As some of you know, my wife and I enter giveaways as a side hustle. When the giveaway prize is not cash or gift cards, we need to sell the product. We’ve found Craigslist to be a great way to get rid of some of the bigger things that we don’t want to ship, which has included a kitchen faucet, kid’s bookcase, a car seat, and more.
What I’ve learned is that staying safe should be your top priority when buying and selling on Craigslist. There’s too many stories – including one I will share about someone I know personally – about people who have gotten scammed, robbed, or otherwise put into a bad situation when trying to buy or sell something through Craigslist. Thankfully there are a few simple precautionary measures that can be taken to stay safe.
A Scary True Story about a Friend of Mine
I have a friend who decided to sell his iPad. He listed it on Craigslist and set up a meeting with a potential buyer. He drove to the potential buyer’s apartment and met the buyer near his apartment complex.
The buyer started to look at the iPad and said that he had his money inside his apartment. As they walked towards the apartment buildings, the buyer started running. The buyer was a much larger man than my friend, and despite the fact that he could have caught up to him, he stopped and called the police instead.
Apparently this guy has done this multiple times to Craigslist sellers. In one of the reported incidents, he pulled a gun on the seller.
This is just one example of someone who has been put in danger and ultimately robbed through their use of Craigslist. I’m sure there are countless other examples of
Tips for Staying Safe Buying and Selling on Craigslist
I think it’s obvious to most people that dealing on Craigslist comes with risks. These risks can be alleviated by being overly cautious and following some simple rules.
- Meet in Public Places – Most things being sold should be small enough to sell at a public meetup location. The local library, a coffee shop, or the mall are all public places that will work. The odds a buyer or seller will try to rob you in a public location is far smaller than in a private location such as your home.I admittedly have had buyers come to my house to pick up products. They were all for products worth less than $100, but I should have met them at a public place just to be safe. If you must have the buyer come pick up an item, make sure you are not home alone.
- Communicate via the Masked Email Thread – If you’ve used Craigslist you know that a masked email thread is created when you email someone or someone emails you. For those who don’t know what I mean by a “masked email thread”, Craigslist has an internal communication engine that does not include the actual email addresses of the email participants.While I know others who freely give out their cell phone numbers over Craigslist, I always prefer the anonymity of masked emails. There really is no reason that all communications can’t be completed this way, all the way up to the actual transaction.
- Don’t give more info than is needed – Giving the minimum information necessary to the buyer or seller you are conversing with is a simple way to stay safe. If someone doesn’t need your address, don’t give it to them. If someone doesn’t need to know when you are at work or not, don’t give it to them.For example, do not respond to someone with “I work 7-5 each weekday so you won’t be able to pick up the couch until after 5. We also will be out of town this weekend so hopefully we can get this done before then?” It seems like common sense, but it’s so easy to trip up and give a complete stranger more info than they need.
- Trust your instincts – If you have a bad feeling about a transaction, end it!. In the story I described earlier in the post, my friend had a bad feeling about the deal. Sometimes you just have to trust your gut and wait for another buyer or seller.
Craigslist can be a great place to buy and sell products, especially if your side hustle requires you to unload inventory or perhaps is even centered around “flipping” products. With that being said, safety is the most important thing to keep in mind when dealing on Craigslist.
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Great tips. I’ve also sold quite a few things on Craigslist and never had any problems, but I should have done as you say and met people at a public place rather than my house. You never know what could happen!
colormefrugalI also have never had any problems, and I think 99% of the time it will be totally fine to have someone come to your house. I think it’s better to be safe than sorry, though, so I really only do transactions in public locations now.
David one of my clients sells stuff all the time through craigslist and he advises to get google voice. The phone number is routed through the internet and it masks your real number so people can’t randomly look you up.
Charles@gettingarichlifeHmmm that definitely could be a good option! I personally prefer the masked email. Since everyone has it on their phone now there is really no reason not to use email vs. text/phone.
Thankfully I have never had any issues selling or buying on Craigslist. However I think the most important tip was to trust your instincts. If it doesn’t feel right than it probably isn’t!
BudgetforMoreGreat point! Trusting your instincts is so important.
Oh my gosh, DC – SO glad your friend is okay – that is so scary!!! Great tips here, and ones I will make sure and follow myself. Thank you!
Laurie TheFrugalFarmer No problem, and I’m glad he’s okay as well! It sucks for him to be out a few hundred dollars, but being safe and unharmed is priceless.
Excellent tips! Never invite someone into your house or go to someone’s house when transacting via CL. Of course, there are exceptions like selling furniture.
I’m glad your friend is ok.
moneycone Yeah I did pick up some furniture from someone but went with my Dad. I stupidly had multiple people come here to pick up giveaway winnings. Obviously everything is fine, but it’s better to be safe.
Excellent tips. Common sense goes a long way and I have not done a sale or two because a person seemed ‘fishy’. I always meet at public places and luckily had no problems and only one no show in the 5 years I’ve been selling on craigslist.
alexislives 5 years is a long time! I’ve only been using it for about a year but I’ve gone to only meeting in public places. It’s the best way to stay safe (for both the buyer and seller).
Good tips…I thought about using Craigslist to cut out the middleman as I generally use Amazon. But it is much more convenient for me and I don’t like having to deal with negotiating, meeting up with someone and the potential risk of running into someone your friend ran into.
Andrew LivingRichCheaply We sell everything on ebay that is easy to ship, but for the bigger items sometimes it’s easier to unload them via CL, at least that’s been my experience. I started using it less than a half a year ago.
Wow, so sorry to hear that about your friend though I’m glad they’re ok. We’ve sold quite a bit on CL, but I do need to get better about meeting them at a public place. We’ve needed to have my wife be the one who sold it several times and always go the public space route, so I just need to do that all the time.
FrugalRules Yeah it’s easy to be lazy and just have them come to your house (been there done that!) but I’ve felt much better recently as we’ve gone to only meeting buyers in public, especially when it’s a big $100-$200 transaction.
We’ve had decent success with Craigslist but I agree you must be careful. Meeting in public seems to be the safest bet to me. I have even done this before if I’ve had resolve a dispute with a tenant. I don’t need to be at someone’s house alone if I suspect there is going to be trouble.
Brian @ Luke1428 Makes a lot of sense! Our tenant lives in our basement so it would be funny if we met in a public place haha but if I had a real issue with a tenant, especially one on another property, I would much rather meet in public for sure.
That is terrifying. I’ve never sold on craigslist but I’ve had a lot of luck buying. I found an incredible kitchen unit that usually sells for a couple hundred bucks in stores that I got for $25 plus the toll between queens and manhattan.
brokeandbeau Wow that’s a pretty good deal! I’ve had some decent luck selling on Craigslist but I will definitely keep meeting up in public places!
I’ve never used Craigslist mainly because of what you described above. But I know a couple of people who have had good luck selling and buying on Craigslist. It’s always good to be cautious.
Raquel@Practical Cents It’s nice that they have ‘masked’ emails so there is no risk until you start offering up private information (phone, address, etc.). I will continue to meet in public places for sure.
This is what scares me about Craig’s List. I’m sure 99% of the time, it’s fine, but I would be the one to attract some psycho. We tend to use Ebay for smaller stuff and I take anything else to the consignment stores. It might cost more in fees, but I don’t have to haggle or deal directly with anyone.
Eyesonthedollar I also have terrible luck (so does my wife) so we’d be the one’s to do that too! I actually have had some good luck selling large stuff on Craigslist so I will probably continue it.
I’ve sold some things on Craigslist before, and I’ve met some awesome people. That being said, I’m super cautious and careful everytime, whether I’m the one selling or the one buying. I have gone to some houses before to buy a couple of items, but I don’t think I’ll be doing that again. Glad your friend is okay!
ImpersonalFinance When it comes to furniture you have to go to people’s houses, so sometimes it’s inevitable. I did meet this nice lady who I told about giveaways and my blog, which was pretty sweet haha.
That is so scary. As a woman, I usually make Greg go with me or meet in a public place. But, your friend did meet in a public place and still got ripped off. That sucks!
Holly at ClubThrifty Yeah well there were other warning signs in his case as well. They were technically outside of the guys (supposed) apartment building. I’m not so sure I’d be willing to go to someone’s house/apartment to sell an iPad.
Wow – scary! I’m glad your friend is okay. Craiglist can definitely be wonderful but you do have to be careful. Unless, they absolutely needed to come to my house, I definitely would meet them somewhere public or vice versa. Living in LA, I’m probably extra cautious. So many good people use it but you have to be cautious. I want to wish you and Victoria a very Merry and Blessed Christmas, DC!
ShannonRyan Thanks so much Shannon! Merry Christmas to you and your family as well!
Yikes! I buy and sell on craigslist regularly and have never had a problem, luckily.
Miss Tightwad Same! I think it’s just important to remember some basic safety info every once in a while.
I’ve never really had issues with Craigslist. Some people just seem creepy and I go with my gut instinct and avoid communicating with them and hope that other people are interested in my items.
debtperception That’s one approach! I think a large, LARGE majority of people have never had a problem. Let’s hope it stays that way.
Those are some tips. I always meet people in public places whenever I’m selling something.
Jason Butler Same. It might be more of a pain, but honestly it protects both the buyer and seller.
Great advice! I’ve been guilty of not meeting in public places and wonder when my luck will run out. I need to be a lot more cautious than I am. Thankfully everything I’ve done so far has been OK. I do at least meet people outside of my apartment in daylight, where there are lots of neighbors around.
Beachbudget I used to have people come to my house and realized it may be a bad idea. At least with apartment complexes you have lots of neighbors, so that definitely should help.
I had some people come to my home, and admittedly I’m a bit more trusting than I should be. In some cases the seller actually requested we meet somewhere more public. Makes sense – unless you’re selling something huge like a projection TV or something…lol.
That’s advice I probably should be following…I have to admit that I just sell Craigslist items from my home. So far, so good…but that doesn’t mean it’s wise.
This is great advice! I have always wanted to utilize Craigslist more, but I have been “scared” because I have not had enough experience utilizing it.