Crazy Craigslist Curiosity!

[Star and Goldie]

Very random trail of thought here... nothing to do with doodles at all....

Craigslist gives me the creeps more often than not but I must admit I have bought several things from there.  When you have a toddler and you are living on a very tight budget buying toys and things new that they will grow out of or bored of in just a few months isn't always reasonable.  I've have landed some pretty amazing deals on CL including a brand new $250 dollhouse still in the box for $40, $150 play kitchen for $20, Suzuki drum set less than 1 year old $30,the list goes on.  In toddler cash this all adds up!

Of course I am so overly cautious when I arrange a pick up that my friends and family completely laugh at me. I text the name and address of the person I am meeting to at least 3 friends/family members. I will make one person my point of contact and tell them when I am pulling up to the location. I tell them I will call them in 15 minutes. If I don't call they are to call me. They are to try 3 times and if I don't answer then call the police.  Thankfully, it's never gotten to that. Yes, I'm THAT paranoid. Haha. You can never be too sure. 

There are several things in my house that I have acquired over Craigslist and actually I have met some pretty nice people.  There are people in wealthy areas near me that sell kids stuff in excellent condition for so cheap because they don't really need the money. On the flip side I've met single parents selling anything they can for cheap just to get money to feed their children.  Sometimes it's an eye opening experience.  Sidenote: the movie Craigslist Joe was very eye opening as well. A gentleman who lives completely off of CL for 1 year. Very interesting documentary. He had to eat, sleep and survive solely off of people he encountered via Craigslist. That took a very open mind!

Whenever you hear the word CRAIGSLIST it seems to have negative connotation and I suppose, rightfully so (think Craigslist killer and all of the nightmare stories you hear). Thankfully, I have never had a bad experience and I don't go into anything blindly.

However, I am just on there looking for legit sales and not browsing the crazies! Apparently there is a pregnant woman in NJ selling POSITIVE PREGNANCY tests on CL. What in the world???

Do you have a safety plan when you purchase something on CL or any other kind of community online sale?

What's the craziest thing you've seen posted on Craigslist?  There is some really WONKY stuff out there. From positive pregnancy tests, haunted coffee cups, people looking for impersonators, searching for the person they saw once from a distance at the hot dog stand that they fell in love with,  someone renting out their extra bathroom as a room, the list of crazies goes on!

[Adina P]

I stalked a jungle gym/swing set on there.   I belong to local FB buy/sell page so I browse that, but don't use CL much.  I have sold lots of baby things via the local FB page, though.  I just have people come and pick up the item from my house so I don't have to cart things around town with two kids in tow.  I've never been afraid...it's not like someone wanting to come to my house couldn't look up my info and show up and ring the bell. 

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

I've sold a couple things through CL.  DH's truck, met the guy locally and then when he wanted it we went to our bank.  He gave us cash, we ran it through the teller to be sure it was good, then he got the title.  Also sold a bedroom suite.  Those folks actually came to our house, they were nice and all went well.  I was very nervous in both cases though.

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

I have rented several apartments from craiglist, and we sold alot of our furniture on there when we moved from BC to Ontario.  One thing I have noticed, is generally people come in pairs, for security i guess. I never go to buy something or arrange to sell something if im alone

[John]

Hey everyone, first post for me!

I actually wanted to tell everyone that you can definitely find some really cool things on the site as well as meet a ton of cool people!  I'm sure it can be a bit sketchier for women, but I say just keep your wits about you and meet in a safe place that's well populated and well lit and you should be fine.

If I didn't use craigslist, I never would have found Ziggy!  I actually bought him from a young college girl who didn't have the time to take care of him.  She bought him on a whim and her parents made her sell him.  He's pretty much the coolest dog I know...

[Adrianne Matzkin]

John, 

Ziggy got lucky!! 

[John]

I was pretty blown away to see him on there.  Needless  to say, I scooped him up as soon as I could.  I was actually going to go pick-up an Airdale Terrier the next day.  Glad I saw the post 5 minutes after she posted it!

[Marnie, Stanlee's Mom]

The craziest thing I saw for sale was the helmet Roethlisberger was wearing when he wrecked his motorcycle. 

I bought a couch and loveseat set that was in fabulous condition for next to nothing from CL - I took my husband with me.  He a tad larger than I am so I wasn't worried AND the furniture was from a very exclusive gated community.  SCORE!!!

The DH in NC - he's kinda big:

 

[Marnie, Stanlee's Mom]

No, I did not purchase the man shown above, I just took him with me for safety reasons.  LOL

[Elizabeth, Bailey & Bruin]

I sold quite a few things on CL.  I sold my sons graphing calculator...   I always meet in a well traveled area and if it has security camera's  then that;s even better.  I parked and the guy pulled up next to me we exchanged money/calculator through the windows and never got out of the car.. LOL

It does feel like a shady trade sometimes. 

 

[Jen W]

I used to use CL a lot and never had an issue. I sold all of my furniture when I moved, sold my wedding dress, bought a bike trailer for my doodle for a fraction of the price it would have cost me new. Sure there are horror stories, but there are horror stories about everything.