The Perils of Craigslisting
As a college student/recent grad in the city, craigslist is pretty much the only way to get furniture. Buying furniture is pretty easy– you email someone, and if it’s still available you set up a meet and you pick it up. Selling it, though, is another matter.
It wasn’t until I was trying to sell several pieces of furniture a month ago that I realized how flaky people can be. More than once, people would just stop emailing me mid-arrangement. They would cancel meetups half an hour before they were supposed to show up. They wouldn’t show up at all. They would show up, and then decide not to buy it. Or, once, they would bring it home, realize it didn’t fit, and call me asking to return it.
It is frustrating, to be sure. I used to feel guilty about choosing one person over another, but now I’m ruthless. If your email isn’t in full sentences or grammatically correct, I’m not responding. If you are ambivalent about pick up time, I’m offering it to someone else. If you don’t respond in a timely manner, you’re not getting it.
Do you have any craigslist horror (or success) stories?
I don’t know, kathy- it’s selfish, is what it is.
today I arranged my plans to accommodate a woman who was going to buy my bed. She never showed up. Figures.
I know what you mean! We’re trying to sell a trailer right on the ocean through craigslist and people act interested but then they stop emailing or calling or showing up!! I’ve had other people tell me they’ve had the same trouble. What makes people do that? Is it some kind of thrill or something?
What do they get out of it?
That’s impressive! Finding roommates on CL can be a big risk.
When I moved to Philadelphia in 2006, I found an apartment and roommate through Craigslist. It was a fortunated find and worked out very well. I lived in that same apartment with the same roommate for more than four years.