4Gas$
Club Member
I do live near a larger city, a lot of my customers come from
the Ann Arbor area. Like I said I’ve learned a lot of “tricks”
to dealing with craigslists (CL) people. So I have to get people
to drive all the way out here (30 - 40 min. drive one way).
Oh, and doing a "free ad" on CL is a no-no. Those are nothing
but trouble. I found you can sell trash easier than you can give
it away.
I guess its time to list some of my guide lines / rules.
(almost 5 years on CL)
When a customer calls & asks about coming out, I remind them to
“call before you come out, to make sure I’m here & its here”
I then remind them “I don’t accept any kind of checks – cash only”
After that I then go about my days work. Then if they call & say they
are on there way I know they will be here in 30 to 40 min. I don’t
waste my day waiting around for somebody to show up. (never go & meet)
What I found is the closer the appointment is from the time they call
and say they’ll be coming out, the better the odds are they will show up.
If they call & say “I’ll be right over, I’m leaving now”….…. 90+% They will show
If they call & say “I’ll come check it out tomorrow” ……..…60% They will show
If they call & say “I’ll come see it in a few days”… less than 50% They will show
This is why every time a customer says they’ll be coming over anytime other than
right now – I WARN them they must call to confirm before driving out (that gives
me 30-40 mins heads up)
Another rule is, the more costly or rare the item, the farther the customer will
travel to come get it. Folks will drive from Detroit for items $100 & up.
I get folks from the west side of the state for items $1,000 & up.
I could write a book on the do’s & don’ts of selling on craigslists – and
I just might do that!
