Things I Learned from Crazy Craig's List Lady

[Merriweather]

Ok, first, I'm not sure where to post this. I make a little extra money by selling off things I don't need anymore, and things I pick up cheap at garage sales on Craigs List. And though I have found a few crazy/sucky customers buying from me, this one incident was actually with a crazy lady who was selling - but I did so want to share, as it was quite amusing (in a scary sort of way).

I was going to post the entire email conversation, but decided perhaps you have lives you'd like to continue with, so in an effort to be more brief, I'm offering the condensed version (trust me, with me even the "brief" version can run to novel lengths).:D

Background - I had posted a "want to buy" ad on Craigs List. I got a reply from Crazy Craig's List Lady (hereafter referred to as CCLL) that she had some (she gave no prices). A lot of people tend to think that anyone posting such an ad is automatically a collector willing to pay top dollar, so I was very careful to state in my response to CCLL that I was looking for personal use, had a very strict budget, and was looking for items at garage sale/thrift store prices (not uncommon on our local Craigs List). I told her if within my price range, I'd like them. She sent me a price list. Not exorbitant, but much higher than what I was looking for. :( I politely asked her if she would consider a lower price, and said otherwise I'd have to pass. I expected a "sorry, no", which is fair enough. Instead, the rant began. I actually attempted to politely explain myself and point out facts involved, but after a couple of emails it deteriorated so badly, I didn't even answer.



But here's what I learned today from the Crazy Craigs List Lady:

I am a B**ch :eek: (ok, I CAN be :rolleyes:, but she had to be psychic to know this from my extremely polite emails).

Offering a lower price for an item is not, as I thought, bargaining - it is trying to con someone. :confused:

Any reference to value of items should reference what she sells them for on ebay, not what the other person has bought them for from other sources (even when ESP is required to do this).

In spite of having purchased similar items literally scores of times (possibly hundreds), I do not know what they sell for, as I did not buy from where she sells (ebay).

Buying said items at garage sales and thrift stores for less than her selling prices on ebay is conning those sellers (even though paying the full price they are asking). :confused:

Because I (out of old habits) used a British spelling for a word in an email, I should go back to the UK. :eek:

If I'm too poor to pay her prices for the items, I should not be buying such non-essential items.


Isn't it amazing what you can learn through interaction on the internet? :roll:

[Der Cute]

Should have replied, "Oi, Bint, sod off!"
Oh, and block her email.

[Merriweather]

Should have replied, "Oi, Bint, sod off!"
Oh, and block her email.


I actually did tell her I was blocking her, dont' bother to reply (but didn't out of curiosity as to how far she'd go). She sent the worst one after that. I decided it was more fun just to let her think I never got it rather than reply.

I like your response, LOL. My daughter suggested I tell her of a real bargain I'd gotten at a garage sale, and see if her head explodes. The items in question were me searching for old UK TV shows (PBS, BBCA etc, must be our region code), I love them, can't afford new, or even some ebay prices, but thrift stores & garage sales often treat them as any other video or DVD in pricing. If paying what is asked at a sale or shop is conning them if the "going price" is higher, she'd have reported me to the cops for a few bargains I've gotten the past few months -

At a thrift shop, got the first series of the new Dr. Who on DVD for $14 (at that time it was around $90 on Amazon for new); just a couple of weeks ago I found the entire Star Trek Voyager series on DVD at a garage sale - the woman said her Dad had dropped it off and set the price - $25 for all of them (checked Amazon later on, new set runs abougt $250); and that same weekend, found a teapot in the original box, bought it for $2 for my daughter to use at the granddaughter's upcoming mad hatter tea party birthday party. It was Cinderella in a coach, to me it looked cheap, very gaudy, way over the top - perfect for a bunch of 8 year old girls, LOL. Out of curiosity I googled the brand, and found out that apparently it's collectible, and retired about 20 years ago, and runs about $150 on collector sites :eek: Needless to say, it isn't gonna be used for the 8 year olds, LOL.

[ArcticChicken]

Because I (out of old habits) used a British spelling for a word in an email, I should go back to the UK. :eek:

I'm American born and raise, and there are several words I use the British spelling on at least half the time. Of course, several of my favorite authors are British.

At a thrift shop, got the first series of the new Dr. Who on DVD for $14

I hate you. Just so you know.

[Elspeth]

half.com is another good place to find deals. Though I am not sure if they have different regions.

And I hate you too about the Dr Who steal.

[Sheldonrs]

It sounds like she's fornicating with almonds.

[Amina516]

It sounds like she's fornicating with almonds.

HAHAHHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHA...


Took me a moment...but I got it.

Whoo..that was hard.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

It sounds like she's fornicating with almonds.

I myself might have said "fornicating with filburts." Just for that little extra bit of alliteration.

But what do I know? I didn't think of it first. :lol:

[MoonCat]

You're right, that woman was crazy. To me there's no point in collecting anything unless I also get a great bargain. I found some pieces of china at a local thrift shop. It was a pattern that my grandmother had, so I bought them. I think I paid about $5 for 4 or 5 plates, so it was a pretty good deal.

Then there was the teapot in the same pattern, found at a local vintage gift shop. They were asking $40 and the man told me the going rate was around $60 or so. I thought he was just talking up what a great deal he was giving me, etc., but it turned out he was right according to what I found in a book about this china pattern. He could have charged more than $40; he chose not to. I still shop there!:D

[Merriweather]

I hate you. Just so you know.

So does my daughter :-) DH thought I was crazy, I'm walking around the store with it clutched to me grinning like crazy. I got SO lucky, it was a new thrift store, someone donated a huge collection of British shows, mostly vhs, but some DVD's too (mostly old shows, with that exception). I really broke my budget, but as it all went to help rescue kitties, I refuse to feel guilty:D I think the store staff thought I was a crazy lady myself, who spends well over $100 in a thirft store at one go? And I did it again a few months later when they got more in. I love that store, they price vhs & DVD's at a certain price per disk, and it doesn't matter if its a common movie or hard to find PBS stuff. Unfortunately, nothing new has come in in ages.

[Merriweather]

It sounds like she's fornicating with almonds.

:roll: I love that one!

To me there's no point in collecting anything unless I also get a great bargain.

SO true, the fun is in the hunt for collections. On the British TV shows, those I'd buy (some of them) at full price if I could afford it, cause I buy them to watch. But stuff I collect, it'd be no fun to just walk in anywhere and buy them for whatever, no challenge at all. When Ilived in the UK I collected a specific pottery''s little ceramic figures. I had a book to know their worth, I went to fairs just for collectors of them, and I had a ball finding ones at car boot sales (flea markets) for a fraction of their value (a local antique dealer and I had a friendly rivalry over who could find them first at the local sales, LOL). But once I came back to the US, I've gone off them, even though there are plenty of collectors here in the US - most either buy the new pieces that come out by mail order, or some of the older pieces from ebay, all for going rate. No chase, no bargains, no fun. :(

[roothorick]

Totally not getting the "almonds" thing. "With All Munds?" Huh? Can someone fill me in?

Because I (out of old habits) used a British spelling for a word in an email, I should go back to the UK. :eek:

I curse "bloody" and "wanker" all the time. Too much TF2 I guess, bloody snipers. Thanks to modern media and particularly the Internet, the dialects are merging, slowly but surely.

I think the store staff thought I was a crazy lady myself, who spends well over $100 in a thirft store at one go?

The bigger, chain thrift stores (like Goodwill) are very, very good at this. Their massive donation network means their items are of a much higher quality, and since they have a lot more stores and have been running them longer, they know how to lay out a store to maximize your spendage. I've broken $100 once, gotten close a couple of times.

[kpzra]

Totally not getting the "almonds" thing. "With All Munds?" Huh? Can someone fill me in?

She's f*cking nuts.

[Mystic]

I actually buy the Merlin season DVD sets from amazon.co.uk and it cost less having shipped them across the pond than it would have to buy on Amazon.com, plus, they have the more awesome boxes. ;)

I just play them on my computer's DVD drive since it can switch regions. Most of them can do that now and a lot of DVD players are starting to be multi-region as well.

[dalesys]

I myself might have said "fornicating with filburts." "...fornicator of filberts..." Just for that little extra bit of alliteration.
More alliterate.:D

[RayvenQ]

It sounds like she's fornicating with almonds.

She isn't, I swear!

(Take a guess at what my last name is :lol: )

[mariamousie1]

Now I really want to see the email exchange! :D People are crazy!

[Lady J'ssem]

My deal from a thirft store that I say was worth every penny is a nightgown/robe set. Doesn't seem impressive until you get into the details. I payed $2 for it, black velvet robe and gown. The robe looks like one of those smoking jacket-types. It has gold, red, and green silk cuffs, collar, and tie, the gown has matching accents at the straps. The gown is nice enough that if I wore a belt, it'd look like a little black dress.

The price for something similar? At least $50. :D Yeah the lady who checked me out said I got a really good deal and if she had seen it, she'd have grabbed it first.

[Merriweather]

My deal from a thirft store that I say was worth every penny is a nightgown/robe set. Doesn't seem impressive until you get into the details. I payed $2 for it, black velvet robe and gown. The robe looks like one of those smoking jacket-types. It has gold, red, and green silk cuffs, collar, and tie, the gown has matching accents at the straps. The gown is nice enough that if I wore a belt, it'd look like a little black dress.

The price for something similar? At least $50. :D Yeah the lady who checked me out said I got a really good deal and if she had seen it, she'd have grabbed it first.

Oh, to be skinny enough to find cool vintage clothing at thrift stores :(

I did however find a Macy's blouse a while back in my size, with the $45 price tag still on it, for a buck :) And I get jeans for my granddaugher a lot, the ones with lots of pink sparklies that she loves, for a fraction of their value.

[Lady J'ssem]

Oh, to be skinny enough to find cool vintage clothing at thrift stores :(

:roll: I'm actually a Marilyn Monroe figure and that just made it even better.

[MoonCat]

I've bought stuff at the local thrift shop that beats retail prices by a mile. Best find so far was a Land's End down coat. I think I paid about $5 for it. And I love their stuff. :D

You just never know what kind of goodies you might find.

[Flying Grype]

I got a beautiful wool greatcoat by London Fog for $11 at Goodwill. That was my favourite coat for my last couple years at home and my first year of university. Then the Freshman 15 hit and I had to get a bigger coat. :( Haven't ever seen that good a coat that cheap since.

[Merriweather]

I hate you. Just so you know.

And for those who think that over my 1st season Dr. Who dvd find, boy are you all gonna be standing on your heads now :devil:

I found another ad to answer for UK videos, and this time didn't get a Crazy Lady, thank goodness. Ok, they were VHS, not DVD's, but I'm ok with that. Anyway, I bought almost 200 VHS tapes for $50, so about 25¢ each. About a quarter of them are normal movies and will go straight to Goodwill. About another quarter were UK tv shows, nothing to write home about (though 2 were actual travel videos, bought at the location (but for US systems) from two castles that I've been to, so that was cool.

Anyway, I also got just over 100 VHS copies of old Dr. Who episodes. Like I said, for about 25¢ each. I now have 97 of the original 163 episodes/story lines listed on the official BBC Dr. Who episode guide.

I am SO chuffed. DH used to watch some of the Tom Baker ones. I've never seen any of the old ones, and have wanted to ever since I got into the new ones. We have some of all the doctors now. And a couple of odd ones, like one with Rowan Atkinson doing the Doctor (done as a fund raiser for Comic Relief).

I just can't get over finding these, it was so weird cause I usually only check our local Craigs List, and for some reason decided to check the one in the nearest biggest city (about an hour away), I do that only once in a while. The ad had been posted earlier in the day, and already had a taker, but they were a no-show, so I got them :D

Putting up with CCLL must have given me some good Karma points or something :angel:

Please don't hate me :o

[Geek King]

I've never seen any of the old ones, and have wanted to ever since I got into the new ones.

The bad news is you will likely never see most of the old ones. Most of the video got thrown out of the old BBC storage area and destroyed. The ones that still exist were cobbled together from tapes that escaped the cleaning, were still in storage from overseas broadcasts, or were "liberated" earlier by employees.

linky: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who_missing_episodes

[Sapphire Silk]

And for those who think that over my 1st season Dr. Who dvd find, boy are you all gonna be standing on your heads now :devil:

I found another ad to answer for UK videos, and this time didn't get a Crazy Lady, thank goodness. Ok, they were VHS, not DVD's, but I'm ok with that. Anyway, I bought almost 200 VHS tapes for $50, so about 25¢ each. About a quarter of them are normal movies and will go straight to Goodwill. About another quarter were UK tv shows, nothing to write home about (though 2 were actual travel videos, bought at the location (but for US systems) from two castles that I've been to, so that was cool.

Anyway, I also got just over 100 VHS copies of old Dr. Who episodes. Like I said, for about 25¢ each. I now have 97 of the original 163 episodes/story lines listed on the official BBC Dr. Who episode guide.

I am SO chuffed. DH used to watch some of the Tom Baker ones. I've never seen any of the old ones, and have wanted to ever since I got into the new ones. We have some of all the doctors now. And a couple of odd ones, like one with Rowan Atkinson doing the Doctor (done as a fund raiser for Comic Relief).

I just can't get over finding these, it was so weird cause I usually only check our local Craigs List, and for some reason decided to check the one in the nearest biggest city (about an hour away), I do that only once in a while. The ad had been posted earlier in the day, and already had a taker, but they were a no-show, so I got them :D

Putting up with CCLL must have given me some good Karma points or something :angel:

Please don't hate me :o

I don't hate you. I'm inspired. I've got several boxes of VHS and DVDs that I want to get rid of. I was going to take them to the used bookstore, but they pay very little . . . I'm not sure I'd get 25c to the dollar.

Was there a list of titles in the lot you bought? Or did you buy them blind?

[Merriweather]

The bad news is you will likely never see most of the old ones. Most of the video got thrown out of the old BBC storage area and destroyed. The ones that still exist were cobbled together from tapes that escaped the cleaning, were still in storage from overseas broadcasts, or were "liberated" earlier by employees.

linky: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who_missing_episodes

Although a lot of them were lost, there's still SO many out there, I'll be happy for ages, LOL. BBC website lists 163 (or thereabouts) full storylines (many multiple episodes), and most if not all of those are available. I got 97 of those full storylines (with lots of episodes in some) in the batch buy, so that's a lot of TV watching).


I don't hate you. I'm inspired. I've got several boxes of VHS and DVDs that I want to get rid of. I was going to take them to the used bookstore, but they pay very little . . . I'm not sure I'd get 25c to the dollar.

Was there a list of titles in the lot you bought? Or did you buy them blind?

Their Craigs List ad menitoned British VHS tapes, and they gave an aproximate amount they had (which was way low, as it turned out), an estimate of how many Dr. Who, how many were "other" British series (with a few listed) and a note that some regular movies were included. From that, we set up an appointment to go by and look, and buy if we wanted (which we did, of course). They were looking to sell them all as a batch, and listed one price takes all.

In this area, you can usually sell British/PBS/etc. on Craigs List eventually, though it won't go for a lot, especially VHS (ebay would get you better prices, some of the British are hard to find, including the Dr. Who (not all of the older Dr. Who vhs have even been released on DVD yet). Regular movies on VHS simply don't sell, even at yard sales, you're better off donating them to charity and taking the deduction. On DVD's, it just depends on what it is, if you can find it in the $5 wally world bin, no one wants it used, but if it's a bit more rare, you can get a few dollars. And you can offer it on Craigs List either in batches or individually.

[Sapphire Silk]

Yeah, I was afraid of that. Well, I'll at least see what the bookstore will offer.