Great Craigs list buying used story

[Paulyfuntimes]

So I saw a posting on CL 2 nights ago. It was for a Sigma 30mm 1.4 - selling for 275. I mapquest the location and it was only 25 min from my house. I emailed the fellow asking if he was still selling.

He emailed me back. Let me know some one had just emailed him about it, but the buyer was out of state and if i was able to meet up tomorrow i could have it.

So I asked my standard questions. I made sure i had all the info since the price for this lens new is 425-450. The deal seemed too good to be true!

We picked a time and a meeting place. So i got in my car and drove to where i thought we were to meet. So i drive to the exit on the highway to attempt to find the Diner that we agreed to meet at. But i cant find it! But i am in one of the worst towns Driving around looking for this place. (i saw cars on cinder blocks ..ect)

So i call the guy. And in my mind i was going to make up a story to ditch the whole thing. I had thought it was a trick. the price was too good.

I spoke to the guy and he felt bad he had told me the wrong exit. So he said sorry i drove to the correct exit. We met up- the guy was very nice really knew his gear.

He Said sorry again for the wrong directions and offered to buy me a cup of coffee. We sad and had a good 45 min talk about photography and politics and so on.

It was super refreshing to meet a normal person in a weird world. The guy wanted to sell his lens. (the lens was amazing so sharp and quick focus) No tricks. I have had back luck with CL and people messing around with crap equip. but it was great to just meet some one have a coffee and get a fantastic deal on a lens.

-Paul

[punkerz123]

nice to hear a good CL experience once in awhile.

I have yet to find a good local deal such as yours. congrats

[alpha_1976]

great and congrats! Now pics :p

[[Hyuni]]

I've bought and sold on CL before and it's generally been good to me.
I stay away from the too good to be true deals and ignore the ones saying they have money ready if I were to ship.

I end up meeting a ton of random and different people who I can relate with due to photography. I'm always amazed at the broad spectrum of people I meet. I've met some REALLY off the wall people before. haha

[westcoaster17]

I have also been lucky with all of my Craigslist sells and purchases.
Everyone I have met has been very normal and very sane (knock on wood).

[vitacura]

Congrats and good to hear positive experiences!

[ceegee]

I have also been lucky with all of my Craigslist sells and purchases.
Everyone I have met has been very normal and very sane (knock on wood).

Me too. If you exercise normal caution, chances are that things will go well.

[Paulyfuntimes]

I have had times where the guy tells me the lens is 100 percent new and i show up and there is a chunk missing! and he tried to guilt me in to buying it because his kids need new shoes.

Then other times where i picked up from a guy who now is a good friend of mine. It can be tricky!

[mzane]

Always good to hear to successful stories ... there are too many of the other kind! :mad:

[Nmura]

I have bought and sold using the local CL and I have been real lucky with all my transactions. Met the nicest people. But, when I enter every transaction, I don't let my guard down.

[bsmotril]

I have also been lucky with all of my Craigslist sells and purchases.
Everyone I have met has been very normal and very sane (knock on wood).

Same here in Austin, 6 for 6 good experiences so far, and met a couple of new photog friends in the process.

[PNGUY]

I've only dealt on craigslist twice (both times were too good to be true deals) and luckily both transactions went smoothly. Both were professional photographers, one being a wedding photographer and the other a wildlife photographer/photography instructor. They were very helpful and pleasant to deal with. Oh yeah, and did I mention I got great advice from the POTN before I went ahead with the deals? I cant thank my POTN family enough! :-D

[snyderman]

nice story with a happy ending. Congrats on the new lens!

dave

[irishman]

I've had mixed results from CL. A guy said a 50mm macro (Sigma) was mint, but he didn't have box, caps, etc. It was FAR from mint but got him down to $100. Got a fabulous 16-35 MKII for a grand.

[mavericksupersonic]

To the OP, I think I might have seen that same lens for the same price. Where are you located? The one I saw said something about condensation or calibration needed. Glad it worked out for you.

[plasticmotif]

My best craigslist deal was finding 2 580ex IIs and an ST-E2 for 500 dollars.

[maxwell1295]

I bought one of my 5D's from CL with no problems at all. More recently, I picked up a Canon 28/2.8 for $50, again with no problems. Bought that one to give to my daughter...

[Bradfordguy]

I have had very good luck, both selling and buying. You can always walk away if the item isn't as advertised.

[mpix345]

I don't spend much time checking Craigslist, because when I do it either seems like what I see is total junk, or something like I just saw today - A Canon S1 IS for $300. What a deal! I must live in the wrong place...

[kylyo]

Wow good deal! I also got a 30/1.4 off CL, though not quite as good a deal as you, I got mine for $350. I had gone through 2 new ones already with focus issues, so I was a little hesitant. I brought my camera and laptop to really test it out. Turns out the guy was a professional wedding photographer and had just sent the lens in to get calibrated. It works perfectly and I couldn't be happier with this lens!

[90c4]

My best craigslist deal was finding 2 580ex IIs and an ST-E2 for 500 dollars.

I too have had great luck on craigslist - one of the deals was an ST-E2 listed for $80, and when I showed up he threw in 2 420EX both with Fong diffusors! It was from a professional photographer (I met him at his studio). A lot of times people just want to get rid of their stuff and professionals have already gotten their money out of them. I've also seen a number of deals that were too good to be true, but it's pretty easy to figure out which ones are scams. Had it not been for taking chances on ridiculously low priced gear, I wouldn't have any of my lenses. I picked up an 85L, 35L, 24-70 and 70-200 2.8 IS for about $2700, and none were stolen goods.

[ckc]

Thanks for posting the story. It's good to know there are still upstanding people out there. I've had a mixed bag of CL experiences. The worst one was I drive 1 hr with pregnant wife to meet up with some guy at a Subway restaurant. After waiting 1 hr past meeting time, repeatedly calling and speaking to the guy (kept making excuses, like stuck in traffic, phone fell on floor, had to go home to get the lens, etc.) he finally said he couldn't find the lens anymore. I think I wasted 4 hours that day, needless to say, the wife was not a happy camper and vowed never to let me CL anything again.

Of course, I've CListed many things since then (why buy new when used is just as good!), and most were better experiences ;).

[birdfromboat]

i have had great luck buying and selling possibly hundreds of items- I have no idea. I know at least twenty five in last 6 months, I am selling things for my dad as he simplifies for retirement.
My best peices of advice are these: Meet in a public place (coffee shops are the best), with no descriptions of your car or appearance exchanged before the meet. If the other party has a cell phone (who doesn't these days) tell them to call you when they walk in the door to the place. If it's a busy place and you arent the only other person holding a phone to their ear, you get the first look at the other party and it is still your decision to drop and run or stay and do the deal. If you are selling, bring change, take only cash. Buyers that show up with only fifties or hundreds and try to talk you down from the 275 or whatever to the next lower denomination they can make with the large bills they brought are playing the oldest trick in the book, be ready for it.

I am always amazed at how often i hear, "my husband has the car, I can't get to the starbucks. Could you come to the house?" Really bad idea, but I can think of at least 4 times I have heard exactly that or similar. YOU CANT BE TOO CAREFUL, and most people i deal with should probably be more careful.

[tonylong]

I put several lenses for sale on Craig's List a while back. I got one high-end lens sold to some great guys, cash in hand.

I had a couple bogus people from some distant place who sent me "cashier's checks" that were not good and were quite insistent that I follow their schemes for shipping my goods. I still have a couple bogus checks for $5k laying around somewhere...:)!