If you need a non-traffic related reminder of just how many of us dwell in this sprawling metropolis called Los Angeles, I suggest posting an ad on Craigslist.
My boyfriend and I recently upgraded our couch and TV, and as often happens as a result of upgrades, we’re now broke. So I thought we could make a little Valentine’s date money and get rid of the old TV and loveseat on Craigslist. In a spare ten minutes I posted two ads, forgoing the trouble of taking digital pictures, figuring I could add those later if I didn’t get any replies.
Posting an ad on Craigslist is free and easy, hence part of its immense popularity. You simply click on the “post an ad in classifieds” link located on the top left corner of the screen, click on the appropriate category, and type up your ad. Then Craigslist will send you a link via email, allowing you to take the ad live.
After I did this, I clicked back to the LA Craigslist homepage, figuring I’d experience the thrill of seeing my ads at the top of their appropriate sections. I think I got up to get a glass of water first. By the time I made it back to the electronics page, my ad was no longer on the front page – anywhere. Meaning that in between my clicking “post” and getting a drink of water, at least 100 of my fellow Angelenos had put their own electronics up for sale.
It seemed a bit hopeless then, that anyone would find my ad. I resigned myself to planning a Valentine’s Day picnic with homemade sandwiches and Two Buck Chuck. But by the time I checked my email that evening, the responses had started pouring in, mostly for the television, which made sense.
You see, I hadn’t painted the Ikea loveseat in the best possible light. I said the couch was in great condition, which it was, but I also said we weren’t asking for more money because they’d need to replace the cover. When my boyfriend looked at the ad, he said, “You should have said the cover was damaged by the cat.”
“Why does it matter?” I said.
“If you saw an ad that said you’d need to replace the cover, what would you think happened to it?”
And I have to admit, cat scratches weren’t the first thing that came to mind.
But one intrepid young lady replied that she wanted the couch and would arrive at our door” cash in hand” to come get it. That expression thrilled me – I immediately made V-Day reservations at Malo and started thinking of all the different tequilas we could try with the $75 that would soon be ours.
I set about responding to the inquiries. My emails are usually fairly formal. I rarely skip the salutation and always sign off with a “thanks,” “take care,” or “best regards.” So I was a bit taken aback by the rapid fire style of most of my respondents. “Where U located?” and “Send pics!” were typical responses. Then there was the guy! Who used multiple explanation marks! To punctuate! A single! Sentence! Yes, a few emails had “crazy” written all over them, and I decided that the anonymous reply option at Craigslist (they forward the responses to your real email address, so the respondents won’t have it unless you write them back) was one of the best features of the whole site.
Just as I was juggling multiple replies, I was dealing with many comparative shoppers. After a couple of rounds of phone tag, the “cash in hand” girl disappeared without a trace, a perfect reminder of how our connections here in LA can be transient at best. Really, how many times have we all thought the perfect job or the perfect guy or girl was ours, only to be snatched away by someone else? But, as it always is in a big city with lots of opportunities, someone else comes along. And so it was with couch buyers. Just as I was about to edit the ad to mention cat scratches and throw in some pictures, I received an email from a girl who had been planning to buy our exact loveseat and had already picked out the cover, and was happy to have a gently used copy and save herself a hundred and fifty bucks. She picked it up the night after our initial phone conversation.
The TV found a good home, too, and my boyfriend and I will enjoy Valentine’s dinner and drinks without feeling guilty about cutting into our currently meager checking accounts. Though mere business transactions, my Craigslist experience made me feel part of the community, one more person hoping to make a connection, be it buying, selling, hiring, moving, hooking up, ranting, discussing, or ride sharing. Here was the single place we could do it all without leaving our living rooms.
Happy Valentine’s Day, Craigslist. LA loves you.
*Photo by Heather Garland via Flickr
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1 Sharon Jensen Zlotnik // Feb 25, 2008 at 8:06 pm
Nice story!
I’ll add my two cents on CL: the “Rants & Raves” section where users vent their fury anonymously) is scary beyond belief. But it is pretty entertaining….for about five minutes. The other problem: the flagging. Innocent ads get flagged and removed for no apparent reason and whereas some very questionable ads don’t get flagged. Go figure! There’s a website dedicated solely to fighting CL flagging. Fat chance. lol.
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