Craig's List, Manipulation of...

[uberman]

I had an expensive watch which I had no use for. It was a Swiss made diving watch, which would likely sell for $1,400.00 if it had never been used. I advertised on Craig's List and sold it to the first person for for $125.00.

I went to Craig's List to delete the ad. The message came up that it had been deleted by Craig's List. Options or explanations were listed; however, none of them made any sense. In other words I could not find out why.

One option was, "the item has been flagged." The item entered Craig's List in the evening. It was sold to the first interested buyer. The question is, did the first interested buyer flag the post for deletion in order to bag the deal and eliminate the competition.

Here's a pic of a similar watch, almost identical.

[http://forums.timezone.com/index.php?t=tree&goto=2133024&rid=0]

 

[MaxDepth]

In America, Craig watches you!

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: uberman
I had an expensive watch which I had no use for. It was a Swiss made diving watch, which would likely sell for $1,400.00 if it had never been used. I advertised on Craig's List and sold it to the first person for for $125.00.

I went to Craig's List to delete the ad. The message came up that it had been deleted by Craig's List. Options or explanations were listed; however, none of them made any sense. In other words I could not find out why.

One option was, "the item has been flagged." The item entered Craig's List in the evening. It was sold to the first interested buyer. The question is, did the first interested buyer flag the post for deletion in order to bag the deal and eliminate the competition.

ohh thats nasty if that is what happened.

 

[apac]

So why did you sell it for such a low price? My guess is someone saw it as a scam, like those $400 50" plasma TVs.

 

[RagingBITCH]

What apac said. Most people would probably think scam. But hey, why are you complaining? Who got manipulated? No one. You sold the watch at the price you wanted to sell it at. Done deal.

 

[mitaiwan82]

it takes more than one flag to have your post deleted...so it's hard to sabotage a posting AFAIK

 

[Miramonti]

Originally posted by: mitaiwan82
it takes more than one flag to have your post deleted...so it's hard to sabotage a posting AFAIK

That's what I was going to say, altho that's an interesting scam and still possible to execute.

 

[Turin39789]

Originally posted by: jjsole

Originally posted by: mitaiwan82
it takes more than one flag to have your post deleted...so it's hard to sabotage a posting AFAIK

That's what I was going to say, altho that's an interesting scam and still possible to execute.

what does it require to make a flag, do I just click the flag button 3 times, or do i create 3 bad hotmail accounts to flag the ad?

 

[RossMAN]

http://www.craigslist.org/about/help/flags.html

 

[uberman]

I hope this answers some questions posted here. Why at such a low price? Etc.

First of all, my point was to sell the watch. I had it in a jewelry box since the 1970s. I searched Craig's List for the reason it was deleted. Apparently there is no way to find out. You are finally directed to a forum which you can join. I don't need another forum. ATOT is my life. I initially deleted the Word file with the ad, but that was within 48 Hrs. The following is a reconstruction:

CERTINA, DS-2, SUPER PH1000M, EXPENSIVE
Certina DS-2, Super PH1000M, This watch was bought in Europe about 1973. It has been used by me in the 1970's. I was offerred $125.00 for it by a watch rebuilder in the early 1990's. The guy with the watchshop who worked on my watches said, "You never get rid of this. This is like a Rolex." I continued to keep it locked away, not to be used. I have no use for it. The crystal has scratches, the case shows signs of use. This is an automatic. It will wind when shaken. It stops occasionally. I have been told by a watchmaker that it needs to be cleaned. The link shows a very similar watch selling for $1,400.00. Price is $125.00 Call 1-***-**** ( the bottom link shows the pic of the watch posted on Craig's List.)

[http://forums.timezone.com/index.php?t=tree&goto=2133024&rid=0]

[http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/8356/watch1ol3.jpg][/IMG][/URL]

My belief was that someone would buy it and spend $250.00 to $350.00 for a rebuild. I still have no clue why the post was deleted. I'm happy I sold it, but very curious about Craig's List. Are they being manipulated?

 

[AccruedExpenditure]

Great idea, kthx,.