Separate cell phone for calls/text? Separate e-mail address? What's your routine?

email via the craigslist forwarder. Your (and the customer's) email is masked.

I just leave my home address and invite them to come over.

. . and my garage code and home alarm code so they can come right in and get comfortable.

I try to screen out the scammers by putting in my ad, "If you're seeing this ad, item is still for sale. Do not ask, I won't respond." But I still get lots of texts and emails asking if it's still available. The texts are always from far-away area codes.

TBH, I'd be disinclined to use Craigslist to buy/sell any more. Far, far too many instances of people getting ripped off or ending up dead.

You gotta know it's a problem when the local PD has a CL meeting place sign in its parking lot with the notice that's it has surveillance cameras on it.

We sold our boat via Facebook Marketplace and I just bought a plate joiner the same way. Difference between CL and FB Marketplace is the latter is tied directly to somebody's FB account.

I just sold an iPhone and an iPad via FB Marketplace. I had them on CL as well. Took over a month and plenty of the FB Marketplace inquiries were also scammers, likely bots, who didn't read the ad copy at all.

I sold a 1998 Mercury Grand Marquis last week on CL. I'd listed it once before a few months ago and got a bunch of BS emails and a few loser people calling me and pulled the ad down for a few months before re-listing it.

I pulled the ad and then re-listed it about a week ago. I had a guy emailing me from 2 hours away and said he wished I was closer. When I told him I would be willing to meet him halfway if he were seriously interested he stopped responding.

Ultimately, I sold the car to a guy who texted me and he couldn't have been a nicer guy. It took a lot of BS calls and emails to find the right buyer, but I did. With CL you have to be patient and weed out the scammers.

To answer your question Day_late, I communicated via both text and email. I think moving forward I'll get a burner phone the next time I do any CL deals and make another email address that I only use for CL.

I use the built in craigslist email forwarder. I make sure my address isn't in the ad. I state for them to reply via email, and let me know somehow that they are a real person living locally if they want me to respond. I respond via email and don't give out any phone number until I know they are serious/legit.

Never had a bad transaction on CL. Many dozen sales. Every deal had to be done on camera. I told all the buyers this. Not one balked. Your gut will let you know if something is sketchy.

Under NO circumstance, does any potential buyer come to my house or get my address.

I do like DonDraper does. Let them email with their phone #. If I don't like the sound of the reply I delete it. I sell many items on CL for many years and have never had a problem. Before CL days I used newspaper classifieds and you had to give out your phone # to use them.

I think a buyer is potentially more vulnerable to risk than a seller.

have gotten a burner phone for this kind of stuff in the past

not too expensive to do

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Why use a burner phone?

Google Voice gives you a free number you can walk away from when done.

I’ve sold a dozen things on CL without a hiccup. I also live in a pretty safe area of the world.

I only use the CL system for communications. We agree to my choice of public meeting place.

I sell a hundred or so items a year FWIW.
The listing-only communicate initially through the masked email system they have set up or by phone.
DO NOT communicate by text until and unless you have become comfortable with the buyer.
Put good photos in the listing and a good description.
Put in your ad that you will remove the listing as soon as it sells so you don't get all those asking if you still have it. You'll still get a few.
I've found that by not taking texts for first contact I eliminate 98% of the potential scammers and spammers.
I have a small business so I meet buyers there and I don't deal in gold, guns, stereos, most consumer goods, etc. that might attract undesirables.

Talk to them. On the phone. You will know immediately if you should proceed or block the number and move to the next buyer.

There's really no grey area here. If they can communicate politely and professionally, you will be fine. If they are a ghetto piece of unwashed garbage or a little "off" your gut will tell you that. If you can't trust your gut, then you shouldn't sell anything to strangers.

I sell all kinds of stuff on Craigslist. I just list my phone number and have never had a problem.

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:
email via the craigslist forwarder. Your (and the customer's) email is masked.

This. Plus I meet in a very public place and am obviously armed for the transaction regardless of what the item is. I don’t trust strangers, especially those on Craigslist, and people kill people over minor things.

I have used a google voice number when selling on Craig’s list. It worked quite well to screen calls and text.

Another option could be to get a text number from “text free”. And use it for communication.

Text and phone. Rarely email. I've probably bought and sold in the hundreds of times with good results. But I don't live in the city either. But I've driven up to several hours to complete transactions. I always spell part of my phone number so the bots can't get it. Also why I don't use the email.