Has anyone actually had good luck with Craigslist?

I've bought three L lenses and an Alien Bee on craigslist. I've also sold two dslrs on there. it helps that I live in Illinois where there are 4 cities with craigslist in easy driving distance plus st louis is close enough if the deal seems right. Be patient and you will find what you are looking for eventually

I've sold some high dollar photo stuffs on there. I always try POTN first unless the item is too big to ship efficiently.

imahawki wrote in post #7900440
I'm using CLGenie. How do you structure your search? Lets say I'm looking for any lenses for a Canon (but not necessarily Canon brand, could be a Sigma). Would you setup multiple searches?

Should be covered by one, because a lens regardless of brand, if advertised right, will still say Canon mount in the ad. I just have Canon running in my search.

I bought my XSi/450d on craigslist.
brand new in box, with all the stuff and warranty.

got it for $620. (he was asking 650).

I live in New Rochelle, NY (10801zip in westchester county right outside of New York City)

My very first experiance with craigslist, I met up with and purchased a Canopus ADC-110 (for video editing) in person at a really good price.

Every experiance since then (attempting to buy or sell) has been wrought with so many headaches that I have since given up. I encountered scams, sellers who took months to return an email asking if i were still interested in items after prior sales had fallen through, and several extreamly rude price policeing emails regarding products I attempted to list.

I may look through the listing from time to time but I take everything I see with a grain of salt, I would MUCH rather buy/sell and pay a little more on the POTN forum or even eBay if need be. There is somthing to be said for the piece of mind it brings.

Generally items are over-priced on Craigslist and when I do find a good deal I find it's just not worth my time to set up a meeting with the seller, go to the bank and get cash, and drive across town to pick it up.

POTN and Ebay have proven to be much more reliable venues to buy things. I've pretty much given up on Craigslist for photography items.

Buying items with Paypal and having them shipped is so much easier and convenient.

I have seen some excellent deals on items that are impossible to ship, like furniture or appliances. I've seen some real steals there.

I bought a kit lens off my local craigslist for $35 bucks one day - didn't need the lens, but for $35....come on. Most of the time, at least on my local list, the people selling used photo equipment don't know how to price it. Always overpriced compared to the used market anywhere else from my experience. $600 for a 300D and so forth.

I did point out on this forum a local sale here in Idaho that was selling a 5D for around $900 and someone grabbed it, it was completely legit and the POTN member got a GREAT deal by way of me posting that here. It does happen.

I'm in California and there is tons of gear available on Craigslist. I've had better luck selling on there than here.

I live in DFW, TX and there are usually a lot of deals on Canon gear. Sometimes it's a good deal, sometimes not. I have bought a 40D body + 100mm Macro for $800 combined (wow!), 30D body for $300 (good deal but the body ended up having problems), 70-200 f/4L IS for $900-something (can't remember exact price), and most recently a 10D body with 2 cheap Canon telezooms for $250. I have sold my 70-200 f/4 non-IS and a lot of other, non-photography-related, stuff on CL. But yeah, things definitely tend towards the lower-end even in a big city. There are 3 or 4 Rebels for every XXD body, and I've only seen a couple of 5D or 1D bodies for sale. It's the same with the lenses, usually they are kit lenses, 75-300, stuff like that. You can always tell who's an amateur and has no idea what the right price is ($600 for a DRebel/300D? Hah!) and the pros/semipros who know the market and price their gear accordingly.

is there a clgenie that works for canada?

I've had really good luck, my 580 ex, 17-40 both as new were found on CL, at a great price too...far less than here or eBay!

I've always had good luck there, selling and buying. Dealing local is nice too.

Grentz wrote in post #7899700
I look on the one around here and it is all way overpriced gear.

Same. Guys asking $50-100 over retail new for used lenses.

badgerW wrote in post #7915399
But yeah, things definitely tend towards the lower-end even in a big city. There are 3 or 4 Rebels for every XXD body, and I've only seen a couple of 5D or 1D bodies for sale.

Thats not "trending towards the lower end". Thats a normal distribution. There are probably ten times as many rebels as xxDs sold every year. Of course more are going to be available for resale.

I have bought and sold many things through the Albuquerque, NM local Craigslist, including computer equipment, photography equipment, artwork and pets. And in doing so I've met some nice people and made valuable local connections.

I recently stocked up on ink cartridges and Ilford paper at a fraction of the lowest prices I've ever seen online.