Monday, February 2, 2009

Ditched!

Just a brief rant here. I've been active on CraigsList again this month, and I have encountered some very poor CraigsList etiquette. I was ditched twice today when attempting to sell a particular item.

One guy asked lots of questions, and was very interested, negotiated a discount, and told me that he would be at my place to pick the item up no later than 3:30PM. It's 9:45PM now...he still hasn't arrived. No phone call or email...and I get only voicemail when I attempt to contact him.

When he ditched me, I called a woman who had emailed saying she was a "serious buyer" and told her the item was still available. She told me she wanted to pick it up on the way home, and she would be here around 6PM. She finally did call at 7:25PM with some explanation. She told me she was at a gas station about 15 minutes from my house, and she was on her way. Again...9:45PM, and she has yet to arrive. Again...no email or phone call, and voicemail when I call her.

Do these people have mothers? And did their mothers teach them anything?

Being a "no show" is very poor CraigsList etiquette. At the very least, a phone call or email is in order. If you change your mind, fine! That's how CraigsList works. You're not obligated until cash and goods change hands. But please...have the common decency to inform someone with whom you've made a verbal deal that you have changed your mind.

End of rant.

2 comments:

Brian Megilligan said...

On the flip side of this are sellers who don't know how to log back on to Craigslist to remove their item once it's been sold. It's particularly annoying when you at last have found that hard-to-find thing, email or call the seller, then hear them say "oh yeah, I sold that several days ago."

Out loud I say "oh, ok, thanks anyway." In my head I'm screaming "Well then remove your posting and stop wasting my time!"

Doug Holden said...

Completely with you on this. I make it a point to remove my ad as soon as I have cash in hand. Sold my TREO today and was delighted to take the ad down. Perhaps CraigsList should have a brief but mandatory etiquette lesson prior to allowing someone to post their first ad. It's really just a matter of common courtesy...but for some people, I suppose that's asking a bit too much.