there are so many creeps, though!

 

[iluvcarats]

Date: 12/2/2009 5:36:59 PM
Author:MC
I put an item up on CL because I wanted to sell it and use the money to buy an OEC diamond. A guy responded asking if the item is still available. Well, I decided that I wasn''t going to sell it after all (but didn''t have a chance to delete the ad) so I emailed back saying no and then right after deleted it.


He responded again asking, ''so what item do you have available?''. I should have just deleted the message, but instead said, ''nothing more.''


Well. . .he mailed me AGAIN with the following: ''Do you have yahoo im let chat and get to know more about each othe so feel free to add me to my yahoo im [insert name] so we can chat.'' (his spelling/grammer is wrong. . .I cut and pasted his exact email.)


Blech, what a creep. The thing is his name on his email doesn''t match his yahoo name. Luckily, I only use my first name and the initial of my last name so he doesn''t know who I am, just as I don''t know who (if either of the guys) he is.


Yeah, many people write asking that only serious people reply, but what about asking that only non-creepy, non-stawkers only respond?


I know it can be unsafe using CL, however, we have had good luck in the past. We sold a hot tub on there. . .but still, who knows what wackos are out there. I don''t even think I''d want my DH posting an ad on there now!!!

CREEPY!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

So, I googled his yahoo ID and only one thing came up and it was somebody posting an email from the guy and he was trying to scam someone.

I responded to his weird email saying let''s skip the chit chat and meet in person. I told him to meet me during my lunch hour and gave him my "work" address which when he googles it will discover it''s the location of my city''s police dept.

 

[D&T]

Creepy MC! glad it didn't get any further where you would have actually met him or something

but on the positive, I've sold sooo many big furniture items on craiglist and bought on craigslist without any problems, but I do try and take precaution. I was able to sell our persian rug to someone in Michigan while I in AZ (not usually recommended to do business outside of the states)... After some scary CL incident (just on the news), if someone was to pickup at our house, I usually have DH at home with me

 

[Diamond*Dana]

Ew, that is so creepy! What the heck is this whackado thinking? Scary!

 

[rainwood]

We''ve sold a number of things on CL, including furniture and a car. We''ve had great luck with it, but I don''t think I''d sell jewelry on it. Too portable, too risky.

 

[Smurfysmiles]

we found our cutie little kitten on craig''s list it''s a good thing we rescued him because i don''t think anyone else would put up with his crap lol yes he did just steal a little weiner from the crock pot

 

[monarch64]

Date: 12/2/2009 6:19:12 PM
Author: sunnyd
For all the bad stories, there are a million good ones. I''ve bought and sold lots of things, and nothing bad ever happened.

+ a million and one. I''ve never had an issue.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 12/2/2009 9:58:49 PM
Author: rainwood
We''ve sold a number of things on CL, including furniture and a car. We''ve had great luck with it, but I don''t think I''d sell jewelry on it. Too portable, too risky.

Exactly regarding jewelry being to portable. I thought about meeting at Ben Bridge for jewelry items (to verify stones) but still a person could grab the item and run and it''s not like anyone at BB is going to call security.

I told my DH and he kind of rolled his eyes at me after I told him I gave the creepy guy the address to the police department.

On a positive though, this led to conversation about upgrading my setting! I''ve mentioned before that I want to keep my small diamond for sentimental reasons, but I do not like the plain setting. Well, he said okay! Our anniversary is in June. I tried on some rings in Ben Bridge today and found a few pretty styles. The diamonds were low I2 quality and suprisingly the prices reflected that. There were some cheap rings! So, now gotta see what I can find from a vendor online in similar styles and better quality diamonds.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Date: 12/2/2009 7:48:21 PM
Author: SanDiegoLady

Date: 12/2/2009 7:26:26 PM

Author: thing2of2

Date: 12/2/2009 5:57:38 PM

Author: SanDiegoLady

I never advise to use CL because they are not ethical.. I cannot stress enough how unhelpful they are with regards to law enforcement and their ''exotic services''.. I have personally taken multiple complaints with regards to being harrassed by others responding to CL ads and being ripped off. They take no responsibility for things that occur. It could be a great resource otherwise.

It''s people ripping each other off and being unethical-not Craig''s List. Craig''s List is a valuable resource as long as you''re smart about it. Meeting in public places, accepting only cash/cashier''s checks, etc.


My sister had a creep hassle her on eBay and eBay did absolutely nothing about it. That''s just the risk you take when dealing with the public...it''s sad there are so many creeps, though!

I have to respectfully disagree with you on this, being on the law enforcement end of CL, I can tell you they have been contacted numerous times regarding listings they have posted.. there have been plenty of crimes related to CL and they have an uncanny ability to play dumb with, we had no idea that''s what that (ie; exotic services) meant or not providing information to law enforcement about crime they may be investigating.


My own husband has been victim to CL, where someone who got angry with him about an unrelated auction item created a vile posting & photograph related to him and gave his auction email information. It was a nightmare getting it removed.


Like I said, it could be a useful resource if they were more responsible. It is sad there are so many creeps out there.. !!! Sadly, electronic harrassment is only a misdemeanor.

SDL, I respectfully disagree. When you post a bogus/shady ad in a newspaper classified section the newspaper isn''t "responsible" either. CL is no different than a classified section in a newspaper. It''s a buyer and poster beware situation.

 

[zoebartlett]

I''m sorry, MC, that CL didn''t work out for you. I''ve never used it actually because the site overwhelms me.

 

[Liane]

My sister uses CL a lot. She has had some crazy adventures and some funny stories, but has never had anything bad happen.

I avoid it. There are too many creeps on that site, and while they don''t scare me (because I have no intention of meeting any of these people ever), they are pretty depressing to read about. You can filter through them without too much trouble, but for me it''s not worth the bother.

 

[charbie]

i''m sorry about your experience!

my dad sells cell phones on CL for some extra cash. he has a little (legal) business that he has going on, and does pretty well with it.

he always meets up at the same McDonalds to sell the phones. Well, a few months ago he was selling his phones and some guys tried to steal them out of his car. my dad got one in a headlock, then realized the other one had a gun to his head. so he let them go, but he got a good discription on them, and saw their car. the police caught the guys just a few moments later, and when the cops asked him to identify them, he said, "well, let me call the phone number i had..." and of course the guy who tried to rob him had his cell phone on him...and it rang. haha!

he still does business on there, but is always extra cautious. they caught him in a moment of weakness, but luckily for him things turned out ok!

 

[Rock_of_Love]

Ewww, MC, definitely creepy! I''ve used craigslist quite a bit, but always with caution...maybe now with a little more!

One thing that bugs me is that their are a lot of spammers and fishers of your contact info. I''ve had a lot of people get me to reply to them about an item I''m selling...it reveals my email address, and now I''m getting a ton more SPAM. Ugh!

Also, I was selling concert tickets once and someone tried to scam me...wanted to give me a fake cashier''s check. The odd thing was...the person wouldn''t speak to me on the phone because they claimed to be deaf. HUH??? A deaf person wanting to go to a concert?? I guess that it not totally out of the ordinary, but it was a bit of a red flag to me...amongst a few other things!

Love craigslist...but don''t love all the skeevies!

 

[mrscushion]

Date: 12/3/2009 8:42:36 AM
Author: Hudson_Hawk

Date: 12/2/2009 7:48:21 PM
Author: SanDiegoLady

Date: 12/2/2009 7:26:26 PM
Author: thing2of2

Date: 12/2/2009 5:57:38 PM
Author: SanDiegoLady
I never advise to use CL because they are not ethical.. I cannot stress enough how unhelpful they are with regards to law enforcement and their ''exotic services''.. I have personally taken multiple complaints with regards to being harrassed by others responding to CL ads and being ripped off. They take no responsibility for things that occur. It could be a great resource otherwise.

It''s people ripping each other off and being unethical-not Craig''s List. Craig''s List is a valuable resource as long as you''re smart about it. Meeting in public places, accepting only cash/cashier''s checks, etc.
My sister had a creep hassle her on eBay and eBay did absolutely nothing about it. That''s just the risk you take when dealing with the public...it''s sad there are so many creeps, though!

I have to respectfully disagree with you on this, being on the law enforcement end of CL, I can tell you they have been contacted numerous times regarding listings they have posted.. there have been plenty of crimes related to CL and they have an uncanny ability to play dumb with, we had no idea that''s what that (ie; exotic services) meant or not providing information to law enforcement about crime they may be investigating.
My own husband has been victim to CL, where someone who got angry with him about an unrelated auction item created a vile posting & photograph related to him and gave his auction email information. It was a nightmare getting it removed.
Like I said, it could be a useful resource if they were more responsible. It is sad there are so many creeps out there.. !!! Sadly, electronic harrassment is only a misdemeanor.

SDL, I respectfully disagree. When you post a bogus/shady ad in a newspaper classified section the newspaper isn''t ''responsible'' either. CL is no different than a classified section in a newspaper. It''s a buyer and poster beware situation.

Ditto. Also, with respect to CL "playing dumb," I believe they have to do that. They do not want to set any kind of precedent of proactively monitoring the site and taking down offensive posts. Once they do so for one post, they become responsible for all other posts, and people would be able to sue them left and right.

Also, I believe they are just too large a site to be extremely responsive to any and all customer concerns, even, unfortunately, about scammy posts. There is a limit to how large their customer service staff can be; otherwise they would go out of business.

As HH said, it''s buyer-seller beware. I stay far away from Craigslist because I feel that too many people on it are either complete flakes or outright scammers; however, if you know what you are doing and are very careful, it can be a useful resource.

 

[that_someone_special]

I got two of my kitties on CL.

One of them, I drove to another state for... I thank god (or whoever) every day for me being so stupid to do that. He''s the BEST cat ever... my little overweight babycakes. I can''t imagine him with any other family!

(He''s on the right of the pic, the other kitty is my ex''s)

Here is is when he was about 1lbs.

 

[that_someone_special]

And here are both of them- they are 3 months apart. Best babies ever!!!

Thanks CL!

 

[April20]

Date: 12/2/2009 6:19:12 PM
Author: sunnyd
For all the bad stories, there are a million good ones. I''ve bought and sold lots of things, and nothing bad ever happened.

I think this can apply to anywhere or with anyone you do business with. I''ve had great experiences on CL thus far. I''ve sold tons and bought some really fabulous antique furniture that i couldn''t have gotten nearly the deal on anywhere else. I''ve been lucky thus far in not having had a bad experience.

I''ve had good and bad experienced on Ebay and I''ve had some HORRIFIC experience with brick and mortar retailers over the years.

You have to use caution in all situations.

 

[CaliSun]

Date: 12/2/2009 10:26:15 PM
Author: Smurfyimproved
we found our cutie little kitten on craig's list it's a good thing we rescued him because i don't think anyone else would put up with his crap lol yes he did just steal a little weiner from the crock pot

HaHa that's so funny! We have a little gray kitty we found online too - he's a real terror! But I love the stinker, what can I say

We have so much stuff we'd love to sell - and are super creeped out by CL. I think we're going to go the EBay route instead...