I need some advice. I used craigslist.com this weekend to clear out some old boxes and miscellaneous garage items that I didn’t want to haul to the dump. Plus, the idea of recycling these items made sense. I only listed things that I wanted to give away. The sign up was easy enough and the service is free. However, once folks began replying to my posts I ran into a bit of trouble. What do you do about folks that say they want your stuff but then never show up or email back with specifics. Help me out here. I tried following the first come first serve method, but I had folks that said they’d be by my house in a few hours and then never showed up. Meanwhile I received several more emails asking about the items. What do I tell these guys? Has anyone found a method that works for dilemmas such as this? I feel weird about giving out my physical address, too. Do you find a common meeting place to make the hand off? Talk to me, Sacramento.
The Sac Rag 
if you used the anonymized @craigslist.org email option, looks like if you delete your post it will take care of the message relaying. according to their page on anonymizing, http://www.craigslist.org/about/anonymize.html…
“Once your posting expires off the site or is deleted, the anonymized email address no longer relays messages to you.”
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I experienced the same thing when I sold my house and got rid of items duplicated with the merging of households. For dealing with the no-shows, I had a list of names/numbers of the first three people who responded. When person #1 didn’t show up when he said he’d be there (plus a 30 minute cushion to allow for traffic), I called person #2 in the queue.
It is weird having people come to your house — for me, it wasn’t much of an issue since it wasn’t going to be my house anymore as of the next day. Maybe there is a market for a “safe haven” for people to meet up to exchange/pick up Craigslist items?
If your items are small enough, meet up in a busy parking lot during daylight hours. If it’s a big item, have it outside at your house so the stranger doesn’t need to come inside at all — which is what I did. I sat out in my driveway with my dining table and chairs, reading a magazine, and with my cell phone and a Maglite (good weapon) at the ready.
If they say they need to use your phone or bathroom, say you have a sleeping baby inside who can’t be disturbed, or someone in the house has typhoid fever or something.
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I thought the answers are all in your name…RonTopOfIt. Just doesn’t seem so in this case. Just kidding, you the man. I agree that these can be issues, but I agree with Runnergirl who says to treat it like a garage sale with the garage closed, items out front, weapon in tow, etc. The more times you use CL the more you refine the process and I’ve found that if you’re up front with everyone about the demand and warn them about the first come first served rule, you should maintain a clean conscience. Lay on the guilt early if you are truly going to pull it off the market by telling them you are doing so just for them. Otherwise, first come is the first to pick it up, not the first to tell you they want it. Just tell everyone who calls the true situation, “yeah, someone else said they will be by at 2, so call me or come by after 2:30 if you want and if it’s still here it’s yours.” Otherwise, I’m a huge fan of deposits (Paypal works best) if it’s a bigger item that they want you to hold for them. There are no cut and dry solutions for every situation, but if everyone would just be considerate, I’m not even asking for nice, just considerate, it wouldn’t even be a problem. Just some thoughts.
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Salvation Army picks up in my area. You just call and they send someone out.
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So does the Sacramento SPCA for its thrift shop
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I’m finding that avoiding email is the way to go. Try to obtain a phone number as soon as possible. I prefer email as I hate people, but for things like this, it is horribly inefficient.
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This does not relate to the original but I have been searching for a Craigs List Store, like the ones E-Bay has — “I Sold It On E-Bay” Is there a local store-site where you can take your items and leave them there for sale?
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You should get the contact numbers of the person calling you. So, you can call the person if the person is late or doesn’t show up.
Secondly, you don’t have to give your physical address, just give an address about 1km away from your exact location. Meet the person THERE, and if you’re comfortable enough, then bring the person OUTSIDE your house while you bring the itme(s) out to him/her.
Thirdly, you might like to consider putting up a CCTV camera during the transaction. It will help to resolve differences (if any), later on.
I find Craigslist a little difficult to use and I don’t believe the freebies are going to continue once they have the crowd. There’s another website I found called piref.com that’s easier to use and has a handy search at the top, but its pretty new and you need to pay for it use. But then again, I suppose free means no responsibilities and advertisers can post anything they want, EVEN ‘adult’ material.
Try posting at piref.com. I think its going to pick up pretty fast with its nice features and useful quick search referencing.
http://www.piref.com
.
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I’ve sold quite a few household things on craigslist even the wooden shipping container that my antique furniture came in from overseas! I guess I was pretty lucky that the people who said they would turn up did, mostly because they lived close by and I was really flexible on times that I could meet up.
The first come first serve is the best method. I would inform all the customers that this is the case. I always got contact numbers too.
Most reasons for people showing up was simply a great deal!
Goodluck!
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More tips on using craigslist. Do not allow last minute plan changes. This story is a frightening. Visit this site for more information on crimes involving craigslist.org. Or, you know, donate your stuff to charity.
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