Free Stuff On Criagslist
I've gotten at least one thing, and have given away a number of others on the Humboldt Craigslist Free Classifieds. I got a nice weight bench last November. I've given away all sorts of odds and ends including cassette tapes, vhs tapes and other stuff laying around I didn't need.
You can get some goofy replies, though. I recall posting an ad giving away something for something free when the first reply asked if I still had "...the item for sale". Probably some troll so I didn't answer. I guess that happens fairly often. That's why people post ads like this. Apparently yet another person replied saying they wanted something but never showed up to get it.
When I first started giving stuff away most came and got it pretty quick. I do recall one time where it took two days for them to come get it. What's with that? No harm done, I suppose, but I'm gonna have to get a bit pickier about who I decide to give it to. This last time I'm wondering if I've been mega- trolled?
Posted an ad yesterday for some free shelving. I included a picture of what I was offering. Checked the e-mail an hour later and had three replies, all saying they wanted it. The second and third even gave phone numbers. The first just said he or she would be interested in it.
As I always do (and mention in the ad), I e-mailed the first three replies telling them what order they were in. The first one gets it, normally. The first one was told they could come get it and I gave them directions. I never heard back. As of last night I hadn't heard back so figured I'd give them 'til sometime this morning. I e-mailed #2 saying I'd give it to her if #1 didn't come get it by then.
#2 e-mailed me last night and said that would be fine and she could come get it on the way to work. I e-mailed her back this morning telling her #1 didn't contact me so it was hers and gave her directions to my house. She's never replied. She said she'd be here by 10am but she hasn't shown up. Is this another troll? Her e-mails don't read like it.
I guess I'll let the shelving sit on the front lawn until tomorrow. Things happen. Maybe she couldn't make it? Then maybe I'll call, instead of e-mail #3 if I don't hear from #2 again.
I'm thinking of changing the way I handle those ads. I usually state if they're among the first 3 responses they'll be notified. If they don't hear from me, they're not in the top three. Maybe from now on I'll e-mail the first 3 or 5 and offer it to the first one that replies and says they'll come get it? I can't think of any other way to do it.
posted by Fred Mangels @ 10:50 AM
9 comments
9 Comments:
Notice something about the people who respond by asking "Do you still have the item?" They don't mention the item, or if they do, the item is only mentioned in the subject line because your ad title was auto-inserted into the subject line.
The trick is, these aren't people. It's a spammer's bot that replies to seemingly every advertiser. The goal is to elicit a response from you -- any response --- because doing so exposes your e-mail address to the spammer.
That's all those replies are... fishing attempts so your e-mail address can be added to a spammer's database.
That's why savvy advertisers write something like, "Reply with the name of your hometown in the e-mail" or "Add the word 'Eureka' in the body of your e-mail so I know you're human."
Why not just put an ad in the Times Standard or North Coast Journal for the free items. You are more likely to get local people who actually need what you have.
Oh, and the people responding to you in detail aren't trolls. The truth is, there are a ton of flakes on Craigslist.
When I post a free ad, I state up front that you need to specify a specific time you can pick up my item... and I ignore everyone who fails to follow that simple instruction. And even then, people will flake, coming a day late and such.
I avoid giving my address out until I think the person is really going to come. Case in point, I've had a free item on my driveway 5 days now, each day assured the item will be picked up soon. The person is supposedly coming to day, finally. (No, there's nothing wrong with the item. It's just not something people will steal.)
Update: #2 picked up the stuff, albeit considerably later than she said she would. No biggie. Glad she showed up.
"The goal is to elicit a response from you -- any response --- because doing so exposes your e-mail address to the spammer."
I'm not sure that would work with the relatively new anonymous e-mail forwarding that Craigslist offers. I suspect a lot of people sending the phony messages are just trying to jerk someone around.
"Why not just put an ad in the Times Standard or North Coast Journal for the free items."
I suppose I could, but CL ads are so much easier and they don't cost anything.
Spam harvesters work on auto-pilot. Some spammers simply haven't noticed yet that they are only harvesting Craigslist anonymous e-mail addresses. Until they do, you'll continue to get the "Is your item still available?" messages.
That said, some have noticed. Savvy spammers ask you to send your reply directly to their own e-mail address, bypassing Craigslist's anti-spam system.
"Until they do, you'll continue to get the "Is your item still available?" messages."
Which is one of the reasons I deleted the ad as soon as I felt I had enough replies.
"Savvy spammers ask you to send your reply directly to their own e-mail address, bypassing Craigslist's anti-spam system."
Agreed, although none of the replies I got did that this time, even the first one that did seem to be a troll.
I just put a free sign on the stuff and leave it close to the road, it usually gets picked-up pretty fast. I have never put anything out that didn't get picked-up the first day. I have even put out a sofa and it got picked-up within a half hour.
Yep. The Matteolis across the street do that every now and then.
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