Craigslist Adventure

So all my friends buy a ton of stuff on craigslist. Matt has gotten about 3 pairs of speakers (one pair of 1,000+ speakers for $50!) and a lot of wine, and Will got a Vespa (also for $50, when the market value for those things is around $800). Craigslist is full of a lot of people who don't care as much about getting money for their stuff as much as just getting rid of it. I had been poking around craigslist, and I decided to give it a try.
Of course, you have to know your stuff when you buy online. So of course, what do I know best? (Embarassed laugh) Need I say it--I went for the handbags. Hey, this was an instructive experience, ok?
First step: check obsessively. This was easy because I was studying for finals and would often get really bored/burnt out. So I would go to the website and check about once a day for Dooney, Coach, whatever. Most of the stuff is fake or overpriced, but sometimes there's a decent deal.
Second step: make sure the thing is real, and see if it's a decent price. The only way to find this out is if the person posts a picture, which about 75% of the people do. I can "tell" if things are real quite easily, so this was no problem for me. I found a nice Dooney sac which was pretty cheap--won't go into embarassing spending details here, but it was a good $30 less than anything you could ever get on ebay. Plus, the person didn't have weird spelling in their ad (or in e-mails that they sent me) and they lived in a nice part of town which was one sign they weren't a strange serial killer.
Third step: see if it's reasonable to pick up. I was heading to Humboldt and driving through SF, and this person lived in the area, so it was very reasonable. I would never drive more than 10 minutes (and certainly never get on a freeway) to buy something like a handbag unless I was going there already. This actually worked out perfectly and I think the fact that I was headed up there already and willing to pick up made the seller want to sell to me.
Fourth step: arrange a time. Very easy, just e-mail the person and set it up.
Fifth step: meet up. This was fun! It was like meeting someone from a personal ad, except you never had to see them again, or worry about them bothering you. Plus you got something cool at a discount, and they got rid of something they didn't want any more.
Final Verdict: Craigslist is good if you already wanted it, are going near the pickup site already, and are sure you know your stuff. It's really easy to get ripped off because a lot of people are selling fakes or probably want to get you over to their house to kill you. (Ok, maybe not so many) I don't know if I'll buy anything else on it again, but I like it more than ebay because the prices are way lower. The thing is, on craigslist you can tell someone "I'll buy it" and then they're stuck at the price they offered. On ebay, everyone has a go at it and prices shoot up for things like designer handbags. I probably made a silly purchase, but at least I can say I did the bay area thing and bought something on craigslist...