Has anyone here sold a computer on Craigslist?

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: Zolty

Originally posted by: dakels
I sold a laptop on CL. I had to shake off some nigerian scammers at first and reposted my ad with Must meet face to face, and cash only. I got a nice buyer, met up with them and sold it for $600 cash.

Similar story took about a week for mine to sell.

Did you re-post your sale during that week, or just one original post?

And what's this about Nigerian scammers? I thought they were just e-mail spam, you mean that they actively scan Craigslist? I don't see how someone in Nigeria could scam me, if I'm dealing locally on Craigslist. Do tell.

 

[imported_Mike]

I am selling my laptop right now. Your scammers are going to start off very innocent but identical to themselves.

"I just want to know if your item is still available?"

That is the first email, then you'll get a 2nd email baiting you even more.

"How much are you asking for the item?"

After this you still arn't 100% it's a scammer if you've never gotten them before like I have. The 3rd email will talk about using their personal fedex shipping account and over paying for the laptop.

Aside from the scammers, you have your lowballers. These are the dumb bastages that think you'll take half the amount the PC is worth or even less sometimes just out of pure desperation.

Avoid the scammers and don't fool yourself. Your PC is NEVER worth what you put in, especially if it is a desktop. Don't overprice your stuff and then get offended when you get offered what it is actually worth.

 

[olds]

Originally posted by: Mike
... Don't overprice your stuff and then get offended when you get offered what it is actually worth.

Ya, I was actually interested in it for a HTPC till I saw the price.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat

Originally posted by: Mike
... Don't overprice your stuff and then get offended when you get offered what it is actually worth.

Ya, I was actually interested in it for a HTPC till I saw the price.

I thought you didn't buy overclocked systems?

Edit: I went and added up the prices, and it looks like I could build an equal machine these days for $600, so I guess that's the price that I should be shooting for. Add $200 for VisionTek HD4850 and Antec 500W PSU (both new). Everything else in the machine is essentially new too, I put the machine together, installed XP, ran stress-tests on it to make sure it and the overclock were good, and then it's just been sitting on my floor for six months.

 

[dakels]

Originally posted by: VirtualLarry

Originally posted by: Zolty

Originally posted by: dakels
I sold a laptop on CL. I had to shake off some nigerian scammers at first and reposted my ad with Must meet face to face, and cash only. I got a nice buyer, met up with them and sold it for $600 cash.

Similar story took about a week for mine to sell.

Did you re-post your sale during that week, or just one original post?

And what's this about Nigerian scammers? I thought they were just e-mail spam, you mean that they actively scan Craigslist? I don't see how someone in Nigeria could scam me, if I'm dealing locally on Craigslist. Do tell.

Just saw this.

So what happened was that I put up a laptop for $600 about 2 years ago. It was a giant desktop replacement inspiron which I got on a hot deal but it sat in a box unused for like a year cuz I had a mac powerbook. I had some people offering me like $800 if they could send me a $2000 check and I would send them the laptop and $1200 for the check and keep $800. Obvious scam. The one that came close to getting me was this guy that wanted to buy the laptop. Came off all normal until he told me where and how he wants it shipped. He wanted to have it shipped to Nigeria to his niece traveling abroad for college. First he said he wanted it shipped to chicago and he would ship it to Nigeria, then later he offered me an extra $150 to ship it to Nigeria. I passed of course.

I reposted the ad with "Must meet face to face, and cash only" and I got local buyers and it was no problem. The guy I sold it too was really nice and he actually paid me extra to set it up for him on his wireless network.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Check this out.

A bit of buyer's remorse, leading to a bit of defamation. I sure hope I don't get buyers like that. (Then again, I'm going to be offering a one-year hardware-only warranty on my rigs.)

 

[VirtualLarry]

What do you guys think of my Terms and Warranty?

Terms of Sale:
All Sales Final, No refunds under any circumstances.

Warranty:
All hardware carries a one-year warranty, for parts and labor. Parts will be repaired or replaced at my discretion. If an exact replacement cannot be found, and the part cannot be repaired, then a functional equivalent may be substituted. If a part is covered by a mfg's warranty, then I will assist in claiming mfg warranty support. If mfg warranty is denied, I reserve the right to deny warranty support for that part. Mfg warranty policies and terms vary. Please contact me for details of mfg warranty on a part.

THERE IS NO WARRANTY ON SOFTWARE WHATSOEVER. Software problems may be fixed for an additional fee, to be negotiated. DATA RECOVERY IS NOT COVERED BY ANY WARRANTY. User should follow proper backup procedures; security of user's data is the user's sole responsibility.

Warranty is void due to neglect, misuse, damage, physical modifications, improper settings that lead to damage, or acts of God. BIOS/Firmware updating is considered a physical modification and will void the warranty. Power spikes/lighting strikes are considered acts of God and will void the warranty. Power protection is the sole responsibility of the user. Modifications such as "vdroop mods", "BSEL mods", "VID mods", or flashing the BIOS or firmware to change voltage settings are considered physical modifications, and will void the warranty.

Overclocking:
All systems that are sold as "overclocked", are configured with settings that cause one or more components to exceed or operate outside of the mfg's specifications. In the event that such settings void the mfg warranty on one or more components, then that component will be warrantied against failure by me. Actual overclock levels are just a guideline, and are NOT guaranteed. In the course of performing warranty repair on the computer, overclock settings may be reduced or removed, in order to bring components back into working specification. When components are operated outside of the mfg's specifications, software failure may result. (However, I take special care to choose settings that are considered "safe" and "stable" by the overclocking community, in an attempt to prevent a hardware or software failure.)

Replies, requests, offers, or other communications about ads placed by me constitute acceptance of these terms.

 

[cKGunslinger]

Originally posted by: VirtualLarry
What do you guys think of my Terms and Warranty?

Honestly? I think you're a moron for offering this to CL buyers.

 

[dbk]

Why are you offering warranty?
Just put post some pictures of it working...and sell it as-is.

CL buyers don't expect warranty from the sellers

 

[VirtualLarry]

I was hoping to charge prices about halfway between my cost for parts, and what Dell sells an equivalent computer for. Since I'm charging psuedo-Dell prices, I thought offering a warranty would entice the buyers.

 

[ed21x]

no warranty, no negotiations, and cash upfront. let them know that you are selling it "As is" and that is why the price is so low. The best transaction is a clean, quick, and simple. Everybody wins.

 

[evident]

i sold my cheapie socket 478 p4 system for $300 last year. i reformatted the drive to have xp pro w/ updates, and ran drive eraser to make sure no personal data could be recovered.


the guy met me at a mall near my house and it was a clean transaction. haven't heard from him since ( which is a good thing)

 

[lxskllr]

No warranty. If you want to get in the pc business, do it properly. You're only setting yourself up for grief on CL. For an O/S, I'd load Ubuntu. If they want XP or Vista you can do that for $150 extra.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Just sold 2 laptops and 2 desktops on there a couple weeks ago. Put legit XP installs on the laptops since they came with XP and linux, tinyme, on both desktops just to show they worked.

You will be lucky to get what the parts would cost you to buy very lucky IMO. The two desktops I sold I got $35 for the pair the PAIR lol. Granted they were older but desktops are worthless. Laptops are better but even there you can go to best buy and buy a damn nice laptop for $400 that will stomp a year or two old laptop.

 

[cKGunslinger]

Originally posted by: VirtualLarry
I was hoping to charge prices about halfway between my cost for parts, and what Dell sells an equivalent computer for. Since I'm charging psuedo-Dell prices, I thought offering a warranty would entice the buyers.

The only thing that entices a CL buyers is a low prices and/or the chance to screw over a rube who offers a warranty for his old gear.

 

[Evadman]

FS/FT.

 

[Soundmanred]

Originally posted by: ed21x
no warranty, no negotiations, and cash upfront.

:thumbsup:

 

[alkemyst]

CL is a great place if you understand it's not WalMart. I laugh at the losers here that flame paypal and ebay as well saying it's impossible to make money.

You have to be CLEAR with your terms....also be sure to really wipe the machine.

A seller is never obligated to sell for a lowball offer, I don't know why people get bent out of shape about them. Many a buyer gets lucky with them esp in this day and age.

My parents snagged a piece of real estate in the mid 80's for less than $30k when the agent swore even $40k was too low an offer. The seller took $28k. They HAD to sell.

I'd try to meet anyone though at a safe place like the bank to do the exchange. They more than likely will want to test a computer so this may be more difficult.

Also never accept PAYPAL for anything that's being picked up directly...you can get screwed.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I found a craigslist computer offered with a year warranty here

So it's not true that no-one offers computers with warranty on CL.

Edit: found another
And another
This one seems non-commercial, with warranty.

 

[SupaDupaPan]

Originally posted by: VirtualLarry
I found a craigslist computer offered with a year warranty here

So it's not true that no-one offers computers with warranty on CL.

That's through a person though. What happens when that person decides to say "screw you" to the person who purchases the computer and then refuses to pick up the phone when the purchaser wants to do an RMA?

 

[Soundmanred]

Originally posted by: VirtualLarry
I found a craigslist computer offered with a year warranty here

So it's not true that no-one offers computers with warranty on CL.

Edit: found another

It sounded like both of those are through local PC stores. I see alot of that here too, it usually gets flagged since they are considered services. CL doesn't want to turn out like eBay, all "buy it now" stores, no personal sellers.
Do you work for a PC store, or have an online PC business?
Most personal sellers know better than to include warranties- too much hassle, not enough added value for those looking on CL for a PC.
Like others have said, it's not like you have to honor the warranty once you have their $$ (unless they know where you live, which is a no-no for CL). You could just stop replying to their emails for all they know.
I wouldn't trust a warranty from a personal seller, and I wouldn't be on CL looking to buy a PC from a local or online store.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Ok, so I finally posted my ad in the Boston craigslist. I didn't explicitly include the warranty, just said that it was available.