DogHouseMom

I haven't had any bad experiences (yet) with Craigs List. The worst was when I went to look at a Bakers Rack which was poorly pictured, only to find out the pic's were actually flattering. All of the sewing machines I found on CL have been good experiences.

E-Bay however ... twice I received a machines that were packed poorly. Both instances I was the only bidder and got the machines cheap, I think the sellers were very unhappy about the price and purposely packed them really bad. In each case the boxes were marked "this side up" and in each case the machine was in the box up-side-down. One of them I'm still picking peanuts out of the pillar!!

Candace

It was for a rather inexpensive FW, so it was hard for me to tell the seller to take a hike. But my conscience would never have let me enjoy that machine, knowing I was screwing someone else in the process:<


Here's Bad Seller on CL experience #2: a 301 was listed and I met the seller at the local Lowes. I was a newbie and didn't notice the bobbin case was missing. I contacted him via e-mail asking if he had it and he said he'd look for it. I waited a couple of days and no response. Long story short, I had a second e-mail for this seller and it happened to belong to the girlfriend that was along with him at the sale. She told me to stop contacting them, that he had stolen the machine from his mother while she was in the hospital and he "took" me. I let her know what a terrible person her boyfriend was and to let the mother know I had the machine if she wanted it back. I was never contacted, so I don't know if she died or if the girlfriend was full of it. It just shows you there are many back stories behind these sellers and many different schemes and agendas going on.

DogHouseMom

some are .... but like all generalizations, it doesn't always apply. I do have a general theory though that I'll admit to ... Craigs list seems to be people who are trying to get rid of stuff, and E-bay seems to be people who are looking to make a buck.

I got two machines from Craig's List where the homes were in the million dollar range. Nice machines, cheap prices.

I admit though, once I contact the seller and get an address, I use Google Earth to "look around" the neighborhood. Location, location, location!!

Sideways

Sue I do that too, I check out the neighborhood.

I have had three wonderful Craig's list experiences, but the whole culture is like the wild, Wild West to me. Never know what is going to ride into town.

mlmack

For the most part, I have found Craigslist folk to be pretty decent, and I do a fair bit of buying and selling there. If I get a bad vibe, I'll try to get them to meet me somewhere public.

trivia42

I always try to meet in public. If I can't, I take someone with me. I had a bad vibe experience once on CL (though all my others have been fair/good).

Macybaby

I've had almost all good transactions from Craigslist. However one seemed strange, and when DH looked up the location, he said there was no way were were going there (very bad part of the neighborhood). I've had plenty that seemed like scumbags when contacted, but I never bought from one I felt that way about.

I've had mixed luck on ebay - but they all worked out OK in the end.

DebbieG

I'm one of those "SCUMBAGS" that sells on CraigsList, and thankful it's there...sold my RV with a minimum of fuss!

auntpiggylpn

Me too! It was the easiest way to sell our pop up camper and CL has helped me clear out our garage full of non used exercise equipment and other larger items. Someone else hauls it away, I don't have to lug it to the Goodwill or Salvation Army. And I get a couple bucks. Craigslist is definately not going to make me rich, but then again that isn't my goal when I sell on it!

auntpiggylpn

I've only had one bad experience so far with Craigslist. Someone was looking for craft items for free. I had a box full of different things I was going to take to Goodwill so I contacted the poster. We made arrangements to meet at a Wendy's parking lot. I sat for 30 mins and tried to call the person 2-3 times with no answer. The next day I got an email with some convoluted story about why they couldn't meet me and why they didn't answer their phone. She asked me if I could bring the items to her house and gave me the address. I took a friend with me and when we drove by the address, there was no way in h*ll I was getting out of my car and approaching the house. I drove directly to the Goodwill and made the donation there. I emailed her when I got home and let her know what I had done with the items.