Posted my first rant in the local Tools area today. Just got tired of all the annoyingly bad posts I kept seeing, and some stuff from a recent CL purchase. I'd post a link but it's already been pulled once today because someone flagged it as inappropriate. So, what do you think? Would you have flagged this?
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Apparently someone flagged the precursor to this post for removal, prompting CL to remove it with a generic "may violate Craigslist Terms of Use" message. I have carefully reviewed the Terms of Use and this post does NOT violate them in any way. Should this be flagged for removal again, perhaps it is because this more accurately violates some user's expectation that other users will remain uninformed....? Whatever.
I did take it upon myself to edit some item names and prices to avoid pointing out any specific listing, and even cleaned up whatever minor language issues might have caused the more linguistically sensitive among us to be uncomfortable. This ensures full compliance with CL's Terms of Use.
So, here it is again:
Ever wonder why the tools/materials you keep posting and re-posting aren't selling? It is probably quite simple:
- Most of us are looking for genuine bargains; and
- Most of us hate misleading information; and
- Most of us are not stupid (though I freely admit to be ignorant about many things, in the proper sense of the word).
Examples:
- Any post with "$1" (or any ambiguous number) tacked on the title, but a different (higher) price in the description:
Face it folks: this is nothing more than a bad attempt at bait & switch. We don't care what you're selling or how badly we need it, if the price in the title is less than the actual asking price your item is off our radar. After all, if you lie to us about the price, what will be misrepresented about the item itself?
- Asking WAY too much for the item to start with:
Here are a couple of examples: Selling "Wonder Widget X" for only $80, when that same item can be purchased at a nearby closeout sale for less than $60, or someone offering "Power Widget Y - NEW!!!" for $150 when anyone familiar with Google can find it from Amazon.com for $101... shipping included!
Come on, people. We know everyone wants to try to get as much as possible for what we're selling, especially these days. But on the flip side we also want to spend a reasonable amount without having to haggle from an outrageous starting price to begin with. Or at least feel we can make an offer that has some reasonable chance of it being considered.
Items purchased at clearance/closeout sales are definitely NOT worth full price no matter how you slice it. Even items "new in box" that aren't purchased in a brick & mortar store will market, on average, at about 75-85% of the most current market price for the same item (except in circumstances of extreme rarity and/or quality). That's simply the premium we all pay: accepting less in exchange for not accepting returns on items, and paying less for such an item since there is no question we will have no option to return it.
- Describing "or Best Offer" when you don't mean it:
How many times have we sent out a $50 offer on a "$100 or best offer" post only to get the response "Sorry, can't take less than $75"? People, if you have no intention of taking the "best offer" the do not even imply that is the case! Even "best reasonable offer" is a cop-out, if there is no indication of what is reasonable. Either let us know you're willing to haggle and then haggle, or let us know you're not and set a firm price, but don't lie to us.
- Lazy Listings
There have been too many posts recently to the effect of "Got lots of tools / wood / materials / whatever, too many to list, call", or describing a (sometimes expensive) item in a particular state but "no pictures cause I don't have / own / know how to use" a camera. Really....
Look: if you are not willing to list and describe what you actually have, what makes you think we will be motivated to contact about it? And folks, if you can get to the point of using a computer well enough to post on Craigslist, I have great confidence that it is not beyond your ability to borrow a digital camera and click the button labeled "Add / Edit Images" when posting.
Here, I borrow from a response to my original post with an additional observation from a Craigslist user:
- Posting the original price paid for a used item, then only a marginally lower asking price
Well, if you think that the Super Whammeryne X-5000 you paid $500 for ten years ago is really worth $480 now, you may be right (based on rarity, quality, appraised value, etc.)... but if so, TELL us why it's worth that much. Otherwise it is simply too easy to pass on it, you know?
To those of you who take the time post informative, descriptive posts with reasonable asking prices and maybe even photos - THANK YOU! You are the people who make Craigslist a joy to browse and use!
To those of you to whom the above observations may apply, just keep in mind that it is frustrating enough to watch and wait for days, weeks or months for something one needs to come up, only to discover high prices, no flexibility, and perhaps not even a description one can trust to accurately reflect condition. We are not stupid and most of us strive to stay informed. Most of us won't fall for and are tired of seeing efforts to eek out every possible cent on a sale.
We are smarter than that, and continuing to post that way only ensures our money stays in our pocket and your items... remain yours.
That's all. Thanks for listening.
----------
Apparently someone flagged the precursor to this post for removal, prompting CL to remove it with a generic "may violate Craigslist Terms of Use" message. I have carefully reviewed the Terms of Use and this post does NOT violate them in any way. Should this be flagged for removal again, perhaps it is because this more accurately violates some user's expectation that other users will remain uninformed....? Whatever.
I did take it upon myself to edit some item names and prices to avoid pointing out any specific listing, and even cleaned up whatever minor language issues might have caused the more linguistically sensitive among us to be uncomfortable. This ensures full compliance with CL's Terms of Use.
So, here it is again:
Ever wonder why the tools/materials you keep posting and re-posting aren't selling? It is probably quite simple:
- Most of us are looking for genuine bargains; and
- Most of us hate misleading information; and
- Most of us are not stupid (though I freely admit to be ignorant about many things, in the proper sense of the word).
Examples:
- Any post with "$1" (or any ambiguous number) tacked on the title, but a different (higher) price in the description:
Face it folks: this is nothing more than a bad attempt at bait & switch. We don't care what you're selling or how badly we need it, if the price in the title is less than the actual asking price your item is off our radar. After all, if you lie to us about the price, what will be misrepresented about the item itself?
- Asking WAY too much for the item to start with:
Here are a couple of examples: Selling "Wonder Widget X" for only $80, when that same item can be purchased at a nearby closeout sale for less than $60, or someone offering "Power Widget Y - NEW!!!" for $150 when anyone familiar with Google can find it from Amazon.com for $101... shipping included!
Come on, people. We know everyone wants to try to get as much as possible for what we're selling, especially these days. But on the flip side we also want to spend a reasonable amount without having to haggle from an outrageous starting price to begin with. Or at least feel we can make an offer that has some reasonable chance of it being considered.
Items purchased at clearance/closeout sales are definitely NOT worth full price no matter how you slice it. Even items "new in box" that aren't purchased in a brick & mortar store will market, on average, at about 75-85% of the most current market price for the same item (except in circumstances of extreme rarity and/or quality). That's simply the premium we all pay: accepting less in exchange for not accepting returns on items, and paying less for such an item since there is no question we will have no option to return it.
- Describing "or Best Offer" when you don't mean it:
How many times have we sent out a $50 offer on a "$100 or best offer" post only to get the response "Sorry, can't take less than $75"? People, if you have no intention of taking the "best offer" the do not even imply that is the case! Even "best reasonable offer" is a cop-out, if there is no indication of what is reasonable. Either let us know you're willing to haggle and then haggle, or let us know you're not and set a firm price, but don't lie to us.
- Lazy Listings
There have been too many posts recently to the effect of "Got lots of tools / wood / materials / whatever, too many to list, call", or describing a (sometimes expensive) item in a particular state but "no pictures cause I don't have / own / know how to use" a camera. Really....
Look: if you are not willing to list and describe what you actually have, what makes you think we will be motivated to contact about it? And folks, if you can get to the point of using a computer well enough to post on Craigslist, I have great confidence that it is not beyond your ability to borrow a digital camera and click the button labeled "Add / Edit Images" when posting.
Here, I borrow from a response to my original post with an additional observation from a Craigslist user:
- Posting the original price paid for a used item, then only a marginally lower asking price
Well, if you think that the Super Whammeryne X-5000 you paid $500 for ten years ago is really worth $480 now, you may be right (based on rarity, quality, appraised value, etc.)... but if so, TELL us why it's worth that much. Otherwise it is simply too easy to pass on it, you know?
To those of you who take the time post informative, descriptive posts with reasonable asking prices and maybe even photos - THANK YOU! You are the people who make Craigslist a joy to browse and use!
To those of you to whom the above observations may apply, just keep in mind that it is frustrating enough to watch and wait for days, weeks or months for something one needs to come up, only to discover high prices, no flexibility, and perhaps not even a description one can trust to accurately reflect condition. We are not stupid and most of us strive to stay informed. Most of us won't fall for and are tired of seeing efforts to eek out every possible cent on a sale.
We are smarter than that, and continuing to post that way only ensures our money stays in our pocket and your items... remain yours.
That's all. Thanks for listening.
LCHIEN
Loring in Katy, TX USA
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