Craigslist Training Series: How To Communicate With Craigslist Customers

1. Introduction: Okay, so now what? You've got your awesome add up on Craigslist. Now, all that has to happen is for someone to see it and be enticed enough to make contact with you. And once they do, you can make arrangements to show it and hopefully make a sale. Now, if you think about it for a minute, everything that transpires up to the point of contact between you and a customer is really a result of your spectacular ad. You see your title heading photos, your ad copy and keywords all work hard in bringing your potential customer on a journey to you. And once they make contact, it's up to you to bring them the rest of the way, and a large part of your ability to do that depends on your communication skills. Now, whether by phone text, email, effective communication and customer interaction is key to your success. Now, in this section, I'll discuss communication tips and strategies to employ When responding to product questions, you'll learn about the different customer types and how to spot them, too. You learn about negotiating tactics so that you can feel confident when settling on a price . I'll also discuss safety tips so that you can feel secure when making deals and avoid the latest scams, too 2. Communication Tips: Okay, you've got your add up live on the site. So inquiry should really start rolling in any minute, right? Well, yes, in an ideal world, but the reality is it may take some time. You know, the response to your ad really depends largely on whether someone's actually actively seeking what you're offering. And the trick is to fill a customer, need just the right time. There have been a few occasions when I've gotten the response within, like, 1/2 an hour of posting and then made a sale within another half hour. But that is really uncommon if the timing is just right and you've got a little luck on your side that this can happen to you too. But in the meantime, while you're waiting for that initial contact, this lecture will cover a few general communication tips to help you get more prepared. Okay. I wanted to talk a little bit about overcoming fear. See, this part of the selling process can be difficult for many people, as they fear communicating with others, especially strangers. This feeling is amplified by the fact that you're trying to convince them to buy what you're selling, and if you're not the type of person that used to doing this. It can be a bit daunting. I mean, think about it for just a sec. You're trying to convince a total stranger to come see an item and then reach into their pockets for cash to buy it. Now, this fear might not be as bad as public speaking, but it could be a big factor for some people. So one of the first things to consider in helping overcome this fear is to realize that these total strangers are really just people to I mean, they put their underwear on one leg at a time. Like you and Ideo, I would wager to bet that some of these strangers Justus nervous about making contact and meeting with you, too. It's also quite helpful to realize that you know, quite often the thoughts of doing something are actually worse than the doing itself. Have you noticed this? See, Once you make contact and begin the communication process, you'll realize that any fears you have for the most part, just thought bubbles in your head, and it's really like anything else. You know, the more practice you have, the more comfortable you become. Believe it or not, you may actually look forward to meeting new people and seeing how happy they become when buying something that you have to offer. So keep in mind that your initial contact may come by email, text or by phone, depending on the contact information method that you provided in your ad. Some people really like texting and a really very efficient at it. Others prefer the classic email method, which is most often the first line of communications. See, the benefit of email is that it's easier to include more information, links and references than in Texas. He meals also provide a nice digital paper trail that you can easily refer to later if needed. Now, if you don't happen to have a smartphone or other similar device to receive emails, and you can forward emails to older cellphones pretty easily, and this will help you be more responsive to questions while on the go, it's good to get in the habit of checking emails regularly. When you have active ads, see email applications like Outlook and Max Male use automatic mail updating to keep you informed instantly of incoming mail you want to make sure to verify that your email provided doesn't consider Craigslist emails as spam and put them in your junk folder. And, of course, we can't forget about the phone and voice communications. You see some people really like having that human connection. This method is more personal, and you're much more apt to pick up on someone's character when you speak with them. And I found that talking over the phone can put you in the customer more D's or vice versa . And this might make the decision to take the next step a little bit easier. Now, chances are you'll select the communication method that you almost comfortable and efficient at, and hopefully your customer prefers the same method. Now, regardless of the communication method, you want to make sure to respond as quickly as possible to questions. You see, most potential customers hate waiting, especially if they're excited about purchasing something, and they'll quickly move on to the next seller in line. If they don't hear from you in a timely fashion. When you respond quickly, it actually sends the message that you're responsive and conscientious about selling, and it also helps enquiries from piling up and keep you more organized, too. What I found many customers do is they tend to blast out emails too many sellers at once, so it's really in your best interest to respond quickly to capture them before someone else does. I also wanted to mention a couple of things about closing the loop and following through. See, these things are really important, regardless of what stage you're at in the selling process, you want to make sure to always follow through and respond to customers as quickly as you can. If a potential customer has initial questions, you want to make sure the answer. If they ask you to double check on a particular product spec, make sure to do it and respond back quickly. Even if you don't have an immediate answer, you can still respond and explained that it may take you a little bit of time to do your research, but that you'll have an answer soon. If they make arrangements to look at your product and something comes up and you have to change plans, make sure to get back to them and explain the problem and reschedule. See, the idea is to communicate more than you think you have to and always always, always close the loop and that this seems so obvious. But I can tell you from experience that many customers don't reciprocate, and it can be really frustrating as hell now. I mentioned this earlier in the discussion on a guiding integrity principle. It doesn't take much time to email, text or phone your potential customer to just close the loop. Most people really, really appreciate the effort and will respect that. You do business this way, and this helps that you really far apart from other sellers. And let's everyone know how serious, respectful and Kurdish you are about your work in your business. I also wanted to mention something about being crystal clear. See, sometimes when reading and email or text from a potential customer, that may be something in it that isn't quite clear. Let me ask a question that's hard to understand or make a statement that doesn't make sense now. When this occurs, try repeating what you believe to be the case back to them in your response. Now this will solidify any uncertainty and help make it clearer. This is especially important when arranging to meet in person. You want to make sure to repeat back what you believe the meeting date, time and location are to make sure there's no discrepancy or misunderstanding about the schedule. I also wanted to mention a couple of other communication courtesies. You want to try to keep the following golden rule principle in mind, especially during the communication phase. You really want to treat others the way you'd like to be treated, so that really means being friendly, polite and courteous. Be engaging an enthusiastic, be straightforward and honest and be firm yet respectful. 3. Questions And Responses: okay, in this lecture, I'd like to cover some of the more typical questions that you're likely to get during your first contact with potential customers. I'll also provide you with example, responses and some other strategies to. So, more than likely, the very first contact message you receive will contain at least one question. So using their course example, it could be something along. The lines off is the Bear cat scan are still available. Or it could be something like, Do you still have the bear cat scanner? This is by fire, the most common type of question. And it makes sense, since customers don't really want to spend time thinking about something that's no longer available. Also, many cell isn't good about taking their ads off Craigslist right away. Once they've made a sale. Customers therefore want to make sure that they're not wasting their time. We'll cover removing Stale adds in more detail in a later section. So how many questions are you likely to get? Well, if you've done a good job providing lots of detail in your and description, it'll help mitigate many questions. The amount of questions that remain will really depend to a large extent on the kind of customer you've got. Some ask very few questions and would rather just take a look at the item in person. And others like to ask lots of questions before making a large time investment. And there are still others who feel compelled to ask questions even if they've already seen the answers in your ad. Some customers like to ask their questions in person while looking at the item, and some ask all the questions at once, and others like to drag them out over many different emails. Other common questions, often asked, include the following again using our course. Example. Does the Bear cat scan is still work? How old is the bass cat scanner? Or how long have you had the bear cat scan? Have you had any problems with it? Why you selling it? Will you take $15 for the bear cat scanner, or are you firm on the price? When can I come? Take a look at it. Can you hold the bear cat scan A. For me, I should be able to see it sometime next week. No one responding. Keep in mind that the main objective at this stage is to answer questions and make potential customers feel comfortable enough to meet and take a look at your product in person and then hopefully by it. So you wanna work and drive all correspondence and conversations with that main objective in mind. Whatever questions are asked, make sure to provide the answers with plenty of details to now. This can help quell any hesitation. Will concern or apprehension the customer may have see you want to try to give them peace of mind and eliminate their fears and concerns. Also, consider trying to anticipate further related questions, and then you can provide the answer to those as well. See this will minimize the back and forth email chain and hopefully save time for both parties. Some customers will actually make it pretty easy for you and decide to buy without needing to see the item first. And these customers are awesome. They may be a little price negotiating back and forth, but the's customers usually decide quickly. These types of customers like to from up a price before the invest time, energy and gas traveling to meet with you see once they commit to buying you just make arrangements to have them pick it up and pay you. I'll cover more about price negotiating tactics in the next section. Now other customers feel the need to see the product first before making a buying decision so corresponding with these customers can take a little bit more time, since you have to get them to commit to come see it first if they don't ask to see it right away. What I like to do is to offer information in the very first email on when and where I'm available to have them come take a look. No one doing this. Make sure not to do it in a pushy way, but you want to do it in a way that offers them in the opportunity. And let's them know when you're available all in the same email. Okay, so here are some examples of how I would respond to the previous customer questions. These are by no means the only answers, but ones that have worked for me. Okay, The answer to number one. Yes, the Bear cat scan it works. Excellent has noted in the product details section of the ad under condition it has some very light usage. Would you like to set up an appointment to come take a look and give it a try? Please Let me know what day and time works best for you as my schedule is fairly open. And the answer to number two. The bear cat scanner is about 30 years old and I've had it myself for roughly one month as the second owner. Please let me know if you'd like to be the third owner by contacting me to set up an appointment to see it. My schedule is open. So most days work for me in the into the number three. I haven't had any operational or functional problems with it has noted in the ad description and in the product photos there was a little wear on the front face plate lettering and a few scratches. But the's appear lee cosmetic. If you have any more questions or would like to schedule a time to see it, please let me know your schedule so we can make arrangements. And the into the number four, I got a recent upgraded model, so therefore don't need this one anymore. It's still in excellent working shape so I'd like someone else to get some enjoyment from it. Now, let's set up a day in time for you to check it out. Please let me know what works for you. Or if you happen to be selling for someone else, you might want to respond with something like this. I'm selling this on behalf of my best friend. Would you like to come take a look in for number five? If you affirm on the price, she might want to write something like this. The asking price is roughly half of what you'd pay retail. The item is also in perfect working order, so I feel the price is more than fair. If you'd like to set up an appointment to come take a look, I'm sure you'll agree. Please contact me with the date and time that works best for you. And if someone happens to offer you a price that's below your threshold, you may consider writing something like this. Sorry. Even though the price is negotiable, I'm unable to go that low. Will you consider $20 instead? If so, please contact me to make arrangements for pick up in his. An idea for responding to number six. Let's plan to meet this Saturday morning in nine oclock at my house. If for any reason you can't make it, please call to let me know so we can make other arrangements. And for number seven, this is kind of tough, and you've got no guarantee that they'll actually make plans to come. Look at it. It's especially tough if you've got no other prospects, too. I find the best thing to do in this case is say something like this. Let's make tentative plans for you to come take a look, but I can't guarantee it will still be available. By the time you get back to me. There may be other people interested who want to take a look before you dio You see, responding like this puts a little bit of pressure on them to take action sooner rather than later, and it actually lets you off the hook if others become interested in the meantime. Now, when you've gotten the customer to commit to making an appointment, you want to make sure to be specific. Don't say something like how about meeting sometime this afternoon? Instead, you want to say something like let's meet this afternoon at 2 p.m. In front of the hardware store. Does that work for you? You see being specific. Help speed up the process by establishing a sharp focus on the location in time. And this is much better than being vague. I also wanted to make mention of a few other common courtesies that you might want to offer . See. Depending on where you live, you may be more comfortable meeting in a highly populated area instead of at your home. Well, actually discuss this more fully in the safety lecture. Now you may feel more comfortable meeting like downtown or a workplace, maybe a friend's house or coffee shop, or even a mall or some other communal area. What I like to do as a common courtesy is send a map quest or Google map link to your meeting spot. This is really helpful if they don't have a GPS system. If you decide to meet at your house, you could provide some landmark or other visuals to make finding it easier. I happen to live in a tourist town that gets some pretty heavy traffic in the summertime and what will often do is suggest alternate routes or times to avoid traffic. When a customer is coming to my house during a busy time of year, you may consider doing something like this yourself as a common courtesy. In addition, you should include a statement about what to do. If they can't make, it will have to change plans. Trust me, you really don't want to be left high and dry, wondering where they are. After all, you do the same thing for them right now. We discussed this in the last lecture in the communication tips. You can include something like this. If you can't make it for any reason, please let me know as soon as possible so that we can make other arrangements. There was another courtesy. What I like to do is send a friendly reminder email about 24 hours prior to meeting. I like to include the location, time and my cell phone number as well, and a reminder if they can't make it to please contact me to set up a different time and date. Now, I found that most people really appreciate this reminder 4. The Non Responders: it's bound to happen to you, too. Sooner or later, you'll have to deal with the non responders. In this lecture, I'll discuss a few different strategies to keep you from pulling your hair out with these kinds of customers. During your experience selling on Craigslist, you may run into cases where customers first showing interest and then all of a sudden you never hear back from them again. You may have a few dialogue emails back and forth, and then suddenly out of the blue, you just stopped hearing from them, and it's usually with no indication of any kind. Now they just up and vanished like a fart in the wind. So what the heck happened? I mean, you thought everything was going so well. They were asking lots of questions and you were getting all excited about a potential sale . And then nothing. This can be a bit of a let down, to say the least now when this does happen, all I can imagine is that they either lost interest may be found something else. We'll get distracted or just got too busy with life to bother with you anymore. So when this happens, how do you respond to non responders. If I don't hear back from someone who has initially shown some interest, I'll actually write a couple of emails space two or three days apart. And here's an example of one you might consider to get you started, Mr Mrs. So and so are you still interested in the bear cat scanner? Half a sale on Craigslist? I assume, since we corresponded a number of times of the last several days that you are. However, after not hearing from you recently, I'd like to know for sure. I'd like to continue advertising the item if you're no longer interested but wanted to check with you first. Please get back to me as soon as you can. Now there is no guarantee that a non responded Well, all of a sudden get back to you. This kind of email is meant to be a reminder if for some reason your non responder just got distracted, are too busy, it gives them the opportunity to pick up the ball and run with you again. If after a few attempts I still don't hear from a non responder, I'll quit trying and just move on to the next prospect. One tactic I like to use to help mitigate this problem is to build a sense of urgency in your correspondents. You may consider letting them know that you've got other people interested or coming to see your item. Assuming that's true, of course, I think it's good to put a little bit of pressure on. You want to make them feel like they're going to miss an opportunity if they don't act fast enough. This is no guarantee, but it may be just enough motivation to help on on responder. 5. Quality Customers: in this lecture, I'll discuss how you can characterize your customer experience through your communication with them. So as you gain experience corresponding with customers, you'll see a variety of communication styles. Some like to be very brief, short and to the point and a bit cryptic how this like to include lots of questions, and you can really get a sense of their excitement and enthusiasm. In a general sense, you can characterize what your overall experience will be with your customer by the quality of your communication with them. Okay, let's talk a little bit about low quality customers First. If customers messages tend to be very short and don't make sense and are full of spelling errors or don't mention the product by name, then it's a pretty good indication that you may have a poor selling experience. And what's interesting is that this kind of communication gives you a sense that they don't put much effort into the process and are not really that excited are interested. They may not return your calls, emails or text. They may also appear non committal or difficult to pin down when trying to set up an appointment. They may even blow you off after making an appointment with you. In general, these kinds of customers tend to waste your time. I would classify these guys as low quality and would advise against spending too much time with them now. On the other hand, high quality customers often correspond with lots of detail and enthusiasm and excitement. You can tell they're really committed to putting in the time and effort to make an enjoyable transaction. They tend to be more engaging and respond quickly to. These are the kind of customers you want to spend most of your time working with. Now I want to reiterate that the's a general rules and you may find exceptions. But in my experience, they have held pretty true. There are other factors at play as well. If most of your communication is via text, then chances are those messages will be shorter anyway, just by nature of the medium. That's why I prefer emails, because it's easier and faster, at least for me, and I can include much more information also not to make a gross generalization, but you geographic area may make a difference in the quality of your communication life in the Northeast in the USA anyway, especially in busy metropolitan areas, tends to be really fast paced, hectic and really rushed. As a result, the quality of communication can suffer. Now, if you contrast this with Southern or more rural areas, you may find an increase in communication quality. This change may have a lot to do with a more laid back in less hectic environment. 6. Juggling Multiple Customers: Okay, So what happens if you get multiple responses to your ad from different people who are interested at the same time? In this lecture, I'll discuss how to handle this scenario Now. Invariably, you'll end up with more than one person at a time showing interest in your ad. Some cell is adopted first, come for serve policy. They'll say something to the effect of the first person that makes it to my house. Gets it. I've got to be honest. I'm not a fan of this method as it tends to piss everyone off except the person who got there first. Of course, I think a much better and more fair approaches to offer it to those in the order in which they contacted you. This becomes easier once specific dates to show it have been firmed up. If I know someone is coming on a Tuesday, for example, I'll let everyone else know that I have a potential buyer for that day, and I'll follow up either way once I know more. And they also think it's a good idea not to disregard at the rink Aries until you know for sure if the first person will buy it this way. It keeps everything active and moving. If a some reason the deal falls through with the first person, then you'll have someone else waiting in the wings. You can line something up with the next person and again let everyone know what's going on . In the meantime, trust me, everyone else will really appreciate you, keeping them posted and not leaving them hanging and wondering this cycle continues until you've successfully made a sale. In addition, when juggling multiple people, you want to make sure to keep your correspondents organized so that you don't make a mistake and send the wrong message to the wrong person. This is where having a neatly organized email system really comes in handy now. Another scenario might be that person number one says I'll be by tomorrow to purchase. And in the meantime, Person number two says I'll be by later this afternoon to purchase. No, in this case, what do you do? Well, you can follow the order of contact method we just discussed. Well, you may consider trying to get person number one to buy sooner and explain if they can't that person number two will get it now in these situations, the best policy is to always communicate with each party what you're doing, and that way there won't be any surprises or disappointments. This also gives each part of the opportunity to make adjustments to their schedule, and you may also run into cases with someone says something like this. I'll be by next week to purchase. See, when someone makes a long term claim like that, you could always reply with something like this. Okay, but I can't guarantee it will still be available at that time. I may have other people interested as well. This kind of a response get you off the hook of having to wait a long time. If you don't happen to get any bites in the meantime, then you'll still have the offer to fall back on. 7. How To Spot Scams: The more time you spend on Craigslist, the more likely ought to run into scam attempts. Now, in this lecture, I'll cover ways to detect and avoid them. So when you're just starting out, it's very likely you'll miss. Take a scam email for a legitimate customer interested in your product. What happens is you get all excited with anticipation to capture any interest with your ad . I mean, after all, you're excited to make a sale, right? Well, when you get what looks to be a legitimate inquiry, he respond. And once you do, the scammers will lure you down the rabbit hole. I'll go over some of the tell tale signs of scam messages and how to detect these types of emails. They could be classified as either spam or scam, so we'll cover both. Now most scam emails are designed to trick you into providing your personal information. How this could be your personal email address, financial bank or credit card information or even your Social Security number. There are some telltale signs that indicate a scam email in general. Most of them tend to be long and drawn out for someone trying to make initial contact with you. Thes e mails also tend to provide some kind of a story or personal information. See, this is a tactic to help make you feel connected with them or to this story. In some way. They try to hook you in by appealing to your emotions. They often don't refer to what you're selling specifically by name, but we'll write something like the item instead. Although this is not always the case. And I've actually had occasion where the item title has been injected into the body of the email scam, executing more intelligent and crafty all the time. So you've got to be careful. Almost all of these emails contained broken English and grammatical errors, too. Another sign is that they often want to pick up the item right away without asking any questions about it or wanting to see it first. Many of these emails have an urgent tone to them, too. No, if you happen to have multiple active ads running at the same time, it's very likely that you'll get the very same scam email for each of your ads. This is another very clear indication of a scam attempt. Let's take a look at one example I received recently, so we can pick it apart. Keep in mind, this is the very first email I received from one of my ads. Hi. I worked for the fire Department, so I'm on call 24 7 But as of now, I am free to meet up at 2 p.m. Tomorrow. Do you mind sharing a phone number with me too? So we can set up a time to meet. What is your bottom dollar for the items I could meet with you to finalize. Please let me know what would work for you. Meeting somewhere or coming to your place is fine by me. Email works best to get a hold of may, and then they provide an email address. Or you can call my cell and we can go from there to schedule the time and location to pick it up with cash. Get back to me as soon as possible. Okay, so let's pick this baby apart instantly. They're trying to establish a story with mentioning that they work for the Fire Department , which is a well respected profession. They mentioned an available time to meet two pm tomorrow. But don't know if the item is still available and they don't even ask. They request my phone number while not offering there's and request setting up a time to meet, even though they've already mentioned 2 p.m. They then jump into asking what my lowest price would be and what a meet to finalize. They also reference items plural when there is obviously only one item. Now, keep in mind we haven't even established a baseline communication yet, and already they want to finalize things. See, one dead giveaway is that they don't mention the items specifically either. Being vague about the product is one of the tell tale signs. They also mentioned that email is the best method to communicate and offer an email address , but then suggest calling their cell number and never provide one. They've never gotten in touch with me, a total stranger, and they've never seen the item in person. I haven't asked any questions about it and already want to schedule the time and location to pick up. They use the words cash to to help entice a swell very fishy. Something doesn't smell quite right here. I never responded, are clicked on the email link. Granted, I would have been provided some level of anonymity via Craigslist email relay system. They never would have seen my real email. Who knows what their real intent? Waas. Maybe they were hoping I'd provide my email so that they could span me with unsolicited junk. I didn't want to find out, so I just left it alone. Now there are other examples that are more malicious. Some are intended to steal your money. Let me explain. These emails usually have some elaborate story to pull you in emotionally, and most often involves someone from overseas or 1/3 party entity. The gist of these stories or emails is that the buyer wants toe over, pay you for the item by sending a larger than necessary amount in the form of a check. They often state that you can keep a portion of the difference for your hassle and inconvenience. They want you to deposit the check and then send them the remainder usually wired via Western Union or something similar. And the problem comes in when, a few weeks later, you in your bank realized that the original check is bogus and now you're out of luck and the thieves have made off with your money. This actually happened to a relative of mine A number of years ago when advertising an apartment for rent. He got caught up in the scammers story and they even sent pictures of their fake family When they sent their bogus overpayment check. He sent them the difference. And it wasn't long after he realized it was a scam and he was out about 2000 bucks, and that's a really tough lesson to learn. So here are a couple of key points to help you avoid getting caught up in scams. Onley deal local and in cash. Now you will see this message on Craigslist, and it's the best way to eliminate About 99.9% of these issues. Deal on Lee with local people that you can meet face to face and avoid money orders to or personal or travelers checks and money wiring Onley. Accept cash for your item. Now there is no reason why buyers can't deal in cash. Don't give personal information either. He never want to give out personal bank account or other financial information, Social Security numbers or PayPal account information and you want to make sure to report scammers and abuse. If you suspect the scam is taking place, you can click on any of the links in the Who Should I notify about fraud or scam attempts section on the Craigslist scam page. If you'd like to read more about these and other schemes, refer to the Craigslist site. They have lots of great information to help you avoid these issues. I've also provided some other scam example emails that I've received, which you can access in the supplemental material section of this lecture under instructor example Number eight. My hope is that once you see the pattern in which they're written, then you'll know what to avoid and not get caught up in them. 8. Safety: as alluded to in our safety guiding principle and the lecture on questions and responses. Safety is very important. When using Craigslist. Now, I will say that safety related issues can be blown out of proportion by news and media and often used a scare tactics. Now, this isn't to say that there haven't been some legitimate issues, but it's important to keep the same perspective. Now. This lecture provides tips, techniques and strategies to help keep you safe. And let me also state that I have never once felt threatened, unsafe or uncomfortable with any of the more than 350 sales made so far. Now, maybe this has something to do with being a male. Maybe it's due in part to the suburban area in which I live. I'm sure some of it has to do with the way in which I treat and run this business. I believe that professionalism and good will tend to manifest the same in others, and I'm also convinced that much of it has to do with practicing good safety tips as well discuss. Okay, so I want you to take an assessment of what it is you fear. He could be personal or family safety. Are you worried about theft, robbery or concerned about others? Knowing what kind of possessions or wealth you have? Maybe you just want to keep your personal life very private and don't want anyone knowing your business. Whatever it is you fear will dictate the measure toe, which you go to minimize that fear. Keep in mind that customers may have some of the same mutual fears prior to meeting with you. Hopefully, the methods taught throughout this course on how to conduct yourself and your transactions have minimized their fears. One rule of thumb is to try to use your instincts. It's definitely instinctual that when communicating and conversing with someone, you can establish a gut feeling about them. You got instinct that this person seems okay or they kind of out to lunch is something to pay attention to make sure to do a gut check during your correspondence. If it all possible, try to contact them by phone at some point before setting up an appointment, especially if you feel at all uneasy about them. You can pick up much more information about a person over the phone rather than by text or email, you can get a much better sense of their character when speaking. Since they can't hide behind a computer monitor, Have they been normal, cordial and friendly or weird and creepy and suspicious? If, after talking with them, you still feel uneasy, then don't plan to meet with them. Instead, move on to the next person in line. You know, if you feel suspicious or just plain curious, you can always do a little cyber snooping. If you have a person's email address or full name, search Google or Facebook to see if anything comes up. If you happen to find anything suspicious or something seems not quite right, it's probably a good idea to move on to the next person. If they show up on the sex offenders list or police report, you might want to think twice. Now. If you're really worried about meeting at your home or would rather meet in a more public setting, not toe worry, there are plenty to choose from. You might want to try a police station parking lot as they are now considered safe transaction sites. I mean, what could be safer than conducting business transactions there and just make sure it's legal. Most all police stations utilize a 24 7 video surveillance camera, too. If you really want to be smart, you can park your car in such a way that invites the buyer to park with their license plate . Facing the video camera in what's nice is more and more public places a utilizing video surveillance cameras, so make use of them when you can. When meeting outside in a parking lot, for example, you want to make sure to pick an area that's densely populated with lots of patrons, preferably during the daytime. You don't want to pick some obscure section on the outskirts where no one else is around. If it happens to be night time, you want to make sure it's a well lit Section two. Now you can always choose an indoor public space to like a coffee shop or a restaurant or food court. Here's a small list of some of the other common meeting areas. Grocery store Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts, fast food restaurants, large department stores like Sears, Best Buy or Home Depot. I'm all for gas station. Sometimes you might not have a choice, but to me at your house. If you're selling a refrigerator or a couch, for example, you're not going to cut that around with you. Depending on your schedule, it might just be easier for you to do it at home, too. In these cases, there are a few tactic you can employ to help keep you safer. If you write him is small and lightweight. You might want to consider meeting outside in an area visible to your neighbors, like a driveway or front yard or front steps or maybe a porch on open garage, or maybe even at your mailbox. That way, you don't have to go inside the house at all Now. In some cases, you have no choice but to invite them in, especially if the item is large and heavy. In these cases, you want to leave your door wide open so neighbors can hear you if need be. And make sure you have a phone close by to you can have a friend call you while the customers there or even stay on the line with you the whole time. And if you can try to have another adult with you like a parent, spouse, maybe a sibling or a friend. If you can't find someone else to keep you company, you could always call them beforehand till let them know where you are and what you're doing and how long you think it will take. That way, they can contact you after the transaction to make sure everything went smoothly. For more safety information, you can refer to the Craigslist safety section. 9. Take Action: Okay. At this point, you should have gotten some responses to your ad and already lined up at least one potential customer to come. Take a look at your product. If not, please do the following steps. Go back and review the lectures in this section. Print out and review the How to spot scams. Instructor Example. In lineup. Customers to come see a product.