Craigslist . . ugh!

[usamma]

If some of the people on Craigslist are a sample of the world population's intelligence and common sense, we are in big trouble. I swear, putting something up for sale is often more trouble than it's worth. I have three bird cages for sale. I posted photos that took, links to identical cages for sale on pet supply websites so they can see what a great bargain they are getting, the asking prices, and my general location. Here's what I get:

-- Can you send me a photo of the cage you have for sale?
-- Call me (which is the only thing they put in the reply)
-- I am very interested! Where do you live . . . Oh, that's too far away. Sorry.
-- What is UR address? I might come by to look at it, but not sure when.
-- I will come by at such and such a time (but they never show up-- this happens a lot).
-- Oh, will you take $10 for it? (No, the asking price was clearly posted at $40-- sorry you wasted your gas and time).
-- Is that a good price? Because I'm looking for a good deal.
-- Why are you selling your bird cage? (????)
-- Oh, that cage would be perfect for my finches! When can I come by? (then later . . . ) Sorry, the person I was going to buy the finches from sold them to someone else.

I have also seen some other cages for sale in the pet section:

-- Antique ornamental parrot cages (not safe for birds and way too small)
-- Just a little rusty-- a little sandpaper will clean it up (and the photo shows a cage that is so rusty there's very little cage left)
-- Rattan bird cages (give any bird about 10 minutes to chew out of it)

and my favorite:

-- Free bird included with purchase of cage.

The birds for sale include such breeds as:

-Cocktails
- Paraketes
- Luv Birds

[chseeads]

They could be asking why you're selling a cage just to see if the bird you had in it died of some horrible nasty disease, and if so it wouldn't be something they'd want to try to clean up for their bird.


Just a possible logical explanation for that one....lol.... :-D

[kcleckler]

It sounds to me like those people are just idiots!

[RoughCollies]

Wow. I replied to someone about a cage they were selling and they just never replied back. I liked that cage, too.

People are morons. I adopted my last budgie from someone that was keeping him in this tiny, disgustingly dirty cage and when I told them I needed to buy him a new cage on my way to pick him up, they didn't understand. Perhaps because this cage is too small for him to comfortably travel in let alone live in. So sad.

[sugarbeth]

Ah, but the beauty of craigslist is that you can ignore the stupid people really easily, and only reply to the ones who sound intelligent and who might actually buy the item. I find it helps to add a line like, "first come, first serve" so that people know that they can't dick me around and I'm very clear that I won't hold an item for someone. Makes for a quick sale that way.

[amanda143]

Ahh the joys of craigslist! I've had great success using it, but you are right, sometimes people act really silly. I'm with Beth, I don't reply to the people that didn't read the ad in the first place. lol

[Vilas]

I've used Craigslist several times and somestimes just cruise through the ads, not only for birds. My thoughts on cages-- if you're going to sell it, clean it up first! I don't want to spend my time on a cage that looks like you never cleaned it at all. There have been ridiculous prices for cages.. why do people think they can recoup the price they originally paid for? I've seen some great deals on cages that I would like to have, but no truck to haul it in and no room in the bird area (yet)... but they are the clean ones and from people that care about birds. Another thing that bugs me about the people that post, is their spelling.. parakeet? parrakkeet... parrot? parrent,parret.... you get the idea. They misspell almost every word in their ad.. those people scare me. Why oh why, do they have animals in their house? Are they from the back woods of some Eastern mountain range, with just two teeth of their own? I feel bad for the animals that need to be rehomed, not only because of the economy but especially for the stupid, ignorant people that shouldn't have pets to begin with.

All of my birds have been rescued from a home or shelter in the recent years. My snake is the only pet I actually bought at a reptile show. She's 20+ years old.