c/craigslist-horror-stories

Stopped meeting buyers at my house after the $20 lamp guy showed up at 11 PM

Used to do porch pickups for anything under $30. Figured it was fine, low stakes. Then last month I sold a lamp for $20 to this dude named Carl. He texted at 9:42 PM asking if he could swing by 'right now'. I said sure, whatever. At 11:05 PM he's knocking on my back door. Not the front, the back. I opened it and he just stood there holding the lamp and staring past me into my kitchen. Said he wanted to 'check the bulb socket' before paying. I handed him the lamp through the door crack and told him to test it on the porch. He paid in crumpled singles and left. Took me 20 minutes to stop shaking. Now I meet everyone at the 7-Eleven parking lot on Main St. during daylight. Has anyone else had a buyer get creepy about the actual house location?

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charlie_allen•2d ago

The $5 mirror had a hidden camera, here's how I caught it before they got my WiFi

Picked up a cheap dresser mirror from a guy in Tacoma last month, and after a glitchy reflection I pulled the backing off and found a tiny lens wired to a battery pack. Check every mirror and clock you buy used with your phone's flashlight and your camera app, has anyone else had electronics hidden in furniture?

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val172•3d ago

Sold a couch to a guy who paid in quarters and I don't regret it

Everyone said take the $150 cash offer from that flipper in Phoenix but I went with the $137 in quarters from a dude named Ray who showed up with a wheelbarrow. He was the only one who actually sat on the couch and checked the springs, plus he helped me carry it down 3 flights of stairs. The flipper kept lowballing and texting me 'final offer' nonsense for 2 days. Has anyone else taken the weird but genuine buyer over the smooth talker and it worked out better?

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karenp11•3d ago

A buyer in Tacoma told me my photos were 'giving haunted house vibes' and sales doubled after I cleaned up

I was selling an old dresser on Craigslist for $40 and this one guy messaged me that the dark hallway shot made it look like a murder scene, so I reshot it on my porch in daylight with a plant in the frame, and suddenly three people were fighting over it, has anyone else gotten weird feedback like that that totally changed your listing game?

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xena_kim•8d ago

A buyer's nasty comment about my photos made me learn the lighting thing

Back in 2018 I was selling a couch on Craigslist for $150 and took pics in my dim hallway, you know, just quick phone shots. This one buyer drove 40 minutes from Tacoma, took one look, and said 'these photos look like a crime scene, I'm out.' That stung, so I grabbed a $20 clip-on lamp from Target and started shooting stuff near the window in the morning. Now I list everything with bright, clean pics and the weird lowballers actually dropped off, people trust what they can see clearly. Has anyone else had a rude comment that secretly improved their selling game?

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evan_jenkins•9d ago

Beware the 'free piano' that costs $400 to remove, happened to me last month in Portland

Listed a free upright piano, thinking I was being nice. Some guy showed up with a van and two buddies, no straps, no dolly. They tried to carry it down my porch steps and one of them slipped. The piano cracked the railing and landed on the guy's foot. He didn't sue, but he did charge me $400 cash on the spot for 'pain and suffering' before he'd leave. I paid it just to get rid of them. My neighbor said I should've called the cops, but honestly I just wanted it gone. Has anyone else had a 'free item' turn into a cash demand at the door?

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hayden_rivera•9d ago

Wasted $80 on a 'tested' vintage receiver, seller swore it worked

I drove 45 minutes to pick up a 1970s receiver the guy said he tested and it worked fine, but when I got home and plugged it in, the right channel was dead. He kept the $80 and I spent another $60 at a repair shop just to find out the output transistors were fried. Am I wrong for expecting a refund on something that clearly wasn't tested, or is that just the risk you take with vintage audio deals?

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rileyl98•11d ago

The buyer who haggled me to $5 then showed up in a rented Escalade

Some guy spent 20 minutes messaging me over a $30 desk lamp, got me down to $5, then rolled up in a black Escalade with a driver. He handed me a crisp five dollar bill and said 'this is for my office brag wall.' Still not sure if I got scammed or got a story worth more.

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