# Craigslist Idiot



## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

So my wife and I are testing the small animal market with our hay and post ads on Craigslist in the larger cities mostly in the northeast. Customers have 3 different weights to choose from. It would be similar to what you can find from Oxbow and other suppliers in your local Walmart, TSC, and pet stores. Nothing fancy just grass hay. We obviously cannot compete with the larger companies in relation to shipping so our prices are higher than what you can find in stores. We are going to take some to locally owned pet stores and see if they would like to carry it. Our margins will be higher then. We have had some sales and good reviews including one that said it is the first hay she bought that all 4 of her rabbits would eat.

We get replies similar to this: You do know that your prices are insane right??
You can buy very high quality hay for $5 a bale!

To which we will reply: You are right. You can and we do, however when was the last time you saw a bale of hay on the store shelf in Wegmans, Petsmart, Petco, your local pet store, or TSC. It is a item for the convenience of a person in an apartment that cannot and does not have a place to store bales of hay. You can go to buy this at your local Walmart if you like Forti Diet Timothy Hay, 96oz.$13.98 With shipping we can't get our price this low. You should go to your local Walmart and complain how high priced their hay is. For $15.00 you could buy 3 45 lbs. bales from us. That would be a better yet. We would like nothing more than to sell Walmart $5.00 bales. We are just trying out other markets for our hay and yes we have sold some to rabbit people in both packaged and bale form. Thank you for your inquiry about our hay.

Yesterday I received the best one yet. Due to content it has been edited: You can buy a whole bale for $6 you [email protected]#$ head

Reply: Or you can go to your local walmart and buy this Forti Diet Timothy Hay, 96oz

$13.98 , your choice. Ours might be more expensive but we have to cover shipping. It's not cheap to do that. All we are doing is trying out other markets for our product and yes we have had sales and good reviews. I don't know many people in the middle of Detroit in a one room appt. and no car that can store bales of hay.
We do not appreciate your language, you could have just asked about what we are doing. Shows how incredibly uneducated you are. Thank you for your inquiry.

His reply back to me: What you need to do is find a real job instead of ripping people off

I still have not heard back from him as to what his "real" job is.

I do believe they are people that do not realize you can buy hay packaged as such, I myself would not have believed it until we researched but have no problem providing people with what they want, however I felt the last inquiry was a little uncalled for.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Had a lady buy some of my square bales for rabbits last year.....that's a first for me. She was worried about not being able to have enuf, she had 3 rabbits


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

I saw a 25 pound bale of alfalfa hay at Murdochs. Murdochs is like TSC. They wanted $15 for it. It was one of the Standlee compressed bales. I thought it looked like it would turn to dust if you opened it. I was tempted to buy it just to see. I thought the $15 price was ridiculous. Also the $11/bale for a regular small square of grass hay at TSC. But I don't get mad. I just feel sorry for the people that go to buy it that don't know any better. At TSC I told the lady I was just curious about the price as I sell hay. She was relieved she didn't have to go outside and get me a bale. She said they had a bulletin board I would be welcome to put a flier on selling my hay. Which I thought was nice of them to allow that.


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

somedevildawg said:


> Had a lady buy some of my square bales for rabbits last year.....that's a first for me. She was worried about not being able to have enuf, she had 3 rabbits


We have sold about 10 small square to 2 different customers for rabbits and we have one getting small squares for a pot belly pig.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

IH 1586 said:


> So my wife and I are testing the small animal market with our hay and post ads on Craigslist in the larger cities mostly in the northeast. Customers have 3 different weights to choose from. It would be similar to what you can find from Oxbow and other suppliers in your local Walmart, TSC, and pet stores. Nothing fancy just grass hay. We obviously cannot compete with the larger companies in relation to shipping so our prices are higher than what you can find in stores. We are going to take some to locally owned pet stores and see if they would like to carry it. Our margins will be higher then. We have had some sales and good reviews including one that said it is the first hay she bought that all 4 of her rabbits would eat.
> 
> We get replies similar to this: You do know that your prices are insane right??
> You can buy very high quality hay for $5 a bale!
> ...


CL has gotten pretty "edgy" lately. Lots of scams, harrassment., etc.

My advice is to state plainly in the ad "NO EMAILS OR TEXTS ACCEPTED. CALLS ONLY"

I rarely accept emails unless I have to.

When I get an email, I usually delete it.

I figure if a potential buyer is too stupid to read, then I probably dont want them on my property buying my stuff.


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## Lewis Ranch (Jul 15, 2013)

I run lots of adds on CL and my number one complaint is when people call and ask where I'm located. It's on the add and if you were able to find the add on the internet use it to look up where I'm at before you call. That drives me nuts


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

JD3430 said:


> CL has gotten pretty "edgy" lately. Lots of scams, harrassment., etc.
> 
> My advice is to state plainly in the ad "NO EMAILS OR TEXTS ACCEPTED. CALLS ONLY"
> 
> ...


We don't get many of those. I think may have gotten 1 in the last 4 months or more. For me it was worse years ago.



Lewis Ranch said:


> I run lots of adds on CL and my number one complaint is when people call and ask where I'm located. It's on the add and if you were able to find the add on the internet use it to look up where I'm at before you call. That drives me nuts


I absolutely hate that. It's the same way and the other site I use which is pennswoods. They list your town and a link right to google maps. If I am interested in something that is the first thing I look at to see whether its worth pursuing.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

I have people call me and ask me a half dozen questions and every one of them are answered in the ad.
Especially women hay buyers. Never knew a more dumbed-down sub group of human beings.


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

JD3430 said:


> CL has gotten pretty "edgy" lately. Lots of scams, harrassment., etc.
> My advice is to state plainly in the ad "NO EMAILS OR TEXTS ACCEPTED. CALLS ONLY"
> I rarely accept emails unless I have to.
> When I get an email, I usually delete it.
> I figure if a potential buyer is too stupid to read, then I probably dont want them on my property buying my stuff.


You know you can just click a box to not receive emails, right? Takes less time than typing out a sentence saying you don't want emails.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

I always enjoy the texts like the following. "Do you still have hay?" Innocent enough I suppose. But most of the time I have an alfalfa ad, grass hay ad, different cuttings ads, etc. But this is typically how these text conversations go. Phone calls can go very similar

CL Hay buyer "Do you still have hay?"

Me- It depends? What kind of hay are you asking about?

CL hay buyer The hay you have on CL

Me-Yes, but what type of hay is on the ad you are asking about? Alfalfa? Grass hay?

CL hay buyer. The 2nd cutting?

By then I'm starting to lose patience and remember I should always ask the price of hay they are calling about as generally that is different on each ad.

Me- Ok what was the price of hay on the ad you are calling about?

CL hay buyer- Oh I think it was $65 a bale

Me thinking to myself I don't have any for sale for $65.

Me- Oh I don't have any for sale for that price what type of hay was on the ad?

CL hay buyer (starting to get impatient with me)- Well I saw it last week and thought I would call today. But it was grass hay.

Me-Did it say what cutting?

CL hay buyer- Oh 2nd cutting.

Me- Oh I have some,but I've never had it for sale for $65 it is $75/bale.

CL hay buyer- Oh that's right! What is the weight?

Me (I put the weight in the ads always)- About 725-775lbs

CL hay buyer- Oh that sounds ok. Was it covered?

Me (Alway the ad says stored completely inside within hours of baling along with pictures showing the hay in the building)- Yes it is stored inside.

CL hay buyer- Does it have any alfalfa in it?

Me (starting to think about hanging up)- No it's straight grass I don't have any mix hay.

CL hay buyer- Oh that is to bad I was looking for ONE bale of grass and ALFALFA mix hay and I would like it delivered to Denver for $75.

Me (about the throw my phone on the floor, but remember it's my iphone and it's expensive) I don't have that.

CL hay buyer- Ok thanks-click.

Me (sputtering about these idiots)

How can they just remember my phone number and that I might have some hay from seeing an ad from a week ago or more. Instead of calling me when the ad is right in front of them and actually reading the details.

This call or text also comes when I'm busy doing machine work and since I don't have that good of hearing I stop the equipment and idle it down so I can hear and concentrate. Thanks for wasting my time.


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## CowboyRam (Dec 13, 2015)

When dealing with craigslist I never give out my phone number in the add. I would rather the first contact be via email. After awhile you learn how to weed out the fakes. Watch for the grammar, if the grammar is not right it is most likely a fake.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Really? I dont like email replies because you cant hear a voice. Often, I can detect the character of a person through their voice and by asking them just a few basic questions. I cant tell very much by reading someones written text. Also theres so many email scams. Some people hide behind computer screens and just harass CL sellers.


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## PaMike (Dec 7, 2013)

JD3430 said:


> Really? I dont like email replies because you cant hear a voice. Often, I can detect the character of a person through their voice and by asking them just a few basic questions. I cant tell very much by reading someones written text. Also theres so many email scams.


Step 1-I don't put a phone number in my ad. If they are complete idiots in their email to me then I don't even respond and they don't know who I am as the seller.

Step 2-If "buyer" makes it past step one, I then email them back and answer any questions. I then include my phone number and tell them to call me. This then eliminates the next group of people that never end of calling.

Step 3. Potential buyer now calls me for additional info or to set up time to meet. This allows me to now have an email and phone contact with person incase something goes missing, something gets stolen etc. I think it also helps eliminate no shows because the buyer is much less anonymous..


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

PaMike said:


> Step 1-I don't put a phone number in my ad. If they are complete idiots in their email to me then I don't even respond and they don't know who I am as the seller.
> Step 2-If "buyer" makes it past step one, I then email them back and answer any questions. I then include my phone number and tell them to call me. This then eliminates the next group of people that never end of calling.
> Step 3. Potential buyer now calls me for additional info or to set up time to meet. This allows me to now have an email and phone contact with person incase something goes missing, something gets stolen etc. I think it also helps eliminate no shows because the buyer is much less anonymous..


I have had much more trouble giving out my email address. It ended up used in scams. My phone number is published. Nothing to hide and not much a scammer can do with it. 
Whatever works for you, do it.


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

http://erie.craigslist.org/grd/5880287360.html

This is how we have ours set up. House phone number and website. Always use the house number for everything. Nobody gets the cell number. We never answer the house phone and let the machine do all the screening.


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

Same as IH, if they aren't smart enough to leave message, they must not need the hay. Only a couple of my regular customers have my cell number. I get enough junk e-mails as it is, I don't need to add to the pile.

Larry


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

If you think CL is bad. Try joining a facebook group for selling hay in your area. I had to unfollow it because it would annoy me so much between the helpless horsey people and hay brokers postings. I was afraid I would start typing things that would get me in trouble. Put an announcement for hay on the one I deal with, put all the details and people will comment asking questions that are answered 1/2 inch above where they are typing their questions.


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## PaMike (Dec 7, 2013)

When you use the craigslist email system no one actually gets your real email. Its all through craigslist. You shouldn't get any additional spam because once the ad is dead the link to you is gone.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

PaMike said:


> When you use the craigslist email system no one actually gets your real email. Its all through craigslist. You shouldn't get any additional spam because once the ad is dead the link to you is gone.


Correct, but I don't like giving my email out in general, though. People can do bad things with it.

If I let people email me about the ads I have on CL, I'd be up past midnight answering all their dumbass questions plicking away with my fat fingers.

However, when it involves a phone call, buyers think twice. Soon as I get a call from a dreamer, a low baller or something other than serious business, I know.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Teslan said:


> If you think CL is bad. Try joining a facebook group for selling hay in your area. I had to unfollow it because it would annoy me so much between the helpless horsey people and hay brokers postings. I was afraid I would start typing things that would get me in trouble. Put an announcement for hay on the one I deal with, put all the details and people will comment asking questions that are answered 1/2 inch above where they are typing their questions.


I dont know how people can do Farcebook.
My wife shows me what some of our neighbors and some of her co workers post on it the lies and exagerations and stupidity people foist upon the general public is truly amazing. 
One of my children has a friend who's parent literally has an "alternative life" of FB.
It's pretty sad for the people who actually use it for what it was made for.


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## Bgriffin856 (Nov 13, 2013)

It sad that some people have nothing better to do than to sit around and harass people via the net. Be alot different face to face than hiding behind a screen


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## luke strawwalker (Jul 31, 2014)

Teslan said:


> I saw a 25 pound bale of alfalfa hay at Murdochs. Murdochs is like TSC. They wanted $15 for it. It was one of the Standlee compressed bales. I thought it looked like it would turn to dust if you opened it. I was tempted to buy it just to see. I thought the $15 price was ridiculous. Also the $11/bale for a regular small square of grass hay at TSC. But I don't get mad. I just feel sorry for the people that go to buy it that don't know any better. At TSC I told the lady I was just curious about the price as I sell hay. She was relieved she didn't have to go outside and get me a bale. She said they had a bulletin board I would be welcome to put a flier on selling my hay. Which I thought was nice of them to allow that.


Oh yeah... and the TSC's around here now carry round bales-- for $100 bucks a piece!

Like a guy once told me "A fool and his money are soon parted"... LOL

Later! OL J R


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

luke strawwalker said:


> Oh yeah... and the TSC's around here now carry round bales-- for $100 bucks a piece!
> 
> Like a guy once told me "A fool and his money are soon parted"... LOL
> 
> Later! OL J R


I've sold Rd bales for $250 before.A ton each and 190 RFV dairy hay. 

Below 1/2 of that now


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

For every 10 idiots we deal with there is one good one. We like happy customers.

That would be ok. $12 total for 3 lbs? Would rather buy the stuff you sell as opposed to the low quality junk at the pet store.

I got this today. Wow. This is a quality product. I don't think you're charging enough if you ended up spending 8.30 on postage alone. You've got paypal fees, packaging, etc in there plus time. Time is money. Love to see quality people making quality products. Sent you 5 more dollars via PayPal f/f so no fees. I'd be willing to pay 12 plus shipping.

Appreciate doing business with you.

Happy Holidays.


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