kakima

I've bought and sold used photo gear on CL with no problems. I think location, price, and type of gear are factors.

d3200prime

Craigslist has been a positive experience for me except for the scammers. Never got taken by a scammer but they are always trying. You have to be on top of your game or you will fall for their schemes.

In your case, lets put the shoe on the other foot. Your buyer is supposedly going to meet you but the opportunity to sell presents itself first. So, a decision has to be made. Do you take the money in front of you or wait for the buyer that may or may not show up? As someone else posted, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. At least the seller called to let you know. They could have not called and you would have been stood up. I know it was disappointing as it would have been for anyone but honestly, I see no lack of integrity as the seller was courteous in calling you. Just my take on your experience. BTW: the world has always been the same.

pendennis

I've bought several things from Craig's List, and never had a problem. I always insist, as have the sellers, that we meet in a public place (police stations are great, and coffee shops).

I've bought a couple of nice Nikons, 4x5 film holders, and a beautiful wide field Ektar lens. As always caveat emptor.

PS - The 48 4x5 film holders came in a custom-built aluminum case (worth about $400) all for around $150. A Nikon F3HP was mint, with a 50 f1.4 AIs for $300.

xt2 Loc: British Columbia, Canada

I've sold a lot of camera gear on GL, all transaction were fast, easy and local. No problems.

Cheers!

mr spock Loc: Fairfield CT

I have been buying and selling on craigslist successfully for years. Most important rule, you always always do it face-to-face in a public location. Basically it’s first person that shows up with cash gets the item. Unless you left a deposit he had no obligation to hold the item. Exactly the same as if you were to buy the item in retail store. Suppose you were set to meet, he held the item and you cancelled . He gave up a sale.

Satman Loc: Indy

Being from indy, headed to Roberts Camera Store,. or the local camera clubs,

olemikey Loc: 6 mile creek, Spacecoast Florida

I would just consider it as a "good omen", you may just be a whole lot better off than if you had met up with the seller, no bullet holes, no hospital trips, funeral, stolen car/wallet, etc. I hear of these a lot in the Orlando metro area, sign of the times. Ebay can be a pain at times, but that "insulation factor" of no face to face and the help they and Paypal can provide if something is sour, are deal makers in my book.

Ched49 Loc: Pittsburgh, Pa.

I'd never even consider buying anything on Craigslist let alone camera equipment, whenever your dealing with the general public, you never know what kind of a person your dealing with...then again, other people don't have problems. It's just a chance you have to take.

Papa Joe Loc: Midwest U.S.

I've have very good results selling on Craigslist. Never have purchased anything.

AntonioReyna Loc: Los Angeles, California

I have bought and sold numerous cameras, lenses, flashes and misc equipment, digital and film, over the years on Craigslist, as recently as a few weeks ago. I guess I have been lucky as I have never been burned. However, you have to act fast. You can't make a deal and agree to pick up in a week. As a seller, I sell to the first person who shows up with the money. That is the way it works. If you troll Craigslist regularly, twice a day, you can see some legitimately super deals, which have to be snatched up right away. Good luck.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

I've never had this happen to me nor have I done this to anyone when I was selling. One time I was selling a lens on CL and a friend of mine told me that he was interested in buying it from me. I asked him when he could give me an answer as I had this lens listed on CL. He told me that I'd have an answer in 2 days. So when I got an interested buy from CL I told him that I had a sale pending and that if the sale fell through he'd be the first to know. My friend bought the lens from me so I informed the interested CL buyer that it was sold and that I was sorry. I say this because I could have backed out of the deal and made $200 more if I'd sold it to the CL buyer but I gave my friend the "Friends and Family" price and stuck to my word with him.

You still need to be very careful buying from people on CL. I bought a Canon 600RT speedlite from a guy at a great price. I put it on my camera and took several test shots and since I could see the speedlite fire I thought it was fine and paid the seller. A month later I tried to use that speedlite and everything was overexposed. I couldn't get it to reduce the power in Manual mode nor would it reduce power in Auto mode. I took it in for repair and it cost me over $200 to get it repaired. They said the battery box was bad. How that can affect it is a mystery to me. In any case, in the end it cost me about the same had I bought a brand new one from a store so I saved nothing.

On the other hand, I've made some other deals on CL that turned out fine.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

What I have seen in Craiglist are exorbitant prices that are not even close to reality. I have no experience buying from Craiglist simply because I refrain from making any "deal" there. Talking about deal, I once promised a gentleman selling a lens that I was going to buy it to which he agreed. When I asked for his PayPal address the gentleman told me that the lens was sold. That happened in a photography forum.
You can save a ton of aggravations buying from photographic forums or buying from respected dealers...and you have a warranty with the used item.

nadelewitz Loc: Ithaca NY

Craigslist is an informal marketplace. People selling range from real dummies to sharp, knowledgeable, ethical, upstanding folks. You can tell the difference to some extent by the quality of the ad. Consider Craigslist as equivalent to a flea market, garage sale, newspaper ad, etc.
I buy and sell on Craigslist. I am honest and ethical. I can see how the excitement of finding a quick buyer can lead some to being "less than ethical". The excitement of "finding a real deal"
can lead one to forget that you don't know who you are dealing with.
I have seen ads for "good deals" of interest but rejected following-up because I get bad feelings about the reliability of the seller from the ad they "created".
I am hesitant to arrange transactions requiring going much out of town for just these reasons.
Buyer beware, and seller don't assume a deal is sure until money (CASH) is in hand and you drive away.

cruise4two

In my case the seller sent me a text message at some off hour early (like 2am) in the morning. I typically am off the grid by that time...I don't sleep with my phone. What I really question is how/why the supposed seller would think someone would respond to at that hour of the day.

Mr. Spock

Bullet holes, hospital trips, funerals, stolen cars etc. I had no idea Orlando was the crime capital of the world. Guess lots of people are killed daily as they visit Disney world.
I wouldn't leave the house if I lived in your area of the country.