Craigslist day from hell!

First this morning I saw a post advertising 23 free copper pipes about 25 minutes away from my house. The ad said if it was still up the pipes were still aviailable so I hauled ass to the location and of course they were gone. It took another 5 hours before the ad got taken down.

I then went to work all day.

I got home at 8pm and saw an ad for over 100 lbs of aluminum siding up for grabs about 20 minutes away from my house. I drove there and lo and behold, the siding was still there! I knocked on the door to make sure everything was legit but the house appeared to be unoccupied. I said f*ck it and drove my truck around back and started loading up. About 5 minutes later the neighbor came out and said that the ad was a hoax and that the cops had been chasing people out of the yard all day. So I drove back home defeated for the second time today.

Gas sure isn't cheap and neither is my time! Ugh what a day.

oh geez, sorry about that. Sucks that someone put that aluminum one up for a joke :(

Sorry you had a rough day man. I can't help being uncomfortable with that stuff even after i've talked to them, or emailed several times. The ones I've done haven't been as likely to turn into wild goose chases, but I'm still left to wonder if it's a hoax, and if it'll be worth the trip(trips here can be quite lengthy too). So far they've all mostly paid off, and at least i've never came up completely empty.

2 months ago, I got a call from one of my CL ads. I was to suppose to scrap out a property in a county over. Pretty remote area. Talking one row of mailboxes for every 3 miles due to limited access roads to homes. My landmarks were as follows: Falling down shed, white bridge, 2 white driveway reflectors. They wanted the shed cleaned out and a burn pile of furniture and debris gone through so they could haul off the trash. Okay, sure... Sheds are good money. Always find car parts or lawnmower goods or antique tools/up to date tools. Anyway, I'm out there all day cleaning out this shed... I got a 350 small block, some hydraulic actuators, some flat steel, lot of lawn mower rims and a furnace. Miscellaneous wire. Finally I go to leave, and this truck starts chasing me flashing it's lights. I'm on scene with deliverance here, out in the boonies and think I'm about to get robbed... Long story short, I scrapped out a shed 15 feet in the wrong direction and took the neighbor's junk. After a short conversation with police and disarming my pursuer of his swiss army knife, I agreed to buy the scrap and leave out how I was chased by a knife wielding 20 something kid in a broken down Sonoma. The point? CL can be a pain in the arse lol.

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Originally Posted by TheFatMan

2 months ago, I got a call from one of my CL ads. I was to suppose to scrap out a property in a county over. Pretty remote area. Talking one row of mailboxes for every 3 miles due to limited access roads to homes. My landmarks were as follows: Falling down shed, white bridge, 2 white driveway reflectors. They wanted the shed cleaned out and a burn pile of furniture and debris gone through so they could haul off the trash. Okay, sure... Sheds are good money. Always find car parts or lawnmower goods or antique tools/up to date tools. Anyway, I'm out there all day cleaning out this shed... I got a 350 small block, some hydraulic actuators, some flat steel, lot of lawn mower rims and a furnace. Miscellaneous wire. Finally I go to leave, and this truck starts chasing me flashing it's lights. I'm on scene with deliverance here, out in the boonies and think I'm about to get robbed... Long story short, I scrapped out a shed 15 feet in the wrong direction and took the neighbor's junk. After a short conversation with police and disarming my pursuer of his swiss army knife, I agreed to buy the scrap and leave out how I was chased by a knife wielding 20 something kid in a broken down Sonoma. The point? CL can be a pain in the arse lol.

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funny how he waited till you were done to say anything

Most of my experiences with Craigslist have been favorable it's just been a bad day. Fortunately tomorrow i've got an aluminum 24 foot above ground pool lined up!!!

Saw a listing one time for a Blackeyed Pea restaurant that was remodeling and they were replacing all their tables/chairs. "They are out back by the dumpster. Come get what you want." or something along those lines. I book it over there and don't see anything. Go inside and the hostess confirmed that it was a hoax and they'd had a dozen people already in there looking for free tables. They were pretty irritated about it. Presume it was a disgruntled ex-employee.

I learned a long time ago not to chase CL ads. If I can't call or e-mail the owner and talk to them first I don't even bother going after it. Most of the time it's ether gone or a hoax. I never go to pick something up unless the owner is there.

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Originally Posted by beedubz

First this morning I saw a post advertising 23 free copper pipes about 25 minutes away from my house. The ad said if it was still up the pipes were still aviailable so I hauled ass to the location and of course they were gone. It took another 5 hours before the ad got taken down.

I then went to work all day.

I got home at 8pm and saw an ad for over 100 lbs of aluminum siding up for grabs about 20 minutes away from my house. I drove there and lo and behold, the siding was still there! I knocked on the door to make sure everything was legit but the house appeared to be unoccupied. I said f*ck it and drove my truck around back and started loading up. About 5 minutes later the neighbor came out and said that the ad was a hoax and that the cops had been chasing people out of the yard all day. So I drove back home defeated for the second time today.

Gas sure isn't cheap and neither is my time! Ugh what a day.

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I dont ever chase ads like that. If there is a number or email, I contact them and wait for a response. It is your competition trying to get you into trouble.

Weclome to curbco shopping. Heh. Its like snipe hunting cept now and then you actually go home with something!

Sucks yea, but hopefully not the norm for ya going forward.

Sirscrapalot - Takes every 'Curb Alert" with a very big grain of salt.

Hey now, not all craigslist curbside ads are negative. I've had two bad ones in the 2 years I've been doing this. I once got a free stripper pole. Now, I know what you're thinking... There's a horrible social stigma attached to it... sure. However, I still have it in the closet and years from now I plan to pass it down to my son.

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Originally Posted by TheFatMan

Hey now, not all craigslist curbside ads are negative. I've had two bad ones in the 2 years I've been doing this. I once got a free stripper pole. Now, I know what you're thinking... There's a horrible social stigma attached to it... sure. However, I still have it in the closet and years from now I plan to pass it down to my son.

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Haven't heard much from you in a while...I always liked the brutal honesty of your posts.

Another hoax this morning. "Free steel and aluminum" ended up being an automotive shop and the owner had no idea who posted the ad.

Age old tactics/pranks. I recall a couple guys in school(and that's been a few years ago ; ) lived next door to each other. One of em had a pizza delivery(or was it a taxi, it's been so long) in the driveway honking. The next day at school the other one was laughing about it, and trying to act like he hadn't done it.

Hate that happened. It only took one time for me to chase a cl ad that said if ad was still up we have it. So I call if I see an ad. I don't want to waste time or gas. If I can't email and talk to the person I want go. Just remember most of the time free is not free!

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Originally Posted by Bear

Age old tactics/pranks. I recall a couple guys in school(and that's been a few years ago ; ) lived next door to each other. One of em had a pizza delivery(or was it a taxi, it's been so long) in the driveway honking. The next day at school the other one was laughing about it, and trying to act like he hadn't done it.

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Bear...wait..they had phones and gas running autos when you were in school?! :p

Sirscrapalot - Fried snickers...its whats for dinner.

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Originally Posted by Sirscrapalot

Bear...wait..they had phones and gas running autos when you were in school?! :p
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https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/i...4FHLd4c07gzl7g

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/i..._dE2n-Ik1727cA

;)

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Originally Posted by KzScrapper

Haven't heard much from you in a while...I always liked the brutal honesty of your posts.

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I fell outta love with scrapping for about 6 months. Work got too easy and boring. Also, when this forum just started, I could barely hold my tongue at the absurdity of a few individuals and their peanut sized intellects. I logged on the other day for shiggles and was surprised to see way less dumb and way more sense. LOL

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Originally Posted by TheFatMan

I fell outta love with scrapping for about 6 months. Work got too easy and boring. Also, when this forum just started, I could barely hold my tongue at the absurdity of a few individuals and their peanut sized intellects. I logged on the other day for shiggles and was surprised to see way less dumb and way more sense. LOL

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That's because I joined the forum. :cool:

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Originally Posted by beedubz

That's because I joined the forum. :cool:

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Naww, I just got complacent. For a 6 month span, I was happy going on company pick-ups and having scrap brought to me. It was an easy 400 a week, free and clear. Then I got involved with a buddy who owned a moving company and helped him work out how to scrap his left overs. Before I knew it, my work was being neglected and I found myself moving furniture and watching my bank account drain. Finally I did the math and realized I was starting to go into the hole while helping my mongoloid idiot friend maximize his profits. I got my head together, dropped his arse, and got my truck back on the road. Sure, I liked where I was at but I put most of my connections out to pasture and decided I needed a new beginning. I want more thrift store love, more scrap metal, and less E-scrap and large buys. Sometimes when you go into scrapping on a larger scale, you find yourself paying more to get deals, and paying more isn't always a good idea. Lesson learned. I'll be fine in a couple months lol.