Craigslist questions

[modest9797]

I recently started viewing craiglist and I am confused. People say that they purchase alot of cheap video games there, but all I see is a bunch of xbox's with a couple games for over a hundred dollars. The occasional NES lots go for alot too.

So, are there any tips on how to get good deals on craigslist? Also, how much should I pay (max) for each console and for each game?

Thanks.

[c0ldb33r]

Check out the Online Rarity Guide (http://www.digitpress.com/DP/cmf/search.cmf) which will give you approximate values for items. Also, check out the What's It Worth? (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=37) subforum.

[josemp81]

tip #1 dont reply to overpriced stuff (eventually they will get it)
tip #2 always lowball if the item is something you can live with out worst thing they can say is no.
tip#3 pay asking price when its a good deal and pick it up ASAP!!!

I love Craigslist

one more thing flag spam!! to help the community!!

[Cornelius]

The great deals don't last long. If it has been more than 30 minutes, you are probably out of luck (on the really great deals). Maybe an hour. So, the more frequently you search, the better your chances are. Still takes luck. Also, more expensive lots can be great deals, but often move slower just because of the sticker shock (or so I presume). These are what I hope for.

But yes, CL is cluttered with overpriced crap. I don't even read posts from a certain suburb here anymore because they are all the same person re-posting the same overpriced garbage. I also sell on CL, so there is probably someone out there saying the same thing about me! Although based on the way my stuff sells, I don't think it is overpriced (maybe a tad high, though ;) )

[Steven]

Like many things in life, you gotta be at the right place at the right time. Not everything claimed about something is written in matter-of-fact stone. Keep looking and hope for the best. I've had over 15 transactions on CL, a handful of which I considered pretty damn good deals. You probably won't ever find a boxed Neo Geo system in great condition for $20, but hey, it doesn't hurt to look for good deals in general.

[NES_Rules]

The best thing you can do is check it as frequently as possible. A smaller town like mine, I can check it twice a day, and see any new posts before a lot of people. But a larger town should be checked more frequently.
And don't expect a lot right away, it may be months before anything of interest comes along.

[modest9797]

So should I just keep checking every 2 hours or so.

(By the way "Steven" I love your avatar, It makes me smile, lol)

[carlcarlson]

The other day I finally found a good game: Suikoden for $5. It had just been posted that day in a lot of other Playstation games. I emailed him asap.... and was the fifth one to do so. So yeah, unless you are in a small area you have to be super fast. You can get good deals every once in awhile that others haven't jumped on, but in my experience all of the retro stuff is gone within hours.

And I would recommend NOT using the online rarity guide to judge prices. Nothing against those who maintain it, but I've never found it to be accurate. I use completed listings on ebay to judge all of my values.

[backguard]

videogamepricecharts.com is a great supplement to ebay complete listing prices too. love that site.

[koster]

Craigslist offers RSS feeds for search results. If your browser supports feed subscriptions, you can set your browser to check feeds automatically (up to every 5 minutes in Opera), although you should double-check Craigslist's terms of use (http://www.craigslist.org/about/terms.of.use.html) for any restrictions.

[Carey85]

At one time Craigslist was a great site. Like many others, it's been spoiled by dickless asshole speculators trying to make a quick buck, though... I got some good deals before it went in the shitbox, so it served me pretty well.

[Jackattack]

I too have a Craig's List question. For better or worse I live in apparently small towns (college and home) and my craig's list isn't that busy. I don't see a whole lot, but I guess that hopefully means very few others do too. Anyway is there anyway to tell if a listing has been completed or whatever. Does the user have the option to close it, and if they do, does it ever happen? I know the other person is just an email away, but I would just hate to bug everyone on there with inquires for listings when they are a week or two old.

Thanks!

[Cornelius]

I too have a Craig's List question. For better or worse I live in apparently small towns (college and home) and my craig's list isn't that busy. I don't see a whole lot, but I guess that hopefully means very few others do too. Anyway is there anyway to tell if a listing has been completed or whatever. Does the user have the option to close it, and if they do, does it ever happen? I know the other person is just an email away, but I would just hate to bug everyone on there with inquires for listings when they are a week or two old.

Thanks!
If you are reading the ad, email them if you want. If they are done with the ad, they should remove it, and it is very easy to do so. If they don't, then they deserve to get buried in emails. People that leave their ads up bug me for some reason, though I have to confess I've forgotten to pull one every now and then. I'm very apologetic when that happens and I get an email. Sometimes it has resulted in my selling a second system I hadn't gotten around to listing yet, and I give a better deal.

[Jackattack]

If you are reading the ad, email them if you want. If they are done with the ad, they should remove it, and it is very easy to do so. If they don't, then they deserve to get buried in emails. People that leave their ads up bug me for some reason, though I have to confess I've forgotten to pull one every now and then. I'm very apologetic when that happens and I get an email. Sometimes it has resulted in my selling a second system I hadn't gotten around to listing yet, and I give a better deal.

Awesome, thank you for the quick reply! Sounds like I'm like you and have have little sympathy on people that have the ability to do something and don't out of laziness. Emails away!

Thanks again!

[dao2]

aye you gotta keep looking like everyone else said ;p theyre not common, those amazing deals.

[DigitalSpace]

Craigslist may not be what it used to be, but it's still possible to get some good deals. As others have said, check your local CL as often as possible.

[MachineGex]

Craigslist is just like Goodwills & flea markets...
Like most people said: If you want the great deals you have to check them every chance you get.

[skaar]

I got myself a Klee Spike off CL for $50 earlier this month (arcade machine from 1974 ;) )

CL is the ultimate YMMV site.

[kentuckyfried]

It's much harder to get a good deal on CL than it used to, went downhill in my area about 2 years ago.

Try looking in different areas of the site that people don't check as often for games (mislisted stuff) Household items, mainly.

Use the search function.

[Battlehork]

Patience and Persistence. Check early and often.

Be prepared to drive to pick up a good deal. I recently got a really good deal on an NES top loader/N64/Genesis lot, but had to go 1 hour each way to pick it up.

Make a lower offer if they're asking what you think is too much. The worst that can happen is they say no and you move on.

Try to get lots that have things you want AND good doubles that other people would. For systems I already have, I usually end up taking half the games out of a system with games lot for myself, and then resell the system with the doubles. Often I get about as much money as I paid for all of it in the first place!