Billions of people use Craigslist to buy or to sell their items. Depending on what you’re looking for it can either be a horrible nightmare or a great success.
I have only looked on Craigslist for my cat and for cars. With cars, it’s usually always a dead end; the cars are always overpriced and if they’re cheap then you most likely have to do a lot of work on them which essentially leads to spending more money. If you want to buy a car off of Craigslist make sure that you go and see the car first, get the car fax on it and have a mechanic see it before you purchase it.
From my own experience on Craigslist, it’s a horrible place to shop and sell items. Craigslist has only worked one time for me and that’s when I met the woman in person and exchanged with each other, but meeting in person can be very dangerous because you don’t know who you’ll be meeting. It is advised to have your parents permission to buy or sell on Craigslist and if you are meeting someone for the exchange, never go alone. Going during the day is also best for all parties involved. Craigslist fails at providing protection for its users which is something eBay does. eBay ensures that the product is paid for prior to it being shipped.
Sadly, Craigslist is full of scammers. With that said, never wire money or send money in the mail; always make sure you hand the money to them in cash and vice-versa. Don’t let anyone write out a check to you or wire money to you because it can be fake, the check will bounce or the buyer will stop payment once they receive the item. People will tell you anything just to scam you. For example, a man once told me that his wife was dying of cancer in Nigeria and he needed to buy a purse for his niece in California but he lived in New York. He said he couldn’t send me the money until I sent him eight hundred dollars first. This didn’t even make sense to me so once I called him out on it, I found out that the entire thing was a scam and he was going to take the eight hundred from me and I would never hear from him again. This is why you have to be extremely cautious when using Craigslist.
Another con to Craigslist is that if you are selling an item, your item is only advertised in the local area not worldwide like many people think. Craigslist separates posts into 450 geographical locations.
I have heard many great success story from other people that used Craigslist and although it didn’t work out for me, it may work out for you. One appealing component to Craigslist is that it does not cost a dime to post or advertise your product. For people selling a craft or starting a small business, Craigslist can be a great place to launch your ideas and products. Craigslist is also is better when selling larger items.
I would not recommend Craigslist for anyone under the age of eighteen because you may not be able to sense a scam and you can lose a lot. Not to mention the purchase exchange should be done by an adult.
Truthfully, I wouldn’t recommend any other websites either. I feel like eBay and Amazon along with other websites like them are exactly like Craigslist and full of scammers that you should watch out for. What I would recommend is if you want to sell something maybe you can post it on social media or sell it to someone that you know. If you are trying to buy something then you should buy it off of someone you know or you can go to a store to buy the item, although it may cost more, you’ll be sure that you’re not getting scammed and you can always save up to purchase the item that you desire.
