Inland Empire Craigslist (West Covina, Redlands, Covina: for sale, buying, school) - San Bernardino and Riverside Counties - California (CA) -The Inland Empire - City-Data Forum

Tristan_Davis · 08-01-2013, 10:44 AM

I am selling something on Craigslist here in Redlands to get a little cash for back to school shopping and people are so flaky! One person no showed (no email to cancel either.) Another person wanted it for next to nothing because they lost their job. Sorry, I'm broke too! Is this just an Inland Empire thing or a people thing I wonder?

Fontucky · 08-01-2013, 10:59 AM

According to my people still living in South OC, it happens there as well. And the wanting it for next to nothing crosses all demographics.

Tristan_Davis · 08-01-2013, 11:39 AM

And furthermore, what is it with the phrase "I will take it off your hands"? If it was junk I'd junk it. I guess I'm from the old school where I show people respect.

bionictony · 08-01-2013, 12:19 PM

i've sold many items on craigslist. it also depends on what you're selling also. some people will bargain and some will not. there will be flakes. take good pictures and upload them to craigslist. be descriptive on the item. refresh the listing so when people search it, it will be near the top. if no one is biting it may just be that no one is looking for it or it may just be the price..

Fontucky · 08-01-2013, 01:03 PM

Years ago I learned to not advertise my professional services in the Pennysaver. The only responses I received were from cheap, penny-pinching bastards who had no intention of paying what I charged.

EDIT: And that was in South OC...

Tristan_Davis · 08-01-2013, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fontucky

Years ago I learned to not advertise my professional services in the Pennysaver. The only responses I received were from cheap, penny-pinching bastards who had no intention of paying what I charged.

Amen!

bionictony · 08-01-2013, 03:50 PM

i listed a nice marble coffee table for 200 and it took about 2 months to sell. a nice couple from temecula came all the way to corona to get it and didn't try to bargain.

the easy thing with craigslist is you can not leave your phone number and people will send emails. you can choose to reply or not.

PorcupandaPete · 08-01-2013, 09:31 PM

IT happens all over the place unfortunately. When I lived in West Covina, I would get low-balled most of the time. Or people just stop replying. Sooner or later you'll find someone who's serious. You just need to be patient on that website.

Count David · 08-01-2013, 10:07 PM

I'm currently offering a job on CL, posted on Monday. Not in the IE, but:
-I've had 13 replies, all of which I replied to. I told them where to be and when
-only about half of those 13 were more than "here's my number call me".
-3 people have showed up. 1 was supposed to show up today, but no-showed.
-our $25 ad is now FAR down the list.
-2 people have jobs now.

In another non-IE locale, I could have made a living selling stuff on CL. It was so easy. Pic, description, and price. It was off-the-hook.

So it's basically a crap-shoot.

We used to buy stuff from the PennySaver all the time when I was a kid. I remember my mom driving us "all the way" to Lake Elsinore to buy 4/$20 Sega Genesis games.

MountainGuy74 · 08-02-2013, 05:33 AM

I've been using Craigslist for many years now and have learned a few valuable lessons that I'd like to share.

Many shoppers on Craigslist think of it as a cyber yard sale where the posted price means nothing and everything is negotiable. There are two types of sellers on Craigslist. Those who are flexible and those who are not. The flexible seller is willing to negotiate a little bit and accept the closest they can get to their original asking price. Those who are not flexible and remain firm on their price are not exactly in a hurry to sell their item and are prepared to keep on trying to sell it for weeks or even months. This especially applies to vehicles. I've seen the same cars and trucks advertised for MONTHS with ridiculously over priced asking prices. They seem to think that if Kelly Blue Book says your car is worth a certain price then you can't sell it for less despite what other similar vehicles are being sold for. They don't seem to notice or care that even though they "invested" in putting some shiny new rims and a spoiler and a sound system that other folks are selling the exact same car without all that stuff for less than half your asking price. Guess who's going to sell first?

I've dealt with all kinds of buyers. Most will try and bargain with you and most of the time they are reasonable offers. Today, for example, I sold an older working laptop. My asking price was 80 dollars. A guy came over and took a look at it and offered 70. I forgot to tell him that the battery didn't hold a charge so we both agreed that a little discount for forgetting to disclose that information was acceptable. We made the deal and we were both happy. That is how things SHOULD work. Prior to this guy coming over I received low ball offers and promptly ignored them. To me a low ball offer is 50% off my asking price. As far as flakes go, I don't take anyone seriously especially when it comes to dealing with cars. I live up in the mountains and it's about a 20 minute drive from the 210 and Waterman exit. It's not far at all but when someone is interested in buying a vehicle I have for sale I have them meet me up on the mountain. The ones that whine about the distance are usually the flakes because the ones truly interested in buying the car will make the drive. I used to be way too nice and would meet people down at 40th and Waterman, just before heading up the mountains, but pretty soon I would get flaked on and I would be the one wasting my gas and time waiting for fools that would never show.

A big rule of thumb is "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is". This especially applies to vehicles. Watch out for these key words: "Easy Fix"-Not an easy fix. If it were easy the owner would have fixed it. "Just needs to be smogged"- Already tried to smog it and it failed. "Engine/transmission rebuilt XX miles ago but lost documents"- They cleaned up the engine with a can of WD40 and are trying to pass it off as newer engine."Lein sale papers"- Bought the car at an auction and found something wrong with the car so I hope to make my money back. Now not all sellers are out to ********* of course but just make sure that you don't allow yourself to be screwed. Trust no one.