Anybody with Craigslist experience

[cyrocksmypants]

I'm selling some furniture and getting emails in reply, but when I reply to the email, I'm not getting any response. Is this the correct way to do it? Does the email go to CL then get sent to the emailer, causing a delay? I just started it last night, so they may just not have received anything yet, but id assume with all of the responses I've replied to, someone would have replied back at this point?

 

[Firefighter4Cy]

Most likely the people are interested, e-mailed you to see if it was still available and are making a decision. Sometimes I will e-mail to see if something is still available and then decide i'm not interested and never reply again. I would just wait, if you've gotten responses then everything is working as it should and you will get it sold.

 

[Bamacyclone]

I'm selling some furniture and getting emails in reply, but when I reply to the email, I'm not getting any response. Is this the correct way to do it? Does the email go to CL then get sent to the emailer, causing a delay? I just started it last night, so they may just not have received anything yet, but id assume with all of the responses I've replied to, someone would have replied back at this point?

I get a lot of questions in email and text that lead to nothing. Comes with the Craigslist territory. Emails have always come from CL though.

I do get annoying spam type emails asking me to reply on an item to some gmail account. I've never responded to those.

 

[Cyballz]

I'm selling some furniture and getting emails in reply, but when I reply to the email, I'm not getting any response. Is this the correct way to do it? Does the email go to CL then get sent to the emailer, causing a delay? I just started it last night, so they may just not have received anything yet, but id assume with all of the responses I've replied to, someone would have replied back at this point?

What type of furniture is it? I sold a nice desk for cheap and the email system was working really fast because I had a ton of instant responses. A couple of weeks later I tried to sell a 70's era recliner with a big stain and for some reason CL email system must have been down or something because I didn't get any responses. I alerted CL to their email outage but they never got back to me.

 

[cdekovic]

You will get a lot of junk via email for auto emailers on Craig's List. When I sell stuff, I put in the ad, WILL NOT RESPOND TO EMAIL. SERIOUS INQUIRIES ONLY PLEASE CALL xxx-xxx-xxxx. Then on the phone number I encrypt it so I would list the phone number as 5 one 5 - seven 22 - three 8 whatever, whatever so some of the number is written in text while other numbers are the actual number. This prevents auto dialers from getting your number too.

 

[cyrocksmypants]

I haven't had a problem getting emails (and I google their names to make sure they're local and real). The email comes from CL, I just hit reply when answering a question and didn't know if that's the appropriate thing to do for them the be able to get the email. I definitely don't want to put my phone number out there, if I don't have to. Maybe it's just paranoia, but with my only number being a work also number, I don't really want to deal with that mess if I can avoid it.

 

[azepp]

I haven't had a problem getting emails (and I google their names to make sure they're local and real). The email comes from CL, I just hit reply when answering a question and didn't know if that's the appropriate thing to do for them the be able to get the email. I definitely don't want to put my phone number out there, if I don't have to. Maybe it's just paranoia, but with my only number being a work also number, I don't really want to deal with that mess if I can avoid it.

I generally tell them to reply via email with a phone number where I can reach them and that I won't respond if they don't provide a number. If they're serious enough to email you their phone number they're probably a pretty good lead.

 

[cjclone]

People will text and try to get you to use a paypal account sometimes, they will say they included shipping and try to get you to wire western union. they phish you with what looks like a paypal email, but if you check paypal there is no money. I played around with one for about 20 texts just to annoy them, played like I didn't know what was going on. they were really frustrated. So don't reply to texts, they will also say they are hearing impaired.

 

[The_Architect]

I've had no problems using email to conduct multiple transactions. I don't share my email address but use the craigslist annonymous service. I never list my phone number.

 

[yler4cy]

I use CL all the time with no issues. I agree with what has been mentioned. Watch the spammers out there. The biggest thing that I notice is they will say I like your item, and don't name the specific thing you are selling. I reply with can I get a number to reach you at, and then you don't get a response back. In my opinion if someone wants something bad enough they will give you a number to reach them at.

 

[cloneluke80]

never do anything with paypal or western union or anything like that. Only deal with locals and in cash.

I did one check on a car sale and I held the title till the check cleared (They had a signed bill of sale from me)

another check I did I made them get a certified money order from a bank.

be prepared for people to bargain you when they show up to look. they will flash cash and you will probably cave

 

[bugs4cy]

I've had both good and bad experiences with CL. Selling a vehicle seems to be the worst. Seems to be a substantial number of people who really believe they're going to scam you out of that car/truck. I did have one that seemed sincere and real - not the typical bot that is too general/phishing to be genuine. I was 4 or 5 emails and a phone call into it before they showed their hand with the I'm-on-a-oil-rig-and-will-pay-you-with-a-certified-check-because-the-truck-is-a-gift-for-my-sister-back-in-Iowa[insert name of town that doesn't actually exist in Iowa].

Don't let it get under your skin. State your price and any other requirements, like pick up/drop off point, type of payment, etc. They're either in or out. If they are a failure, forget about it and move on.

 

['Clones Fan]

I'm selling some furniture and getting emails in reply, but when I reply to the email, I'm not getting any response. Is this the correct way to do it? Does the email go to CL then get sent to the emailer, causing a delay? I just started it last night, so they may just not have received anything yet, but id assume with all of the responses I've replied to, someone would have replied back at this point?

I had this problem in the past and it stemmed from using outlook. When I switched to my hotmail account I had no problems.

 

[cyrocksmypants]

I finally had one email back and forth with me, so I'm assuming the others went through fine as well and those people just decided they either didn't want it or just haven't checked their email yet.

And I'm only doing local and dealing with cash. Nothing is really so expensive that someone should be able to not pay cash.

 

[Agkistrodon]

I've found that with Craigslist you have a greater chance of being contacted by flaky people / idiots when the items you are selling have a broad appeal, or require no special knowledge to purchase or use. Set a firm price, state how you want to be contacted (email, phone, etc.), and state that you want serious inquiries only. I usually prefer email because I don't want to give my cell phone number to any of the freaks and weirdos on Craigslist.

For example, I sold a TV on Craigslist about a year ago... I was asking $200; thinking I might get around $150 for it. My inbox was suddenly flooded with emails consisting of little more than "u hav tv?" or people offering me half of my asking price or less. After talking to some of these people (big mistake) I relisted it with a firm asking price of $150 and decided to sell it to the first person who could send me an email containing a complete sentence. I sold it for my asking price within 24 hours.

On the other hand, I sold two camera lenses for a DSLR on Craigslist at the same time and had none of these problems... but of course purchasing a camera lens generally means that the purchaser is at least smart enough to operate a fancy camera.