Author Topic: rant: online sellers who put $1 as the price  (Read 3309 times)

nereo

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rant: online sellers who put $1 as the price
« on: September 18, 2018, 05:11:34 AM »
Just thought I'd start the day out with a rant...

I'm sick an tired of people on Craigslist (and other marketplaces) putting $1 for the price on expensive items just so it shows up in everyone's search even when you're trying to exclude expensive items.  Some recent examples:

Drill Press - $1:  Like new, used maybe 2 times. Powermatic drill press. Model PM2800B. Make me an offer. Brand new if you check that model number they go for $1500. I know mine is "used" so make me a decent offer and we have business.

2016 Cannondale Road bike (56cm), Ultegra Group-set - $1: Caad12 frame, Maveric Ksyrium Pro weels, rides like a dream, never in an accident, ridden less than 500 km.  Comes with Garmin GPS Cyclometer.  Paid $2300 a few years ago, asking $1400 firm. Do not waste my time with lowball offers, this is a sweet ride and it's worth the price.


... and so on.  There's never a category where someone (usually multiple someones) are trying to sell things for a lot of money, but they still put "$1" in the damn list price.  It just makes me want to call them up, ask to meet, and then offer then $1.  When they get mad I'll be like "oh, but title of the ad said $1!  I didn't bother reading the description".

I wonder if I could win this in small-claims court.  Brick and mortar stores can't get away with advertising something as "$1" - only to put "actually it's $1500" in the fine print.  Maybe I could get a sweet racing bike and a drill press 12x more powerful than what I need for eight quarters and an afternoon or two at the district court. Nah, that would be a shitty thing to do.  Kind of like generating web traffic by advertising something as "$1".

ETA:  I thought I'd outsmarted all those jerks by simply setting my minimum price at $2.  Nope.  I found a Ford Mustang GT for $2 (except price was "$18500 FIRM"
)

Frankies Girl

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Re: rant: online sellers who put $1 as the price
« Reply #1 on: September 18, 2018, 05:21:27 AM »
Report them. Seriously. If it makes you mad enough, you can spend a few minutes reporting them for lying in their listings to manipulate search results. I know on OfferUp, they'll take the listing down, so it does work there. Not sure how responsive Craigslist is, but it's worth a shot.

I'd report them as "false pricing/spam" and explain "listing has false price to manipulate search results and should be removed."

nereo

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Re: rant: online sellers who put $1 as the price
« Reply #2 on: September 18, 2018, 05:30:59 AM »
Report them. Seriously. If it makes you mad enough, you can spend a few minutes reporting them for lying in their listings to manipulate search results. I know on OfferUp, they'll take the listing down, so it does work there. Not sure how responsive Craigslist is, but it's worth a shot.

I'd report them as "false pricing/spam" and explain "listing has false price to manipulate search results and should be removed."

I try doing that - but it's unclear whether its effective.  On every CL posting there's a box at the top you can click that says "Prohibited".  According to their FAQ its supposed to flag postings that violate the TOS as well as prevent you from seeing it again.  But there's no way of entering any text or complaint.  It does seem to keep that post from showing up again (until they re-post it the next day, which often happens), but when I go on another device I see it again.

I'm not sure they have enough staffers to really vet flagged ads, and I think the ones that do might just click on the ad, read the discription and think - 'well i don't see anything wrong here' (missing the $1 in the search criteria.)
...sigh

bacchi

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Re: rant: online sellers who put $1 as the price
« Reply #3 on: September 18, 2018, 08:46:52 AM »
Anon email them and tell them what a deal it is at $1 and you'd like to buy it.

Do it again. Do it again. Do it again.

You can "change" your gmail address by adding a "." anywhere in it: bacchi@gmail, b.acchi@gmail, ba.cchi@gmail, etc. It might prevent the craigslist remailer from noticing that it's the same email.

Cassie

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Re: rant: online sellers who put $1 as the price
« Reply #4 on: September 19, 2018, 09:02:37 PM »
I also hate that kind of crap.

MasterStache

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Re: rant: online sellers who put $1 as the price
« Reply #5 on: September 20, 2018, 05:09:48 AM »
Seems like it would backfire. I've purposefully not bought items that were listed for $1 only to see the real price and still thought it was decent.

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Re: rant: online sellers who put $1 as the price
« Reply #6 on: September 21, 2018, 05:40:19 PM »
I agree, I dislike the practice. I have decided it is not worth my time to worry about it and I simply filter the results for a minimum price of 2 or 10 or whatever I feel like.

nereo

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Re: rant: online sellers who put $1 as the price
« Reply #7 on: September 21, 2018, 05:46:49 PM »
I agree, I dislike the practice. I have decided it is not worth my time to worry about it and I simply filter the results for a minimum price of 2 or 10 or whatever I feel like.

My problem with this is i'm often searching through the clearance bin (so to speak), and setting the minimums higher causes me to miss some of the things I might be interested in, like lumber @ $1/foot, or pallets or old railway spikes (all things I've found).  No need for $1,000 items to be in the dollar bin by the checkout stand.
Yeah, first-world problems and all... I said at the beginning this was just a rant.

accolay

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Re: rant: online sellers who put $1 as the price
« Reply #8 on: September 25, 2018, 11:43:21 AM »
I will say that I've done it, but it's because I didn't really know how much to list the item for. I know it can be a little annoying for searching, but did you really think whatever was selling was $1? Of course not. It's to generate interest. And you looked.

You get what you pay for on Craigslist.
« Last Edit: September 25, 2018, 11:45:00 AM by accolay »

nereo

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Re: rant: online sellers who put $1 as the price
« Reply #9 on: September 25, 2018, 12:53:57 PM »
I will say that I've done it, but it's because I didn't really know how much to list the item for. I know it can be a little annoying for searching, but did you really think whatever was selling was $1? Of course not. It's to generate interest. And you looked.

You get what you pay for on Craigslist.

If you're willing to take $1 (or even $5 or $10) by all means list the minimum price as $1.  But you want hundred$ or thousand$ - don't do it.

My annoyance is precisely because I'm trying to filter these expensive items OUT.  I'm looking for stuff like a wrecked bike I might be able to strip for parts, or old tools that people just want to get rid of, or lumber at $1/board. instead the things I am searching for are obfuscated by a bunch of ads with false advertising.

Davnasty

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Re: rant: online sellers who put $1 as the price
« Reply #10 on: September 25, 2018, 01:12:37 PM »
I will say that I've done it, but it's because I didn't really know how much to list the item for. I know it can be a little annoying for searching, but did you really think whatever was selling was $1? Of course not. It's to generate interest. And you looked.

You get what you pay for on Craigslist.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!                    :)

ixtap

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Re: rant: online sellers who put $1 as the price
« Reply #11 on: September 25, 2018, 01:22:42 PM »
I will say that I've done it, but it's because I didn't really know how much to list the item for. I know it can be a little annoying for searching, but did you really think whatever was selling was $1? Of course not. It's to generate interest. And you looked.

You get what you pay for on Craigslist.

If you're willing to take $1 (or even $5 or $10) by all means list the minimum price as $1.  But you want hundred$ or thousand$ - don't do it.

My annoyance is precisely because I'm trying to filter these expensive items OUT.  I'm looking for stuff like a wrecked bike I might be able to strip for parts, or old tools that people just want to get rid of, or lumber at $1/board. instead the things I am searching for are obfuscated by a bunch of ads with false advertising.

That is what really burns me. False advertising doesn't seem to be an issue anymore. My cable company puts "Important account information" on an envelope that turns out to be an ad, dealers put $1 price tags to grab attention, STOP THE DAMN LIES!

sequoia

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Re: rant: online sellers who put $1 as the price
« Reply #12 on: September 25, 2018, 01:26:42 PM »
Anon email them and tell them what a deal it is at $1 and you'd like to buy it.

Do it again. Do it again. Do it again.

You can "change" your gmail address by adding a "." anywhere in it: bacchi@gmail, b.acchi@gmail, ba.cchi@gmail, etc. It might prevent the craigslist remailer from noticing that it's the same email.

Wow.... anyone really has this much free time to spam someone at CL?

Davnasty

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Re: rant: online sellers who put $1 as the price
« Reply #13 on: September 25, 2018, 01:31:49 PM »
Anon email them and tell them what a deal it is at $1 and you'd like to buy it.

Do it again. Do it again. Do it again.

You can "change" your gmail address by adding a "." anywhere in it: bacchi@gmail, b.acchi@gmail, ba.cchi@gmail, etc. It might prevent the craigslist remailer from noticing that it's the same email.

Wow.... anyone really has this much free time to spam someone at CL?

Enough time for justice? You're damn right I do.

sequoia

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Re: rant: online sellers who put $1 as the price
« Reply #14 on: September 25, 2018, 01:44:59 PM »
Anon email them and tell them what a deal it is at $1 and you'd like to buy it.

Do it again. Do it again. Do it again.

You can "change" your gmail address by adding a "." anywhere in it: bacchi@gmail, b.acchi@gmail, ba.cchi@gmail, etc. It might prevent the craigslist remailer from noticing that it's the same email.

Wow.... anyone really has this much free time to spam someone at CL?

Enough time for justice? You're damn right I do.


You are definitely entitled for your opinion. But just curious, how do you think that
spamming someone (regardless of what they did) is equal to justice? 

ketchup

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Re: rant: online sellers who put $1 as the price
« Reply #15 on: September 25, 2018, 01:55:38 PM »
This shit drives me crazy.

It's almost worse though when it's even more blatant.  They'll put "$7" when they mean $7,000, and do the same shit for miles on a car.  So my Craigslist search for "less than three grand and less than 130,000 miles" can return a $7k car with 270,000 miles.  Fuck that.

bacchi

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Re: rant: online sellers who put $1 as the price
« Reply #16 on: September 25, 2018, 02:01:02 PM »
Anon email them and tell them what a deal it is at $1 and you'd like to buy it.

Do it again. Do it again. Do it again.

You can "change" your gmail address by adding a "." anywhere in it: bacchi@gmail, b.acchi@gmail, ba.cchi@gmail, etc. It might prevent the craigslist remailer from noticing that it's the same email.

Wow.... anyone really has this much free time to spam someone at CL?

Enough time for justice? You're damn right I do.


You are definitely entitled for your opinion. But just curious, how do you think that
spamming someone (regardless of what they did) is equal to justice?

It annoys the shit out of the poster and might make them reconsider posting a $1 item in the future.

And, yeah, I have plenty of free time. I'm ER. Might even write a CL spambot when I finish up Bard's Tale. ;)

sequoia

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Re: rant: online sellers who put $1 as the price
« Reply #17 on: September 25, 2018, 03:46:18 PM »
Anon email them and tell them what a deal it is at $1 and you'd like to buy it.

Do it again. Do it again. Do it again.

You can "change" your gmail address by adding a "." anywhere in it: bacchi@gmail, b.acchi@gmail, ba.cchi@gmail, etc. It might prevent the craigslist remailer from noticing that it's the same email.

Wow.... anyone really has this much free time to spam someone at CL?

Enough time for justice? You're damn right I do.


You are definitely entitled for your opinion. But just curious, how do you think that
spamming someone (regardless of what they did) is equal to justice?

It annoys the shit out of the poster and might make them reconsider posting a $1 item in the future.

And, yeah, I have plenty of free time. I'm ER. Might even write a CL spambot when I finish up Bard's Tale. ;)

Good for you for having plenty of time on your hands but isn't spamming someone illegal? Still not seeing how this is justice.

accolay

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Re: rant: online sellers who put $1 as the price
« Reply #18 on: September 25, 2018, 05:44:37 PM »
Somtimes the joy in Craigslist is in the thrill of the hunt.

One thing that does annoy me is when a commercial seller will put many tags in their post so any search will turn up with their ad. So they have 50+ ads with nothing you're looking for.

Zikoris

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Re: rant: online sellers who put $1 as the price
« Reply #19 on: September 25, 2018, 11:53:26 PM »
In my city some landlords will put the weekly rent instead of monthly - but they're not short-term weekly apartment rentals, they're normal one year leases. Fuckers.

nereo

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Re: rant: online sellers who put $1 as the price
« Reply #20 on: September 26, 2018, 04:44:56 AM »
One thing that does annoy me is when a commercial seller will put many tags in their post so any search will turn up with their ad. So they have 50+ ads with nothing you're looking for.

I've found this true for a lot of the bikes being sold. Listed under "private seller" will be a series of 10+ bicycles, all last year's model and all taken with the exact same backdrop.  The text doesn't mention anything about it being a store and makes it sound as if someone might just be decluttering and selling off what they aren't using, but the number and address always takes you to a bike shop.

ixtap

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Re: rant: online sellers who put $1 as the price
« Reply #21 on: September 26, 2018, 10:49:35 AM »
One thing that does annoy me is when a commercial seller will put many tags in their post so any search will turn up with their ad. So they have 50+ ads with nothing you're looking for.

I've found this true for a lot of the bikes being sold. Listed under "private seller" will be a series of 10+ bicycles, all last year's model and all taken with the exact same backdrop.  The text doesn't mention anything about it being a store and makes it sound as if someone might just be decluttering and selling off what they aren't using, but the number and address always takes you to a bike shop.

Even when they don't charge for dealer ads. That right there is why people think so many businesses are corrupt. Pretty sure I was the only one paying the $5/ad fee when I was selling boats. You could tell by the cut and paste of the professional ad in the private seller section. Then people would get mad at me for being a broker, even though I clearly indicated so AND included both a picture of my business card and the company logo in the ad.

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Re: rant: online sellers who put $1 as the price
« Reply #22 on: September 26, 2018, 11:35:09 AM »
This bothers me too. Today I commented on an iPhone 7 ad that had a listed price of $12,345 on FB marketplace. I noted that the price seemed rather steep and asked what their asking price was.

Ebay is for bidding, classified ads need to have an legitimate asking price.

accolay

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Re: rant: online sellers who put $1 as the price
« Reply #23 on: September 26, 2018, 02:58:21 PM »
Ebay is for bidding, classified ads need to have an legitimate asking price.

Ebay is formal marketplace with seller-based fees, formal processes for customer service and reviews with guarantees backed up by the company.

Craigslist is a mainly free, anonymous internet service. Annoying sometimes. But what do you expect?

Davnasty

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Re: rant: online sellers who put $1 as the price
« Reply #24 on: September 27, 2018, 07:04:05 AM »
Ebay is for bidding, classified ads need to have an legitimate asking price.

Ebay is formal marketplace with seller-based fees, formal processes for customer service and reviews with guarantees backed up by the company.

Craigslist is a mainly free, anonymous internet service. Annoying sometimes. But what do you expect?

Based on my experience I expect deceptive advertising and poor communication, but I'm still going to complain about it. I think that's the point of this thread, it's just a discussion (rant) on what you should and shouldn't do.

nereo

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Re: rant: online sellers who put $1 as the price
« Reply #25 on: September 27, 2018, 07:14:57 AM »

Based on my experience I expect deceptive advertising and poor communication, but I'm still going to complain about it. I think that's the point of this thread, it's just a discussion (rant) on what you should and shouldn't do.

Yup.  I thought putting 'rant' int he subject line made that clear.  I think it's wrong, I find it annoying, but I have no disillusions that this thread will somehow lead to a universal solution.

accolay

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Re: rant: online sellers who put $1 as the price
« Reply #26 on: September 27, 2018, 01:19:30 PM »

Based on my experience I expect deceptive advertising and poor communication, but I'm still going to complain about it. I think that's the point of this thread, it's just a discussion (rant) on what you should and shouldn't do.

Yup.  I thought putting 'rant' int he subject line made that clear.  I think it's wrong, I find it annoying, but I have no disillusions that this thread will somehow lead to a universal solution.

Sure, we get it. Hope it made you feel better.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!