Craigslist protocal?

lykaon78

Golden Member
Sep 5, 2001
1,174
9
81
Selling an item on CL and have two takers - do you give the item to the first email response or the first person to show up with the cash?
 

QueBert

Lifer
Jan 6, 2002
22,980
1,178
126
you offer to meet the first person who responds first, if they are unable give it to #2. I have sold a ton of shit on there, and it's not uncommon for people who've contacted you 3-4 times about how badly they want the item to change their mind an hour before you're supposed to meet them. Being nice is great but this is involving money so you have to think about the $$$ first and foremost :)


you might not even want to sell to the one that shows up with cash first. I've had my share of people show up with the price set and try to low ball me thinking "oh he's already here and so am I. I bet I can get him to give it to me for $25 less"

first come first serve

 

d33pt

Diamond Member
Jan 12, 2001
5,654
1
81
first with cash for sure. CL is full of flakes. expect 9 flakes for every 1 sale.
 

LS21

Banned
Nov 27, 2007
3,745
1
0
Originally posted by: QueBert
you offer to meet the first person who responds first, if they are unable give it to #2. I have sold a ton of shit on there, and it's not uncommon for people who've contacted you 3-4 times about how badly they want the item to change their mind an hour before you're supposed to meet them. Being nice is great but this is involving money so you have to think about the $$$ first and foremost :)

absolutely. first with cash in hand.

im tired of being nice to cl fleas. ive had people not meet me. make ridiculous meet suggestions. once i gave away free moving boxes, and a lady suggested that rather than leaving the boxes outside - susceptible to cat pee and other damage - that i hold them inside the house and wait for her husband to pick them up at 2am after his shift. no kidding.

are these people fucking serious?
 

BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
66,307
14,717
146
Money talks...bullshit walks.

I don't care WHO made first contact...whoever can show me the money gets the goods.
 

d33pt

Diamond Member
Jan 12, 2001
5,654
1
81
One time I left out free stuff at the curb and put an ad on CL to get more attention. Someone asked if i could deliver!!!
 

CptCrunch

Golden Member
Jan 31, 2005
1,877
1
0
Originally posted by: d33pt
One time I left out free stuff at the curb and put an ad on CL to get more attention. Someone asked if i could deliver!!!

haha, fook that
 

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,769
19
81
Tell #1 that he needs to pay by whatever day (preferably asap)...tell #2 you have a buyer and if that falls thorough you will let him know.

CL is great and lame at the same time.
 

syee

Senior member
Oct 6, 2001
827
0
76
I'd tell both buyers what the deal is. Tell the one that isn't ready to pay that you got a paying buyer with cash in hand and ready to go and if he/she doesn't contact you before the end of the day, it's going to buyer #2. There ain't no "dibs" system when it comes to CL since people can be flakes. Money talks, bullsh!t walks...that's what I say. You're extending the enough courtesy to the first person by giving them to the end of the day to respond. After that, I'd offer it to the first person to cough up the cash. (hell, I probably wouldn't even wait till the end of the day)
 

palswim

Golden Member
Nov 23, 2003
1,049
0
71
www.palswim.net
I usually don't have a huge hurry to sell the things I sell on CL, so I attempt to arrange things with only one person at a time, just so I avoid this mess. Then, if the first person falls through, or the person shows up and tries to haggle, I move on to the next person who replied and initiate with them.

But, if I needed to get rid of something, I'd give it to the first person that showed with payment.
 

Rumpltzer

Diamond Member
Jun 7, 2003
4,815
33
91
Originally posted by: d33pt
first with cash for sure. CL is full of flakes. expect 9 flakes for every 1 sale.

This.


I also have a thing about people who send me an email and don't give me a number. I don't like the extended email trail. If a guy emails me with no number and I respond then someone sends me an email with a phone number, it's likely that the second guy gets first crack at coming over.


BTW, the guy next door to me moved out six weeks ago and set his (pretty nice) futon frame next to the dumpster and the garbage people wouldn't take it. My other neighbor was like, "What are we going to do about that?"

It sat there for two weeks and then I put it up on Craig's List with plenty of pictures for $20. It was gone a day later and I had an extra $20 in my pocket! :D

 

sonambulo

Diamond Member
Feb 22, 2004
4,777
1
0
Originally posted by: lykaon78
Selling an item on CL and have two takers - do you give the item to the first email response or the first person to show up with the cash?

CL? Usually I let it sit for a day and see how many potential buyers line up. I filter through all the lowball offers and then tell all the real buyers how many people in line are willing to pay full price. First with cash in hand, first served.