Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Craigslist Frustration

I picked up a Tokeim 39 tall last Friday as I have been running wanted ads on Craigslist in my area. It is nice to have sellers coming to me but not many people search the wanted ads so I search daily as well.

I find it frustrating that people posting pumps for sale do not reply when I email them.
One person posted a restored pump for sale at a fair price. I simply said I was interested in purchasing but would like to know the age of restoration and if there are any condition issues I should know about before making the 4 hour drive to see it. I included my name and phone number.
Have yet to receive a reply.
Sending off another request today.

I post gas pumps and signs I have for sale on craigslist and 99% of the replies I get are scams and a big majority of those come in directly to my "junk" email folder. I think alot of people hardly ever look at there junk folder and some even delete folder without ever looking at it. Maybe your reply got tagged as a junk email. I feel your pain because I have the same problem if I reply to something for sale on clist. It seems like I hardly ever get a reply. I started putting my phone number in my listings hoping the people that were truly interested would contact me that way. Now I'm getting texts that are scams. Craigslist seems to be getting so bad that im almost getting to the point where I'm thinking about quitting using it altogether.

I get random phones of people wanting to sell my stuff for me!!!

Why the heck would i post on c-list if i didnt want to sell it myself...?

Here is where the fun begins...
Just give them a number to call to set up selling it for you.
Well the number i give them is my lawyer and after a few times of that, POOF!!, NO more phone calls from scammers. Works great try it.

I called (and sent an e-mail) about the current ad that's running in Check the Oil magazine with the Pure globes, National pumps, and other items for sale. The old geezer answered the phone and asked me "Why are you callin' me?!" I told him I was interested in buying some stuff, he just slammed the phone in my ear. After I finished laughing for a minute I thought..."Why is he running an ad if he's not selling anything?" Oh well. Goober

I have been trying to call a guy on craigslsit about a $75 sinclair globe, but no call backs, or texts back! I just sold a pump to a guy on craigslsit. But another guy sent me a check for 2550.00 for 500 items? I really hate people that do this kind of thing!

Having an issue selling on Craigslist? Just wait for the scam mail that tells you they want it, remove it from craigslist and consider it sold. I have a whole houseful of stuff that's sold, just waiting on that guy to come through with the money..

Well,it is what it is and its free! Last month,I got a Cleveland Aztec clock(biting nails for four days,seller would email,then disappear ,email,then disappear ,and finally Lonnie got it for me.lonnie said to me,just be patient,things happen.turns out a large tree branch had fallen on her house in a wind storm.last thing on her mind was the old clock) got a lighted dads root beer sign( seller was about 10 minutes from Maria's aunt.she picked it up for me.she was there about 2 hrs after the guy told me its mine.he called me,said" a man is as good as his word,and I told you it's yours.another guy called and offered me double the asking price!" He sold me the clock for his original asking price.) made an appointment with a guy to go on a fri and buy two items.when I called to tell him I was on my way,he said" tough luck,already sold it". Anyway,the point is,there is no guarantee on CL,of ANYTHING!.you got to get there as fast as possible,and also be patient.( pretty hard to do,sometimes) if you don't take a chance on the spam,you are gonna miss out. Not to mention that you can advertise for sale for free also.as with eBay,you got your good people,and you got your jerks .nothin you can do but play the game. Jmho. Mick

If you post on CL and get spam emails and junk calls and text, it is So simple to fix!

when you create your post you can 'hide' your email address so they can NEVER email you.

2ndly never type your phone number out so a computer can read it like this 555-555-1212 you need to be creative

type it something like this five5five - 5five5 - one2one2

I used to get all that stuff........none, zero , zip now!


I sent an email to a guy about 2 pumps, he did not respond, few days later I tried again....no response!
Emailed him with my fiance's email and it took less than 3 minutes to get a response.....GO FIGURE!!!!! I don't get people either!!!!

Hopefully, my little tips will help you out though. I still get morons that text me after the bar closes and ask at 3am if my pump is still for sale though! I just turn my phone onto 'do not disturb' now before I retire for the evening.

I do both of those things. I "hide" my email address, and disguise my phone number by spelling out some of the numbers. Doesnt matter. Got a scam text this morning at 3 am about a sign I had for sale.

Sure it wasnt the same drunk guy that text me. LOL!

Probably was!

Well color me stupid, but when you hide your email address and disguise your phone number. How do people get a hold of you ? I don't know anything about GL's List.

He disguises the phone number like this 1-502-three 9 six 02 6 one ……...

So I should:
1) Subject my lawyer to anonymous phone calls?
2) Pay 1/10hr. fee (roughly $40) for taking each call?

I'm thinking the reason why you get no more calls from them is because they don't have YOUR number, regardless of who's number they DO have.

Forgive my ignorance. The word scam is used frequently in the above posts. Can someone educate me with a few examples so that i know what to look for.
Have never bought anything on cl but the more i have been looking at it the more i'm finding it a good resource for things that i am interested in.
Thanks fo the education.

I always use these two techniques also. In addition to dramatically reducing spam it also reduces tire kickers as it requires more effort and hopefully seriousness to call than just send an email. Regarding question on spammers. Basically they are low life scum without a real job who will do and say anything to screw anyone in any way possible. Fake listings, fake money orders, fake addresses, etc. It is definitely a buyer AND seller beware world out there!

Apparently the people I've bought from on craigslist have been the only honest ones in the whole world? I have never had these problems and have done a good bit of buying from honorable folks? Paul www.severngaspumps.com

I sell alot on cl and i do each of the above mentioned things hide my email for starters and disguise my phone #. Even so you will get scam texts from people the heading of your cl post will be in the first text you get. Like copied and pasted. If you look there will almost always be broken english. And they have gotten smart and do ask about condition. If the text message looks fishy to you call the number it will be a google text thing on a computer. On craigslist i will
Comunicate threw text at first but will always call someone after a few texts once i see there for real. I need to hear there voice find out if there honest. If you find out someone is scamming you tell them its sold and they will move on. They are gonna want to send you money right away after only a few texts also a red flag. And for some reason they want you to take the add down right away never understood that one. Good luck out there. On cl only accept cash face to face.

Paul, the problems are much more evident when trying to sell on Craig's. I too have had plenty of good experiences buying.... Sorry if I painted a one sided picture. Was trying to address the concerns asked about scammers.

Jonathan I guess that explains why you never answered my email back on 12/16/2012 I was not trying to scam you I just asked a question.I have had a lot of luck on craigslist but if you don't answer people you can't have much luck.I don't know how many times I wanted to buy and the seller has no phone number listed and don't answer email.

Well i always have my number on. And if you need me im but a text or call away. I dont even check email. Every now and again i will forget to hide my email.

I've had good luck with Craigslist, but I always take the route of better safe than sorry. If I even catch a whiff of the stench of a scam I turn and run as fast as I can, not stick around to figure out what that smell is. I always list a phone number because as others have stated, a phone call takes effort and real interactions with a real people, while an email is fast, effortless, and has no real consequences or obligations. I use the num#bers trick for two reasons; There are computer programs that search for phone number patterns in listings to be used for whatever reasons the user wants, and secondly, if someone really wants to talk to you they have to really READ the ad to pick out the phone number. I cannot stand wasting time with someone on the phone who has clearly not read the ad, and is asking questions that are clearly answered in the ad. Here are a few other things I do and don't do on CL.

-I never talk prices over the phone. If you won't take the time and effort to come over and look at it, you're a tire kicker and are not really interested in buying it. I won't waste time talking prices with them because they won't show up anyway. I will make exceptions to this rule for people who will be traveling long distances if they seem truly interested.

-I don't take down ads until it is really sold. People ask me to and I tell them no.

-I don't hold things for people. I tell them I will hold it as long as needed if they give me a non-refundable, cash deposit in the amount of 1/4 of the final price, and in person. Sooooooo many people hang up at this point. This also works great when I sell at flea markets. When asked why I won't refund deposits I tell people because we're talking about it right now, you're thinking about it right now, if you would like more time to make your decision, please come back later. In the meantime if someone else really wants it and had cash, I'm gonna sell it. If you back out of the deal, I lost the opportunities to sell it to someone else that day. Your deposit becomes my service fee for having to haul it home and put it away until the next flea market.

-Never accept a check. They bounce. If they don't have the cash to pay for it now, they don't have the funds to cover the check. If cash is a problem, I'll see if we can work out a hold for them. See above. At this point a scammer will walk away. When someone mails you a check you did not ask for, THIS IS A HUGE SCAM, DESTROY IT AT ONCE. Crooks can get your personal information as soon as you cash it, or better yet, put it in your bank account. That check will also bounce off the counter when you set it down for the teller.

-Be careful with cash. I'm never embarrassed to re-count the money someone just counted in front of me. I check every bill for a security band and a watermark. If it insults the buyer, too bad. I rather look like a jerk then get ripped off. Watch change. I sold something for $185. The guy says, Got change for a $20? I hand him $15. He pockets the $15, then hand me $180, and starts walking away. I say You still owe me $20. He whirs around, marches straight up to me, gets about 2 inches from my face. His two very large sons stand behind me. He yells as loud as he can, "howya Figure" I calmly say "I made change for a $20 that you didn't give me." he then digs in his pocket, holds up a $20, crumples it up, throws it on the ground and yells F*** YOU! as loud as he can. I calmly bend down, pick up the twenty, while staring the guy straight in the eyes, I carefully straightened out the twenty, neatly fold it and put in my pocket.

I hope this information can help my fellow Oldgassers. I don't want to seem like an angry jerk, but the constant stream of time wasters and scammers gets really old really quickly, especially with the volume of merchandise I move.

Lots of good advice !!!

I have had good luck with CL and met some neat people. It works for me when I buy because I show up when I say I will.

I do have trouble with adds that don't put their phone # in the add. Most of the time it is a waste of time to e-mail as you get no response or the lag in time makes the deal not feasible.

I put my sisters car on CL, while having breakfast with her. Half hour later she was home and I was on the road. She calls me all nervous because she had 30 calls when she got home. Wanted to know what to do ! I said call them back in order and sell your car ! It was gone the next day. I wish I had that much luck. She was low on the price but she got what she wanted for it with no hassles.

It is the necessary evil of the hobby.....you have to be willing to play the game if you want to win once and a while.

The worst part of craigslist is dealing with "antique dealers and pickers showing up at your door". Cant stand someone taking up all your time, just to offer you %25 of your asking price.

Never give anyone your address until right before they are leaving for your place. I came home to a unknown car in my driveway one day. The guy said i gave him my address to come look at a craigslist ad. I explained to him, it wasnt an open invitation to show up whenever he wants.