Craigslist.com

Craigslist.com is simply not a reliable site, any longer. Especially, if one is looking to purchase products. Services can be another matter. The sellers are generally: fraudsters; whiners; low-ballers; cheats; scammers; and other disreputable characters. I have had no luck in the past 24 months with any sales items, and given up. Regarding services, trust me, Be wary and careful. First, try to screen through a mediated web mail address. Never, give a personal e-mail account, or Trouble! I still occasionally found some reasonable and reputable service, but do one's homework, please. Screen, check, and ask again. If they're not willing to talk or give any time on a phone, I say, Why Bother.

Another site with mix feelings. They're plenty of scammers that cheap lots and lots of people. A lot of common sense things you might need to know. Have a separate email just in case for spammers or third parties. Watch for the flashy colors, lights, and to good to be true offers. You never know what you could get into. I also like it cause of all the sellers online that could trade, sell, buy, and even find jobs. Couple of my friends found legitimate name jobs just because the company didn't know where to put job postings at. Just watch, read, and double check.

Dude, this is a GREAT site, just don't get dumb about it. Yes, there are fraudulant people here but they're everywhere. If you didn't want to deal with frauds, you would never go outside, now would you? That off my chest, when you learn to navigate the CL, this sight is everything you need the internet to be. You can find everything from a car to a one night stand with someone from outta town that is probably "packin' heat" all the way over to gardening tips and oh, the "best of" section is AMAZING! If you need to buy anything, check here first. No adds (except for the help wanted area and the casual encounters) or pop-ups. O. k., I'm done. You still reading? Why?

Great place to find good deals!

However, I would HIGHLY suggest using a seperate e-mail when making an account on Craigslist. There are THOUSANDS of scammers who use craigslist everyday not only to take your money but to steal your information too. After making an account you'll have a variety of e-mails asking you to update/confirm your information which is your classic spam and overseas spammers.

When selling products you MUST do two things:

If you list your phone #, list is as 123- f o u r 56 - 7 eight 9 10. (Helps prevent spam)

When you explain to customers on how to reply, say something like, If interested put exactly "7 I want your xxxxxxxx item 7" as this will let you know immediately if the e-mail you receive is spam or not.

Finally, be smart. If you are going to pick up something, please bring a friend (more the better) just in case for your safety as there are messed up people in this world.

I think Craigslist has its uses, but it definitely has credibility issues. Buyer Beware, for sure! That said, I've bought and sold stuff on it for years. As the world's Classifieds, I suppose it is what it is.

If they would implement a rating system, like eBay then they might resolve tons of issues. There's no accountability system--it's just too anonymous.

We recently sold an elliptical walker (exercise equipment). The guy would bought it was nice and transaction went smoothly. What you buy and sell will probably make a difference in who you deal with.:)

We also promoted a garage sale--which popped up on a few apps for location, and I'm sure it helped us unload some of our stuff.

As a provider of marketing and internet services, I do troll the want ads, and used to reply to many--searching for gigs and contract work. The reality is, at least from my perspective, that if someone is too cheap to pay for an ad--or even go through the trouble to list it with freelancer sites, then they probably will be the same way as you work on their projects. :) Happy hunting.