Craigslist Flakes...Let the 2013 Flake Count Begin

In the last 9 years I think I've only had 5 no-shows for appointments I've made with them at my storage location which is where I meet prospective buyers.

I don't want them coming to my home and the locker is only 1 mile from my house, so not a big deal to drive to it.
I have a friend who meets people at the side of an apartment complex about .4 of a mile from his house. He brings electricity with him for those items that need it.

Anyway, today I was to meet a gal at 7:45 am to look at an item and I waited a solid 25 minutes and she didn't show. She was coming (supposedly) from 30 miles away so I was giving her some time based on possible traffic problems. I usually only wait 15 minutes.

So, that's number 1 on the flake list for 2013, and the first for about 9 months. I guess my luck is running out.

Today I had made an appointment to meet up with a guy for some bags of cement. He called me up with car problems. UGH!! Not a big sale, just $20, but 7 50 lb. bags of cement is no fun to move in and out of your van multiple times a day! He ended up coming back about an hour ago.

Question about meeting at your storage unit.. How do you work out the gate access? Do you meet them out front and squeeze 2 vehicles through the gate? Do you pack your vehicle with your product and bring it out front?

I've been meeting people at a bowling alley a half mile up the road from my storage unit. I don't want to rub management the wrong way..

Question about meeting at your storage unit.. How do you work out the gate access? Do you meet them out front and squeeze 2 vehicles through the gate? Do you pack your vehicle with your product and bring it out front?

If the appt is at 3 pm I arrive at 2:45 and go through the gate to my unit. I locate the item and leave my car at the unit. I then walk to the office and wait for the person to come at 3 pm. The mgrs there know me well...I have had the unit for years and get a bargain rate. I often give them items that I get in bulk. In other words we have a good relationship.

When the person gets there I code them through the gate and tell them how to get to the unit. I walk through a shortcut and meet them at the unit. I show (and usually sell) the item and then I either leave with them or walk to the gate if I have other work to do. I have to punch them out.

I have to punch them out.

That's one hell of a way to show your appreciation for business! 

The locker that I use mostly is at a very large facility. My building is FF, after already going through A-Z if that gives you any indication. Needless to day, I'm way in the back! Today I was going to meet a guy who was picking up bags of cement mix. I stopped in the office, chatted them up a bit and decided to move the meet location up the road at the bowling alley. They are real policy followers in there.. I think because they've just been taken over by new management.

Finally sold the poker table!  Talk about flakes!
Took 18 contacts.  12 'just stopped contact', 3 no shows and 2 show up in a CAR .....to by a TABLE!
.................
Guy made the obligatory half *ss 'what will you take' but didnt press it further than that.  Paid $200 asking price.

Priced it to sell, could of got more but really needed it out of the garage before it got damaged. Already have had a few 'oh sh*t' moments.

I've got a couple of high dollar sofa sets on Craigslist right now and I'm ready to sell them. This lady called me about noon and asks me if we can meet at 6:00 PM. I was planning on visiting relatives this evening and I asked her if we could make it around 3:00 PM. She said the earliest she could make it was 6:00 PM because she was going to be tied up for a few hours then she had to go get her trailer and her house was about an hour away. I'm thinking to myself, you don't drive an hour with your trailer if you aren't going to buy, so I agreed to meet her. 6:00 PM - No Show. 7:00 PM - She calls to tell me she's running late -  as if I didn't know.

About a half hour later, she is in town and ready to meet. I meet her at the storage facility and she is with 3 other people, all in their 50's. You could smell the money. So, I open the storage door and they look at the sofa set and the lady said she didn't like the way the color looked in person.    As irritating as this was, they turned their attention to an even more expensive sofa set. They haggled with me about price and got me down to my bottom dollar...so low I was almost regretting selling it. We pulled the entire set out and here comes the tire kicking. Every little thing a normal person wouldn't even notice, they had to point out. First of all, this is probably the nicest sofa set I have ever had since I have been buying storage units...I let the nitpicking go in one ear and out the other.

Anyway, after we pull everything out, her annoying friend says to her "I don't think these feel as comfortable as the other set we looked at yesterday, what do you think?" You could tell she had no opinion of her own and was easily influenced by her friend. After discussing everything with her husband, they decided not to buy them so we had to move everything back inside the storage unit. They thanked me for my time and left. I thanked them for wasting my evening.

My new rule - never inconvenience myself for a Craigslist buyer. If they're really serious about the item, they'll wait until I'm available.

I hate dealing with people like that. They think they're buying brand new stuff off of Craigslist. Sometimes, I feel like saying "If you want a warranty, go buy from Haverty's, you cheap F***!" What I've learned, however, is if you stand your ground on price with these people, they respect the product more. It's as if you're saying, "This stuff is worth what I'm asking." and they tend to take a second look and think harder about the offer. In the end, you can throw out a $100 discount "if it helps them out." In my experience, that tactic works for people with money to spend. (and not instant money like tax returns) My experience includes selling cars (Chevy's to Mercedes), home electronics, and appliances.

I hate dealing with people like that.

We all do of course but losing our cool doesn't really pay off either. It's unlikely, but those flakes who waste our time (as in Travis' case) might actually have a change of heart and come back.

I agree that one should stick to one's guns on pricing pretty much. If I am asking $350 for something and someone has driven 30 miles to see it they most likely will go for it at the asking price, but in watching the scene play out one has to adapt.

I once was asking $350 for an item that is rarely listed (and costs $1000 new) and the woman said "Would you take $300?". I said "No, the asking price is fair when compared to the new price". She said "Are you sure?"  That was the first time I had been challenged on a scene like that and I thought I had lost the sale, but before I could counter with "I'll take $325." She said "How about $325?" so it all worked out.

That was on a "pick" for which I had paid $50, so was more than gratifying.  Getting the same kind of result on one piece from a locker buy that had maybe 10 to 15 great items obtained at a good price is equally satisfying, but once again the "picking" is looking better all the time.  One of my cronies has been doing picking full-time for four years and another gave up auctions two years ago and picks full-time as well.

My new rule - never inconvenience myself for a Craigslist buyer. If they're really serious about the item, they'll wait until I'm available.

I've felt this way several times, it's easy to have this attitude when you are only a part-timer or hobbyist, but when you need the sales to provide your income you kinda have to grin and bare it.

As for the nick-pickers, as soon as they start pointing out the small flaws in the USED furniture, I quickly say something like, "your right, I tell ya what, they are selling a similar piece that is new at XYZ Mart for 5-10 times my price, you should go check them out!" That usually signals to the customer that they can't low-ball me by nick-picking the item. I actually keep flyers from the local new furniture stores so they can see the prices.

I love the look on their faces when the complain about a couple of BB-size cigerette burns on a $75 recliner, then I pull the flyers out and show them they can get the same recliner in MINT condition for ONLY $695 + tax!!