4 ms·
Yes, but Craigslist is a huge pain in the ass. 1. Craigslist is slow. On eBay, you're done in 7 days. It can be pretty hard to get full market value on Craigsl
by dionidium 10y ago
Yes, but Craigslist is a huge pain in the ass.
1. Craigslist is slow. On eBay, you're done in 7 days. It can be pretty hard to get full market value on Craigslist in anywhere near that amount of time, if at all, especially if you're in a smaller city.
2. People on Craigslist are flaky. I have no idea what compels someone to email a seller with interest, schedule a time to view an item, and then just not show up, but they do it all the time. Why even bother?
3. People on Craigslist are needy. On eBay, I list and then I sell. I am selling two items on Craigslist right now. You should see my phone's messaging app. It's full of the unknown numbers of un-serious buyers asking pointless questions they'll never follow up on.
4. People on Craigslist are, well, people. That means I have to meet them somewhere. Arranging that always ends up being more difficult than a trip to the post office.
I view the tradeoff like this:
eBay = simple, easy, fast, but with a nonzero likelihood of total loss
Craigslist = nearly guaranteed to be difficult, slow, and annoying, but with a very low chance of total loss
I don't think it's an easy decision. They are definitely not interchangeable.
- mason240 10y agoWhat's interesting is that it is the opposite for buyers. So much easier to buy of CL than eBay.
- jfoster 10y agoWhat do you do if you discover something wrong with the item post-transaction?
- superuser2 10y agoSmall claims court seems nicely suited.
- srtjstjsj 10y agoI'm not going risk wasting a day of my life for $100 or get my life more entwined with an avowed criminal.
- ndesaulniers 10y ago> 2. People on Craigslist are flaky. I have no idea what compels someone to email a seller with interest, schedule a time to view an item, and then just not show up, but they do it all the time. Why even bother? I was beginning to think that buyers on Craigslist are instructed to act this way. :P
- cglace 10y ago> 2. People on Craigslist are flaky. I have no idea what compels someone to email a seller with interest, schedule a time to view an item, and then just not show up, but they do it all the time. Why even bother? I was moving and had to sell a lot of stuff fast. I scheduled around 6 people to come look at a futon. 0 showed. Even after I offered to give it away for free. Huge waste of time.
- jdietrich 10y agoUnlike eBay, Craigslist transactions carry a nonzero risk of you getting shot. http://www.wmcactionnews5.com/story/31621453/2-people-shot-during-craigslist-robbery http://www.wmcactionnews5.com/story/31621453/2-people-shot-d... http://www.cbs46.com/story/26038628/two-people-injured-in-kcmo-shooting http://www.cbs46.com/story/26038628/two-people-injured-in-kc...