Machine Tools on ebay VS Craigslist

If I was to describe what I see on craigslist I would say "overpriced junk, unreasonable sellers". I am happy that your experience is different. I rarely look at craigslist anymore.

I'm with Iggy on this one. 99% of what I see listed on Craigslist I wouldn't have bothered to take the time to take a picture of.

Prices seem to be fishing trips to see if anyone is interested. Old stuff for big money.

I did sell my car on Craigslist. I thought it worked well. Except for some "uneducated" buyers. A $500 beater is exactly that. One kid came to look at it and was upset that it wasn't in perfect shape. I had to nearly force him to listen that it was drivable, but not perfect. He was mad that I wasted his time. I wasn't the one who drove 2 hours without asking any questions. The only question he asked was, "where is it?".

JW

Craigslist is OK by me!

A few months ago we started using Craigslist here in Boston to find per diem licensed allied medical professionals at $45 to $65 per hour for SWMBO's practice. We've been very pleased with the results. We pay nothing for those ads versus $450-$500 for the inch high classified ads we used to run in the Boston Globe's Sunday Help Wanted section, sometimes wiuthout even receiving a nibble in return.

If you're seeking to hire folks, give it a try, you might be pleasantly suprised.

Most of the clinicians who respond to our ads are in their twenties, and probably represent that section of the population which isn't reading stuff printed on paper much these days.

Last year I used Craigslist to try and sell an unwanted "loudspeaker chair" and amplifier, a gadget used with video games. It was a leftover from young son's early teen years.

A scam artist responded and the Devil made me see how long I could scam him back. My emails are nowhere near as good as the ones I've seen at bustedupcowgirl.com, but then it was my first and only attempt:

P.S. That stupid "loudspeaker chair" never sold, I ended up donating it to a college which uses music as a means of teaching special needs students:

I've been picking stuff off of craigslist on a regular basis. ( TOO regular according to SWHBO!) Logan 200 lathe, small mill, wood shaper, a collection of pool pumps, gas powered 7000gpm transfer pump, etc. None of those items were the $5 specials like you occasionally see at yard sales but I thought I did well on all of them. Example: the gas pump was $40, I ran it hard this summer. The Logan lathe went of the very low end of what I've seen for that class of machine. YMMV

I might menti> Maybe it's just me, but when I'm looking at machine tools (lathes &

Some months ago when the craigslist phenomenon was building rapidly in the Seattle area, there were rich pickin's. Now I regularly see people selling used HF stuff for more than the store sells it for, and people spamming the thing over and over again touting cheap homeowner's junk for super-high prices. Basically, it's become a buyer's market. Stuff I used to sell for e.g. $40 I would now price at about $100. It's tough on buyers but I'm not buying much these days.

GWE

RoyJ wrote:

Same here. I picked up a 32' fiberglass ladder in good shape for $50 last summer- now I see ads offering items for near-retail prices, particularly on tools. One idiot advertised some used chain link fence, posts, and accessories. I would have given him a few bucks for a bunch of posts. He sent me an itemized list of the retail cost of his pile of old fence parts, totalling $542, and invited me to make an offer.

I love craigslist. I use it all the time to sel books and tools and all sorts of weird stuff. Reminds me of the old classifieds 2000 before ebay got discovered. I'm selling virtually everything I own on there. Anybody need any lathe cutters, milling cutters, Starret 18" level screw pitch guages, large drill bits, large and small taps? I ship from san diego. Most of this stuff has never touched metal

I want small taps.

You mean, "seller's market", right?

I can prolly supply you wth some. I have a nice assortment. I already sold the pitch gage. Sorry 'bout that.

Well Since this thread hasn't died yet I'll drop my 2 cents in.

I agree with who ever posted that FleaBay is good for small stuff that you don't have to check out. I buy things like collets there. But I'd neve buy a machine tool there, too complictaed.....

But I have to say that the San Francisco C/L (ya know the 'original' ) has some good deals... I got my totaly refurbed BridgePort from there for $2700 and I just bought a Clausing 5914 Lathe that is in VERY good shape for $2000 (Aloris knock off, collet closer,chucks.).. I've seen BP's on FleaBay not nearly as good as mine go for twice the price, and the same for the 5914... And for me a short drive to 'The City' or 'Funk Town' beats 600 or 700 bucks shipping from the east coast.

I sold my mill/drill on C/L and I'll sell my 9x20 import lathe there too.

I also get most of my work from the SF-CL, Craig has made me a tidy piece of change over the years (enough to spend on these tools)... and hey when you get bored you can always read RR or CE... ;-)

Dave