Craigslist ad Q...
 

Been looking around for an older BMW airhead to tinker with. Because cost of transport is probably 20% of cost, only looking locally. Atlanta is a pretty big market and I'm in no hurry. Here's my question. Over the past few weeks there have been 3 bikes I've inquired about. All had the CL email address offered (no phone #). All did not respond, nada, zilch.

What gives? Why post an ad and ignore inquiries? All I said was something like...."saw your ad on CL and have a few questions. Bike looks nice, would like to ask about service history, etc. Please call or email. Thanks, Mike. Phone is xxxxxxxx."

There's a nice 72 Toaster in Columbia, SC listed on Atl CL. E-mailed Friday morning. Nothing. Sent a polite follow-up today...."just checking to see if bike still available as follow-up to earlier inquiry". Crickets.

Craigslist is an interesting place and it's basically worth the cost of entry.

Sometimes you will get lucky and have a reasonable experience.


SmileWavy

+1

You hit three out of three flakes, either because the bikes were already sold and they never deleted their ads, or they are not that concerned about selling. Not posting a phone # tells me that their interest in selling is not a top priority.

some ads are just collecting e-mail address's or working phone numbers
and sell the results to spammers or phone sales

others are flakes or they sold quickly

Have had some good experiences with CL over the years but lately not so much. Guess you guys are right. Thanks for the feedback.

Could be the C-list email is going to their spam folder or junk file too.

Mike;

I've had reasonably good luck with Craigslist as well. Seems like it runs hot and cold. When I post an ad, I NEVER put a phone number. It will ring for weeks in the middle of the night. Never again. Go easy on asking too much up front. First reply should be I want to come see it, how do we get together? Add your number if you like.

So you burn a little gas looking at a garage queen with no maint history. I've bought a couple of those if the price is right.

I've stayed at Redstone this summer, might have messed up not going north...

Michael.

i have something running on CL almost constantly. I never include my phone number. There are just too many weirdos out there to put my phone # out in public. I would respond to your email if I were the seller, you sound like an interested byer, but terse responses with no name or phone # get ignored.

Agree...am always careful to communicate respectfully and avoid ads with lots of "requirements". Have to wonder why someone would bother to place an ad then ignore sincere inquiries. When selling, I never include phone either but will offer my number if buyer appears legit.

Crazy world.

I just picked up 2 nice, tall bookshelves with bottom doors, 20 minutes away, for free. Too nice for the shop but that's where they are going.

Love CL

Unfortunately when when I was shopping for a used camera on CL I found a lot of sellers (who listed a email and a phone#) never checked their email.

When I sold an old guitar amp we started on email but finalized the deal via text.

I buy and sell regularly on CL and just learn to sniff the flakes quickly. As a buyer, I always respond with something like:

"Hi, I am interested in your 2010 BMW, is it still available? If so I would like to see it soon. Have cash, no games."

This just lets the seller know I am a serious buyer and not another loser/flake. If they respond within 24 hrs, make arrangements to see it soon and be on time. Serious sellers appreciate serious buyers. If you ask 20 questions in your email or are unavailable to go see it, the seller will lose interest and look for a cleaner transaction. Making a lowball offer sight unseen kills your credibility.

If a seller fails to respond quickly or is unavailable to meet within a few days, move on. If a seller makes you uncomfortable in any way, move on. It's a free service and the signal to noise ratio is low, but 3/10 CL sellers are golden, and you can get like-new at 1/2 retail price or better.