way too many flakes and cancellations on my Craigslist sales. humans suck.

[49autocycledeluxe]

maybe I am the "odd man out" here, but when I see a bike or other junk for sale I call if they accept phone calls, arrange a time and get there within a reasonable timeframe to buy or at least look at the item in question. 9 times out of 10 I am ready to leave when I call. only unexpected traffic will make me late. I'm single and have no kids I got to keep so my time is 100% my own other than work.

I have NEVER arranged to meet a seller and call them at the time I am supposed to arrive and say I am not coming. I tell them where I am coming from and check the google to see how long it will take to get there. it has become so bad that I think maybe someone is messing with me using multiple phone numbers. I brought 2 bikes and a frame to my work to accommodate a potential buyer a few weeks back and he cancelled on me never to be heard from again.

on a positive note I have never had a no show. they always TEXT, cancel and either never text back or text a week later.. had texts from 3 individuals for items for sale this morning and last night, not a one has arranged to meet me.

this is getting old, suddenly shipping a bike or parts (or assorted cool stuff) no longer seems like a pain in the butt.

my other selling rant here is texts. I am ready to only put my land line in the ads and have people call me and leave a message. which means I will have calls with no message left for a call back. not seeing how 15 texts over 45 minutes is better than a 5 minute phone call.

I have been a buyer/seller for a good 35 years , it did not used to be this way

maybe it's a Bay Area thing. how are local sales going for you guys?

 

[CWCMAN]

Tons of dead beats on offer up as well.
I think people sometimes troll the sale adds, ask if it’s still available only to never respond back to you.

 

[catfish]

I can't be bothered with CL. Too many experts selling junk. "I know what I got"

 

[bikesnbuses]

How about BUYING things?? We've been trying to buy a bike rack for our jeep and landscape style trailer locally/ cash w local pickup for 2 weeks.
Now I know why they have been up for weeks now..They keep responding, then don't respond ..moving on ,their loss.
I understand people get busy, etc..but how long does it take to send a short message or call?(I too send my number to ads that seem legit)

 

[Sven]

It's not just a Bay Area thing, @49autocycledeluxe .
A growing percentage of the human race everywhere are inconsiderate, self entitled , it's all about me a55holes. I don't know what is going through their demented minds.

Like you time is not valuable?? 35 years of selling. I know you have seen the good, bad and ugly.

I have never sold anything on Craigslist . But I have made a few bicycle purchases from my area and 200 miles one way to West Virginia .
I am somewhat allegrophobic. I am always early . I will be there about an half an hour prior to the meeting or the seller arriving . I can check out the surrounding area see if there is any hinkiness [ don't know if that is even a word] going on ,especially in the Richmond area.

Hang in there.

 

[kreika]

What pisses me off more is the spider email spam chain bs when you do respond on Craigslist. A month or two of 5-10 bs emails a day. Of course I send them to junk folder every time, but still. My latest, thought for sure he would never buy but did surprise. Guy emailed several times and flaked. Bs excuses. Then finally agreed to show up and did buy, albeit 45 minutes late. Was actually a repeat buyer too. Late of course on second purchase but I expected as much and showed up late too. So don’t give up, the dumb, the late, and the flakey can spend money.

 

[Fritz Katzenjammer]

I hate selling stuff simply because you never know if the buyer is going to show up or if he is just a tire kicking time waster who has no intention of buying. The number of times I’ve changed plans and then wasted an evening waiting for a no show has completely put me off selling. Then there’s the guy who shows up and you get the feeling he is just casing the joint, debating if a visit some night to liberate your wheels and tools is worth his while.

The final straw was the guy who showed up as arranged to view my fairly rare old motorcycle simply because he had always wanted to ride one of that type. He had no intention of buying, he only wanted a joy ride, this in spite of the fact that the ad clearly stated “ no test drives”, another evening wasted.

people can be such pigs.

 

[ian]

Same thing around here. I rarely respond to CL posts, and never put anything up for sale there either. I'm committed to finding my parts here, on theCabe.
I do ride with a paper hangtag on the bars, more as a "lure" for interested people.
I sold two bikes locally to the same guy, same way.
Ian

 

[stoney]

I think the whole idea of texting sucks for this purpose.Texting just makes it too easy for people to flake. At least a phone call makes it a little more real like. People need to play a game and have no balls to let you know if the need to really cancel. If I place an ad on FB, I always state that I will not answer to FB’s auto question “Is this item still available” and I don’t answer them. It’s a gimmik for these toads. Go F- with someone else. I’m getting older, I have less patience.

 

[HEMI426]

When I put an ad on CL I put in the ad NO TEXT OR E-MAILS Please call my phone no. this I think filters out some of the tire kickers. I will still get e-mails from the people that can't read. I think the serious will call even though it is hard to dial a phone. I've had good luck with the first person calling, coming and buying the item without dickering. If I think their casing the garage I make sure to point out the cameras and I have empty boxes of 9mm ammo setting on a table by the door. I did have one guy that came and didn't seem to interested in the item he came to look at and started to lowball me on other items in my garage, I think he just used the for sale item as a way to get his foot in the door and try to buy other items that weren't listed for sale. The older I get the more skeptical I get.