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Yeah, it's so bad that everyone uses it and it's making $50m a year. I wish I had a shitty product like that. And I even use it regularly to find stuff I want

Yeah, it's so bad that everyone uses it and it's making $50m a year. I wish I had a shitty product like that. And I even use it regularly to find stuff I want, locally, and cheap. The bastards.

storborg 16y ago
I too wish I had a shitty product like that. However: > And I even use it regularly to find stuff I want, locally, and cheap. Are you really successful at that, though? 9 times out of 10 when I use craigslist the transaction is a horrible experience--for example: - the buyer of an item claims it, then flakes out - the seller of an item jacks up the price at the last minute, when I'm there in person, saying, "oh well there are 5 other people that want it" - potential rideshare flakes out, or changes plans at the last minute - potential landlord turns out to be unreliable The one area where I have had great success with craigslist is hiring, which I suspect is due to craigslist charging for job listings (which keeps the bar high).
- nettdata 16y ago
  Like I said, I'm successful at finding things I'm looking for. In the last month, for instance, I've purchased: -- a pressure washer (had it in my garage within 90 mins of searching) -- an industrial grade hedge trimmer -- 4 dock floats -- a folding swimming ladder The first three I found looking, the fourth I found by placing a "looking for" add myself. Sure, I've had shitty experiences with Craigslist, by far the worst was when I was selling a truck. I had a lot of moronic callers and a couple of no-shows, but I also ended up selling it for good cash to a respectful guy. The best bet in handling the bad parts was basically saying "sorry, not interested in selling it to you" when I get the sense that the other end of the call was a flake or not worth wasting time on. Sure, pissed off some of them, but I like to think I have a reasonable ability to read people, and wasn't desperate enough to sell the truck that I felt obligated to follow through with every potential buyer. In the end, I'd rather deal with that crap than a dealership any day.

Yeah, it's so bad that everyone uses it and it's making $50m a year. I wish I had a shitty product like that. And I even use it regularly to find stuff I want, locally, and cheap. The bastards.

storborg 16y ago

I too wish I had a shitty product like that. However: > And I even use it regularly to find stuff I want, locally, and cheap. Are you really successful at that, though? 9 times out of 10 when I use craigslist the transaction is a horrible experience--for example: - the buyer of an item claims it, then flakes out - the seller of an item jacks up the price at the last minute, when I'm there in person, saying, "oh well there are 5 other people that want it" - potential rideshare flakes out, or changes plans at the last minute - potential landlord turns out to be unreliable The one area where I have had great success with craigslist is hiring, which I suspect is due to craigslist charging for job listings (which keeps the bar high).

nettdata 16y ago
Like I said, I'm successful at finding things I'm looking for. In the last month, for instance, I've purchased: -- a pressure washer (had it in my garage within 90 mins of searching) -- an industrial grade hedge trimmer -- 4 dock floats -- a folding swimming ladder The first three I found looking, the fourth I found by placing a "looking for" add myself. Sure, I've had shitty experiences with Craigslist, by far the worst was when I was selling a truck. I had a lot of moronic callers and a couple of no-shows, but I also ended up selling it for good cash to a respectful guy. The best bet in handling the bad parts was basically saying "sorry, not interested in selling it to you" when I get the sense that the other end of the call was a flake or not worth wasting time on. Sure, pissed off some of them, but I like to think I have a reasonable ability to read people, and wasn't desperate enough to sell the truck that I felt obligated to follow through with every potential buyer. In the end, I'd rather deal with that crap than a dealership any day.