Why is everyone on craigslist so dumb?

Evilbagua

Silver Member
I've sold and bought literally hundreds of things off Craigslist and networked via the musicans section dozens of times in the past few years. However it seems now anyone I talk to is insane. Is it just me in my city or are people on craigslist getting stupider?

Situation 1- I respond to an ad with 3 drums pictured and no phone number. I send an email and ask what sizes are the drums? can I call you to set up a time to check them out" my reply was "No we don't deal with scammers go fish for some phonenumbers elsewhere expletive" Was that called for? why wouldn't I ask for a phone number if one wasn't listed? I emailed them using a .edu email account...huh?

Situation 2- I have an ad up looking for a guitarist. I get a response "Looking still?" I reply yes and send maybe 4-5 sentances of information about the band pretty standard stuff and ask them a few questions. My reply back is in all caps and just says "DIDNT ASK FOR YOUR expletive LIFE STORY GEEZ"

Am I crazy or is everyone else on CL crazy?
 
Never used it. Not even sure we have it in Oz to be honest.

But I had to write and say how much I admire your reserve.
I couldn't have helped myself. I'd still be pissing them off with antagonistic or trolling emails as we speak, if I had have recieved the same responses.

That god for ebay. I have only pleasant experiences to note from my exchanges there.

Crazy??? You're a bloody saint my friend. ;-)
 
the same kind of people in houston texas there complete dumb asses
 
Never used it. Not even sure we have it in Oz to be honest.

But I had to write and say how much I admire your reserve.
I couldn't have helped myself. I'd still be pissing them off with antagonistic or trolling emails as we speak, if I had have recieved the same responses.

That god for ebay. I have only pleasant experiences to note from my exchanges there.

Crazy??? You're a bloody saint my friend. ;-)

It's just so strange that I always have had really good luck or know right away the person won't be a good fit or It's not worth checking an item out, but the past few exchanges have gone really bad. I want to troll so bad but I was using my legit email lol and the one musician response ad guy got the name and info of my band.
 
+1 for Portland, Oregon. When I used to look at the ads, all I would see was over-priced items--a lot of them MORE than retail (a Sonor Safari shell pack for $700? I'll take two, thank you...). But, when it came time for me to sell things, everyone was suddenly a low-balling wheeler-dealer, and when they finally talked you down to 10% of retail, they flaked out on your scheduled meeting time. Oh, and then there are the random flaggers that every so often pick one ad and flag it every time it gets posted. You see the ad getting re-posted time and time again, with the poster pleading for whoever is flagging them to tell them WHY they are being flagged, and never getting an answer. Plus, only one out of every twenty people you deal with on there are decent human beings, it seems. I never met at my house due to the extreme sketchiness that I saw time and time again. And, when you actually met someone that could qualify a sane and level-headed, there was this awkward pouring out of gratitude from the other person, thanking you for not being a sketchy low-balling flake.

I'm amazing I kept checking it out for so long. Not for me anymore. My days of buying and selling on craigslist are over as of last month. Good riddance.
 
craigslist is worthless or worse in my neighborhood. I don't bother placing or reading ads anymore.
 
What's needed here is a good old fashioned David Thorne approach: http://post.stii.co.za/david-thorne-strikes-again

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=665847

Futile, yes....but god his non-sensical approach to half-wits never fails to give me a giggle. ;-)

David Thorne is one of my idols. Here is the link to his blog:

http://www.27bslash6.com/index.html

...none of my correspondence on craigslist even came close to the genius in Mr. Thorne's writing.
 
Situation 2- I have an ad up looking for a guitarist. I get a response "Looking still?" I reply yes and send maybe 4-5 sentances of information about the band pretty standard stuff and ask them a few questions. My reply back is in all caps and just says "DIDNT ASK FOR YOUR expletive LIFE STORY GEEZ"

Ridiculous. If I was responding to your ad, I would've been happy that someone is even trying to give me some info. Everybody I ever talk to keeps everything on the DL and doesn't give me any information about the project what so ever.

A somewhat unrelated experience: I inquired about a cymbal some guy was selling. We emailed back and forth, talked a bit and discussed the fact that my transportation was an issue so I might have issues getting to the cymbal. He said that was fine and we agreed that I'd get back to him in a week when I could possibly get a ride. A week went past and i was able to line up a ride. I contacted him back and he told me that he was no longer selling the cymbal because he was sick of people like me stringing him along. What the hell?
 
If there was such thing as truth in craigslist, ads would read something like:

Drummer needed.
Must be creative in coming up with different beats, because all our songs have the same guitar rhythms, and someone needs to make our songs sound different.

Must be willing to rehearse 7 nights a week, because at most we can commit is one or two, but we want to make sure you don't have any conflicts on those few days we can actually get it together.

Must be able to play to a click, because lord knows the bass player can't.

Must be a team player, and by team, we mean you'll do whatever we tell you to do, with no opinions of your own.

Must be a quick learner, because we often forget our own songs, and it would be helpful if you could be there to remind us how they go.

Must be sober and drug free, because we need a designated driver.

Must be financially secure, because we have no money, and when we finally make it big, we're not sharing the publishing with you anyways.
 
Frustration with craiglist seems to be a growing trend.

In the past, I've had good luck buying things, and my wife has sold several things with little hassle.

But in the past few months, we have been trying to sell off our baby crib and toddler bed, and no luck. People flag our ad and get it removed. People don't show up when they say they will. It's been a nightmare trying to sell off something a lot of people need!

And it seems many of my friends are suddenly having major issues with craigslist they never had before.

Weird.
 
Situation 1- I respond to an ad with 3 drums pictured and no phone number. I send an email and ask what sizes are the drums? can I call you to set up a time to check them out" my reply was "No we don't deal with scammers go fish for some phonenumbers elsewhere expletive" Was that called for? why wouldn't I ask for a phone number if one wasn't listed? I emailed them using a .edu email account...huh?

Am I crazy or is everyone else on CL crazy?

I think what you're facing is the "free-ness" of stuff on the internet. When you put things on eBay, you have to pay for it. Which means you're smart enough to read eBay's contract with you and understand what you're being charged for and how it gets paid. Craig's List, like that ol' standby the Recycler, functions alot cheaper or even free in some cases. Which means, it attracts people with no money hoping to get some. They don't understand that it takes money to make money, so alot of the blanks are left, well, blank.

There was time a few years ago when Knott's Berry Farm decided to let everyone in for a nickel. There was almost a riot outside the park and traffic jammed the streets. This is what happens when you give things away for free. You attract riff raff! Magic Mountain has a serious gang violence problem especially on those days they let people in for an aluminum can for their can drives. It's amazing. There's a reason things cost money, and a civil experience is one of them. It's a shame.

I've never dealt with Craig's List nor do I intend to. I'm not above anybody, really, it's just that things that are obviously so low-ball, really go below where I'm at on their own.
 
If there was such thing as truth in craigslist, ads would read something like:

Drummer needed.
Must be creative in coming up with different beats, because all our songs have the same guitar rhythms, and someone needs to make our songs sound different.

Must be willing to rehearse 7 nights a week, because at most we can commit is one or two, but we want to make sure you don't have any conflicts on those few days we can actually get it together.

Must be able to play to a click, because lord knows the bass player can't.

Must be a team player, and by team, we mean you'll do whatever we tell you to do, with no opinions of your own.

Must be a quick learner, because we often forget our own songs, and it would be helpful if you could be there to remind us how they go.

Must be sober and drug free, because we need a designated driver.

Must be financially secure, because we have no money, and when we finally make it big, we're not sharing the publishing with you anyways.

I laughed so hard at this, I fell off my chair.
Thank you!
 
By the way, this is a real ad I recently found on Craig's List, in Los Angeles:

Rock Drummer Looking for New Project -

Yo. Posting says it all; no, I'm not a hired gun nor do I want money to rehearse with a band. I want to be in a bad a$$ rock band that makes sick music and melts people's faces off!

My influences: Def Tones, Tool, Rage, Meshuggah, Sevendust, Breaking Benjamin, Pink Floyd, Strung Out, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jimi, Zepplin, Floyd the list goes on and on. Ideally, I'd like to get a strong set together, get **** tight, record it, play shows and watch a career in playing music unfold. At least that's why I moved up here to Hollywood to do anyhow.

I have pro gear, a reliable car, and am ready to throw down for a lock out space if need be. I'm uber serious, but a fun guy that has a positive attitude, a pretty radical sense of humor, and a deflated ego. I have been playing drums for 19 years and Guitar for about 17, so I write a lot of music and I pride myself in being a musician, not a monkey beating on drums (read: normal drummer). Oh, and I'm 30, which isn't quite dinosaur yet, but I definately have a sense of urgency to make something amazing happen soon!

If your serious about shiz, please hit me up and we'll talk. I didn't want to write a 3-5 page essay about me, so anything else you want to know, please email me or call me.

Much respect,

(name withheld to protect the verbose)
 
By the way, this is a real ad I recently found on Craig's List, in Los Angeles:

Rock Drummer Looking for New Project -

Yo. Posting says it all; no, I'm not a hired gun nor do I want money to rehearse with a band. I want to be in a bad a$$ rock band that makes sick music and melts people's faces off!

My influences: Def Tones, Tool, Rage, Meshuggah, Sevendust, Breaking Benjamin, Pink Floyd, Strung Out, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jimi, Zepplin, Floyd the list goes on and on. Ideally, I'd like to get a strong set together, get **** tight, record it, play shows and watch a career in playing music unfold. At least that's why I moved up here to Hollywood to do anyhow.

I have pro gear, a reliable car, and am ready to throw down for a lock out space if need be. I'm uber serious, but a fun guy that has a positive attitude, a pretty radical sense of humor, and a deflated ego. I have been playing drums for 19 years and Guitar for about 17, so I write a lot of music and I pride myself in being a musician, not a monkey beating on drums (read: normal drummer). Oh, and I'm 30, which isn't quite dinosaur yet, but I definately have a sense of urgency to make something amazing happen soon!

If your serious about shiz, please hit me up and we'll talk. I didn't want to write a 3-5 page essay about me, so anything else you want to know, please email me or call me.

Much respect,

(name withheld to protect the verbose)

All the hip players are in L.A., apparently ;)
 
I think what you're facing is the "free-ness" of stuff on the internet. When you put things on eBay, you have to pay for it. Which means you're smart enough to read eBay's contract with you and understand what you're being charged for and how it gets paid. Craig's List, like that ol' standby the Recycler, functions alot cheaper or even free in some cases. Which means, it attracts people with no money hoping to get some. They don't understand that it takes money to make money, so alot of the blanks are left, well, blank.

There was time a few years ago when Knott's Berry Farm decided to let everyone in for a nickel. There was almost a riot outside the park and traffic jammed the streets. This is what happens when you give things away for free. You attract riff raff! Magic Mountain has a serious gang violence problem especially on those days they let people in for an aluminum can for their can drives. It's amazing. There's a reason things cost money, and a civil experience is one of them. It's a shame.

I've never dealt with Craig's List nor do I intend to. I'm not above anybody, really, it's just that things that are obviously so low-ball, really go below where I'm at on their own.

It's a double edged sword I suppose because I have gotten some killer deals that I don't think would exist on ebay, and I've also sold stuff the same day for what it would go for on ebay without setting up/shipping etc. Another thing thats worked out well for me is trading and item for an item straight up. I miss the good old days, but your right it seems alot more people are "riff raff" and think they can make a quick buck on the ol craigslist.
 
It's a double edged sword I suppose because I have gotten some killer deals that I don't think would exist on ebay, and I've also sold stuff the same day for what it would go for on ebay without setting up/shipping etc. Another thing thats worked out well for me is trading and item for an item straight up. I miss the good old days, but your right it seems alot more people are "riff raff" and think they can make a quick buck on the ol craigslist.

I hate having to admit that this could just be human nature. But history is replete with incidences of people going absolutely stupid when things are stupid cheap or when there's the possibility of getting something for nothing. It's a shame, really. That's why you see a different sort of person shopping at WalMart as opposed to shopping at the up-scale malls across America, eh?

Sorry to have lumped groups of people together, I just call it like I see it. But I do shop at WalMart from time-to-time, too.
 
A minefield of pure gold!! I'd forgotton about "You're not invited to my party"...god I cried real tears when I first read that one. Can we hire him for Craigslist replies do you think? ;-)

The irony is that the original spider drawing may actually be worth about that much now...
 
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