OT- Facebook marketplace, Craigslist, Ebay__ best? opinions?

Hey all. Just trying to get a handle on this and see what everyone's experiences are.

Craigslist used to be (IMO) fairly reliable, meet with buyer/seller, negotiate, make deal, go home. I don't think it is that way so much anymore with all the scamming these days. Lots of ... unrealistic prices, plus maybe competition with other sites, just doesn't seem like a great way to go anymore...

Ebay was great years (and years!) ago for pricing, had some resolution's if you felt you got scammed, or wronged, etc. Now there are so many fee's, and it seems the seller gets an automatic 5 star rating

Have not used Facebook marketplace. How is seller/buyer protection? Any at all? Any good or bad experiences to report/

thanks, Mike

I think it kind of depends on what you are selling. I do not get very good results with CL for industrial goods, yet ebay, despite the fees, keeps the sales rolling. Friend uses CL and FB, she does one brand of car parts.

I read somewhere yesterday that CL was going to start charging for adds (car I think). If they take this one step further and start charging for any add, I don't think it will be as popular.

Seems like FB Marketplace is getting pretty popular. I just sold a vehicle and listed it on both CL and FB. In the past I had great success with CL. This time, no responses thru CL but many thru FB Marketplace. I don't think you can expect to get any protection thru FB or CL.

Craigslist - I've wasted too much time waiting for people who never showed, or they showed and the item was not at all as described. I don't waste my time with CL anymore.

Facebook Marketplace - I know many people who have good luck with FB Marketplace, but my experiences have been the same as with CL.

eBay - I only buy from top rated sellers who include multiple detailed pictures of the item. I have good results purchasing on eBay.

My 2CW

CL is great for local sales of common items, especially those that are too big/heavy to ship. You do have to watch out for the idiots and scammers.

eBay is great for other things to buy and sell. Been using it for about 20 years and the only problem was a Chinese who sent me a key blank that didn't fit so I lost $1.99.

Have never used anything associated with FaceBook and never will.

Steve

I have several things up on FB marketplace, and I keep getting responses that sound like the craigslist scammers:

I'm interested in this item.
Can you please call me to come get them 201-xxx-xxxx
Is this available?
Im still looking to buy them

That's all from one person on one item, not one mention of what it is I'm selling (and I actually put in the ad "make your response sound like someone who actually read the ad" and "responses asking if this is still available will be ignored").

Not to mention the improbability of someone driving 4 hours round trip, with $18 in gas and another probably $25 in tolls to buy a mill clamping kit.

Not sure how you scam people when your name is on the FB response, but it could be a hacked account.

Steve

SteveM said:

I have several things up on FB marketplace, and I keep getting responses that sound like the craigslist scammers:

I'm interested in this item.
Can you please call me to come get them 201-xxx-xxxx
Is this available?
Im still looking to buy them

That's all from one person on one item, not one mention of what it is I'm selling (and I actually put in the ad "make your response sound like someone who actually read the ad" and "responses asking if this is still available will be ignored").

Not to mention the improbability of someone driving 4 hours round trip, with $18 in gas and another probably $25 in tolls to buy a mill clamping kit.

Not sure how you scam people when your name is on the FB response, but it could be a hacked account.

Steve

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Yes those would be scammers! Gee a market place with no recourse for the seller or buyer, what could go wrong? That is my biggest gripe with CL, it is rife with scammers, all ads state CASH on pickup, yet it never fails, someone wants to know if they can mail me a check and their courier will pick up, who in America even uses the term courier?

I've done a lot of business on Ebay, CL, Offer-Up and FB marketplace. With nearly Zero exceptions they all have some issues with fraud. My simple rule is if there isn't a local number. or if after initial contact I can't get a phone number so we can easily communicate about your listing were done.

It's fairly easy to recognize fraud this way. Also talking directly to sellers helps you establish credibility. It's been my experience that establishing a credible Ownership chain is the first order of business. A wise man taught me years ago that buying a bad car at a good price.... is still a bad car. This is applicable to most anything. Happy Shopping... Peace

dalmatiangirl61 said:

Yes those would be scammers! Gee a market place with no recourse for the seller or buyer, what could go wrong? That is my biggest gripe with CL, it is rife with scammers, all ads state CASH on pickup, yet it never fails, someone wants to know if they can mail me a check and their courier will pick up, who in America even uses the term courier?

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For more expensive items I started putting:

Certified Checks will be accepted as long as they are drawn from a bank in Nigeria or Somalia and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity signed by the Queen of Sheba. All others will pay cash at pickup.

Seems to have greatly reduced those asking to pay by check.

Steve

PS - BTW for those not aware. The way one scam works is they call and say they are out of town but want the item and your price seems fair, can they mail you a certified bank check and then pickup after they return. You say sure and two or three days later a certified bank check shows up in the mail which you promptly sign and deposit at your bank. A week later they call, confirm you got the money and arrange a pickup day. They come, pickup the item and leave. A week or so later your bank calls and says the certified check is a forgery and deduct the previously credited amount from your account. You discover the phone number no longer works.

I always take a picture of the buyer and their vehicle and license plate.

Beware folks.

Mostly buying, I still use both CL and eBay. They both have advantages, CL stuff will sell if your prices are good. Even if they are just fair, but it'll take longer.

I still email tons of sellers that don't list phone because they're worried about scam calls, and never get replies, because it gets filtered by the provider, no matter how much I make it obvious I'm not a bot.

I try not to sell on eBay if I can help it, the scamming buyers are out of control with high dollar specially items, saying a month after it arrives that it was damaged and they were out of town etc, trying to get a refund but keep the item. Plus with the near 15% fees once PayPal and eBay get their cut, it's hard not to lose money.

Facebook market place is only even a viable platform because of people spending all day on there, it's a shit option nobody would ever consider otherwise. Just wait till the scammers get going good there, it'll be worse than eBay and Craigslist combined. Just look at all the casual fraud on FB already. It's advantageous on a local level only currently because of market penetration. I wouldn't buy something that has to be shipped on FB market with your money, unless I really really knew who the seller was, and they had something to lose in a community outside of Facebook. i.e. I'd buy from a friend of a friend in the knife maker community perhaps, but I mean an actual friend someone can vouch for, in real life. Even then only something I could afford to lose.

It also has incredibly bad indexing and searchability. However if you waste your day there, and let fb set a bunch of cookies and have free reign with your data, it'll probably put an ad in front of you for something you have been wanting. Though it currently offers absolutely zero protection or even illusion of such for either buyer or seller. Maybe that's a good thing though, except I imagine people just assume it's there.

ebay- I only use as a last resort since I can't physically see the item. As for selling, I'd do anything to not sell on ebay just due to the fees.

craigslist- Is a nuisance. So much spam to go through and everyone wants to treat it like a garage sale so they low ball you. I also hate how you have to pay to post job ads.

Facebook marketplace- I would never ship or have anything shipped. I have done meetups that all worked out well. From what I've seen the spammers are not very prevalent yet.

I don't take checks or money orders. I do like to use Venmo, as I can see when I have the money instantly. However cash is preferred. I had a guy buy a boat off me with his credit card via Venmo. Worked real slick.

I have bought and sold a ton of items on craigslist. As the buyer I have several rules that work pretty good. There must be good pictures of the item or pass. There must be good commication from the seller or pass. It must be fairly local or pass (unless I really want it).

Last night got 50' of soow 10-4 for $25. Pretty good price and the guy has a need for a contract machine shop - right place right time.

When selling, take good pictures. Don't prattle on too much about the item. Seems like some times cryptic descriptions sell faster - not sure why. I sold my '95 f350 last year and I had done a ton of work to it. I described everything in detail - very few responses off c'list - ended up selling it to a drive by - go figure.

I sold a '05 ford five hundred with 198k miles this year to some folks that drove over one hundred miles to buy it. Before they came out I texted them and said "surely there is a car in this price range closer to you guys" - they drove out and bought it for full price - go figure.

Had the usual amount of scammers, "my mom wants the car", my sister wants the car", "will you ship it to the United Arab Emirates" etc.

Had good experiences selling (and buying) on FB marketplace.
It's pretty easy. Shipped a few items. They just paid via Paypal.
Even sold a Nichols Milling Machine and a Versa-Mil.
Bought PLenty of stuff on CL. Most of it good, and some Great, and at spectacular prices.
A few things were not great, but overall, I still feel like I came out ahead.
Most of the people on FB and CL selling machinery or related tools are like-minded folks.
We get to talking about building neat stuff and tools.
The Crazy priced stuff... I don't respond to. On FB there are a few responses without follow-up, but it's not a big deal.
People who want to do business respond and act like normal humans, for the most part.
I Love buying stuff on ebay, though it can be harder to find a great bargain, and I hate selling on ebay (cause the fees).

Has anyone tried Amazon Marketplace for selling machining stuff?

Be interested in experience, fees and so on.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

AARONT said:

I don't take checks or money orders.

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Using US postal money orders is one of the safest ways to sell something long distance - especially if the MO is sent to you via the US mail. Just in case, keep track of everything and keep the envelope in which the MO arrives.

The Postal Inspectors Service takes a very dim view of someone counter fitting a USPS MO and sending it through the mail is mail fraud. The PIS is merciless in such situations - someone sent me a fraudulent MO for $700 about ten years ago - he should be getting out of prison in another year or so.....

craigslist can be great.

I use it to give away stuff. Guy came and took a thousand square feet of fir deck away. Another a rotten pile of redwood.

As mentioned, stuff you don't want to ship.

Also when selling a car that is not a commodity, free advertising, as you can search nationally on sites like searchtempest

Ebay odd items of particular interest, much larger audience.

I mean, where else will you get top dollar for a 10EE collet closer or a mint steering wheel for a 63 Buick, or find either of these items?

Facebook is also biased local, so same issue with craigslist. Plus facebook now knows everything you search for.

Throw in some worthless funny searches everyday to drive Mark crazy

I love Craigslist. Most of my shop equipment came from CL postings. Just have to be patient and willing to swoop in and make long drives in the middle of the week. Ebay works well for tooling, parts, and stuff that's not too bad on shipping.