Is there any etiquette to selling stuff on Craigslist?

[yllus]

I put a bunch of dining chairs I no longer need up on Craigslist last night and woke up this morning to 15-20 e-mails inquiring about them.

My question: What's the common practice for selling stuff on Craigslist? Do I give the first person who e-mailed the first crack? Do I go with the person who's offering to pay and pick them up the soonest? Do I look them up on Facebook and decide by attractiveness?

Just an idle question. How would you play it?

 

[Demon-Xanth]

I'd go for first cash and/or deposit.

 

[Brainonska511]

I usually go by a mix of when the e-mail was received and how soon the person is willing to move on the purchase (if in the initial e-mail).

Of course, I will usually engage a few parties at the same time to close the sale as quickly as possible.

 

[Gooberlx2]

I'd go with whoever offers the most money. But in all cases, cash and local get highest priority.

 

[nakedfrog]

I like to goad prospective buyers into a steel cage match whenever possible.
Failing that, I try to go by first come, first served, factoring in how serious they seem.

 

[schmedy]

Pull out the oujia board and magic 8 ball and keep asking who to pick till they agree. What I typically do is go with first email unless it is auto low ball on price or can't come out for days. The one thing I do is when it is sold, pull it, and notify the others that it is sold. Good luck, it seems there are more and more scammers on CL, the overseas payment junk that is.

 

[Safeway]

Only contact one at a time, but email the others saying that there is a pending offer. If the first email seems wishy-washy, and the second email says call me NOW, then go with the second emailer.

 

[Oceandevi]

Originally posted by: Brainonska511
I usually go by a mix of when the e-mail was received and how soon the person is willing to move on the purchase (if in the initial e-mail).

Of course, I will usually engage a few parties at the same time to close the sale as quickly as possible.

And this gives you the chance to make up a story for the losers. " Oh sorry my bear ate the couch"

 

[lxskllr]

Examine the mail in "sessions". If you get 12 emails, pick the one that works best for you out of that group. That email "session" would get priority over the next group that comes in a few hours later.

 

[Adam8281]

I ask for pics and choose the person who looks least likely to be able to beat me up and steal my stuff when he comes over

 

[yllus]

Originally posted by: Safeway
Only contact one at a time, but email the others saying that there is a pending offer. If the first email seems wishy-washy, and the second email says call me NOW, then go with the second emailer.

Hmm, okay, I will do this. My problem is essentially that I've picked one of the first people to respond because they e-mailed about wanting to do the transaction today. Since that's not 100% for sure, I want to then get in touch with everyone else so they don't feel ignored. I'll do that now.

 

[Schfifty Five]

Sell it to whoever you feel like selling it to, but once it's sold, make sure to email the other people that it's no longer available. In your case, 15-20 emails is a lot, but one thing I hate about CL/ebay/ATFS is when I get ignored on a legitimate inquiry.