The Craigslist Life: A rant, a joke, and a few observations on the human condition.

[duckinnut]

Buy tickets all the time never won anything. Must have used all my luck with Craigslist.

That is the biggest problem with luck, you don't get to choose where its applied.

You can make your own breaks but luck has her own ideas.

 

[featherz]

I sell extras on CL all the time.. I get ALL of the above.

"I want hens not roosters.. can you sell me only the hens?" (When my ad says NO I WON"T SELL ONLY THE HENS)
"Can you sell me only white birds? I only want white birds"
"I want all girls" (day old unsexed chicks)

And the 'I'll be there at XX:XX" - which really means add two hours. One person dropped off the cash and didn't take the chickens. Had to nag her to come get her birds after a few days of no contact. Had to threaten to drop the check off with her and sell the chickens to someone else.


Another person wanted to buy my extra day old chicks .. "can you hold them until I get the brooder ready?" - feeling nice, I say ok.. $2 chicks, what's a day here or there.. 6 weeks later.. "are my chicks ready?".. LOL.

 

[Carols Clucks]

I use craigslist to rent apartments

Usually it goes okay, but I only expect a 50% show up rate

And "By Appointment Only" seems to mean show up when ever you want.

 

[KristyHall]

This is for all of you folks who advertise on Craigslist. It probably applies as much to all such "classified ads" types of services but at the moment it's Craigslist that making me both laugh and crazy at the same time. It seems that one just CANNOT word an ad so clearly that someone out there cannot misunderstand it.
What part of "call me AFTER 5 P.M." can they not understand? Yes, it was in bold caps immediately before my phone number. At least three out of five calls will come in the morning or early afternoon. One of them from a school administrator from the high school where my kids will be going. Sigh....
Also, (the turkey ad) "Hatched April of this year. Seven weeks old. Out of the brooder and no longer needing supplemental heat. I cannot tell male from female until they are four months of age. I do not have any mature birds for sale." They still call asking if I can sell them just hens or they want mature birds.
The chicken ad says "red sex-links." NOWHERE does it mention Rhode Island Reds. I do not have any!
Then there are the folks who say they'll be there noonish so I rearrange my plans to meet them since they are talking about buying twenty birds. Finally after one they call to say "they're running a little late but will be there in fifteen to twenty minutes." Fine. I'll wait. Forty five minutes later her husband finally calls to say they are hopelessly lost and can he get directions? Never let it be said that MEN never ask for directions! A half-hour later they finally made it and bought more than two hundred dollars worth of birds. Only cost me most of my Saturday afternoon, but that was the same time the folks who drove for an hour came to decide the turkeys were too young. Muttermuttermutt...
Another person called to say she wanted five turkeys and wants to know if I'll give her a discount. OK, I offered her one because at that time the pen was getting crowded and I needed the space. Then it develops she lives three hours away and wants to know if I'll meet her partway. It so happens I know exactly where her town is so I have a good idea of a meeting place that would be convenient for us both but would require me to drive an hour to get there. I explained I'd have to charge her for the mileage (a few miles is one thing, a 120 mile round trip quite another) but she declined saying "I can't afford those prices." I have my town and county listed in the ad, but she had no idea of where she was in relation to them.
People see what they want to see or perhaps more accurately what they WANT to see no matter how I word the ads.
So what sort of responses do you get to your ads? I know I can't be the only one who gets these folks.
Funny, annoying, make you crazy? Let's hear them!

I admit I am the world worst at getting lost, especialy if I have a set time to be there.

I tend to leave at least 30 minutes earlier than the estimated drive time, and if it is a long distance drive at least an hour early.

I have still been late (though usually only by about five minutes).

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Well, last night I have to put in the funny category.

Got a call yesterday afternoon (two hours before five o'clock naturally) from a woman who had called the week before (also in the mid-afternoon) who asked how to get to my place so she could get some turkeys. I live in the country so it takes a bit of explaining. She let me get her almost all the way to the house before saying suddenly "I have to talk to someone first before I can get the birds" then hung up. Sigh...

So she called again yesterday to say she definitely wanted three turkeys and could I meet her friend who was going to pick them up for her? The meeting place wasn't very far away and would not take much time so I said sure. Loaded up the birds and carried them over. The fellow who showed up was driving a Toyota Celica. No big deal, people carry birds in their cars all the time. He walks over to the truck, looks in the back,and stares at the turkeys in astonishment like he'd never seen one before (maybe he hadn't?).

It turns out he hasn't got a cage or even a box to carry them in and had no idea they were as big as they were (Standard Bronze turkeys seven weeks old, about the size of say a Barred Rock hen). He gets on his phone to call the woman who he was getting them for and they have a terse conversation. I'm trying not to listen but he's standing only three feet from me so it was hard not to hear phrases such as "you have no idea of the size of these things!" and "I'm going to wring your neck!" He thought he was picking up chicks that he could keep in a box overnight until he could take them to her the next day. By this time I cannot contain myself any more and am laughing out loud.

Fortunately that was not my first rodeo so I got a length of baling twine out and handed him some newspaper to spread in the back floorboard of his car. I bound the turkeys legs then tied them in a coffle so they would stay still then made it clear to him he'd have to take them to her right away. They could not stay that way for very long but it would keep them still until he could get them where they needed to go. Marion county is one of the larger of Florida's and we were in the north end, she in the south end. He paid me off and we shook hands. I told him he was just one more in a long, long tradition of guys being talked into things by girls. At least he would not be riding for an hour with a mature tom turkey in his lap the way one of my customers did to her boyfriend!

Now I was kind to him. I told him he'd be better off to drive with his windows down. Turkey manure is uhhmmm... somewhat more fragrant.... than chicken manure.

Another day of the Craigslist Life.

 

[chickened]

They show up with a feedsack and string to transport chickens, they show up with a small car, rope and a trunk to transport sheep, they show up with nothing to transport chickens... decide kids (5 of them) each will hold thier own bird for a 2 hour drive home and the worst one they bring a dog that chases and tries to kill chickens. Oh and the ones that show up and try and tell me what breed my birds really are. (I've had chickens a looong time)

 

[MommyMagpie]

I use craigslist to rent apartments

Usually it goes okay, but I only expect a 50% show up rate

And "By Appointment Only" seems to mean show up when ever you want.

ITA about the "By Appointment Only".....I have a tailoring business and only see clients in the town where I used to live on certain days/times. A couple of weeks ago I got a call from a VERY IRATE

woman who evidently was standing at the back door of my old house, banging away, utterly convinced I was in there and not answering the door....when in reality I was 50 miles away. I tried explaining to her that "Thursday afternoons from 2-5 pm by appointment" means that I am not available at 10:30 am. She eventually hung up on me.

Apologies for the threadjack.

 

[tadpole98]

Oh wow!! These are some funny stories!!! XDDD

 

[PotterWatch]

I've had good luck in general with Craigslist. There have been a few people here and there who hav flaked or shown up and then tried to talk me down on price. My most recent posting revealed an annoying trend though. I put up two LaMancha wethers (castrated male goats), and most of the responses I got said "I am interested, please call me at...". Please people, if I haven't put a phone number, I probably don't want phone calls. If you have questions, you could have asked them in your email and then possibly I might call you to discuss it further. I deleted those requests and certainly didn't take time out of my busy schedule to call them.

 

[ChicknThief]

I have dealt with my share of nutcases with craigslist, but two stick out in my mind over the others.

First one, I was trying to sell my car. It had run out of oil and thus needed some engine work, but it was otherwise in perfect condition. I lowballed it for 500$ because I really just wanted it out of my hair. I get a call from this man, and I explain the situation. The whole time we are on the phone he has this really condescending tone. Finally he says

"Oh sweetheart, you are never gonna get anyone to buy it for 500$. I'll tell ya what. I'll do you a favor and come take it off your hands for 50$. How's that sound sweetie?"

My response? "Ok, first off, don't ******* call me sweetheart. Secondly, just because I'm a woman doesn't mean I don't know what the heck I'm talking about. This car is worth significantly more than 500$ even with the damage. So you can take your 50$ and stick it right up your ***"

I probably could have been nicer, but I don't take too kindly to being talked down to.



The other experience was when I was trying to sell my couch. I left the room for ten minutes, and when I came back I had seven missed calls. All from the same person! I call her back and she proceeds to tell me her life story of welfare and woe and she just gushes about how much she loves my beat down old couch and she must must must have it....

Me: Ok, when would you like to come pick it up?
Lady: Oh well see that's the thing. I don't have a car. Can I pay you extra and have you deliver it?
Me: Uh... Well, it's at my fathers house so I will have to ask him. Where are you located?
Lady: I'm in Folsom. (more than an hour away!!!)
Me: Oh, Yea I don't know if that will work. That is a really long ways to deliver it.
Lady: Oh but I can pay you 100$ extra!
Me: Hmm... well I will ask my dad, but it isn't likely because of both his work schedule and mine. I will call you in the next 24 hours if we are able to do it for you.
Lady: Ok!!

For the next week, this woman called me NO LESS than 25 times per day. Even after I told her we wouldn't be able to deliver it. The final straw was when I was at my mothers birthday brunch. She called repeatedly and continuously until finally I picked up. She picked up right where she left off about how much she wanted the couch. I interupted her and informed her that I am at my mother's birthday. She's like "Oh that's cool. Anyways, I really -" "NO. LADY, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND. I am hanging up now, and you are not to call this number again, EVER." After a couple more missed calls she finally got the hint