This post may seem light-hearted compared to my majory doom-and-gloom posts, but it’s also a legitimate rant. I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned how much I hate Craigslist? Because I really do. Before I get people giving me grief or random testimonials about how great it really is, let me explain.
I’ve been in the hunt for cheap, used furniture since, well, as long as I knew Craigslist existed. This didn’t just start when I moved to the city after college with very little savings and a crap salary. I needed a lot of furniture to supplement the ragtag bunch I got from family. I actually got a few things by dumpster diving around the college town before I moved – and I’m not ashamed to admit that – and I bought a few cheap pieces like plastic drawers/carts at Wal-mart. And I still have those, years later.
That’s right – BF and I are keeping a lot of the clothes in our closet in plastic containers. We need to grow up. But cheapness is, well, how we roll.
Well, here I am two years later, and I’m still dealing with poor storage and some really crappy furniture. I have couch covers that made my old couch look brand new, and of course BF and I invested in a new TV stand to go with our new TV around Christmas last-last year. All the same, I really want a dresser and a few more things like shelves to make this condo look like our home. When it comes to pieces like that, I’d much rather buy used. New furniture … it’s just ridiculous. I can’t stomach the thought of paying a ton for it. I saw a chair on sale on TV for $600 and my jaw dropped.
But I get so frustrated with Craigslist. Of the DOZENS of times I have emailed people to buy things – dressers, media shelves, or really anything – I’ve only gotten lucky two or three times. Plenty of people haven’t returned emails, or they do and then by the time I arrange transport, they sold it to someone else. As many of you know, I have a small, economical car and can’t get transport right away.I nearly lost it on one lady after I said I would rent a large truck from a local hardware store, but when I called her, she had sold it to a neighbor without thinking to call me! I was almost out $35 plus gas … but I thought the whole time I was saving money in getting this furniture cheaply.
I just don’t understand those shady people. It doesn’t matter if I was the first one to respond to the ad and offered them cash – people will sell out in a minute to make a quick buck. It makes me think there’s very little decency in the world today. Or at least no patience.
I’ll eventually get over my frustration. In fact, as I’m writing this, I’m trolling the ads again but I’m not feeling like buying anything. Not. one. more. damn. thing. I’m generally annoyed with people who write in ALL CAPS like they’re shouting on there. I kind of want to skip right over them.
Except I don’t – I still read through because I want a real freaking dresser before I’m 30. If I ever do, I’ll be decluttering my closet and and donating those old plastic pieces to some college students.
Of course, I may rant, but I don’t learn – just last month, I sprung $100 for a really nice love seat, using Christmas money and, you guessed it, renting a truck. And I just emailed a person about an ottoman/storage set for $30, and I am hoping in vain to get a response from my email … before I’m 30.
Have you ever sold anything on Craigslist? The only justification I have for people not emailing back is that oftentimes when you place an ad you get A TON of responses. You respond to the first one, maybe two just to be safe, and then you ignore the rest. I recently listed my employer’s iguana for sale on Craigslist, and surprisingly, I got about 20 emails in response. Sure, it would have been nice to go through and respond to each person that it had already been sold, but that’s a lot of work just to be polite to strangers. I’ll respond to people letting them know the item has been sold if it’s a handful – less than 10 – but it’s usually much more than that.
I’ve been on your end of it too, and it sucks. I wish people would let me know when I email, but I just assume it’s already been sold if I don’t hear back. Now I’m off to search Craigslist for home goods as well! Good luck to you!
Ah, so you do indeed have the opposite problems I have had with CL. I have posted multiple items for sale, but the only thing I have ever successfully sold is my old hamster cage for $15. I would get one or 2 responses to my ads at most, and they included pics! and I would get super annoyed when I’d go “yes, you can come get it or I can take it to you” only to get no response from the prospective buyer. Maybe that’s from living in a smaller metro area, or maybe it’s just the kinds of things I’m selling (mostly household items). But either way, it’s a beast, and I felt like ranting a bit about it