I should know better by now. I’ve bought and sold enough stuff on Craigslist to understand that I should set my expectations as low as possible. The last time I tried to sell an item on Craigslist I was stood up three times by three different buyers. There’s something about waiting around in a 7-11 parking lot that’s both infuriating and enlightening. If politics and sports are dividing you and your friends, I’m almost certain a universal hate of Craigslist will unite you. Seriously, try it at your next dinner party.

My most recent failure was trying to buy wheels for my wife’s car. The buyer was located about 2 hours away, but we lined up a date and time for me to come buy them. All I needed was for him to give me a contact number or address. Anything beyond his random Craigslist e-mail address. Neither came despite me asking multiple times. Then, on the morning we were supposed to meet he asked if I was still coming over. I explained that I wasn’t because I didn’t feel comfortable driving four hours round trip with a Craigslist e-mail address as the only form of contact.

He quickly realized that he had never sent his phone number or address and apologized profusely. We agreed to get back in touch later in the week to see if he still had the wheels, and if I still had time to come get them.

We again lined up a date and time for me to head over, and he offered to hold the wheels for me. I’m sure by now you can see where this is headed.

The afternoon before I was scheduled to get the wheels he e-mailed to tell me he had sold them locally. In his words, he “didn’t want to miss out on this deal.” Even after I got him to admit that he had in fact told me he was holding them for me. I do suppose it’s better to learn how poor a seller or buyer truly is before driving any great distance.

In any case, I guess it’s back to Nextdoor and e-Bay (local pickup only) for me. It’s a shame that people like this have ruined Craigslist for those of us who do what we say we’re going to do.