Friday, June 7, 2013

Craig’s List Etiquette

Oh my. It feels like it's been forever since I have written much at all...especially since Indy wrote that overly-long post the other day regarding his visit to the vet.

BTW, since I'm sure you were all wondering, he slept for the next two days after all the excitement of his trip to the vet...I guess that's what happens when you get to be old (he is 5...which is 35 in human years and we all know how old THAT is).

Anyway, it's not that I don't have a lot to say...it's more that I don't have time to say it.

As in right now...the PBA are cleaning the bathrooms and I am writing. I should probably go help or something.

Don't get me wrong, it is only 9 and I have stripped the beds, done two loads of laundry (washed...not folded of course), emptied and reloaded the dishwasher, made dinner (I won't have time later...had to be heat and eat tonight), showered and had my quiet time.

Oh, and touched up some color on my hair.

OK, more than a touch-up. Full-on color.

Anyway...I could stay up late to do some writing, but I do kind of enjoy my sleep. In fact, I am thankful for it.

I am thankful for so many things. It's timely that my friend Christine at In the Coop is co-hosting a blog hop of thankfulness.

It's tomorrow...be ready, people. (Technically at midnight tonight but I think we all know that mine will be up tomorrow...not tonight at Midnight. Lest you be confused, see my above comments about sleep.)

When I link up to her blog hop, I'm supposed to put the button on my post, but she's making assumptions about my blogging capabilities.

See, I'm being passive-aggressive here...I'm seeing if she actually reads my blog. Because if so, I will then (promptly I'm sure) receive an email from her containing directions on how to put in the button...and some smart-alek comments to boot.

Or maybe she'll post it below for all to see. It's a crap-shoot really.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

Anyway, in this hop, I'll be linked up to her and various other blogs who will hopefully participate.

I'm sure there will be many. I hope you feel free to participate too...even if you don't blog, you can leave your list in the comment section below.

Or email your list to me...I'll happily post it for you.

OK...that was your heads up that this is coming up tomorrow so you can be thinking about your own list.

Now to what I really wanted to tell you about...a real menace to our society: Craig's List Etiquette.

Actually, if you want to be all deep about it, we could say that this is simply a microcosm (and BTW I did spell that correctly on my first try...) of society's downward spiral. How people treat one another when buying and selling on Craig's List is no different than how we often treat one another in our everyday lives.

But let us not be deep...it is Friday after all.

I don't even know what that means. 

Anyway...I'm sure there are other lists already out there in cyberspace, discussing the deplorable way some people behave on Criag's List...but I haven't Googled it. I wanted this list to be my own.

So all that to say...any similarities between my list and someone else's is purely coincidental (and no, I mis-spelled that one on my first try...you can't expect me to get EVERY word right! I am spell-check dependant.).

Away we go:

As I’m certain you have discerned (you’re nothing if not quick and perceptive) that I have been cleaning out some things.

  • Making trips to Goodwill.
  • Making trips to Half Price Books.
  • Listing things on Half.com (which is the media component of Ebay…if you’re not familiar with Half.com, I suggest you check it out. It’s really great…usually…although you can never get free shipping with it.  You can't have it all, I suppose.)
  • Giving away random things to people who may (or may not) really want them. But they are gracious enough to smile and accept them. Not to be rude, but frankly I don't care if they want them or not...I just want them out of my house.

One other course I am following is some selling on Craig’s List.

I’m sure you’ve all (or at least many of you) have done this. Listed things to sell, with high hopes of quick sales and a fat pile of cash. Or at least more cash than you had going into the trasnaction.

The best part of Craig's List being: no fees like on Ebay. 

That being said, when buying and selling on Craig's List, there are a few rules of thumb you should follow (and, as I've previously alluded to...feel free to use these as they may apply to your everyday life):
  1. Don’t spam people. I don’t understand the point of such things, but WHY WHY WHY do people take pleasure in sending weird, random messages to people who have posted ads on Craig’s List? It’s weird. Don’t do it.
  2. If you are asking for delivery or even meeting somewhere (somewhere that is a far drive) don’t ask for a huge price break. It’s rude. And the seller will most likely tell you “no”.
  3. If you do ask for a price reduction, don’t low-ball the person. It’s also rude. We all want to have a win-win in the transaction…and if you basically steal from someone else, it’s not a win for them. (Stealing is wrong, in case you didn't know that.)
  4. If you are a seller and someone inquires about an item: Reply to the person…even if the item has already been sold. Otherwise they may continue to bug you with messages. Maybe…
  5. If you’ve sold the item…take down the ad. Don’t leave it up and continue to get people’s hopes up about an item. And also, don’t be a jerk when you do reply that it was sold…if you leave the ad up, how on God’s green earth would a potential buyer know that it’s already been sold? Just because YOU, the seller, know it’s been sold, I assure you that the rest of the world does not.
  6. When buying something from Craig’s List, be prepared and have exact change. Do not expect that seller to have whatever change it is which you may require. It is NOT a garage sale (though it kind of does have that feeling) and the seller is not required to anticipate your change needs.
  7. If you are a seller, please don’t junk up your Facebook newsfeed with ALL your online garage sale ads. One or two listings is fine, I think…I did that myself this week…no harm, no foul. I had other items to sell, but only included a couple of my ads. Contrary to what you may think, not everyone on Facebook is on there to buy your junk…I mean treasures.
  8. If you are a buyer who inquires about an item for sale and the seller responds that yes they do, in fact, still have the item in question, go ahead and respond even if you’ve changed your mind about the item. It very well may be that you’re not the only one interested in the item and the seller would like to move on to the next inquiry…but can’t because they have already promised the item to you. (As an aside to my readers: What’s the statute of limitations on that, anyway? How long is someone expected to wait? I typically don’t give longer than 24 hours…if they are truly interested, they will be more on top of things, right?)

So…that’s all I really have to say about all that. I’m sure there are various and sundry other issues we could discuss (some of which need not be brought out into the daylight, and being that I have had no personal contact with such things, it is best that I keep my opinions to myself on that), so I’m choosing to wrap it up there.

I’m sure we are all thankful for that…and see, I just gave you an idea for your list of thankful. Tomorrow…be there or be square.


Have a fabulous day!

BTW, because I know you were secretly interested...here are the ads for items I still have available on Craig's List:

Let me know if you see anything that piques your interest...but no, I don't deliver.


1 comment:

  1. I'm going to put it here, seeing as how Jen has already asked me how to "do a blog hop". She will next ask me how to put the button on her post. I shall refer her here.
    This is best done BEFORE you write your post. If not, you can still do it, but you need to be more careful.
    On the page where you write your blog, in the top left corner, there are two buttons. One says "compose" and one says "HTML". You write in the "compose" setting. If we were rocket scientists, we could write in "HTML" but we're not. However, to put the button on your page, you need to.
    Go to my page, and copy EVERYTHING in that little box under the button. It looks like a whole mess of nonsense.
    Then go back to your thankful post you are writing. Make sure you are either at the top or the bottom of the page.
    Click HTML and paste what you just copied from my page. DO NOT change anything at all!! Step away from the keyboard.
    Click the "compose" button, and the button should show up on your post.
    If you have any questions, text me. I'll be at the fields at 6:30 for a 7:30 game. I'll need something to do.
    Thanks for the blog hop plug!!!

    ReplyDelete