For those who do a lot of Craigslist buying....wanted some thoughts here.

 

How often do you have non-responsive sellers? In particular, there are a number of listings in the Seattle area that get posted over and over, that I have sent mail on, and have never received a response. Usually for hard-to-find stuff for well under value. They never have a contact number posted or anything. They also never have a local location listed.

 

One in particular is an older Hogwarts Castle where the seller has dropped the price from $250, to $200, to $150. I can't get them to respond.

 

So is this just normal, or some sort of scam that I can't figure out?

So is this just normal, or some sort of scam that I can't figure out?

 

 

Yes. 

 

(I don't know what the scam would be in this particular case, but more scam-savvy folks may be able to tell us both. But the non-responsive part is very common with Craigslist, on the part of both buyers and sellers. It really is the wild west of modern commerce.)

They might just be messing with you.  You could always just flag them if it gets too frustrating.

CL is so ridiculously unpredictable it's tough to say. I had a guy do something similar with me once...I wonder some times if their inclination to respond is based on the content of your original email. When I write to a seller inquiring to buy things, I'm always friendly and informative, make sure I leave good contact info, and I try to give them my first name or my general location so that they know I'm not a bot or a Nigerian scam.

 

I often don't get responded to, and I know most of the time, especially in the case of Lego, it is because someone else responded first or already claimed the item. You have to answer really fast in my area. But once or twice there have been times when a seller didn't respond and re-listed the item, and ignored me yet again. I think it could be that I tell them where I am and they decide they don't want to deal with me because I'm too far away, or they are scared for some reason or another or want a female to respond. 

 

I once bought a 7965 MF off CL and it was plainly obvious the seller was a woman, she insisted on meeting me in an open, public place in broad daylight, I had no problem obliging, but then even when I showed up and paid her there was some serious tension there, she was definitely scared of me and I only stand 5'10" and weigh only 165, it was really weird and made for an extremely awkward exchange. I just tried to be polite and went about my way.

Funny you should mention this topic. I am having the same thing happen to me in the Tri State area. The person has great deals on older sets with plenty of picturer and info but yet they have no location listed. they also aren't responding to the 10 emails i sent so far. The person was listing them last night and i attempted to contact during the middle of them listing other sets with no luck. I feel your pain.

It's possible your email is getting sent to his spam and he doesn't realize it.

true. didn't think about that but still. at least leave your damn number. its way easier then email and you can avoid all the bs spammers.

It's possible your email is getting sent to his spam and he doesn't realize it.

 

I wondered about that, but if that is the case then it means everything from Craigslist must be going in the spam folder.

In my experience, if you offer cash for an in-person exchange and get no response, it's a scam. The lister is trying to attract buyers who will send money orders or wire money, then they can take the money and run. The next time you find a retired set for well below market value, shoot off an email offering to wire money for shipment. Either the seller will agree, in which case you know it's probably a scam, or the seller will suggest a cash deal. Either way you'll get a response and you can move forward.

I've had lots of offers to buy my CL listing via non-cash transactions. I know it's a scam, so I like to mess with them.

"Are you sure it's safe? I don't know. It says at the bottom of the page not to do it. Let me think about it."

Haha, your last line is funny. Yes, if these are scams, I want to try to mess with them a bit, but I have to figure out how to get them to engage first. I have tried multiple methods of text similar to what you mention. It doesn't really frustrate me to not get a response, it is just confusing.

It frustrates me for sure. I see a Taj Mahal for $500, I email or text the seller, I wait days with no response... I want to do evil things to them, like spam the hell out if their inbox or call them every night at 2:15 a.m.

Usually when i sell on craigslist and people email me asking questions like still got it? Have it? Ill buy it ... with no contact info or phone number to get a hold of them I just ignore those emails. Did you leave a phone number they can reach you at in your emails?

It frustrates me for sure. I see a Taj Mahal for $500, I email or text the seller, I wait days with no response... I want to do evil things to them, like spam the hell out if their inbox or call them every night at 2:15 a.m.

 

Maybe he already sold it ... have you ever thought of that? lol

true. didn't think about that but still. at least leave your damn number. its way easier then email and you can avoid all the bs spammers.

Leave your phone number on a craigslist ad = getting weird text and sales calls ... bots will scan for numbers on craigslist and spam your phone with bogus calls and text.

i do get a lot of craigslist emails that end up in my spam box, so it's possibly they aren't ignoring you.

Usually when i sell on craigslist and people email me asking questions like still got it? Have it? Ill buy it ... with no contact info or phone number to get a hold of them I just ignore those emails. Did you leave a phone number they can reach you at in your emails?

This is exactly why I said leave some info that at least distinguishes you as a real person. If you don't feel comfortable leaving a full phone number, type out some of the numbers alphabetically to avoid bots.  

Too good to be true CL listing that are non-responsive are mostly for email address collecting purpose. Than they can send you all kinds of spams, etc. I have a separate email address for CL and kijiji (canada) for inital contact for this very reason.

Maybe he already sold it ... have you ever thought of that? lol

Yeah I thought of that. Then he relisted it.

Top-Tip

 

I used to always have the same problems until......I started using my wife's email address, and signing her name to all emails.  My reponses tripled.  I was thinking it was soccer moms put off buy a male answering the ads--so tried using my wifes name--and it worked!  Once a deal is struck, I simply say my husband is going to meet/grab the item as I (wife) have to be somewhere.  It doesn't hurt to include a picture of your young kids in a plie of lego and attach!

Top-Tip

 

I used to always have the same problems until......I started using my wife's email address, and signing her name to all emails.  My reponses tripled.  I was thinking it was soccer moms put off buy a male answering the ads--so tried using my wifes name--and it worked!  Once a deal is struck, I simply say my husband is going to meet/grab the item as I (wife) have to be somewhere.  It doesn't hurt to include a picture of your young kids in a plie of lego and attach!

It's funny you say that. I just bought a lot that I had emailed from 3 different emails and the third was from my wife's email addy and I finally got a phone call. Not sure if that was the reason why. But this totally makes sense. Of course I always use our joint email that has both our names on it.

Thanks to the both of you, for validating my previous statement. People tend to respond more frequently when they think a female is on the other end.  

All the guys selling Lego on CL are hoping to meet a soccer mom on a Ducati B)

Leave your phone number on a craigslist ad = getting weird text and sales calls ... bots will scan for numbers on craigslist and spam your phone with bogus calls and text.

 

I have put my number on Thousands of Craigslist posts and have never gotten spammed, or anything of this nature.