People of Craig's List

     At the start of this month I started to make an effort to sell my BOB stroller. By effort, I mean I posted my ad and then never bothered to reply to most of the emails.  That is until yesterday.  As you have read in previous posts, we purchased a Phil and Ted stroller two days ago and were starting to keep a collection of strollers in our stroller heap/dining room area.  For people that know me well, this was enough of a kick in the butt to sell the BOB.  I am way to much of a neat freak to be able to handle having two BAS in our small apartment (that and the whole money situation).  Anyways I started replying to emails to see if I could sell our stroller with full knowledge that with our luck all the many offers we were getting would be swallowed up by the earth never to reappear again. I was half way through writing this blog today when our luck changed and we actually got a serious buyer who bought our BOB.  So the first bit of this entry is mostly a rant in regards to the many responses I got via email and the last bit is about how we sold it, so hang on, there is a happy ending.  So here is my adventures on Craig's list: Selling (The good), The Ad (The Bad) and the email responses (The ugly).
  The Ad (The Bad):   The biggest beef I have with Craig's List is people who try to sell their items and expect you to pay near original ticket price and thank them for the pleasure of being saved a few bucks.  If you need evidence just look at prom dresses.  They'll say they spent $800 but they are asking for *only* $750 because it's practically new and they wore it one night and oh boy what a deal you're getting.  Then as you scroll down, they'll list the various tears and stains on said dress.  The stroller selling business is pretty much the same, people would be trying to sell you a busted metal frame and still have the nerve to ask for $500.  I decided I did not want to be one of these people so I priced mine reasonable by looking up my stroller on Craig's list to see what they were selling for and low balling everyone else's ads.  How do I know my price was reasonable? By the fact that I got at least 2 emails a day in regards to the stroller.  However the responses were very alarming.  I could not believe the offers and questions I was getting.  Someone mentioned that maybe the low price was attracting the cheapskates or giving the assumption that something was wrong with the buggy.  Below is the copy of the ad.  In case you are wondering I mentioned my son since even thought I bought my stroller in 2009 it only had one year of use on it.

Please tell me where it says"sucker". See below for text (1.)

 People who regularly deal with Craig's list...please tell me where I went wrong. 

The Responses (The Ugly):  This brings me to my original rant.  After reading and replying to over 20 emails I started to notice a few trends.  I found the following people:

• Low Ballers:  The biggest group, these people love the challenge of coming up with ridiculously low offers:  I was surprised they didn't try to convince me to pay them money for the pleasure of removing my stroller from my house for me.  Some of them wouldn't even give a price they would just ask what's the lowest I'd go or how low everyone else was bidding.  I suspect a lot of these people pay in pennies at McDonald's or are last-call lurkers at night clubs.  The lowest bid I got was $50.  Please keep in mind this stroller was in pretty good shape and we paid almost $800 originally.  I learned the hard way that flexible is not a good term when posting an ad.  People are going to barter with price regardless and flexible is another word for "I'm desperate and a push-over".  What I meant when I posted the price was that I'd knock off $25-50 if it meant getting it out of my living room.  People  however took this as "I'll knock $100-200 off the price and throw in half my household goods".  It was like I was trying to tell them I could do the splits and they were hearing that I was a former Cirq Du Soeil acrobat and could stick my head up my own butt.
• "It's a good trade!" Person:  When I first posted I thought I was brilliant in asking for a trade.  I wouldn't have minded a second hand stroller if it was in a similar condition (or even trading and paying the difference).  Brand new, the Phil and Ted is only $50-$100 more than the BOB (before the seat add on) so they are comparable.  What I didn't expect is what people would try to trade me.  I mostly got offers for stuff that people hadn't had time to go to the dump to dispose of.  I have a collection of battered strollers that are nothing more than a metal frame with skid marks on the fabric. These people had no shame in their emails as well-I guess if I was blind and fell for it they would not only get a wicked deal but get to bypass a trip to the dump or Sally Ann.   My favorite trade offer was a 4year old Phil and Ted Stroller with rips and stains and a busted wheel.  I guess they thought wheels were overrated-you get a better workout without them.  Please keep in mind my BOB was in good condition (Read: Owned by Type A anal person).
• "I have no interest in your ad or stroller but I had to email you my opinion" person:  These people are the judge, jury and executioners of the internet.  They take it upon themselves as their duty to let you know they are not interested in what you are selling and then list why.  Most people would just move on if an ad was unreasonable or if they weren't interested, these people have to let you know you're an inconsiderate a-hole with nothing better to do then try to rip people off.  I wonder if they think they're Batman and cruise Craig's List thinking they're doing the public a service.  PS-Anyone who is buying a major purchase (ie lurxery stroller over $200) is smart enough to do research and knows their prices.  Plus just because I don't want to sell my stroller for $50 doesn't make me inconsiderate, knocking $300 for second hand is fair in my mind.
• "I have a million questions, a million photo requests but I'm not entirely serious" person:  These people fill your inbox with questions about your stroller but instead of asking them all at once they prefer to send them one at a time.  It's like a game show where if you answer correctly you proceed to the next round of questioning.  Someone actually wanted me to describe how bent the basket was-I don't know it's just bent, should I get my protractor out to measure the angle?  They also want a million photos of every angle but won't commit to actually seeing the stroller in person.  They want one with the rain cover, without, with the adapter, without.  I'm sorry but I don't have time to host a model shoot for Stroller Illustrated thankyouverymuch.  If you do satiate these people they most likely will send you a lengthy list of requests and demands and are famous for being "no shows" and then demand a discount because you wasted so much of their time.
• "Sob Story" People:  These people will try to give you a case of the sads so you'll take pity and knock the price down a few $100s.  It would work if you weren't say, I don't know....trying to buy a luxury stroller being sold at 1/4 of the original price.  It's like going to buy a Mercedes and complaining about how tight money is.  If you're that hard up, you'd be bartering for a 1981 Toyota, and then I'd be a bit more accommodating and sympathetic.  Also I know for a fact you can buy a brand new stroller that is decent but without the bells and whistles for under the price of a second hand BOB so if money's tight I don't think the BOB would be your first choice.  Plus I bought my stroller, than a few months later my son passed away (never left the NCIU) so never used the stroller, then a week later my husband lost his job and then a month later found out we could have buried our son for free (instead of being charged 10grand) so needless to say I am a bit bitter and jaded.  If you are trying to pull on my heart strings you better have a better story then "money's tight".  It better involve a box full of puppies colliding with a box full of kitties and you spent all your money in donating wheelchairs and sponsoring puppy/kitty rehab.
• The Jerks:  These people take it to a new level.  I actually had a guy try to low ball me $100 because my stroller had the stigma of belonging to a "dead child".  Keep in mind this guy has a pregnant partner somewhere (or maybe he buys strollers to compete in an asshole derby) and I really hope one day he doesn't end up eating those words.  Too bad the stigma of being a jerk is more noticeable then any stigma attached to a stroller.

The Buyers (The good):  So with all of above, I was nervous meeting up with people face to face.  Today I got an email saying that a couple was interested in buying next weekend.  I was going to respond to them but when I went to I noticed another person was asking about the stroller.  I let them know I had a potential buyer interested and they were coming to see it next weekend but if they were interested I would sell it first come first serve (because you know how reliable buyers on Craig's List are).  Anyways they were here within the hour and I have to be honest, they were the nicest people ever.  They almost bought the stroller without even trying it out so I made them push Lily up and down the apartment hallway.  They paid cash and didn't even try to barter.  Thank you mysterious couple, you have restored my faith in humanity!

So there we have it.  A new chapter in our life is starting.  We are no longer BOB people but Phil and Ted people.  I hope the BOB's new owners enjoy their stroller because seriously, if I wasn't selling them stuff they would be candidates for BFFs. 

However when I was pushing the Phil and Ted today I noticed a squeaking, and a bumper pad came lose.  Here we go again to Baby's world to make sure we didn't buy a lemon...oy!

1. Orignal AD (I noticed it's small in picture):

2010 BOB Revolution Stroller-Want to Sell or Trade-$300
Wanting to sell our BOB Revolution stroller.  Bought in late 2009 for our son who we never got to take home.  Sat in storage for 11months and has been used for our daughter since Feb 2011.  Need to get a double stroller for our next child due to arrive in April.
About Stroller
*Expected Wear and Tear for a stroller used for a year-Storage basket bent but not broken
*Rubber tires
*Carseat Adapter, drink tray included
*Raincover included
*Beverage holder included
*Reliable stroller, thing is a beast but easy to push great for those who walk or jog
*Black and Tan
Flexible on price, if you have a Phil and Ted of similar value woud be interested in trading.  Would prefer to sell/trade in April