Topic: craigslist #$%*

[parm]

i dont post here much, but, i had to tell someone about this #$%*. so on friday i see a 77'  triumph bonneville go up on craigslist for 1000 obo. the seller says he has 4000 dollars worth of reciepts, for stuff that he has done to the bike. so i phone him, no answer. next day i get a phone call in the morning, and its the seller he tells me about the bike, and why he had to get rid of it. so i tell him ok , ill buy it off of him sight unseen. i have the money and i am coming right now. he goes on to tell me not to bother coming if im not gonna get it or if i am going to try and low ball him. i assure him that i will not and am purchasing the bike for sure. so i head out on my way. the trek is from white rock, BC to Puyuallap Washington about 2 to 3 hour drive. so anyways he gave me his address and stuff and told me to call himw when i get into town. so i do as he says. i get to puyallup and call him. i tell im in puyallup and ill be over in a couple of minutes. he says not to bother, and i ask "WHY?" he goes on to tell first come first serve, and i should buzz off. and i said " #$%* you i drove 3 #$%*ing hours for this bike and you sold it before i got there and you diddnt even botgher to let me know. at this point hes furious at me tells me that if i phone him again he'll have the police after me for harassment. what a #$%*ing jerk. he knew i was coming from canada. so why did tell me that we had a deal. ahhh it made me soo mad. what a waste of a day. not sure if my rant made any sense but it feels good to tell someone about it.

[kghost]

Yup that would make him exactly what you called him.

[Spikeybike]

dude , you have his address.... i think someone needs a flaming bag o poop on there doorstep

[BlindJoe]

Wow, what %$#@ing a-hole. You should give us his address and phone number so we can register him for crappy magazines and order him some pizzas.

[parm]

his trailer park address is no longer good as he has to moved back to alabama to live with his mother.

[nickjtc]

Sounds like Bennie the Burglar has been on the job and needed to unload the swag asap.

[Spikeybike]

well at least he's doing good , you know , making good life choices, handle his "bin-ness"


gotta love the bottom feeders, they make the rest of us look so much better

[tom8Toe]

To call him and not get an answer is one thing, you could have left it alone. But to have him call you back, have you drive 2-3 hours from Canada only to sell out from under you. F$%cking a$$hole.

Are you sure he's left the state of Washington?

Regards,
Chris
from Seattle only a 30 minute drive south to Puyallup.

[mrblasty]

Sometimes dealing with caigslist folk is like calling that "For a good time"number on the #$%*ter stall at the mall, sometimes it works out, some times it doesn't

[parm]

hahah im pretty sure hes gone. lucky bastard who got the bike though. i wouldnt have been that upset if he had been a bit more polite about the situation. he didnt even say sorry once. im actually beginning to laugh about the situation now. but man the drive was miserable too, it was snowing, hailing, raining, windy, sunny and COLD!

[cafe750]

Was his name Rob by any chance? I had a d*ckwad from puyallup pull the same sort of sh*t, except conduct a "phone tag" auction on a track stand...the first time I went for the higher price, because he agreed to hold it, then he called me back, when I was most of the way to his place, and asked me to bid higher than someone else...then he said that " thats just the way craigslist works"...I let him have it, and I hope his ear melted off....

[Terry in Australia]

I heard that craigslist is where you go to sell something when EBay won't deal with you anymore...............

[Raul CB750K1]

parm, I think that what pissed you off the most was not the drive or the time, but how you drooled all the way for the good bargain you were going to get just to see it vanish when you were about to get it. These things happen all the time, you drive to what you've been told to be a "great looking bike" and you discover a pile of junk and a seller expecting you to buy it, provided you have already spent the time and gas, and returning empty-handed would be considered a waste of time.

In those cases, the best thing to do is to deep breathly, cool off, head home and have a good lunch on the way.

[333]

Is there a "feedback" function with Craigslist?  At the very least, this should be brought to the attention of any future buyers about this guy.

And then I think we need this guy's info.  He needs to know what he did to one of us!!!

[cbass*gxc]

Ya I agree.  Post up his addy and phone #.  That is the kind of person who needs a little help.

[kirkn]

Well, I feel your pain because it's happened to me, too.

BUT - I've sold any number of things on Craigslist and from local ads etc.  If I had a nickel for every time I've heard someone tell me they'll take it and they're on their way, and then NEVER show up, nor even call....

As a seller, if a buyer over the phone says he'll buy it, I say "first come first served, just so you're aware"  and you had to have approached it that way, assuming that it might be gone if it's such a good deal. 

I will agree with you that the guy should have called you out of courtesy to let you know it was gone, thus saving you some travel.  And he should have told you up front that it might be gone.

I mean, if I had something for sale locally that was a great bargain, and some guy says he can't be there for three hours, but meanwhile, I've got people waving cash in my face, well, cash talks really loudly, compared to hot-air blowers, which is what I, as a seller, have to assume about every potential buyer...

Sorry, but I've been burnt WAY too many times as a seller...

[my78k]

3 hours is not to a bad deal...the seller should have taken the next call and told THAT guy to be there in 3 and a half hours....give the first buyer the chance that he agreed to.

I have been burnt like this too but atleast it was only an hours drive each way not 3!

When I have sold in the past I book time slots...first guy calls with a reasonable turn around time and then I book no closer than half hour past that point AND I always warn the subsequent buyers that there is someone in line first so they can verify that I still have it before they make the trip out...

Dennis

[cbass*gxc]

ya I do the same 78k.  I have been selling a few things on craigslist and that is how I do it.

[dustyc]

I don't know how some of the people I've gone to see have the intelligence to actually post to Craigslist.  They must have a friend do it for them. 

I went to see what was described as a complete, but disassembled bike with an extra engine.  I asked about its condition and was assured it was rust free and just needed put back together. 

I drove 3 hours and arrived to find a locked up F engine sitting in a wheelbarrow full of water, bins of parts full of water, a frame that was rusted with a comstar on back and spoked wheel up front.  A total let down.

I've found good deals too, so it's hit or miss.  If they can't provide pictures, that's a red flag to me.

[tom8Toe]

There needs to be some kind of repercussion for people who deal in bad faith as I'm sure there are a lot of shenanigans going on within the craigslist community. There was a case a few weeks back I think in Oregon where as a hoax, someone placed an ad on craigslist with a home address stating the property was in foreclosure and what ever was left on the property was free for the taking. The guy came home to crowds of people clearing out his house. Most of his belongings were stolen including the guy’s horse. When the guy approached some of them, their reaction was “the ad on craigslist said the stuff was free”. After the victim stated that his property was not in foreclosure and to put everything back, they still ignored him and drove off with his stuff anyway. As of recently I heard a lot of his items still haven't been returned.

It’s a good thing I don’t keep guns in the house.

[malcolmgb]

my daughter uses Craigslist a little, she lives in the US I'm in the UK, she recently told me that people put in or reply to ads for their e-mail address then sell them on, since the bike seemed a good deal could he have used this scam to get a good crop of addresses.

[Gordon]

I mean, if I had something for sale locally that was a great bargain, and some guy says he can't be there for three hours, but meanwhile, I've got people waving cash in my face, well, cash talks really loudly, compared to hot-air blowers, which is what I, as a seller, have to assume about every potential buyer...

Sorry, but I've been burnt WAY too many times as a seller...

+1

But I agree, as the seller, you need to tell prospective buyers that it's first come first served, and not make any promises that you're not willing to keep.  And as the prospective buyer, you need to keep your expectations really low, because chances are you're going to be disappointed.

[754]

I bought a few pieces of equipment from newspaper ads.. before ebay and CL.. and often it was in Vancouver which used to be 5.5 hrs away..

 BUT 2 things are different,


 Usually I was the first or in the first 3 to call..
 And  I would specifically say that I would be there in the AM by 8 or 9 am and are you going to hold it for me if I am driving out to look at it... and they always honored it..

 One time though, I took a wad of cash for a buddy and his truck to go buy a lathe,, By the time we got there most of the people working at the large shop were gone exect the owner or manager.. I phoned buddy back & forth about the condition of the lathe...

AND THEN THE GUY TOLD US..

(it was about 5:30 in the afternoon) that if we do decide to buy it, we have to load it tommorrow anyway.. and I said WHAT

And he said, "Union Shop, I cant touch it!!" ... and I left and drove 6 hrs to get home..

And speaking of condition, and I learned this the hard way... ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ask HOW MUCH RUST DOES IT HAVE...


Apparently even a teacher of Welding, can think that it ok if a machine tool is rusty.. just clean it off...freaking peckerhead...

[parm]

his name is mike and his phone number is 1-253-845-3862 and his other number is       1-253-973-3247. i actually believed we had a deal, i even phoned him to let him know i had just taken out the money.  i understand where people are coming from when they say they have been burnt by buyers not showing up. i have had the same problem selling bicycles. people say they are coming and they never actually end up showing. its very frustrating.

[seaweb11]

The CL350 I bought for Kathleen was down in Eastern WA. Bought it on Ebay. Showed a nice running bike.
4 hours later when I got there I saw something that looked like a boat anchor

I had driven so far that I bought it anyway.
The next Ebay purchase was a bit better............2 CL350 parts bikes in Seattle for $5.00



I know how disappointed you can feel at the end of a long drive......even if the bike is still there