Craigslist Rant

Here’s how it went down, a guy (turns out to be a kid) lists a trailer for sale last night that says call me with offers, I call him up ask a few questions and then say “I’ll come over right now with $350 in cash, does that work for you”

“I can’t do it right now because I have homework but I could tomorrow”

“Ok you name the time and I’ll be there”

“How about 6”

“Ok sounds good I’ll be there at 6 with $350 in cash”

So he gives me his address and I hang up the phone and tell my wife hey check out this trailer I just but but I have a feeling there’s a pretty good chance this kid is going to renege on me.

I check craigslist this morning and he has not taken the ad down yet. Then about 10 minutes ago I get a text message that says “Hey when I talk to u last nite did u say $350 for the trailer. I was distracted an if u think im letn that trailer go for that ur nuts. Lowest price $400 or I got others interested”

I’m starting to see why they call it the me generation. First off I don’t believe him that he was distracted, I clearly said 350 twice. Where I come from you honor your word and if you make a mistake it’s your problem and you fix it. Plus there’s a good chance he’ll up me again after I drive out there. When the deal is done and I have the title in my hand I’m giving this kid an ear full, hopefully his dad is there to hear it.

I haven’t had a good experience on Craigs list yet. Couple simular deals-gone-bad . I will never, ever look at Craigs list again.

Have a friend call him as an interested buyer and see what he says. If he had just posted it, he very well could have gotten a bunch of other calls and higher offers.

There’s a good chance that the trailer belongs to Dad. And Dad has no idea that Jr. is tring to sell it. Jr. thinks Dad hasnt used this trailer in a long time and he wont even miss it. And by the time he realizes its gone he will probably assume it’s been stolen. At least thats what happened to me last summer when I tried to buy an outboard motor on CL from a kid that agreed to meet me at a gas station, well the kid never showed and would not answer his cell phone after about a dozen attemps I gave up. I should have known better when a teenage kid posted the ad.

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Have a friend call him as an interested buyer and see what he says. If he had just posted it, he very well could have gotten a bunch of other calls and higher offers.

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Have had good luck with CL over the years, granted it was only several smaller items. But just work the system as stated above, they want to play hard ball then play right back. Have friends call and offer even lower, and tell the kid ohhh its not worth that and he will never sell it for that and then you swoop in on it.

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“Hey when I talk to u last nite did u say $350 for the trailer. I was distracted an if u think im letn that trailer go for that ur nuts. Lowest price $400 or I got others interested”

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Reply to his text. “I’ll be there at 6 with the $400. See you there” See how he likes getting screwed around with.

-J.

There are all kinds on craigslist and that is one of the risks with buying and selling on there.

A couple years ago I had a similar situation where via text conversation we agreed on a price of $60. This also happened to be a kid and we agreed to meet at a gas station the following day. He was there with his Dad, I looked at the item, and handed him the $60. He said “No, they are $75 now.” He refused to take my $60 and although $75 was a fair price, I walked away from it based on the principle of the situation.

The seller has control of the sale, so they are free to sell it to whomever for whatever price they like. Not honoring an agreement isn’t how I do business, but ultimately it is their choice. I wouldn’t consider it a done deal until you have the title in hand. The risk of a seller backing out can easily be avoided by paying retail at a store, but I am willing to take that risk to get a deal.

I’ve had great luck with buying and selling on CL. This sounds like a kid that didnt know what he was doing when he accepted your offer in the first place. If he just listed it he should know better than to take the first offer if it’s not his asking price. SOrry you got caught up in that, sucks.

Maybe you should post his number here so we can all get in a “bidding war” and never show up.

I wouldn’t spend another second of your time with this
punk. He already went back on his word once. Don’t give
him the opportunity to do it again.

I like all the advice that says he’s a punk don’t deal with him. I would love to call him up and give him an ear full and not buy from him BUT 400 is still a really good deal so I’m going to suck it up (and risk that he might back out again after I drive out there). 400 is a fair price it just gets me the way he weaseled into it.

Yes it is his dad’s trailer but his dad has the title so is getting involved.

Sending him more texts to start a fake bidding war is a great idea. He’s got another item on there. After my deal is done tonight I’ll post the info on here and you guys can bid up his other item.

In the old days a person like that would be beaten or shunned or worse. With electronic anonymity they thrive.

I’ve had good luck buying boat’s and snowmobiles off cl but can say i am done dealing with trying to sell anything on there unless i have it priced low. I’ve had to much time wasted buy empty promises. Hopefully it works out getting your new trailer.

Buyer beware.

There’s a lot of crazy buyers as well as sellers. In the used market this is what you have to deal with. You giving him an ear full is probably not going to bother him one bit. But getting yourself all bent out of shape is only going to lead to high blood pressure. If it’s a good deal at $400, give it to him and walk away. If it’s about the principle, calmly tell him you had a verbal agreement and you are disappointed in his character. He won’t care but at least you verbalized it to him.

I bought a Jon boat, motor and trailer from a kid up by the BWCA a few years back. The kid had people pestering him day and night. It was the middle of a hard winter in January. No one wanted to send him a check or drive up there. I finally got a pass to drive up there and buy it from him for what he was asking, great deal. One heck of a nice kid and family. He had gotten so sick of all the calls and low balls by the time we were done he really thanked us for picking it up. I actually felt kind of bad driving away. But I don’t think he did. After he sold it to us he had guys wanting my number to offer me more money and cash for bringing it down to the cities. He never gave out my number.

Any media of exchange that the old pro’s at give the advice to have an armed back up preferably a off-duty cop is not on my list of things to list on. I find a lot of boards classifieds are kinda the same way. Price jacking no call back etc etc etc.

In my opinion, that’s the price of doing business on a free classifieds website. If you don’t want hassles, go buy it brand new from a store. I’ve done hundreds of craigslists transactions (buying&selling) and never had one go bad, here’s my advice:

When selling, make sure they know you’re firm on your asking price and state you will not sell it any cheaper. I also make the buyer drive to my local area that way if the sale does go bad, I have a short drive home, not much time wasted. I also confirm with the buyer what the price is, that it’s cash only and what type of vehicle they are driving before we meet up for the sale. I also only use email communication, I figured if they are serious about buying it, they won’t mind how we’re communicating (I don’t want them to have my phone number)

When buying, I always confirm the final sale price before I leave the house. I also state that if upon inspection, i’m not satisfied with the item, I will back out, but I try to get all known issues communicated within the first few emails so i know what i’m getting myself into.

ALWAYS meet in a well lit high traffic public place and if possible have somebody else with you in the car.

When you can list it for free, both the buyer and sellers take a chance.

I have been on both sides of the table and you are taking a chance.

I bought a Showdown 3.2 from a guy in Eau Claire, Ws. sight unseen for $165. and had him mail it to me in Crosslake, Mn. 10 days after he deposited my check in the bank. I negotiated the price by e-mail.

It is all about how much are you willing to loose and do you trust in human nature.

I bought a used pontoon boat this way, but the boat I picked up in person.

There are may forms of scams out there, I am always careful,
Good shopping.

Just an F.Y.I. on anything requiring a Title that you’re buying/selling.
Always, meet at the DMV to transfer the Title right there and make sure it’s all recorded and then you also have witnesses to your deal.

My FW used to work at a DMV and heard many horror stories of sales gone awry or buyers not transferring titles, later being involved in illegal activity &/or Hit-n-Run’s. A few were arrested by warrants during and evening out. Ended up sitting at the county lock-up until their FW could produce sale receipt and card showing they sold it.

My dad once sold a vehicle and 9-months later got the notice for tabs due. Took his paper work to the DMV to show he sold the vehicle. The new owners had just ignored transferring the tile and were cited for failure to transfer the title and register the vehicle.

Meeting at a Gas Station just seems odd IMO. Especially with so many unscrupulous characters around these days

Sorry to hear your getting screwed around on this.

I have had many transactions on CL. 95% of them went of without a hitch.
The exception was last spring buying a canoe. The older gentleman who was selling posted late Monday night around 9pm. The posting listed a canoe for 350, I called the moment it was listed. I asked if I could come over and take a look and I would have cash in hand. His reply was it’s kinda late, how does tomorrow look for you? I work till 4 and can be there by 5, was my reply. Sounds good, he stated.
I get there the next day, and he sold it to someone else because he got tired of waiting for me. I was at his house at 4:45.
Lets say he got a long loud talking too about ethics and how giving your word should mean something, even more so when the people he screws knows where he lives.

Remember to get a written receipt with the seller name on it. The DMV asked for one when I licensed the canoes I bought later in the spring. She said that it is common now that the sellers are not the owners, as the item is stolen, and then you would lose both the item bought and your out the cash also.
Ron

Right on Ron, get a signed, dated, amount of sale, vin or serial number, manf, and model on a bill of sale, in addition to any other paper work required by the DMV, like title or registration. Search for and print off a blank bill of sale to take along to fill in, or tell the seller to have one ready.

Have the kid smile for a picture with you…that is one benefit of technology

This is the epitome of a rant.

blanket party

Id have offered the kid $600 for the trailer. And then not showed up just to hose up his other scammer deals.

Did youj post a “to the guy” ad calling him out? Man I love those.